Author: Anant Pai
Painter/Illustrator/: Several Artistes
Publisher: India Book House
Year: 2007
Language: English
Pages: 1600
ISBN/UPC (if available): 817508135X / 037X et al
Description
This collection includes 50 illustrated children books.
1. HARISCHANDRA :
India is a land of countless legends and stories. A few of them have survived the onslaught of time and remained alive over the centuries. One such story is that of Harischandra, the king whose honesty was unmatched.
The story as it has come down to us has many variations from the original narration in the Markandeya Purana. This is the story of a king, who when pitted against forces immensely more powerful than himself faces them with an unflinching faith in integrity.
2. Bhagat Singh:
Bhagat Singh is perhaps the most celebrated revolutionary of India. Bhagat Singh and his comrades were not blood-thirsty, trigger-happy terrorists. They were waging a war against a relentless colonial power. The odds were heavily against them. They were just a handful of selfless patriots and they had dared to take on the mighty British power. It was a battle they were not going to win.
Yet Bhagat Singh and his associates did not die in vain. They compelled the British authorities to sit up and take note of the deep unrest prevailing in the country. They showed their fellow countrymen how to dare and die. They gave young Indians a heritage from which to draw inspiration.
3. Babasaheb Ambedkar:
Babasaheb Ambedkar was born in a Mahar family. Though the Mahars formed a leading community among the depressed classes, they were not spared by the caste Hindus. In his childhood, Ambedkar noticed how people of his community were contemptuously branded as untouchables, how they were ill-treated, humiliated and exploited.
Babasaheb refused to accept meekly this unjust treatment. He wanted his people to be aware of their rights and fight for their honour. United under his dynamic leadership, they realized that no one could help them gain their rightful place in society except themselves. As he told them, rights are to be earned, not given.
Ambedkar made the untouchables politically conscious. He also realised the importance of making the practice of any form of untouchability an offence under the law. It is only in the fitness of things that the practice of untouchability should have been abolished by the constitution of India, which Ambedkar helped to frame. Babasaheb devoted the rest of his life to secure for the depressed classes what had been guaranteed by the constitution but denied by society.
4. MAHATMA GANDHI :
"I never saw Gandhi…I don not know his language. I never set foot in his country and yet, I feel the same sorrow as if I had lost someone near and dear", wrote the Frenchman Leon Blum, when he heard that Mahatma Gandhi was dead.
Millions, not only in India but the world over, felt the same way, for Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) has been the only politician in modern history who strove to rule not men, but the hearts of men.
5. Lal Bahadur Shastri:
Lal Bahadur Shastri rose from poor circumstances to be the second prime minister of India. Added to the personal challenge of matching the stature of his predecessor, Pandit Nehru, a leader of international repute, Lal Bahadur Shastri had to face a number of obstacles when he assumed office. Slowly and steadily and with his characteristic cool, not only did he measure up to all these challenges, but he also demonstrated that he could be tough when the occasion demanded.
The life story of this great son of India is depicted for our young readers in this Amar Chitra Katha.
6. Padmini:
In the history of India, Padmini of Chittor holds a very prominent position. She was a perfect model of ideal Indian womanhood. The values cherished by her were threatened by Ala-ud-din Khilji, the mighty Afghan king of Delhi. A lesser woman would not have been able to face Ala-ud-din. But Padmini was not an ordinary woman. She faced her problems with exceptional courage, a living example of virtuous womanhood.
It was this that inspired many a legend about her. The present story of Padmini is based on Padmavat by the famous Sufi poet Malik Muhammed Jayasi, and Gora-Badal by the poet, Jatmal.
7. SAMUDRA GUPTA:
When one recalls the Glory that was Ind one first thinks of the golden age of the Guptas. Emperors and Empires, India had seen earlier. But the power and the splendour of the Guptas were unique and none in the dynasty strove harder than Samudra Gupta to achieve them. If he was a benevolent despot he was also a scholar and great soldier.
What little we know about Samudra Gupta is gathered from the coins he issued and from a few inscriptions. In this Chitra Katha we have relied on literary sources and our won imagination to reconstruct the life and times of one of the greatest rulers of our history.
