Pavapuri is a village in Nalanda district, Bihar, a short distance from Rajgir. Jain tradition holds that Mahavira, the twenty-fourth Tirthankara, attained liberation here, and that the night of his liberation is the origin of the festival that the Jain calendar keeps at the end of the year. The story is told on the Mahavira page and on the page for Diwali and the nirvana.
The best-known building is the Jal Mandir, the “water temple”, a white marble shrine set in the middle of a lotus tank and reached by a long causeway. It marks the place, according to tradition, where Mahavira was cremated.
The tradition
According to the account that Jains keep, Mahavira spent his last rainy season in Pava, taught for a long period, and attained liberation in the night. The kings who were present are said to have lit lamps in place of the light that had gone out, and that is how the festival of lights is remembered in Jain practice. The tank, the story goes, filled the hollow dug by pilgrims who took away earth from the cremation site.
History where scholars agree
Scholars agree that Mahavira lived in the sixth to fifth century BCE in the Ganges plain, that he is the same figure whom Buddhist texts call Nigantha Nataputta, and that Pava appears in both Jain and Buddhist accounts of his last days. They do not agree on where Pava was. The Pavapuri in Bihar is the site that Jain tradition has long honoured and where the shrines were built. Some scholars have argued that the Pava of the texts lay in the region of Kushinagar in eastern Uttar Pradesh, and a place called Pava is honoured there too. The question is open, and pilgrims go where their tradition tells them.
The present temple buildings are modern compared with the event. The Jal Mandir and the village’s other temples were built and restored over recent centuries, and the complex is cared for by both Shvetambara and Digambara communities.
How to reach it
- Nearest airport: Patna, roughly two to three hours by road. Gaya is another option.
- Nearest railway station: Rajgir, about fifteen kilometres away, with Bihar Sharif as a nearby junction and Patna as the major railhead.
- Pavapuri sits among a cluster of Jain sites in Nalanda district, which also includes Rajgir, Kundalpur and Gunawa, so many pilgrims combine them in one journey.
Etiquette
- Walk the causeway to the Jal Mandir barefoot, and leave leather outside.
- Dress modestly, and keep your voice low at the shrine. Offerings and rites are made as the priests direct.
- Photography inside the Jal Mandir is limited. Follow the notices.
- Do not feed the fish and turtles in the tank unless the trust provides food for the purpose, and do not throw anything into the water.
- The place is busiest around the time of Diwali, when pilgrims gather to commemorate the nirvana. If you go then, expect crowds and book lodging early.
- Meals in the dining halls follow Jain rules, as described on the recipes page.
We have not given timings or fees, as they are local and change.
Related
- Tirth guides: eight pilgrim places
- Mahavira: the 24th Tirthankara
- Diwali and the nirvana of Mahavira
- Mahavir Jayanti
- Sammed Shikharji
Frequently asked questions
↳ What happened at Pavapuri?
Jain tradition holds that Mahavira attained liberation there, and the Jal Mandir marks the place of his cremation. The night is remembered with lamps, which is the origin of the festival the Jain calendar keeps at the end of the year.
↳ Is Pavapuri certainly the place of the nirvana?
It is the place Jain tradition has honoured for centuries. Some scholars have proposed another Pava near Kushinagar, so the identification is a matter of tradition and of debate.
↳ What is the Jal Mandir?
A marble temple standing in the middle of a lotus tank, reached by a causeway. It marks the traditional site of Mahavira's cremation.
↳ Which Tirthankaras attained liberation away from Sammed Shikharji?
Four of the twenty-four: Rishabhanatha, Vasupujya, Neminatha and Mahavira. Mahavira's place is Pavapuri.