In Jainism, Mahavir Jayanti, also known as Mahavir Janma Kalyanak, is the most important religious holiday.^[3] 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.^[4]