8. SHAH JAHAN – THE FIFTH MUGHAL EMPEROR:
Shah Jahan was the fifth of the Great Mughals. He was courageous, ambitious, quick-witted and intelligent. He was the favourite of Akbar.
Shah Jahan was a lover and patron of the arts. Painting, music and literature flourished in his reign. But his fame rests mainly on the architectural wonders he created. He laid the foundation of the Red Fort at Delhi in 1638. When, after ten years of sustained work, the construction was completed, he marched into the city in a triumphal procession.
Shah Jahan’s life is a study in contrasts. It touches the heights of happiness and success – and the depths of loss and suffering.
9. Akbar:
Akbar was the son of Humayun and Hamida Begum. His father was a Sunni, while his mother was a Shia. These were rival Muslim sects but Akbar seemed to lean towards the Shiva doctrine. This made things difficult, for his court had a large number of Sunnis.
Akbar traced his lineage to the great Timur and Chingiz Khan of Turkish and Mongol descent. By his marriage to the Rajput princess of Amber (who was later to become the mother of the future emperor, Jahangir) he sealed his links with Hindustan. After Akbar’s victory at the second Battle of Panipat, there was never again the need to return to Kabul and the mountain regions of his ancestors.
10. PRITHVIRAJ CHAUHAN:
With the death of Harsha, King of Kanauj, about 647 A.D. his great empire in North India Collapsed. It rapidly disintegrated into several petty kingdoms. This political division weakened the unity of the country and led to several violent disputes between the chieftains of these new kingdoms.
Prithviraj Chauhan was a famous king and warrior. He was noted for his valour and chivalry. Despite his defeat and death, his name has been immortalised and he has become the hero of many legends. The story of Prithviraj Chauhan as told in the following pages is based on these legends.
11. GURU GOBIND SINGH :
Guru Gobind Singh’s short career was not marked by any spectacular achievement in the field of battle. His chief contribution was to convert a pacifist, passive and fatalistic community of Punjabi Sikhs into a militant, aggressive and determined brotherhood of the Khalsa.
Guru Gobind Singh was the last of the Sikhs ten Gurus and one of the greatest poets of the Punjabi language. The qualities that distinguish the Sikhs of today can be traced back to the tradition started by Guru Gobind Singh.
12. GURU NANAK :
Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, was born in a critical period of Indian history. On the one hand, the people were divided into castes, sects and factions; on the other, the Muslim rulers perpetrated atrocities on the Hindus and the weaker sections of society. The masses in their hardships and miseries cried for a saviour. Nanak came as god’s messenger in the common man’s hour of dire need.
He was revered alike by Hindus and Muslims. His life is an inspiring example of the practice of truth, love and humility.
13. Tales of Sai Baba:
Nobody knows for certain when Sai Baba was born or who his parents were, or what his real name was. He arrived one day in 1872 at Shirdi in Maharashtra. He was dressed like a fakir (Muslim ascetic) and lived in a dilapidated mosque-but spoke of a Hindu guru, whom he called Venkusa. He seemed to be well acquainted with the Hindu scriptures, but at the same time was heard to quote from the Quran.
Sai Baba died in 1918. Even during his lifetime he had become famous, and now, after his death, Shirdi (where he had lived for almost half a century) has become a place of pilgrimage where hundreds of devotees congregate every year.
The tales in this Amar Chitra Katha are based on reports from Sai Baba’s devotees.
14. Sri Ramakrishna:
Mahatma Gandhi, in his preface to Life of Sri Ramakrishna, says, “The life of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa is a life of religion in practice. His life enables us to see God face to face.
In his Life of Ramakrishna, the French thinker Romain Rolland introduces Sri Ramakrishna as The consummation of two thousand years of the spiritual life of three hundred million people.
In Sri Ramakrishna we can see today what Bertrand Russell demands of modern men, namely, the flowering of knowledge into wisdom, without which, as he expresses it, increase of knowledge will be increase of sorrow.
