Mahavir Jayanti marks the birth anniversary of Lord Mahavir, the founder of Jainism religion.
Every year his birth anniversary changes according to the Hindu calendar as it is celebrated on the thirteenth day of the month Chaitra.
Originally Mahavir name was Vardhamana and according to Digambar school of Jainism he was born in 615 BC but according to Swetambaras, he was born in 599 BC.
He was the last Tirthankara (spiritual teacher), his teachings were compiled Gautama Swami (Chief disciple) and were known as Jain Agamas.
Schools of Jainism
Main teachings of Jainism are Non-violence, Truthfulness, Non-stealing, Chastity and Non-Attachment.
Lord Mahavir organized his followers into a fourfold order namely, Sadhu/Sadhvi – Monk/Nun
Shravak/Sharvika – layman/laywoman
After the death of Mahavir Jainism has divided into two different schools namely
Digambar School - Digambara sect of Jainism rejects the authority of the Jain Agama compiled by Sthulabhadra.
According to Digambara tradition, Mahavira, the last Jaina Tirthankara, never married.
Digambara monks tradition do not wear any clothes, they carry only a broom made up of fallen peacock feathers and a water gourd.
The Digambara are present mainly in Southern India, Bundelkhand region (Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, etc.
Swetambar School - The Swetambara (white-clad) is a term describing its ascetics' practice of wearing white clothes.
Swetambara monks usually wear white maintaining that nudism is no longer practical.
Swetambara also believes that women are able to obtain moksha.
Phantom Lakes
Researchers have found lake made up of liquid methane in the northern polar region of Saturn’s moon Titan.
Some of frigid Titan’s lakes of liquid hydrocarbons in this region are surprisingly deep while others may be shallow and seasonal.
Titan boasts lakes, rivers and seas of hydrocarbons - compounds of hydrogen and carbon like those that are the main components of petroleum and natural gas.
The scientists described this has “phantom lakes” as they appear wide during winter and shallow due to evaporation during springtime, a process taking seven years on Titan.
Titan
Titan, with a diameter of 5,150 km, is the solar system’s second largest moon, behind only Jupiter’s Ganymede.
It is bigger than the planet Mercury.
Titan is the most Earth-like body in the solar system. It has lakes, canyons, rivers, dune fields of organic sand particles about the same size as silica sand grains on Earth.
Thus Titan and Earth are the solar system’s two places with standing bodies of liquid on the surface.
IN-VPN BILAT EX
Indian Navy-Vietnam Peoples’ Navy Bilateral Exercise was held recently in Vietnam.
The exercise was undertaken as a part of the ongoing Overseas Deployment of Eastern Fleet ships to South East Asian countries.
The two countries have also signed an agreement to exchange White Shipping Information and have a running ‘Information Sharing’ programme.
White Shipping Information
The white shipping information refers to the exchange of prior information on the movement and identity of commercial non-military merchant vessels.
India and the U.S had signed the White Shipping Agreement (WSA) as it establishes an information network protocol that allows the navies of both countries to exchange information about ships in their oceanic territories.
Ships would be classified into white (commercial ships), grey (military vessels), and black (illegal vessels).
This gives information regarding the maritime traffic, Information regarding the identity of the vessels is very important to tackle any potential threat from sea routes.
This will also help in the identification of those vessels which can be illegal as this provides us with the prior information about the destination of the vessel, the route which has been planned for it, etc.
The Navy’s Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) at Gurgaon would be the nodal centre for WSA.
Exercise SEA VIGIL
SEA VIGIL is national level Coastal Defense Exercise.
The exercise has witnessed the simultaneous activation of the coastal security apparatus across the country involving maritime stakeholders at the Centre and all the 13 Coastal States and Union Territories.
