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{"text": "Category: Historical events\nContent: Ancient Universities in India \nAncient /glyph1197alanda University  \nNalanda is an ancient center of higher learning in Bihar, India from 427 to 1197. Nalanda was \nestablished in the 5th century AD in Bihar, India. Founded in 427 in northeastern India, not \nfar from what is today the southern border of Nepal , it survived until 1197. It was devoted to \nBuddhist studies, but it also trained students in f ine arts, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, \npolitics and the art of war. \n \nThe center had eight separate compounds, 10 temples , meditation halls, classrooms, lakes and \nparks. It had a nineCstory library where monks meti culously copied books and documents so \nthat individual scholars could have their own colle ctions. It had dormitories for students, \nperhaps a first for an educational institution, hou sing 10,000 students in the university’s \nheyday and providing accommodations for 2,000 profe ssors. Nalanda University attracted \npupils and scholars from Korea, Japan, China, Tibet , Indonesia, Persia and Turkey. \n \nA half hour bus ride from Rajgir is Nalanda, the si te of the world's first University. Although \nthe site was a pilgrimage destination from the 1st Century A.D., it has a link with the Buddha \nas he often came here and two of his chief disciple s, Sariputra and Moggallana, came from \nthis area. The large stupa is known as Sariputra's Stupa, marking the spot not only where his \nrelics are entombed, but where he was supposedly bo rn.  \n \nThe site has a number of small monasteries where th e monks lived and studied and many of \nthem were rebuilt over the centuries. We were told that one of the cells belonged to Naropa, \nwho was instrumental in bringing Buddism to Tibet, along with such Nalanda luminaries as \nShantirakshita and Padmasambhava. A small opening i n the cell revealed a tiny room where \nNaropa supposedly meditated. \n \nNalanda's main importance comes from its Buddhist r oots as a center of learning. Hsuan \nTsang, the famous pilgrim from China came here and studied and taught for 5 years in the 7th \nCentury A.D. Nalanda University at that time had ov er 10,000 students and 3,000 teachers. \nFor some 700 years, between the 5th and 12th Centur ies, Nalanda was the center of \nscholarship and Buddhist studies in the ancient wor ld. A great fire wiped out the library of \nover 9 million manuscripts and at the beginning of the 12th Century, the Muslim invader \nBakhtiyar Khalji sacked the university. It was in t he 1860's that the great archeologist \nAlexander Cunningham identified the site as the Nal anda University and in 1915C1916 the \nArcheological Survey of India began excavations of the site. What has been excavated to date \nis only a small part of the entire site but much of  the ruins are beneath existing villages and \nare unlikely to be revealed. The present site is we llCmaintained and very pleasant to visit. \nAcross the street is the small museum with some exc ellent Buddhist statues and about a \nkilometer away is a temple dedicated to Hsuan Tsang . Nearby are the International Centre for \nBuddhist Studies and the Nava Nalanda Mahivihara, s et up for the research of Buddhism. \n \nruins of the university   \ngeneral overview of part of the \nsite   \npassage way  \n \nNaropa's cell and entrance  \nto meditation cell   \npart of the ancient university   \nSariputra's stupa  \n\n \nstaircase up Sariputra's stupa   \ndetail of Sariputra's stupa   \nSariputra's stupa with remains \nof other stupas  \n \nunearthed ruins   \nthe museum at Nalanda   \nstatue of Hsuan Tsang  \n \nAncient Takshashila University \nTakshashila, was an early Buddhist centre of learni ng. According to available references it is \ndated back to at least the 5th century BC. Some sch olars date Takshashila's existence back to \nthe 6th century BC. \n \nTakshashila is described in some detail in later in  Jātaka tales, around the 5th century AD. It \nbecame a noted centre of learning at least several centuries before Christ, and continued to \nattract students until the destruction of the city in the 5th century AD. Takshashila is perhaps \nbest known because of its association with Chanakya . The famous treatise Arthashastra \n\n(Sanskrit for The knowledge of Economics) by Chanak ya, is said to have been composed in \nTakshashila itself. Chanakya (or Kautilya), the Mau rya Emperor Chandragupta and the \nAyurvedic healer Charaka studied at Taxila.  \n \nGenerally, a student entered Takshashila at the age  of sixteen. The Vedas and the Eighteen \nArts, which included skills such as archery, huntin g, and elephant lore, were taught, in \naddition to its law school, medical school, and sch ool of military science.   \n \nThe ruins of Taxila contain buildings and buddhist stupas located over a large area. The main \nruins of Taxila are divided into three major cities , each belonging to a distinct time period. \n \nThe oldest of these is the Hathial area, which yiel ded surface shards similar to burnished red \nwares (or 'soapy red wares') recovered from early ph ases at Charsadda, and may date between \nthe 6th century BCE and the late 2nd millennium BCE . Bhir Mound dates from the 6th \ncentury BCE. The second city of Taxila is located a t Sirkap and was built by GrecoCBactrian \nkings in the 2nd century BCE. The third and last ci ty of Taxila is at Sirsukh and relates to the \nKushan kings. \n \nIn addition to the ruins of the city, a number of b uddhist monasteries and stupas also belong \nto the Taxila area. Some of the important ruins of this category include the ruins of the stupa \nat Dharmarajika, the monastery at Jaulian, the mona stery at Mohra Muradu in addition to a \nnumber of stupas. \nLegend has it that Takṣa, an ancient king who ruled  a kingdom called Takṣa Khanda the \nmodern (Tashkent) founded the city of Takṣaśilā. Ho wever Sanskrit Takṣaśilā, appears to \ncontain the suffix śilā, \"stone\" with the prefix Ta kṣa, alluding to Takṣa, the son of Bharata \nand Mandavi, as related in the Ramayana. \n \nIn the Mahābhārata, the Kuru heir Parikṣit was enth roned at Takṣaśilā. According to tradition \nthe Mahabharata was first recited at Takṣaśilā by V aishampayana, a disciple of Vyasa at the \nbehest of the seer Vyasa himself, at the sarpa satr a yajna, \"Snake Sacrifice ceremony\" of \nParikṣit's son Janamejaya. \n \nAccording to one theory propounded by Damodar Dharm anand Kosambi, Takṣaśilā is a \nrelated to Takṣaka, \"carpenter\" and is an alternati ve name for the Nāgas of ancient India.  \n \nAccording to scattered references which were only f ixed a millennium later, it may have \ndated back to at least the 5th century BCE. There i s some disagreement about whether \nTakshashila can be considered a university. While s ome consider Taxila to be an early \nuniversity or centre of higher education, others do  not consider it a university in the modern \nsense, in contrast to the later Nalanda University.  Takshashila is described in some detail in \nlater Jātaka tales, written in Sri Lanka around the  5th century CE. \n \nTakshashila is considered a place of religious and historical sanctity by Hindus and \nBuddhists. The former do so not only because, in it s time, Takshashila was the seat of Vedic \nlearning, but also because the strategist, Chanakya , who later helped consolidate the empire \nof Emperor Chandragupta Maurya, was a senior teache r there. The institution is very \nsignificant in Buddhist tradition since it is belie ved that the Mahāyāna sect of Buddhism took \nshape there. \n \nSome scholars date Takshashila's existence back to the 6th century BCE. It became a noted \ncentre of learning at least several centuries BCE, and continued to attract students from \naround the old world until the destruction of the c ity in the 5th century CE. Takshashila is \nperhaps best known because of its association with Chanakya. The famous treatise \nArthashastra (Sanskrit for The knowledge of Economi cs) by Chanakya, is said to have been \ncomposed in Takshashila itself. Chanakya (or Kautil ya), the Maurya Emperor Chandragupta \nand the Ayurvedic healer Charaka studied at Taxila.   \n \nGenerally, a student entered Takshashila at the age  of sixteen. The Vedas and the Eighteen \nArts, which included skills such as archery, huntin g, and elephant lore, were taught, in \naddition to its law school, medical school, and sch ool of military science.  \n \n \n \n  \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n  \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n  \n\n \n \nOther Universities that existed in India \nFurther centers include Odantapuri \n(from the Gupta period to t he \nto the Muslim conquest), Nagarjunakonda \n800C1040), Sharada Peeth , in modern day \nperiod to the Arab raids ), \nKanchipuram, in Tamil Nadu , \nin Orissa. In Sri Lanka, Sunethradevi Pirivena \nfounded circa 1415 AD. \n \n \nOther Universities that existed in India  \nOdantapuri , in Bihar (circa 550 C 1040), Somapura \nhe Muslim conquest), Jagaddala, in Bengal (from the \nNagarjunakonda , in Andhra Pradesh, Vikramaśīla \n, in modern day Kashmir, Valabhi, in Gujarat  \n), Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh (8th century to modern times), \n, Manyakheta, in Karnataka, Puspagiri, in Orissa \nSunethradevi Pirivena , a centre of Buddhist learning in Sri Lanka, \nSomapura , in Bangladesh \n(from the Pala period \nVikramaśīla , in Bihar (circa  \n (from the Maitrak \n(8th century to modern times), \nOrissa  and Ratnagiri, \n, a centre of Buddhist learning in Sri Lanka,", "category": "Historical events"}
{"text": "Category: mahabharata\nContent: Character from the epic Mahabharata For the sister of Uttara, see Uttarā (Mahabharata) .\n\nFictional character Uttara Uttara and Arjuna discovering the arms Information Title Prince Affiliation Matsya dynasty Family Virata (father) Sudeshna (mother) Shveta (half brother) and Shankha (elder brother) Uttarā (sister) Uttara ( Sanskrit : उत्तर , romanized : Uttara ), also rendered Uttara Kumara ( Sanskrit : उत्तरकुमार , romanized : Uttarakumāra ) is a prince of the Matsya Kingdom featured in the Hindu epic Mahabharata .\n\nHe is the eldest son of King Virata and his wife Sudeshna , at whose court the Pandavas spend their one year of anonymity during their exile.\n\nHis sister Uttarā marries Abhimanyu , the son of Arjuna .\n\nLegend [ edit ] Mahabharata [ edit ] Arjuna Sets Kama's Arrow Alight, folio from the Razmnama (Book of War), 1598–99 Uttara is the son of Virata in Mahabharata.\n\nTowards the end of the year that the Pandavas spent at the Matsya Kingdom , Duryodhana , suspecting that the Pandavas were hiding in Matsya kingdom, launched an attack.\n\nThe army of Hastinapura stood at the borders of Matsya, but King Virata had already taken his entire army to fight the Trigarta army attacking from the south.\n\nWhen news arrived at the palace, Uttara confidently boasted about how he would single-handedly wipe out the Kauravas , underestimating their strength.\n\nUpon the prodding of his mother and her maid , he took his sister's dancing teacher, the eunuch Brihannala , who was in reality Arjuna , as his charioteer.\n\nAs they approached the Kuru army, Uttara panicked at the sight and asked Brihannala to turn back.\n\nWhen he refused, citing Kshatriya dharma , Uttara dismounted the chariot and ran for his life, only for Arjuna to run up to him and catch him.\n\nIn order to boost Uttara's courage, Arjuna revealed his true identity.\n\nUttara was incredulous and initially refused to believe him; only after Arjuna had recited his ten aliases did Uttara believe that Brihannala was indeed Arjuna in disguise.\n\nArjuna then took charge with Uttara acting as his charioteer, single-handedly defeated the entire Hastinapura army.\n\nKurukshetra War [ edit ] During the 18-day Kurukshetra war , Uttara and his brothers fought in support of the Pandavas.\n\nUttara was killed on the first day of the war by Shalya .\n\nAs the battle started, it favoured the Kauravas as their commander-in-chief, Bhishma , was unable to be contained.\n\nGoing on the attack, Uttara aggressively drove his chariot deep into the Kaurava formation where he was checked by Shalya , who asked Uttara to introduce himself.\n\nUttara boasted about his martial skill and compared himself to Krishna, having been Arjuna's charioteer.\n\nShalya sharply rebuked Uttara for his arrogance, telling him that \"his tongue is sharper than his arrows.\" Uttara responds with a fierce attack.\n\nHe snapped Shalya's bow, wounds him, killed his charioteer and horses while breaking the wheels of Shalya's chariot.\n\nAs Shalya fell upon the ground, Uttara aimed the killing blow, mockingly asking Shalya \"is this my tongue, or my arrow that will kill you?\" From the ground, Shalya hurled a spear through Uttara's body, mortally wounding him.\n\nAs Uttara collapsed in his chariot, Shalya approached and mourned the death of the young.\n\nUttara's brother, Shveta, who witnessed the ghastly death of his brother, immediately went into a frenzy and started attacking the Kaurava army with hundreds of arrows and inflicted heavy losses on them.