Scholars are hesitant to make unqualified claims about the historical facts of the Buddha's life.

Most accept that he lived, taught and founded a monastic order during the Mahajanapada era in
India during the reign of Bimbisara, the ruler of Magadha empire, and died during the early years
of the reign of Ajatshatru, who was the successor of Bimbisara, thus making him a contemporary
ofMahavira, the Jain teacher;
[7]
however, most scholars do not consistently accept all of the
details contained in traditional biographies.
[8][9]

The times of Gautama's birth and death are uncertain. Most historians in the early 20th century
dated his lifetime as circa 563 BCE to 483 BCE.
[1][10]
More recently his death is dated later,
between 411 and 400 BCE, while at a symposium on this question held in 1988, the majority of
those who presented definite opinions gave dates within 20 years either side of 400 BCE for the
Buddha's death.
[1][11][note 4]
These alternative chronologies, however, have not yet been accepted by
all historians.
[12][13][note 7]

The evidence of the early texts suggests that Siddhrtha Gautama was born in the Shakya clan,
a community that was on the periphery, both geographically and culturally, of the northeastern
Indian subcontinent in the 5th century BCE.
[15]
It was either a small republic, in which case his
father was an elected chieftain, or an oligarchy, in which case his father was an
oligarch.
[15]
According to the Theravada Tripitaka scriptures
[which?]
(from Pali, meaning "three
baskets"), Gautama was born in Kapilavastu or Lumbini, nowadays in modern-day Nepal, around
the year 563 BCE, and raised in Kapilavastu.
[note 3]
No written records about Gautama have been
found from his lifetime or some centuries thereafter. One edict of Emperor Ashoka, who reigned
in the 3rd century BCE, commemorate the Emperor's pilgrimage to the Buddha's birthplace
in Lumbini, and another one mentions several Dhamma texts which may be precursors of
the Pli Canon.
[21]
The Gandhran Buddhist texts, the oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts,
reported to have been found in or around Haa near Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan and
preserved in the British Library today, were written in the Kharoh script and the Gndhr
language on twenty-seven Birch bark scrolls from the first century BCE to the third century CE

Mahavira was born into a royal family in the town of Kshatriya. Historians have identified three
places in Bihar as his possible birthplace: Kundigram in Vaishali district, Lachhuar in Jamui and
Kundalpur in Nalanda. Most modern historians agree that Basokund was his
birthplace.
[2]
Traditionally, Kundalagrama in the ancient city of Vaishali is regarded his birthplace;
however, its location remains unidentified.
[3]

According to Jainism, Mahavira was born in 599 BCE.
[4]
Some historians identify Mahavira as a
junior contemporary of Gautama Buddha, leaving his year of birth ambiguous.
[5][6]
but most of the
historians and Jain followers agree that Mahavira was born in 599 BCE and place his date of
birth on the thirteenth day of the rising moon of Chaitra in the Vira Nirvana
Samvat calendar.
[7][8]
In theGregorian calendar, this date falls in March or April.
[9]
Mahavira was
born into the royal family of King Siddartha of Kundgraam and Queen Trishala, sister of King
Chetaka of Vaishali.
[10]
His childhood name was 'Vardhamana', which means "One who grows",
because of the increased prosperity in the kingdom at the time of his birth. Both his parents were
strict followers of Prva.
[11]

According to vtmbara traditions, the embryo of Mahavira was transferred from
a Brahmin woman, Devananda, to a Kshatriyawoman, Trisala. This is described in
the Acaranga and Kalpa Stras. In the Vykhyprajapti, Mahavira acknowledges Devananda as
his real mother.
[12]

As the son of a king, Mahavira had all luxuries of life at his disposal. The name "Mahavira" is a
Sanskrit word meaning Great Warrior. One of the reasons for this name is that during his
boyhood, Mahavira brought a terrifying serpent under control.
[13]
Mahavira has many other titles
and epithets, including Vira, Sanmati and ataputta. The ancient texts refer to Mahavira
as ataputta
[14]
(son ofNatas). This referred to his clan of origin, the atta.
Jain traditions are not unanimous about his marital state. According to one tradition (Digamber)
he was celibate and according to another (Shwetamber) he was married young to Yashoda and
had one daughter, Priyadarshana.
[15]

According to Jainism, Mahavira attained moksha or Salvation in 527 BCE. Some Western
scholars suggests that this date would have been around 425 BCE

Mahavira (599 BCE527 BCE
[1]
), also known as Vardhamana, was the twenty-fourth and
last tirthankara of Jainism. Therefore, although Mahavira is widely regarded as the founder of
Jainism, he is more properly regarded as a reformer of Jainism.
Mahavira was born into a royal family in what is now Bihar, India. At the age of 30 he left his
home in pursuit of spiritual awakening (Diksha). For the next twelve and a half years he practiced
intense meditation and severe penance, after which he achieved Kevala Jnana or enlightenment.
He travelled all over Bharata (which was larger than today's India) for the next thirty years to
teach his philosophy which is based on ahimsa, satya, asteya, brahmacharya and aparigraha.
Mahavira attained nirvana at the age of 72.