15. Soordas – The Blind Bard Who Sang
About Lord Krishna:
Soordas, the blind bard of Brij, occupies a very eminent position in Hindu literature. He is considered the Valmiki of Brij (a dialect of Hindi), not only because he was the first poet to write in that dialect, but also because his works have an epic stature.
Soordas was not only a poet, but also a great composer. His songs became so popular that even during his lifetime, he had become a legend. If Brij is understood today from Rajasthan and Punjab in the West to Assam in the East, the credit goes almost entirely to Soordas songs. That many of his songs are included even in the Granth Sahab, the holy book of the Sikhs, is adequate testimony to their popularity.
The affection of Yashoda and the gopis, the cowherd-girls of Brij, for Krishna; the intense love of Radha for Krishna and the dalliance of the latter with the gopis formed the theme of most of his songs.
16. Kalidasa:
Kalidasa, the greatest poet of classical Sanskrit, is known only through his writings. His works tell us that he was probably a Brahmin and a devotee of Shiva. Apart from this, there is no clue to his personal life. Even the names of his parents are not known, nor is the place of his birth. The mystery surrounding him has given rise to incredible legends about him which are current even today. Our script is based on one of these legends.
Kalidasa is the author of several great Sanskrit poetical works (or Mahakavyas) and plays for which he is justly famous-Raghuvamsha, Kumarasambhava, Meghaduta, Ritusmhara, Abhijnana Shakuntala, Vikramorvashiya and Malavika-Agnimitra.
These reveal that Kalidasa was a lover of nature and his descriptions suggest that he must have traveled widely. His poetry has the freshness and beauty of a mountain stream. He portrays women with tenderness. He exhibits a special love for Ujjayini in his writings and he probably knew it well.
Scholars are agreed that though all Kalidasa’s works have the stamp of genius, his play Abhijnana Shakuntala must be rated as his greatest work. Kalidasa today is regarded as one of the immortals of world literature taking his place beside Shakespeare and Goethe.
17. AMRAPALI AND UPAGUPTA :
Lord Buddha attached more importance to the emancipation of the masses than to the salvation of the individual. His concern for the masses manifested itself in the establishment of the Sangha, which could be best described as an association of seekers.
The story of Amrapali is told in the Maha-Parinibbana Sutta and in Malasarvastivadas. The garden which Amrapali gave up to Lord Buddha was still in existence when Fa-Hien visited India during the Gupta age.
Upagupta was a disciple of Buddha. For him, ahimsa (non-violence) did not merely mean desisting fro violence but doing positive good and showing compassion, When Vasavadatta was shunned by society and had nowhere to go, Upagupta took her to his hermitage.
While adapting this story for our Amar Chitra Katha, we have omitted a few gruesome details.
18. Jataka Tales – Nandi Vishala and
Other Stories:
All living creatures die to be born again, so the Hindus believe. Siddhartha who became the Buddha was no exception. It is believed several lifetimes as a Bodhisattva go into the making of the Buddha, the Enlightened One.
The Bodhisattva has come in many forms – man, monkey, deer, elephant, lion. Whatever his mortal body, he has spread the message of justice and wisdom, tempered with compassion. This wisdom of right thinking and right living, is preserved in the Jataka tales
19. JATAKA TALES – TALES OF MISERS :
All living creatures die to be born again, so the Hindus believe. The Buddha was no exception. Legend has it that several lifetimes as a Bodhisattva went into the making of the Buddha, the Enlightened One.
The Bodhisattva came in many forms – man, monkey, deer, elephant, lion. Whatever his mortal body, he spread the message of justice and wisdom, tempered with compassion. This wisdom, the wisdom of right thinking and right living, is preserved in the Jataka tales.
20. Ravana Humbled:
The three stories retold in this Chitra Katha anticipate, in a sense, the tragedy that was to strike Ravana, the Rakshasa king, when he abducted Sita and ultimately took on an adversary like Rama. Ravana failed to learn the lessons of humility from his early confrontations described here. The confrontations are significant in that one is on the divine level, another on the human level and a third on the simian.