\n\nBhishma, unable to contain his rage shot the Brahmastra at Shveta, killing him instantly.\n\nThus the two brothers died on the same day, within minutes of each other.\n\nReferences [ edit ] ^ K M Ganguly(1883-1896) 2003,Retrieved 2015-03-08 ^ Pilikian, Vaughan.\n\nMahabharata.\n\nNew York: New York UP, 2009.\n\nPrint.\n\n^ Mahabharata Book Six (Volume 1): Bhishma .\n\nNYU Press.\n\n1 October 2016.\n\np.\n\n367.\n\nISBN 978-1-4798-5212-3 .\n\nv t e Mahabharata Traditional author and narrators Vyasa Vaisampayana Ugrashrava Sauti Books ( parva s) Adi Sabha Vana Virata Udyoga Bhishma Bhagavad Gita Drona Karna Shalya Sauptika Stri Shanti Anushasana Ashvamedhika Ashramavasika Mausala Mahaprasthanika Svargarohana Harivamsha Tribes Main tribes Bharata Kauravas Pandavas Yadu Kunti Gandhara Matsya List of tribes Janapadas Mahajanapadas Places Capitals Hastinapur Indraprastha 48 kos parikrama of Kurukshetra Kurukshetra Jyotisar Panchagrama Indraprastha Pranaprastha Swarnaprastha Tilaprastha Vyagaprastha Events Svayamvara Kurukshetra War Vishvarupa Chakravyūha Characters Abhimanyu Amba Ambika Ambalika Arjuna Ashwatthama Babruvahana Bahlika Balarama Bhagadatta Bharata Bhima Bhishma Bhurishravas Chitrāngada Chitrāngadā Damayanti Dhrishtadyumna Dhritarashtra Draupadi Drona Drupada Duhsala Durvasa Duryodhana Dushasana Dushyanta Ekalavya Gandhari Ganga Ghatotkacha Hidimba Hidimbi Iravan Janamejaya Jarasandha Jayadratha Karna Kichaka Kindama Kripa Krishna Role in the Mahabharata Kritavarma Kunti Lomasha Madri Nahusha Nakula Nala Pandu Parashurama Parikshit Purochana Pururavas Rukmi Rukmini Sahadeva Sanjaya Satyaki Satyavati Savitri Shantanu Shakuni Shakuntala Shalya Shikhandi Shishupala Subhadra Sudeshna Ulupi Upapandavas Uttara Uttarā Vichitravirya Vidura Vikarna Virata Vrishaketu Vrishasena Vyasa Yayati Yudhishthira Yuyutsu Related Avatars Kingdoms Vedic era Epic-Puranic chronology Sarasvati River Category Retrieved from \" https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Uttara_(Mahabharata)&oldid=1252723784 \"", "category": "mahabharata"}
{"text": "Category: mahabharata\nContent: Kingdom described in the Mahabharata This article is about the kingdom of Kalinga in Indian epic literature.\n\nFor the historical kingdom, see Kalinga (historical kingdom) .\n\nThis article needs additional citations for verification .\n\nPlease help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources .\n\nUnsourced material may be challenged and removed.\n\nFind sources: \"Kalinga\" Mahabharata – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( September 2022 ) ( Learn how and when to remove this message ) South Asia 500 BCE ACHAEMENID EMPIRE AŚMAKA AVANTĪ CEDI PUṆḌRA VAṄGA RĀḌHA SUHMA KALIṄGA SAVARA ANDHRA KUNTALA APARĀNTA DAṆḌAKA MŪLAKA VIDARBHA DAŚARṆA PULINDA KACCHA SAURAṢṬRA SAUVĪRA SINDHU ŚIVI KEKEYA MADRA AUDUMBARA YAUDHEYA TRIGARTA ŚĀKYA KURU PAÑCĀLA KOSALA VATSA MALLA VṚJI ŚŪRASENA KĀŚĪ BĀHLIKA KAMBOJA GANDHĀRA MATSYA AṄGA MAGADHA class=notpageimage| South Asia circa 500 BCE, with location of Kalinga.\n\nKalinga is a kingdom described in the legendary Indian text Mahabharata .\n\nThey were a warrior clan who settled in and around the historical Kalinga region , present-day Odisha and northern parts of Andhra Pradesh .\n\nAccording to political scientist Sudama Misra, the Kalinga janapada originally comprised the area covered by the Puri and Ganjam districts.reference-Sudama Misra (1973).\n\nJanapada state in ancient India.\n\nBhāratīya Vidyā Prakāśana.\n\np.\n\n78.\n\nKalinga clan warriors sided with Duryodhana in the Kurukshetra War due to matrimonial and harmony alliances between both kingdoms of Kalinga & Kuru existing even before the Great War of Mahabharata was to happen.\n\nKalinga is the founders of five eastern kingdoms, which included: Angas (east, central Bihar ), Vangas (southern West Bengal and Bangladesh ), Udra ( Odisha , East Madhya Pradesh and South Jharkhand ), Pundras (western Bangladesh and West Bengal, India ), Suhmas (north-western Bangladesh and West Bengal ) shared common ancestry.\n\nTwo capitals (Dantapura and Rajapura ) of Kalinga were mentioned in Mahabharata .\n\nIt is likely that there were many Kalinga kings, ruling different territories of Kalinga, with many migrated outside to form new kingdom.\n\nMahabharata [ edit ] Kalinga was a separate kingdom which is mentioned as an ancient Indian (Bharata Varsha) kingdom, along with the Vodhas and again along with the Kiratas residing in the east, at (6,9).\n\nBirth of the five royal lines [ edit ] The five royal lines of Anga , Vanga , Udra, Pundra and Suhma were born from the adopted sons of king Bali.\n\nThis Bali's kingdom Kalinga was either Magadha Kingdom or some kingdom close to it.\n\nThere existed a kingdom to the south of Magadha, as derived from many Hindu texts .\n\nKing Bali seems to be a king, like the famous king Mahabali , who was also known as Bali or Vali.\n\nThe five royal sons were actually the sons of the sage Dīrghatamas .\n\nDīghatamas was a sage born in the race of Gautama and Angiras.\n\nHe was also known as Gautama.\n\nHis eldest son also was known as Gautama.(1,104).\n\nThough Dīrghatamas was a great sage he was blind.\n\nHe was cast away by his sons and wife who threw him into river Ganges in a raft.\n\nKing Bali saved him.\n\nKnowing who he was the childless king chose him to raise offspring upon the queen, according to the ordinances of those times.\n\nThus was born the famous five kings.\n\nAfter their names five countries were formed.\n\nIt is after their names that their dominions have come to be called Anga, Vanga, Udra, Pundra and Suhma (1,104) Gautama's abode was in Girivraja, the capital of Magadha .\n\nWith the Sudra woman Ausinari (the daughter of Usinara), Gautama begat the royal sage Kakshivat and the other five celebrated sons.\n\nThese five monarchs used to visit Gautama in his abode.\n\n(2,21) The eastern kings mentioned in the Swayamvara of Panchali [ edit ] Kalinga King attended the svayamvara of Draupadi , along with Chandrasena.\n\nSahadeva's conquests [ edit ] Sahadeva brought under his subjection and exacted tributes from the Paundrayas (or Pandya Kingdom ) and the Dravidas along with the Udrakeralas and the Andhras and the Talavanas, the Kalingas, and the Ushtrakarnikas, and also the delightful city of Atavi and that of the Yavanas.\n\n(2,30) Dantapura, now known as the city of Puri in Odisha, was mentioned as the capital of Kalinga in the Mahabharata (5:23).\n\nSahadeva , the Pandava general had visited this city.\n\nKalinga is mentioned to have another capital named Rajapura .\n\nDantapura was conquered by Sahadeva (5,23).