Mahavira, born into royalty in Kundagrama (near modern Vaishali, Bihar) in the early 6th century BCE, renounced all worldly wealth at around thirty to pursue spiritual awakening. After twelve and a half years of intense asceticism, he attained Kevala Jnana (omniscience) and spent three decades teaching the path to liberation before attaining final liberation (moksha) in Pawapuri, Bihar

Although Jain tradition places his birth around 599 BCE and his death around 527 BCE, many modern scholars advocate slightly later dates—such as a lifespan around 497–425 BCE, viewing Mahavira and Buddha as contemporaries