The Jain Exhibition features a beautiful portrayal of Mahavir, also known as Vardhamāna, the twenty-fourth Tirthankara of Jainism. According to Jain tradition, Mahavir was born in the early 6th century BC into a royal family in what is now Bihar, India. At the age of thirty, he abandoned all worldly possessions and left home in pursuit of spiritual awakening, becoming an ascetic. For the next twelve and a half years, he practiced intense meditation and severe austerities, after which he is believed to have attained Kevala Jnana (omniscience). Mahavir preached for thirty years and is believed by Jains to have passed away in the 6th century BC.
Mahavir taught that spiritual liberation can only be achieved through the observance of five vows: ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truth), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (chastity), and aparigraha (non-attachment).