\n\nKarna's conquests [ edit ] Karna conquered and brought under subjection all the kings inhabiting the Himavat, and made them pay dues.\n\nThen, descending from the mountain and rushing to the east, he reduced the Angas , and the Bangas , and the Udras, and the Mandikas, and the Magadhas .\n\nthe Karkakhandas; and also included with them the Avasiras, Yodhyas, and the Ahikshatras.\n\n(3,252) Other conquests of Kalinga [ edit ] Vasudeva Krishna also is mentioned to have vanquished a Kalinga king, along with the Pandyas and the city of Varanasi in Kasi .\n\n(5,48), (16,6) Bhima also is mentioned to have vanquished the Kalingas along with all the people of Kasi and Anga and Magadha (5,50) Parashurama is mentioned to have conquered the Kalingas along with the Angas and Vangas (6,68) Yudhishthira's entry into his new palace at Indraprastha [ edit ] Kalinga king Srutayus, attended the event of Yudhishthira entering his new palace at Indraprastha , along with Jayasena the king of Magadha .\n\nKing Bhagadatta seems to have sway over all the eastern kingdoms including Pundra, Suhma, Vanga and Kalinga.\n\nAnga kingdom was ruled by his friend Karna and Vrihadvala was the king of Kosala Kingdom , his another friend.\n\nKing Bhagadatta of Pragjyotisha accompanied by all Mlechcha tribes inhabiting the marshy regions on the sea-shore; and many mountain kings, and king Vrihadvala; and Vasudeva the king of the Paundrayas ] and Kalinga came to the sacrifice.\n\nSimilarly the Akastha and Kuntala and the kings of the Malavas and the Andhrakas ; and the Dravidas and the Singhalas also came.\n\n(2,33).\n\nKalinga king was mentioned as a charioteer at (2,43).\n\nKalingas have brought tribute to the king Yudhishthira along with other kings like the Vangas, the Magadhas, the Tamraliptas, the Supundrakas, the Dauvalikas, the Sagarakas.\n\n(2,51) Duryodhana marries from Kalinga [ edit ] Duryodhana married the daughter of Chitrangada, who was a Kalinga king, with the capital at Rajapura .\n\nThis was different from the south Kalinga kingdom, with the capital at Dantapura vanquished by Sahadeva .\n\nOnce on a time many kings repaired to a self-choice at the capital of Chitrangada, the ruler of the country of the Kalingas.\n\nThe city full of opulence, was known by the name of Rajapura .\n\nArjuna's pilgrimage [ edit ] Arjuna visited all the regions of sacred waters and other holy palaces in Kalinga during his 12-year-old pilgrimage, travelling the whole of ancient India.\n\n(1,127) Pandavas's pilgrimage [ edit ] Pandavas, during their 12 year exile from their kingdom, set for a pilgrimage travelling the whole of ancient India, guided by sage Lomasa.\n\nPandavas started from the river Kausiki (now known as Kosi in Bihar ) and repaired in succession to all the sacred shrines.\n\nThey came to the sea where the river Ganges falls into it; and there in the centre of five hundred rivers, performed the holy ceremony of a plunge.\n\nThen, they proceeded by the shore of the sea towards the land where the Kalinga tribes dwell.\n\nThrough it passed the river Vaitarani (now known as river Baitarani in Odisha ) (3,114) Drupada's list of kings [ edit ] Drupada, the father in law of the Pandavas and the king of Panchala , made a list of kings to be summoned to assist the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra War .\n\nIn the list is mentioned Srutayus, with other Kalinga kings, Samudrasena (Vanga king) etc.\n\n(5,4).\n\nKalingas in Kurukshetra War [ edit ] Kalingas were mentioned as allied to Kauravas at many places like at (5–62,95).\n\nKalinga king Srutayudha also known as Srutayus and Srutayush, was one among the generals in the Kaurava army.(6,16).\n\nThe generals of Kaurava army were:- Shakuni , a chief from Gandhara kingdom Shalya , the king of Madra kingdom Jayadratha , the king of Sindhu kingdom Vinda and Anuvinda, two brothers and kings of Avanti kingdom The Kekaya brothers from Kekeya kingdom (opposed the Kekayas on the Pandava side) Sudakshina the king of Kamboja kingdom Srutayudha the king of Kalinga Kingdom Jayatsena a king of Magadha kingdom Vrihadvala the king of Kosala kingdom Kritavarma, a Yadava chief from Anarta kingdom Bhima slew Kalinga king Srutayush and other Kalinga heroes [ edit ] The battle of Kalingas is mentioned at various places (6–17,56,70,71,88,118), (7–4,7,11,20,44,72,90,118,138,152,191) (8–5,8,17,22) (9,33).\n\nThe prominent among them was their battle with Pandava Bhima , which proved fatal to all the Kalinga heroes.\n\n(6–53,54), (8,70) Then king Duryodhana urged the ruler of the Kalingas supported by a large division, for the protection of Bharadwaja’s son, Drona .\n\nThen that terrible and mighty division of the Kalingas rushed against Bhima .\n\nAnd then commenced a fierce battle between the Kalingas and the high-souled Bhima.\n\n(6,53).\n\nThe mighty king of the Kalingas, Srutayush, accompanied by a large army advanced towards Bhima’s car.\n\nThe ruler of the Kalingas with many thousands of cars, supported by Ketumat, the son of the king of the Nishadas, with 10000 elephants and the Nishada army, surrounded Bhimasena, on all sides.\n\nThen the Chedis, the Matsyas, and Karushas, with Bhimasena at their head, with many kings impetuously rushed against the Nishadas.\n\nTerrific was the collision that took place between the few and many, between the Chedis on the one side and the Kalingas and the Nishadas on the other.\n\nThe Chedis, abandoning Bhima, turned back.\n\nBut Bhima, encountering all the Kalingas, did not turn back.\n\nBhima, staying on his car whose steeds had been slain, hurled at Sakradeva, the son of the Kalinga King Srutayush, a mace made of the hardest iron.\n\nAnd slain by that mace, the son of the ruler of the Kalingas, from his car, fell down on the ground, with his standard and charioteer.\n\nLater he slew Bhanumat, the prince of Kalingas, by ascending the back of his elephant and cutting his body in half, with sword.\n\nBhima drawing his bow slew the ruler of the Kalingas, Srutayush, with seven shafts made wholly of iron.\n\nAnd with two shafts he slew the two protectors of the car-wheels of the Kalinga King.\n\nAnd he also dispatched Satyadeva and Satya.\n\n(6,54) A Kalinga ruler other than Srutayush, lead the Kalinga army, during the rest of the days in battle.\n\n(7-7,90) Two brothers Kalinga and Vrishaka were mentioned as slain in battle at (8,5) A Kalinga king is mentioned to be slain at (11,25) Karna's opinion on the Kalingas [ edit ] Karna rebukes Shalya during the Kurukshetra War , and his race, and all the other tribes who had slightest similarity with Shalya's tribe.