It is, however, to the credit of Ravana that he came out of each of these encounters, richer in alliances and friendships.
21. Ghatotkacha:
Ghototkacha was one of the finest characters in the Mahabharata-affectionate and kind even though he was a Rakshasa. Perhaps that was because he was only half a Rakshasa, being the son of Bheema and the Rakshasi Hidimbaa. From his mother he learnt all the arts of the Rakshasas. From his father he inherited an affectionate and chivalrous temperament. He was an invaluable ally to the Pandavas in times of trouble-he appeared before them whenever they thought of him.
The theme of Vatsala’s wedding, a very popular one in South India, is much exploited in ballads and stories. It was Ghatotkacha, who with his Rakshasa hordes and their magical powers, made the wedding of Abhimanyu and Vatsala possible. This story is not found in the Mahabharata or in Sanskrit literature. It seems to have evolved at a much later date, as a legend, in Telugu and Kannada. The exponents of the art of Harikatha count this story as the most popular one in their repertoire and it has been handed down by word of mouth for generations. Our Amar Chitra Katha is derived partly from the Mahabharata and partly from the legend.
22. UDAYANA:
This story is adapted from the Sanskrit play SWAPNAVASAVADATTA generally attributed to the Sanskrit playwright, Bhasa. It is one of the thirteen Sanskrit dramas discovered in the South by Pandit Ganapati Shastri in 1912.
Udayana, the Vatsa king, had been tricked into captivity by King Pradyoda of Avanti who wanted to learn from him the secret of taming elephants. At Ujjaini, the capital of Avanti, Udayana refused to teach Pradyota unless he paid him the homage due to a guru. But Pradyota’s ego would not permit him to do so. He sent his daughter Vasavadatta instead, telling Udayana that she was one of his hunch-backed relatives. And Vasavadatta was told that Udayana was a leper.
The lessons began with a curtain screening the teacher from the taught. However, one day, when the two saw each other the inevitable happened. They fell in love and with the help of his loyal minister, Yaugandharayana, Udayana eloped with Vasavadatta to Kaushambi. What followed is the story colorfully retold in our Amar Chitra Katha.
23. Kacha and Devayani:
The story of Kacha and Devayani appears in the first book of the eighteen that are contained in the Mahabharata. The central theme of the Mahabharata is the 18-day war between the cousins, the Pandavas and the Kauravas, and their respective allies, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Devayani, the daughter of Shukracharya, Guru to the Asuras, is an ancestress of the Yadava clan to which Krishna the champion of the Pandavas, belongs.
Kacha is the son of Brihaspati, preceptor to the Devas. The story of Kacha and Devayani centres round the battle for supremacy between the Asuras and the Devas. How Kacha goes to the city of the Asuras and learns the secret craft of Sanjivani (reviving the dead) from Shukracharya and how his sense of duty triumphs over the pleas of the charming Devayani is retold in the following pages.
24. KRISHNA AND THE FALSE VAASUDEVA :
The story of Paundraka Vaasudeva is a somewhat bizarre episode from the Bhagawat Purana. Yet the discerning will find it relevant to our own times when image-building has developed into a skilled profession.
There is a moral in this for all of us who live in an age of doubles and stand-ins. If the end of Paundraka was only pathetic, it was because his encounter was with the benign and omniscient Krishna. Those who are not so fortunate may meet with an end which could be grim and tragic.
25. RAMAN – THE MATCHLESS WIT:
The triumph of the little man over the mighty is a recurring theme in literature. Sometimes he does it with a sling and stone, but more often, like Tenali Raman, with nimble wit. He was a Telugu poet and the court jester of Krishnadeve Raya, (1509-1529), the emperor of Vijayanagara.
Tenali Raman was the Birbal of the South and many stories which have passed into folklore, are attributed to him. Some of these have been obviously invented to show his ready wit.
