Mahavir Temple

Sri Rama Navami: The festival of Rama Navami is celebrated on the auspicious occasion of the birth of Lord Shri Ram. In the whole country after Hanumangarhi in Ayodhya Mahavir Mandir of Patna attracts the largest number of devotees on the Rama Navami day. On a single day, the number of the devotees varies from three to five lakhs.

Janaki-Navami: Janaki-navami is celebrated every year on the 9th day of the bright fortnight of the Vaishakh month on the occasion of the birth of Sita Mata. This year the Mahavir Mandir Trust is erecting the scene of ‘Sita-udbhava’ i.e. the coming up of Sita in the marvels. Statues of king Janak, his priest, minister, attendants and oxen with the plough will be established at Sita-madhi, opposite Sitamadhi Railway Station. The marble statues are being made at Jaipur at the cost of Rupees fifteen lakhs.

Hanuman-Jayanti: Hanuman-jayanti is celebrated in the Hanuman Mandir on the 14th day of the dark fortnight of the Kartika month. This day is recommended in the Vaishnava-matabja-bhaskara of Ramanandacharya as well as in the tradition of Hanuman-garhi, Ayodhya. On this day, eslaborate rituals are performed and the ‘dhvaja’(the holy flag) of the temple is also changed.

Shri Krishna-Janmastami: In Mahavir Mandir Janmashtami is celebrated with all religious devotion. Recitals from the Gita and Bhagwad are done in the temple. Devotees remain on fast till midnight. Before the birth of Lord Krishna, two hours continuous Bhajan both in Sanskrit and Hindi is carried out and then at midnight his birth is celebrated with Arati and Prasad is distributed amongst the devotees.

Durga-Puja: During Durga Puja Durga Saptasati is recited from the beginning to the end with samput path for nine days. Statue of the Goddess is established on the campus and thousands of devotees have a darshan every day and on the last three days of the Navratri there is a vast gathering of the devotees in the temple.

Vivah-Panchami: Vivah Panchami is the festival of the marriage of Lord Ram and Sita. It is celebrated in this temple with all devotion and gaity. Mahavir Mandir is having the most impressive idols of Ram and Sita on the eve of their marriage. In Vivah Panchami, many traditional glimpse party from Mithila come and perform on the dais for two days showing the marriage celebration.

Sanskrit-Divas: Sanskrit Diwas is observed every year on the Shrawani Purnima day. Students participate in a big way. They write essays in Sanskrit and make eloquent Sanskrit speeches. In the evening, there is a conference held in which many distinguished scholars participate and enlighten the audience by their Sanskrit speeches.

Tulasi-Jayanti: Tulsi Jayanti is celebrated on the 7th day of the bright fortnight of Shrawan month. Scholars of Mahavir Mandir have conclusively written that Tulsidasji was born on this day in 1554 Sambat and he was a celebrated saint throughout his career. The name of Ratnawali and his marriage was a development of two centuries after his departure. In the evening, many scholars give lectures in which various aspects of the career of Tulsidas are highlighted.

Gita-Jayanti: Geeta Jayanti is celebrated on the 11th day of the bright fortnight of Agrahan month. On this day, the Mahabharat war had started and Lord Krishna had given the sermon to Arjun to fight against the evil committed by any person irrespective of close relations. Gita is one of the most celebrated scriptures in the world and on this day many functions are held in this connection.

Ramanandacharya-Jayanti: Ramanandcharya Jayanti is celebrated on 7th day of dark fortnight of Magh month. Mahavir Mandir belongs to Ramananda sect and, therefore, in this temple this Jayanti is celebrated with much more devotion.

Ravidas-Jayanti: Ravidas Jayanti is celebrated on the Magh Purnima day. Mahavir Mandir has got the most impressive idol of Sant Ravidas which is established on the northeast corner of the temple. It has got equally impressive Chhatri (canopy). Processions are held on this occasion and various aspects of his life are highlighted in the evening function.

Another specialty of the temple is the prasadam, offered to the presiding deities thereon. The prasadam offered is “Naivedyam” which is prepared by the experts from Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh and is a delicacy.

The Naivedyam of Mahavir Mandir is a synonym of the laddoos which are offered to Hanumanji. Naivedyam in the Sanskrit language means an offering of eatables presented to a deity or idol. It is prepared by the experts from Tirupati. It contains besan of a gram, sugar, cashew, raisin, Green cardamoms, Kashmiri-saffron and other flavorings, cooked in ghee and molded into a ball shape. The kesar (saffron) use in the naivedyam is obtained directly from the grower at Pampore district, well known as “Land of Gold (Saffron) in Kashmir.