\n\nThe Karashakas, the Mahishakas , the Kalingas, the Keralas , the Karkotakas, the Virakas, and other peoples of no religion, one should always avoid.\n\n(8,44) The Kauravas with the Panchalas , the Salwas , the Matsyas , the Naimishas, the Koshalas , the Kasapaundras, the Kalingas, the Magadhas , and the Chedis who are all highly blessed, know what the eternal religion is.\n\n(8,45) Siva worship in Kalinga [ edit ] Siva is worshipped in the country of the Kalingas in the form of a tiger.\n\nSiva has an image in the country of the Kalingas that is called Vyaghreswara.\n\n(13,17) Absence of Brahmins in Kalinga [ edit ] It is in consequence of the absence of Brahmanas from among them that the Sakas, the Yavanas, the Kamvojas and other Kshatriya tribes have become fallen and degraded into the status of Sudras.\n\nThe Dravidas, the Kalingas, the Pulandas, the Usinaras, the Kolisarpas, the Mahishakas and other Kshatriyas, have, in consequence of the absence of Brahmanas from among their midst, become degraded into Sudras.\n\n(13,33) Other references [ edit ] A Kalinga princess named Karambha was wedded to Akrodhana a Puru king.\n\nDevatithi was their son.\n\n(1,95) An ally of Karitkeya, generalissimo of Deva army is mentioned as Kalinga (9,45) See also [ edit ] Kingdoms of Ancient India References [ edit ] ^ Schwartzberg, Joseph E.\n\n(1978).\n\nA Historical atlas of South Asia .\n\nChicago: University of Chicago Press.\n\np.\n\n145, map XIV.1 (d).\n\nISBN 0226742210 .\n\n^ Content mirrored from this map ^ Annapurna Chattopadhyaya (2006).\n\nThe people and culture of Odisa and Bengal, a study in origins .\n\nFirma K.L.M.\n\np.\n\n988.\n\nISBN 978-81-7102-144-4 .\n\n...in the Mahabharata wherein the Kalingas have been included amongst the tribes...\n\nFurther reading [ edit ] Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa , translated into English by Kisari Mohan Ganguli External links [ edit ] v t e Tribes and kingdoms mentioned in the Mahabharata Abhira Andhra Anarta Anga Anupa Assaka Asmaka Avanti Ay Bahlika Bhārata Chedi Chera Chola Chinas Dakshina Kosala Dakshinatya Danda Dasarna Dasharna Dasherka Dwaraka Gandhāra Garga Gomanta Gopa Rashtra Hara Huna Haihaya kingdom Himalaya Huna Kanchi Kasmira Kalakuta Kalinga Kamboja Karnata Karusha Kashi Kekeya Kerala Khasa Kikata Kimpurusha Kinnara Kirata Kingdom Kishkindha Konkana Kosala Kuninda Kunti Kuru Lanka Madra Madraka Magadha Maha Chinas Mahisha Malla Malava Manipura Matsya Mekhalas Mleccha Mudgala Mushika Nasikya Nepa Niharas Nishadas Odra Pallava Panchala Pandya Parada Parama Kamboja Parasika Parvartaka Parvata Paurava Pishacha Pragjyotisha Pratyagratha Prasthala Pundra Pulinda Saka Salva Salveya Salwa Saraswata Saurashtra Sauvira Shakya Sindhu Sinhala Sivi Sonita Sudra Suhma Surparaka Surasena Tamraparni Tangana Trigarta Tulu Tushara Ursa Uttara Kuru Uttara Madra Utkala Vanga Vatadhana Vatsa Videha Vidarbha Yavana Yaudheya Retrieved from \" https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kalinga_(Mahabharata)&oldid=1249103261 \"", "category": "mahabharata"}
{"text": "Category: folks and regional stories\nContent: Vikram and Vikram and Vikram and Vikram and BetaalBetaalBetaalBetaal Stories  Stories  Stories  Stories        \nBetaal Pachisi written nearly 2,500 years ago by Ma hakavi  \nSomdev Bhatt, are spellbinding stories told to the wise King \nVikramaditya by the wily ghost Betaal. The tales of  Vikram \nand Betaal possess a wealth of pageantry and splend or of long \nago.  \n \n, people ale  \nThe Meeting of Vikram and Betaal................... .................................................2 \nThe three special brahmins......................... ................................................... .....4 \nThe three sensitive queens......................... ................................................... ......5 \nThe Three suitors.................................. ................................................... ...........6 \nThe exchanged heads................................ ................................................... .......7 \nA promise not kept ................................. ................................................... .........8 \nReward of life ..................................... ................................................... ...........12 \nThe four boys who made a lion...................... ..................................................1 7 \nTrue Reward ........................................ ................................................... ..........18 \nReward for Gatekeeper.............................. ................................................... ....21 \ns of brilliance, both entertaining and educative. Beta al Pachisi, written nearly 2,500 years ago by \naaaahakavi turies, people have looked towards the East  in their  \n \nThe Meeting of Vikram and Betaal \nVikram was the name of a king. He ruled over a city on the banks  of \nGodavari River. He was very famous for his bravery and courage. \nPeople loved him because he always rendered justice.  \n \nOne day a sage came to the court of Vikram and gifted him a f ruit. \nThe king handed it over to his treasurer. Thereafter, the sag e kept \ncoming to the court daily to gift a fruit to the king. The king coul d not \nunderstand the reason behind this behaviour. But still he did not try t o \nfind out the sage's intentions.  \n \nHowever, one morning, Vikram noticed a monkey sitting on the \npalace wall and gave the fruit to it. The monkey had started ea ting the \nfruit when suddenly a dazzling gem fell out of it. The King was very \nsurprised. He immediately ordered his treasurer to get him all  the \nfruits kept in the storage. The fruits had gone bad but when the kin g \nhad them crushed, each one of them yielded a precious gem. The \ngenerous King donated all these gems to the poor and waited for the \nsage’s visit to the court.  \n \nThe next day, the sage visited the court of Vikram with yet ano ther \nfruit.  \n \nVikram welcomed the sage and asked him \"Your Holiness! Can you \nplease tell me why you have been giving me such precious gifts? \nWithout good reason, I cannot accept any gifts from you.\"  \n \nThe sage replied, \"I need the help of a brave man for a spi ritual goal. \nWill you help me?\" Vikram readily agreed to this. So the sage said, \n\"O King, please come to the burial ground on the next moonless \nnight. It is at a distance of 20 miles from here. I will wai t for you \nunder a banyan tree.\" Vikram agreed to follow the instructions.  \n \nOn the said night, Vikram covered his head and body with a black \ncloth and unnoticed, reached the appointed spot in the forest. The \nsage was waiting for him and told him, \"King Vikram! To the sout h \nof this forest is an old tamarind tree on which hangs a corpse ups ide \ndown. Please bring it to me.