Lord Mahavira attained nirvana (salvation) at:

Lord Mahavira attained nirvana (moksha) at Pawapuri (Pavapuri), in the Nalanda district of Bihar.

About Mahavira's nirvana:

• According to Jain tradition, it took place in 527 BCE, at the age of 72 (some historians suggest a later date, around 468 BCE).
• It happened on the night of the new moon of the month of Kartika.
• Jains celebrate this event on Diwali, which is therefore also the Jain New Year; lamps are lit to remember the "light of knowledge" that left the world.
• Mahavira's chief disciple, Gautama (Indrabhuti), attained kevala jnana on the same night, according to tradition.
• At the time, Mahavira was in the house (or the "rajjuka-sabha") of King Hastipala in Pavapuri.

Jain sites at Pawapuri:

• "Jal Mandir": a white marble temple built in the middle of a lotus-filled pond, on the spot where Mahavira's body is believed to have been cremated.
• According to legend, so many people took a pinch of soil from the place of cremation that a pond formed there.
• The temple is reached by a long bridge.
• "Gaon Mandir": the temple in the village, believed to mark the place where Mahavira died.
• Pawapuri is one of the most important pilgrimage centres for Jains.

Important places in Mahavira's life:

• Kevala jnana: near Jrimbhikagrama, on the banks of the Rijupalika river.
• Nirvana: Pawapuri (Bihar).

Jain nirvana places of other Tirthankaras:

Most Tirthankaras attained nirvana at Sammed Shikhar (Parasnath hill) in Jharkhand.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Kushinagar is an important Buddhist site.
• ✗Sarnath is where the Buddha gave his first sermon.
• ✗Champa is associated with another Tirthankara.