26. BIRBAL TO THE RESCUE :
The wit and wisdom of Birbal had endeared him not only to Akbar, but also to a vast majority of the subjects of the Mughal empire. He had the rare distinction of achieving immense popularity during his lifetime, next only to that of Akbar. He was a good administrator, a good soldier and, perhaps what pleased Akbar the most, a good jester. Less known is the fact that he was also a good poet. He wrote under the pen-name, Brahma and a collection of his poems is preserved in the Bharatpur museum.
Though popularly Known as Birbal, his real name was Maheshdas. It is believed that he belonged to a poor Brahmin family of Trivikrampur, (now known as Tikawanpur), on the bank of the River Yamuna. It was only by virtue of his sharp intellect that the rose to be a minister at the court of Akbar. His phenomenal success made many courtiers jealous of him and if the popular accounts are to be believed, they were ever busy plotting against him. According to the popular legend even his death, while he was on an expedition to Afghanistan at the head of a large military force, was due to treachery. Though he was killed in the battle, the expedition was successful and subdued the turbulent province.
Akbar had found in Birbal a true friend and sympathizer. Of the handful of followers of the Din-e-Elahi, the new faith preached by Akbar, there was only one Hindu-Birbal.
27. Tales From The Upanishads:
In ancient literature, there used to be reference to only three Vedas – Rigveda, Yajurveda and Samaveda. Even Manu has often referred to only these three Vedas. This fourth one, Atharva, according to some scholars, was a later addition.
Each Veda consists of the following parts-
Sanhita (sacred hymns and prayers).
Brahmana - a treatise relating to rituals, prayer and sacrificial ceremonies. This also contains stories about gods and goddesses.
Aranyaka (forest texts) are appendices to the Brahmanas.
The Upanishads represent the final stage of the tradition of the Vedas. Their teachings form the basis for much of the later Hindu philosophy. Most of the stories of the Upanishads revolve around the nature of Reality and the concept of a single supreme being. The equation of the Atman (the self) with the Brahman (ultimate reality) is summed up in the phrase ‘tat tvam asi’ (that art thou) in the Chhandogya Upanishad.
The stories selected for this volume amply illustrate the fact that the sages in those bygone days were imbued with the spirit of scientific enquiry and there is also implicit acknowledgment of the fact that knowledge is not the monopoly of any select group. For example, in one of the stories, Raikva, a cart driver, is approached with humility by one of the great kings of his time, Janashruti, with the request to impart knowledge about Brahman. The Upanishads are the basis of the shad-darshanas, the six major systems of Hindu philosophy.
28. Ratnavali - An Adaptation of King Harsha’s
Famous Sanskrit Play:
King Harsha, who was the ruler of Kanuaj from A.D. 606 to A.D. 647, was a patron of art and literature. Great Sanskrit poets like Bana Bhatta were at his court. Harsha himself was a poet and playwright. He wrote three Sanskrit plays: Nagananda, Priyadarshika and Ratnavali.
Harsha took the material for his plays from Gunadhya’s Brihatkatha, a treasure house of stories. Ratnavali and Priyadarshika have similar plots and Udayana, the legendary king of Kaushambi, is the hero of both. Harsha was adept at contriving dramatic situations and intrigue. This earned him the title Nipuna Kavi the skilful poet.
29. PANCHATANTRA - THE DULLARD AND
OTHER STORIES:
The Panchatantra, written by Vishnu Sharma, is perhaps the best known collection of tales from ancient India. There are several versions of its. One of them, by Vasubhaga Bhatta, is lost. Fortunately the Karnataka Panchatantram, in Kannada, by Durgasimha (12th C) is available. It contains over twenty tales not found in Vishnu Sharma Panchatantra. This Amar Chitra Katha is based on stories from Durgasimha’s Panchatantra.
30. PANCHATANTRA - THE GREEDY MOTHER-IN-LAW:
The Panchatantra, written by Vishnu Sharma, is perhaps the best known collection of tales from ancient India. There are several versions of its. One of them, by Vasubhaga Bhatta, is lost. Fortunately the Karnataka Panchatantram, in Kannada, by Durgasimha (12th C) is available. It contains over twenty tales not found in Vishnu Sharma Panchatantra. This Amar Chitra Katha is based on stories from Durgasimha’s Panchatantra.