Gautama Buddha, also known as Siddhrtha Gautama,
[note 1]
Shakyamuni,
[note 2]
or simply
the Buddha, was a sage
[3]
on whose teachings Buddhism was founded.
[web 1]
He is believed to
have lived and taught mostly in eastern India
[note 3]
sometime between the sixth and fourth
centuries BCE.
[4][note 4]

The word Buddha means "awakened one" or "the enlightened one." "Buddha" is also used as a
title for the first awakened being in an era. In most Buddhist traditions, Siddhartha Gautama is
regarded as the Supreme Buddha (Pali sammsambuddha, Sanskritsamyaksabuddha) of our
age.
[note 5]
Gautama taught a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and the
severe asceticism found in the Sramana (renunciation) movement
[5]
common in his region. He
later taught throughout regions of eastern India such asMagadha and Koala.
[4][6]

Gautama is the primary figure in Buddhism, and accounts of his life, discourses,
and monastic rules are believed by Buddhists to have been summarized after his death and
memorized by his followers. Various collections of teachings attributed to him were passed down
by oral tradition, and first committed to writing about 400 years later.

Buddhism is a path of practice and spiritual development leading to Insight into the true
nature of reality. Buddhist practices like meditation are means of changing yourself in
order to develop the qualities of awareness, kindness, and wisdom. The experience
developed within the Buddhist tradition over thousands of years has created an
incomparable resource for all those who wish to follow a path a path which ultimately
culminates in Enlightenment or Buddhahood. An enlightened being sees the nature of
reality absolutely clearly, just as it is, and lives fully and naturally in accordance with that
vision. This is the goal of the Buddhist spiritual life, representing the end of suffering for
anyone who attains it.
Because Buddhism does not include the idea of worshipping a creator god, some people
do not see it as a religion in the normal, Western sense. The basic tenets of Buddhist
teaching are straightforward and practical: nothing is fixed or permanent; actions have
consequences; change is possible. So Buddhism addresses itself to all people
irrespective of race, nationality, caste, sexuality, or gender. It teaches practical methods
which enable people to realise and use its teachings in order to transform their
experience, to be fully responsible for their lives.
Jainism /denz()m/, traditionally known as '" Jaina Shasana'" or Jaina dharma (Sanskrit:
),
[1]
is a nontheistic Indian religion that prescribes a path of ahimsa - nonviolence - towards all
living beings, and emphasizes spiritual independence and equality between all forms of life.
Practitioners believe that nonviolence and self-control are the means by which they can obtain
liberation. Currently Jainism is divided into two major sects, vtmbara and Digambara.
The word Jainism is derived from the Sanskrit verb root jin ("to conquer"). It refers to a battle with
the passions and bodily pleasures that the Jain ascetics undertake. Those who win this battle are
termed as Jina (conqueror). The term Jaina is therefore used to refer to laymen and ascetics of
this tradition alike.
Jainism is one of the oldest religions in the world.
[2]
Jains traditionally trace their history through a
succession of twenty-four propagators of their faith known as tirthankaras with Rishabha as the
first and Mahvra as the last of the current era.
For long periods of time, Jainism was the state religion of Indian kingdoms and widely adopted in
the Indian subcontinent. The religion has been in decline since the 8th century CE due to the
growth of, and oppression by the followers of Hinduism
[3]
and Islam.
[4]

Jainism is a religious minority in India, with 4.2 million adherents, and there are small but notable
immigrant communities in Belgium,Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and the United
States.
[5]
Jains have the highest degree of literacy of any religious community in India (94.1
percent),
[6]
and their manuscript libraries are the oldest in the country.
[7]

The origins of Jainism are obscure.
[2][8]
During the 5th century BC, Vardhamana Mahvra
became one of the most influential teachers of Jainism. Mahvra, however, was most probably
not the founder of Jainism, which reveres him as the last of the great trthakaras of this age
and not the founder of the religion. He appears in the tradition as one who, from the beginning,
had followed a religion established long ago.
[9]

Prva, the traditional predecessor of Mahvra, is the first Jain figure for whom there is
reasonable historical evidence.
[10]
He might have lived somewhere in the 9th7th century
BC.
[11][12][13]
Followers of Prva are mentioned in the canonical books; and a legend in
theUttardhyayana stra relates a meeting between a disciple of Prva and a disciple of
Mahvra which brought about the union of the old branch of the Jain ideology and the new one