Mahaparinirvana Divas was recently observed on 06-December-2021

Why in news?

• The death anniversary of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, which falls on December 6, is dubbed as Mahaparinirvana Divas.

About Mahaparinirvana Divas

• On this day each year, millions of people throng to Dr Ambedkar’s Samadhi in Mumbai, which is called Chaitya bhoomi to pay respect to the father of Indian Constitution. This year, due to the on-going pandemic, the Maharashtra government has urged people to refrain from visiting this site and observe the day staying home.

What is Mahaparinirvan?

• Mahaparinirvan is one of the major goals of Buddhism. It means ‘’Nirvana after death”. Parinirvan is written as Parinibbana in Pali. Pali language is native to Indian continent. The Buddhist text “Mahaparinibbana Sutta” considers the death of Lord Buddha at the age of 80 as the original Mahaparinirvan.

Why is Death anniversary of Dr Ambedkar celebrated on Mahaparinirvana Divas?

• Dr Ambedkar died in a few days after completing his work “The Buddha and his Dhamma”. Also, he converted to Buddhism after studying the religion for years together.
• He converted to Buddhism on October 14, 1956 in Nagpur along with five lakh supporters. These supporters considered Dr Ambedkar as their Buddhist leader.
• Also, he was considered as a Buddhist guru for his contributions to the eradication of untouchability. Thus, Ambedkar’s death anniversary is marked as Mahaparinirvan Divas.