31. Jataka Tales-The Mouse Merchant and
The Invaluable Treasure:
All living creatures die to be born again, so the Hindus believe. Siddhartha who became the Buddha was no exception. It is believed several lifetimes as a Bodhisattva go into the making of the Buddha, the Enlightened One.
The Bodhisattva has come in many forms – man, monkey, deer, elephant, lion. Whatever his mortal body, he has spread the message of justice and wisdom, tempered with compassion. This wisdom of right thinking and right living, is preserved in the Jataka tales.
These tales are based on the folklore, legends and ballads of ancient India. We cannot assign a definite date to the Jataka stories. Taking into account archaeological and literary evidence it appears that they were compiled in the period, the third century B C to the fifth century A D. They give us invaluable information about ancient Indian civilization, culture and philosophy.
This volume of deer stories will keep children amused, while never failing to point out the ultimate triumph of good over evil.
32. JATAKA TALES STORIES OF WISDOM :
All living creatures die to be born again, so the Hindus believe. The Buddha was no exception. Legend has it that several lifetimes as a Bodhisattva went into the making of the Buddha, the Enlightened One.
The Bodhisattva came in many forms – man, monkey, deer, elephant, lion. Whatever his mortal body, he spread the message of justice and wisdom, tempered with compassion. This wisdom, the wisdom of right thinking and right living, is preserved in the Jataka tales.
33. JATAKA TALES - BIRD STORIES :
All living creatures die to be born again, so the Hindus believe. The Buddha was no exception. Legend has it that several lifetimes as a Bodhisattva went into the making of the Buddha, the Enlightened One.
The Bodhisattva came in many forms – man, monkey, deer, elephant, lion. Whatever his mortal body, he spread the message of justice and wisdom, tempered with compassion. This wisdom, the wisdom of right thinking and right living, is preserved in the Jataka tales.
This volume of bird stories will keep children amused, while never failing to point out the ultimate triumph of good over evil.
34. THE GIANT AND THE DWARF :
All living creatures die to be born again – so the Hindus believe. Siddhartha who became the Buddha was no exception. It is believed that several lifetimes as a Bodhisattva go into the making of the Buddha, the Enlightened one.
These tales are based on then folklore, legends and ballads of ancient India. We cannot assign a definite date to the Jataka stories. Taking into account archaeological and literary evidence it appears that they were compiled in the period, the third century B C to the fifth century A.D. They give us invaluable information about ancient Indian civilization, culture and philosophy.
This volume of deer stories will keep children amused, while never failing to point out the ultimate triumph of good over evil.
35. JAHANGIR:
It is tough to be a famous junior, and more so when the senior happens to be Akbar, the Mughal-e-Azam. This was the tragedy of Jahangir.
It was a personal tragedy in which neither Anarkali nor Noor Jahan had any role, though popular stories associate these two women, more than anyone else, with the personality of Jahangir.
The events described here are based on the memoirs of Akbar and Jahangir and other historical records.
36. RANI DURGAVATI:
Though for all practical purposes, Gondwana, the thickly forested region over which Rani Durgavati ruled, was isolated from the rest of the country and sheltered from the storms that swept over its, it did not escape the cultural and social influences of the north. A number of sages and hermits made it their home, its very isolation making it an ideal place for meditation.
Rani Durgavati, the widow of Jadurai’s descendant, Dalpat Shah, is famous for her heroic resistance to the Mughal, Akbar’s expansionist campaigns. How she bravely faced his vast armies with her small army of 500 men will ever be remembered and retold with pride for generations to come.
37. The Symantaka Gem:
The Symantaka Gem was an ornament of Surya – the Sun God. It was a magical charm, which had strange effects on its possessor. It did well to a virtuous person and bad to an evil one. When Surya pleased with his devotee, prince Satrajit, presented him with this gem, no one foresaw the violent upheavals it would cause.
