1997
Sunday, 20 April 1997
In 1997 the tithi runs from 9:20 pm on 19 Apr to 11:23 pm on 20 Apr; it is running at sunrise (the usual rule, called udaya tithi) on Sunday, 20 April 1997, so that is the day of Mahavir Jayanti.
1998
Thursday, 9 April 1998
In 1998 the tithi runs from 8:12 pm on 8 Apr to 10:44 pm on 9 Apr; it is running at sunrise (the usual rule, called udaya tithi) on Thursday, 9 April 1998, so that is the day of Mahavir Jayanti.
How the date is fixed
Mahavir Jayanti falls on the thirteenth day of the bright half of the lunar month Chaitra (Shukla Trayodashi). The date is the day on which that tithi is running at sunrise (the usual rule, called udaya tithi).
About
Mahavir Jayanti falls on the thirteenth tithi of the bright half of Chaitra, usually in late March or April. Jain tradition records the birth at Kundagrama near Vaishali in 599 BCE, in Uttara Phalguni nakshatra. The tithi at sunrise fixes the day, and it is a gazetted holiday in India. Both Shvetambara and Digambara communities keep the same date, which is uncommon among Jain observances.
How it is observed
Processions with the Tirthankara's image, abhisheka at Jain temples and readings from the Kalpa Sutra.