In the centuries after Mahāvīra, his followers established monasteries where ascetics could pursue their pursuit of mokṣa or nirvāṇa.
Mokṣa and nirvāṇa mean the same thing, but are used in different religious contexts. Mokṣa basically means “liberation” from the cycle of saṃsāra, and nirvāṇa means the extinguishing of the desire and sense of separateness of the individual, which also amounts to liberation from desire and the cessation of rebirth.
Jains can use either of these two terms to describe Mahāvīra’s spiritual liberation. However, Buddhists use the term nirvāṇa and Hindus prefer mokṣa.