Satrajit gave the gem to his brother, Prasena, who was killed by a lion. Jambavan, king of the bears killed the lion and carried off the gem, but since Krishna had admired the gem, he was suspected of stealing it. To save his honour, Krishna went on a desperate gem hunt to the jungle. The adventures that follow make interesting reading. They are narrated in this book, which is based on the version that appears in Bhagawat Purana.
It is said that Krishna looked at the moon on Chaturthi (the fourth day after the full moon) and was immediately accused of stealing the gem. Till today, the superstitious do not look at the moon on Chaturthi for fear that they be accused of theft.
38. Shalivahana :
King Shalivahana is credited with the introduction of a new era named after him, and referred to as the Shalivahana Shaka. It was initiated to commemorate his magnificent victory over Vikramadity of Ujjaini in 78 AD. Even today, Hindus use the Shalivahana Shaka to record births, marriages and other auspicious events.
39. Vishwamitra:
Vishwamitra was a Kshatriy king who constantly explored the realms of immortality beyond the kingdom of earth. His confrontation with sage Vasishtha convinced him of the superiority of spiritual power over physical strength, and so he set out to attain it.
When he was given the status of Rajarshi, he was not content. This was because the word connoted a rishi who was born a Kashatriya and was considered inferior to a Brahmarshi, a rishi who had been born a Brahmin.
The arduous paths that Vishwamitra had to tread to conquer his passions in order to reach spiritual heights are described in detail, giving us a glimpse of the glory of the rishis.
India was later named after Bharata, the grandson of Vishwamitra.
40. Mahavira:
Mahavira was born in Kundagram near Vaishali in Bihar to King Siddhartha and his wife, Trishala, in 599 BC. Prince Cardhamana, as he was named, was destined to become great. After years of contemplation on life and the ultimate truth, he renounced the world and became an ascetic at the age of 30.
For 12 long years he practiced deep meditation, silence and compassion, leading a life of austerity and penance. At the end of this period, he achieved enlightenment – full knowledge or kevala gyana – and went on to become the 24th Jain Tirthankara (one who finds enlightenment and shows the way to others).
Bhagawan Mahavira, however, was neither a pioneer of Jainism nor its last Tirthankara. Jain tradition believes that there have been many Tirthankaras before Mahavira, and there will be several in the future. Mahavira himself said that his religious teachings – based on the Jain principles of ahimsa, karma and nirvana – had been propounded by many Jinas (one who has conquered in the past, and will be taught by many Jinas in the future.)
41. Yayati :
In Hindu mythology, Yayati, the son of Nahusha, is depicted as one of the wisest and noblest rulers of the time. Such was his knowledge that even Indra, king of the celestials, held him in great esteem. His encounter with Devayani, the daughter of Shukracharya, and later with Sharmishta, the asura princess, is one of the most romantic episodes of the Mahabharata. It is significant that women in those days enjoyed the right to choose the man they wanted to marry, a right that Devayani exercised when she chose Yayati.
Yayati found wisdom the hard way. Though the study of the scriptures undoubtedly moulded his character, he learnt the truth of their maxims only by his own experiences. The scriptures uphold restraint and self-control as the prerequisites of self-realisation. With experience, Yayati realized that happiness, peace of mind and contentment elude those who make no effort at self-control in the misguided belief that cravings of the body run themselves out in the course of time.
42. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu:
Vishwambhar or Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as he was later known, was born at a time when a very large are of northern and eastern India had come under Muslim rule. He showed the people a simple path to reach god, which later came to be known as Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Chaitanya not only stemmed the tide of conversion to Islam, but also provided a new life force to Hinduism.
43. Uloopi:
Uloopi was the daughter of Kauravya, king of the Nagas. The Nagas are an ancient tribe and there are many references to them in the Puranas and Mahabharata. According to mythology, Nagadwipa was one of the seven divisions of India. There were Naga Kingdoms in Mathura, Padmavati and Eastern India. Perhaps like the Asuras, daitya and Danavas, the Nagas too offered strong resistance to the spread of Aryan culture. The popular theory was that the Nagas were so named because they worshipped serpents (nagas) and held them in awe. Mythology described them as having the face and torso of human being