Lord Mahavira's Nirvana  
                    
                 
   Having attained omniscience (Kevala-jnana) on the bank of Rju-kula and after preaching the principle of Jainism through his divine voice (divya-dhvani), lard Mahavira toured over different areas of the country and propounded the religious doctrines. Afterwards he reached Pavapura and seated himself on a clan or pure slab of stone in a park studded with many ponds. He did not move out for two days; and plunged in pure meditation (sukla-dhyana) he quitted the mortal coil and became a Siddha in the last quarter of the night of the 14^th day of the black half of the month of Kartika. This is  graphically described in the Maha-purna of Puspadanta (3, 1-2)
 
 The Uttara-purana too describe this episode (76, 508-12)  For these references it is clear that Lord Mahavira attained nirvana in a park, near Pavapura, round about which there were many pounds or lakes.  At present the site of the nirvana of Mahavira is accepted near Bihar-Sherif  where a magnifificent Jaina temple stands in the centre of a big lake. This is accepted as the tirtha-ksetra on all hands. Both the sects, Digambra and Svetambra, have voluntarily accepted this place as the spot of the nirvana of Mahavira. 

               
  The gods illuminated Pavanagari by lamps to mark the occasion. Since  that time the people of Bharat celebrate the famous festival  of "Dipalika" to worship the Jinendra on the occasion of his nirvana.