Mahavir

The inspiring story of a man who conquered the world by conquering himself…The last Tirthankara of Jainism and the ascetic who popularized the Jain faith, followed by scores of Indians today, Vardhaman Mahavir did not begin his life as a saint. A prince and a householder, beloved husband and father, Mahavir decided to renounce the world in order to realize himself. After long, excruciatingly hard years spent in austerities and penance, he finally achieved enlightenment. In Mahavir, his spiritual journey is brought to life through the eyes of his daughter, Priyadarshini, who finds herself grappling with existential questions as she journeys with her mother to catch a glimpse of an ascetic who has achieved liberation by conquering himself – a man who is none other than her father whom she resents for having abandoned his wife, Yashoda, and child twelve years earlier. Even as Priyadarshini grapples with her anger and contempt towards her father, she is drawn into a deeper spiritual inquiry about him. Through visions her mother shares along their journey, she learns of his past lives, and begins to understand the reasons for his choices and actions, and for his renunciation in the present life. Based on Jain texts, this authentic account of the making of a spiritual master not only tells an inspiring story, but also raises age-old spiritual questions that are as relevant to the modern reader as they were in Mahavir’s time: Why do we suffer? What is the way out of suffering? What is the purpose of life? What is the place of attachment in our lives? What is the ultimate truth?