In Jainism, Diwali commemorates the nirvana of Mahavira, the 24th and last Tirthankara of the current cosmic age.
Mahavira is regarded as the great teacher who revitalized Jain religious practice and completed the path to liberation. Jainism teaches that a liberated soul escapes the cycle of birth and death and reaches a state of infinite knowledge, perception, and bliss. Mahavira’s final liberation is traditionally located at Pawapuri in present-day Bihar.
Jains mark the occasion with prayers, temple visits, lamps, scriptural recitation, and offerings such as Nirvan Ladoo. The lights have a distinctive meaning: they recall Mahavira’s spiritual light and symbolize knowledge overcoming ignorance. The Jain religious year also ends with Diwali, and the day after it begins the new Jain year.
Mahavira is sometimes confused with other Tirthankaras, especially Parshvanatha, the 23rd. Parshvanatha preceded him by many centuries in Jain tradition. Dates are also debated: Jain traditions commonly give 527 BCE for Mahavira’s nirvana, while other traditional calculations give 510 BCE, but the identity of the Tirthankara is not disputed.