Pavapuri

Where Mahavira attained liberation. The Jal Mandir stands in the middle of a lotus tank, reached by a causeway.

Mahavira died at Pavapuri, and the lamps lit that night are the origin the tradition gives for Diwali. The white marble Jal Mandir was built over the place of his cremation, and the tank around it is said to have formed where earth was taken away by mourners.

It is one of the few major sites approached across water, and the causeway does most of the work of making the arrival feel like one.

Written for Jain Times. Corrections are welcome — see sources and licences.