Dancing for Lord Mahavir

Female devotees dance to drum beats on the ocassion of Mahavir Jayanti in Delhi on 5th April 2012.

In Jainism, Mahavir Jayanti, also known as Mahavir Janma Kalyanak, is the most important religious holiday. It celebrates the birth of Mahavira, the last Tirthankara. On the Gregorian calendar, the holiday occurs either in March or April. He was born on the thirteenth day of the rising moon of Chaitra. The chronology accepted by all Jains places Mahavir's birth in 599 BCE.

Local statues of Mahavira are given a ceremonial bath called the abhisheka. During the day, many Jains engage in some sort of charitable act in the name of Mahavira while others travel to temples to meditate and offer prayers. Lectures are typically held in temples to preach the path of virtue as defined by Jain doctrine. Donations are collected in order to promote charitable missions like saving cows from slaughter or helping to feed poor people. Ancient Jain temples across India typically see an extremely high volume of practitioners come to pay their respects and join in the celebrations.

Source: Wikipedia

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