Another name for Pawapuri is Apapuri, or "sinless town", which describes its significance to the Jains, as making a pilgrimage to Pawapuri is said to purify the believer.

There were twenty-four Tirthankars, who were humans who overcame their own weaknesses to attain enlightenment to then lead others along the same path. The last of these was Lord Mahavira who was born into a royal family in Vaishali, Bihar, around 599 BCE. When he was thirty years old, he renounced his life of wealth and ease to become an ascetic for twelve years before becoming a teacher of Jain precepts. At the height of his influence, he may have had as many as 400,000 followers.

Lord Mahavira died in Pawapuri and was cremated here around 500 BCE. The demand for his ashes was so great that his followers managed to create a great pit around the site of his pyre from their digging. This pit was later made into a lotus pond and a grand white marble temple, the Jal Mandir, was built in the middle of the pond by King Nandivardhan, the elder brother of Lord Mahavira, to honor the Tirthankar.



Another temple, the Gaon Mandir, also attributed to King Nandivardhan, marks the spot where Lord Mahavira actually died as he was making his last address to his followers. There are three more important Jain temples at Pawapuri, making the town a major Jain pilgrimage destination yet today.

Pawapuri is also said to be the site of the writing of the Uttaradhyayaya Sutra, one of the most important sacred books of the Jains. Consisting of thirty-six chapters, each of which explains an aspect of Jain belief and practice, the book also is believed to contain the actual words of Lord Mahavira. Included with the sermons are Indian folk tales which inspired the thirty-seven colored miniatures with which the book is illustrated.



You can view a page from a sixteenth century copy of the Uttaradhyayaya Sutra from the British Library Board with illustration of Mahavira preaching HERE.

If your religious experience during your visit to Pawapuri convinces you to stay, you will be pleased to know that both men and women were welcome in the holy places of the Jains. Unlike the early Buddhists, women could become nuns, bhikshunis. They were offered an education, particularly as teachers of philosophy, and were encouraged to take part in religious discussions. You will need to keep in mind that the life of a Jain was rather austere, requiring abstinance from food and worldly posessions.

Sources:
Bihar State Tourism
PatnaDaily
wikipedia: Mahavira
wikipedia: Tirthankir
Collect Britain
Kamat's Potpourri

Images source: Pawapuritirth

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Note about the Pawapuri perspective:
Due to the lack of good copyright free images for this hood, we decided to use, for now, the jain statue of Sri Gomatheswar in Sravanabelagola (Karnataka) to represent the jain influence in this city until we find something more appropriate.