The Bhagwan Mahaveer Foundation felt the desire and need to acquaint the young people with the Universal Message of Peace & Harmonious co-existence preached by Bhagwan Mahaveer, the 24th Tirthankara, who lived 2600 years ago, and highlight the relevance of the teachings of Bhagwan Mahaveer in the contemporary world. With this objective in mind The Bhagwan Mahaveer Foundation instituted the “Mahaveer Award for Essays” in Tamil and English for the students of schools & colleges situated in and around Chennai. This competition was started in 2016 and held every year. The response of students and teachers of schools and colleges is very encouraging. The competitions were not conducted last 2 years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Till now 5 offline Essay competitions and 1 online competition have been conducted. The Foundation appreciates the active and enthusiastic participation of schools and colleges. The Foundation is very pleased to inform that the 6th Mahaveer Award for Essays competition was conducted online for School students in November 2022. Students from remote districts and various States of our country actively participated in the competition. The Essay competition is conducted by SJNS Jain Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Triplicane, Chennai on behalf of the Bhagwan Mahaveer Foundation.
To encourage participation, the Bhagwan Mahaveer Foundation gives cash prizes to the winners of the competition. The winners are honoured by presenting the cheque in a function. The following are the cash prizes for various levels:
| Prize | Level 1 (VI – VIII Std) | Level 2 (IX – XII Std) |
| 1st Prize | Rs. 5,000 | Rs. 15,000 |
| 2nd Prize | Rs. 3,000 | Rs. 10,000 |
| 3rd Prize | Rs. 2,000 | Rs. 5,000 |
| Consolation Prizes | Rs.1,000 (For 5 students) | Rs. 2,500 (For 5 students) |
Keeping in mind the primary objective of the Essay competition, namely to introduce the young people to the life and teachings of Bhagwan Mahaveer and gradually enhance their interest and understanding and recognise the relevance of His teachings in modern times, the topics are announced.
Topics are decided by eminent Jain scholars.
The topic for the 3 levels for First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Mahaveer Award for Essays Competition is given below:
| Level | I Mahaveer Award for Essay | II Mahaveer Award for Essay | III Mahaveer Award for Essay | IV Mahaveer Award for Essay | V Mahaveer Award for Essay | VI Mahaveer Award for Essay |
| Level 1 | Bhagwan Mahaveer’s Life and Teachings | Life and Teachings of Bhagwan Mahaveer | Life and Teachings of Bhagwan Mahaveer | Life and Teachings of Bhagwan Mahaveer | Life and Teachings of Bhagwan Mahaveer | Life & Teachings of Bhagwan Mahaeer |
| Level 2 | Bhagwan Mahaveer’s Life and Teachings | Teachings of Bhagwan Mahaveer and World Peace | Life and Teachings of Bhagwan Mahaveer | Relevance of Teachings of Bhagwan Mahaveer in today’s world | Ahimsa propounded by Bhagwan Mahaveer alone can ensure World Peace | Life & Teachings of Bhagwan Mahaveer |
| Level 3 | Bhagwan Mahaveer’s Philosophy and its relevance to the Modern Age | Principles of Bhagwan Mahaveer and solutions to World Problems | Relevance of Teachings of Bhagwan Mahaveer in contemporary world | Bhagwan Mahaveer and his philosophy of Ahimsa | Bhgawan Mahaveer and Secularism |
| Essay Competitions |
Date of Prize Function | No. of schools participated | No. of students from schools | No. of colleges participated | No. of students from colleges | Total students |
| I | 16-04-2016 | 22 | 3045 | 11 | 1274 | 4319 |
| II | 01-07-2017 | 54 | 6253 | 33 | 2397 | 8650 |
| III | 03-02-2018 | 84 | 17276 | 26 | 2757 | 20033 |
| IV | 19-01-2019 | 85 | 26152 | 39 | 5231 | 31383 |
| V | 08-02-2020 | 113 | 39192 | 28 | 12879 | 52071 |
| VI | 11-03-2023 | 2670 | 2670 |