\" The king immediately followed the \nsage’s orders and reached the tamarind tree. On finding a corpse \nthere, he cut it loose. As soon as the corpse fell to the ground, it \nlaughed loudly with a cackling sound. The king realized that it was  a \nghost. But the courageous king carried the body over his shoulders \nand started towards his capital. A short distance later, the  ghost left \nVikram’s shoulders and escaped to its original spot. The king \nclimbed up the tree, brought down the ghost and placing it on his \nshoulders started walking again. \"Who are you?\" he asked the ghos t. \n\"I am Betaal\" replied the ghost and in turn asked Vikram, \"Why a nd \nwhere are you taking me away?\"  \n \n\"A sage has requested me to bring you to him,\" replied Vikram.   \n \nBetaal did not have any objection to going with Vikram but he laid  \ndown a condition. \"We have to cover a long distance and to relieve \nthe tedious walk, I will tell you a story. But you should not utter even \none word till we reach the destination. If by chance you utter  \nanything, I will fly back to the tamarind tree. Do you agree to this?\" \nasked Betaal. Vikram agreed to this and silently listened to B etaal’s \nstory.  \n \n \n \n \n\n \nThe three special brahmins \nOnce upon a time there lived a rich brahmin by name  of  Vishnuswamin, who \nwas performing a huge sacrificial rite. He had thre e sons who were each very \nfastidious about three specific things. The eldest was fastidious about food, \nthe second about women and the third about beds. Vi shsnuswamin wanted a \ntortoise for his sacrifice. So he sent his three so ns to get one. They did find \none but each of them refused to touch it and bring it back home, as each \nclaimed to be as fastidious as the other. \nWell then to decide, they approached the king with this matter of deciding \nwho among them was the most fastidious. He decided to test them all. He \ninvited the first one, to a very special feast prep ared very exquisitely. But the \nfirst son, refused to touch the food claiming that the he smelt burnt corpses in \nthe rice. On investigation, the king found that the  grains of which the rice was \ncooked was from a field near a cremation ground. Th e king was impressed.  \nHe then decided to test the second son by sending a  very very pretty and \nbeautiful concubine, to him. But the second son sen t her away saying that she \nwas smelling like a goat. On investigation, the kin g found that she had been \nfed goat milk when she was a child. The king was im pressed.  \nThen he decided to test the third son, by letting h im sleep in a bed with seven \nhuge mattresses. In the middle of the night, the th ird son awoke with a lot of \npain and a red mark on his shoulder. On verifying, it was found that there was \na piece of hair in the bed below the seven mattress es. The king was impressed \nwith all three and could not decide who was best bu t instead decided to use \nthe skill of all three in his court and hired them.  So Vishnuswamin could not \ncomplete his sacrifice. \nBetaal stops and asks King Vikram asks this questio n: Who among the three \nis the most fastidious? Vikram replies with a lot o f thought, \"The third son, \nas he had definite evidence wit that red mark. The other two could have \nobtained information from elsewhere too.\" \nAs soon as Vikram had finished his answer, Betaal d isappeared back to the \ntree. \nThe three sensitive queens \nOnce upon a time there lived a king of Ujjayani by name of Dharmadhvaja, \nwho had three exquisitely sensitive queens. He love d all three of them very \nmuch, all of them were of unparalleled beauty.  \nOn one occasion, while the king was playing with th e first queen, he ruffled \nher hair. The lotus flower on her ear fell over her  thigh, and made a wound \nand she cried out loud. The king was surprised at h er sensitivity and \nimmediately requested medical attention for her. \nOn another occasion, when he was with the second qu een on a full moon night \non the roof of his palace, the queen suddenly felt her skin burning of the \nmoonlight. The king ordered medical attention for h er too and was again \nsurprised at her sensitivity. \nOn third occasion, when he was with the third queen , she collpased on the \nfloor on hearing of the sound of a mortar grinding rice, far far away. The king \nimmediately ordered medical attention for her and w as surprised too. \nSince then he took utmost care of his three ultra s ensitive queens. \n \nBetaal stops and asks King Vikram asks this questio n: Who among the three \nqueens is the most sensitive? Vikram replies with a  lot of thought, \"The \nthird one, as she had not even been touched by the light or flower. She had \nonly heard a noise from distance.\" \n \nAs soon as Vikram had finished his answer,  Betaal disappeared back to the \ntree. \n \n \n \n \nThe Three suitors \nOnce upon a time there was born a beautiful daughte r, Mandaravati, to a very \nfamours priest. When the daughter grew of age, the father was worried about \nher marriage.Once, three eligible bachelors came to  the father and each asked \nhim for the hand of the daughter. Each of them thre atened to kill himself lest \nthe daughter be married off to any other of the thr ee. The father decided not to \nmarry her off to anyone.  \nOne day, she caught a very high pitched fever and d ied suddenly. All three of \nthem, grief-struck, cremated the body of Mandaravat i. One of them decided to \nstay there and slept on the ashes of Mandaravati. T he other took her bones and \nwent to the Ganges. The third became an ascetic and  wandered off.  \nOn one of his wanderings, the third one reached a b rahmin's house. The \nbrahmin, by power of a spell, was able to bring the  dead alive from the ashes. \nThis was in a book which the brahmin gaurded safely . But the third suitor, in \nthe stealth of night, stole this book and went back  to the cremation ground of \nMandaravati. The second one had returned from the G anges with the holy \nwater, and the first one was still there sleeping o n the ashes.  \nThen he with the help of the other two, recited the  spell from the book and lo \nBehold!! Mandaravati was reborn! Then the three of them started fighting \nabout whose wife she should be. Each of them claimi ng the revival being due \nto his effort \n \nBetaal stops and asks King Vikram asks this questio n: Who among the three \nsuitors should be the husband of Mandaravati? Vikra m replies with a lot of \nthought, \"The person who gave her the life by recit ing the spell is her \ncreator, it could be her father. The person who too k her bones to Ganges \nshall be her son. But the person who committed hims elf to the ground and \nslept on her ashes out of love, can be her husband. \" \n \nAs soon as Vikram had finished his answer, Betaal disappeared \nback to the tree. \n \n \n \nThe exchanged heads \n Once upon a time there lived a washerman named Dhav ala. He once spotted a \nvery beautiful lady at pond, who happened to be the  daughter of another \nwasherman. He instantly fell in love with her and p leaded with his parents to \nask her parents for her hand in marriage. His paren ts did accordingly and the \ngirl, Madanasundari, got married to him with her pa rents consent. She then \nwent with Dhavala to live with him.  \nOnce the brother of Madanasundari, came to Dhavala to invite his sister and \nbrother-in-law to their place for festival season. Dhavala agreed and the three \nof them were returning to Madanasundari's home. On the way they happened \nto pass by the temple of Durga Devi, the all powerf ul goddess of power. Her \nbrother wanted to pay a visit to the goddess, and w ent to the temple. But as \nsoon as he came near the goddess, he wanted to make  a massive sacrifice to \nthe goddess. So saying he cut his head off for the goddess. Madanasundari \nwas worried and she then sent her husband to see wh at the matter was. On \nseeing the state of his brother-in-law, the husband  was also moved deeply and \nhe decided to offer his own head too to the goddess  and cut his own head with \nhis scitmar. Madanasundari, after a long wait came and saw both her brother \nand husband lying on the ground and then decided to  take her own life but \nasked the goddesss to get the same brother and husb and in the next life. The \ngoddess was pleased and stopped her from dying and asked her to join their \nheads and bodies and then she granted them life. In  a hurry, Madanasundari, \nexchanged the heads of her brother and husband and was perplexed. \n \nBetaal stops and asks King Vikram asks this questio n: Who among the two \nis the husband of Madanasundari? Vikram replies wit h a lot of thought, \n\"The body that carries her husband's head is is her  husband. The head is \nthe most important part of the human body, and the rest of the body is \nidentified by the head.\" \n \nAs soon as Vikram had finished his answer, Betaal d isappeared back to the \ntree. \n \n \n \nA promise not kept \n \nIt was a dark night and was raining from time to ti me.Gusts of wind shook the \ntrees. There were strange noises and in between the  thunderclaps the moaning \nof jackals could be heard. Flashes of lightning rev ealed fearsome faces and \nthere were strange and mysterious laughter of the s pirits. \n \nBut inspite of such a weird atmosphere king Vikrama ditya did not swerve a \nbit. He climbed the ancient tree to bring the corps e down and soon he began \ncrossing the desolate cremation ground, with the co rpse lying on his shoulder.  \nThe Betaal that possessed the corpse spoke: \"O King  , I pity you as you are  \nmaking untiring efforts without relaxing as if you wish to achieve something. \nInstead of enjoying a comfortable sleep on a cozy b ed, you’re still coming \nafter me. You seem to be quite adamant. Such arroga nce may not help you \nkeep your promise if you had given one to anybody. You’ll realize the futility \nof the whole thing if only you listen to my story.\"   \nThe Betaal then narrated this story. The ruler of K ishanagar, Rajendra, was \nextremely strong and courageous. He was a good rule r and cared about his \npeople very much as he would not do anything unjust . His subjects were \nhappy and contented. They had no problems. His quee n, Prema, gave birth to \na beautiful daughter, Sona. \nBeing an only child, Sona enjoyed a lot of freedom and was brought up like a \nboy. She grew up clever not only in studies but in the use of the bow and \narrow and sword. She learnt the art of self-defence . When she reached \nmarriageable age, her parents began searching for a  suitable husband for her. \nBut Sona disagreed to their proposal as she had som e definite ideas and views.  \nShe said to her parents that ,\"Dear Father, I want that my husband should be \none who is highly skilled in fighting and who is ab le to overpower, me in \nfight. Suppose if our kingdom face an enemy in the future, he should be able \nto fight & defeat them in war. If you agree to this  condition then, you may \nmake an announcement\". \nThe King & Queen were very proud to hear about thei r daughter's \nthoughts.The announcement was made in Kishanagar as  well as in the \nneighbouring kingdoms. Thinking that Sona is only a  girl,and it should not be \na difficult to win a fight with her, many suitors c ame forward to accept her \nchallenge as they also knew that Sona being the onl y heir they would have \ncomplete sway over the kingdom once they married he r.  \n \nBut when they (the suitors) met Sona face to face t hese princes realized it was \nnot that easy to defeat her. Everyone of them was r outed by Sona, and they \nhad to go back disappointed. She was taking on the suitors one after another, \namong them was Udayavarma, the prince of Chandangha r.  \nHe watched the fight every day , by joining the cro wd. He carefully watched \nhow Princess Sona fought and the different strategi es she adopted to meet the \nmethod of fighting followed by each prince. One \nday, he could not control himself when he saw a \nparticular way she used the sword. \nHe got up and shouted \"Bravo!\" in appreciation and \nencouragement. Sona turned to look at him, \nwondering who he might be who could understand \nthe intricacies of each and every stance and step \nduring the fight.  \nBut among such a large crowd she could only get a \nglimpse of him. \nBy now Udayavarma had learnt all her strategies, an d the next day he was \nready to fight with her. The two fought cleverly an d fiercely. Neither of them \nwas prepared to surrender to the other. During her fight Sona tried all her \ntricks, but Udayavarma was able to meet every one o f them. She soon \ndiscovered that he was a good swordsman and that sh e would not be able to \nsubdue him so easily. Soon Sona was defeated by Uda yavarma.She stopped \nthe fight and joined her parents.  \nCheers rose from the audience who was watching the proceedings very \neagerly. When Udayavarma came forward to present hi mself to the King and \nqueen, Sona recognized him as the one who had cheer ed her in \nencouragement the other day.She asked Udayavarma an d he confessed to it.  \nNow Sona knew how he had succeeded in overpowering her. She came \nforward and said to him that \"My condition was that  I would marry anyone \nwho would defeat me in the contest. Though you’ve d efeated me, I can’t \n\nmarry you. You can yourself find out the reason.\" U dayavarma thought for a \nwhile and said . \"Yes what you say is right, O Prin cess. I should not marry \nyou.\" He bowed to her and left the palace.  \n \nThe king and queen were surprised over their daught er’s decision as according \nto her contest Sona insisted that she would marry o nly that man who would \ndefeat her in the fight and  Udayavarma had achieve d it , but now she was not \nready to marry him and even Udayavarma, too, had me ekly accepted her \ndecision, saying he could not possibly claim her ha nd. How strange! They \nwere unable to guess what really was the cause?  \n \nThe Betaal concluded the story and asked King Vikra maditya,  \n1)  \"O king ! I’ve some doubts.I think Sona was proud of herself that she was \nan expert in warfare and that's why she announced t hat she would marry only \nwhoever defeated her, didn’t she? \n2)  As she scored a victory over one prince after anot her, she was becoming \nmore and more arrogant. \n3)  Then came Udayavarma who succeeded in overpowering  her. Again it was \nher from keeping her word. \n4)  Why did she say he did not deserve her hand in mar riage in spite of his \nvictory over her? \nIt was all because of her arrogance, wasn’t it? If you know the answers to my \nquestions that speak out if you don't then I warn y ou that \"your head will be \nblown to pieces!\" \nKing Vikramaditya did not take much time to answer the questions Betaal had \nasked. He said  \n1 & 2)  \" I don’t think Sona was arrogant.\"  \n3)  Though she had agreed that condition that Udayavar ma had defeated her in \nsword-fight but she didn’t keep her word. That's tr ue, but this doesn't makes \nher arrogant. If we think deep, we can find out wha t had \nprompted her to take such a stand. She certainly wa s one \nwho would keep her word.  \n4)  Unlike other princes, Udayavarma did not go for a fight \nwith her straight away, instead he sat in the crowd  and \nwatched her fighting and in between he had studied all the \n\nstrategies that she adopted while fighting, just as  a disciple would learn from \nhis teacher.  \nAnd a teacher cannot marry his or her student. It’s  \nuniversally accepted that one’s father, mother and teacher \nare all like a god. Sona realized that Udayavarma w as \nfirst her student and then a suitor and she was not  willing \nto accept that relationship for the purpose of marr iage. \nUdayavarma too thought on the same lines and realiz ed \nthat he could not marry Sona, because she was like his \nteacher. So he respected the wishes of his teacher,   that’s \nwhy he decided not to press his claim to her hand.  \nThe relationship between a teacher and his student is more sacred than that \nbetween others. That’s why Sona went back on the co ndition she herself had \nstipulated. Betaal knew that king will definitely s peak out the answer so he \nflew back to the ancient tree carrying the corpse a long with him.  \nVikramaditya drew his sword and went after the Beta al. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\nReward of life \n \nIt was a dark night and was raining from time to ti me.Gusts of wind shook the \ntrees. There were strange noises and in between the  thunderclaps the moaning \nof jackals could be heard.Flashes of lightning reve aled fearsome faces and \nthere were strange and mysterious laughter of the s pirits. \nBut inspite of such a weird atmosphere king Vikrama ditya did not swerve a \nbit. He climbed the ancient tree to bring the corps e down and soon he began \ncrossing the desolate cremation ground, with the co rpse lying on his shoulder. \nThe Betaal that possessed the corpse spoke: \"O King  , I pity you as you are  \nmaking untiring efforts without relaxing as if you wish to achieve \nsomething.Instead of enjoying a comfortable sleep o n a cozy bed, you’re still \ncoming after me. You seem to be quite adamant. Such  arrogance may not help \nyou keep your promise if you had given one to anybo dy. You’ll realize the \nfutility of the whole thing if only you listen to m y story.\" And the vampire \nbegan his narration. \n \nLong long ago, Kanchannagar was being ruled by \nKing Chandradeep . His daughter was Indumati . \nBeing an only child, the princess was brought up \nlike a boy, and given training in the use of arms a n \nwarfare. It was certain that whoever wed her would \nalso become the ruler of Kanchannagar. The princes \nof many of the neighbouring kingdoms cherished a \ndesire to marry Indumati,  who was, besides \neverything else, extremely beautiful. \n \nWhenever the king broached the subject of \nmarriage, Princess Indumati,   would hesitate to \ngive him a definite answer, but one day Indumati sa id yes to his father, \"Yes, \nfather, but...\". The king stared at her , waiting f or her to complete the \nsentence. \n\" Whoever marries me must be strong and brave. And he must succeed in the \ntests that I give.\" Indumati,  then spelt out what kind of tests she was \ncontemplating for her suitors. \n\nThe king was horrified. \"Don’t insist on any such t est,\" he advised the \nprincess. \" They’re all hazardous. No one will come  forward to undergo the \ntests for fear their life. Just forget about them.\"  \n \n\"Don’t worry, father,\" Indumati,  assured Chandrade ep . \" All those who \nprofess that they love me than their life will cert ainly take these tests. You just \nwatch!\" \n \nThe king consulted his ministers.They came out with  a suggestion. \"If the \nprincess is determined to impose the tests, let her  wish be carried out,\" said \nthe prime Minister. \"But when we make the announcem ent, let us not spell out \nthe details. They will be let known only at time of  the test.\" \n \nChandradeep agreed to the suggestion. The royal \nannouncement about the princess wedding merely stat ed \nthat the suitors would have to take certain tests..  The \nannouncement was made in all the neighbouring \nkingdoms, including Jayanagar, where a young man \nnamed Kurupshana heard it. \nHe had been born with both hands stunted. His mothe r \ndied soon after he was born, and his father took a \nsecond wife. The boy was named Kurupshana, the ugly  \nlooking.  \nHis stepmother was not at all kind- hearted, and sh e ill- treated him much. It \nwas seldom that he even got a full meal. She knew t hat the boy, with his \nhandicap, would not be much use to her. \n \nKurupshana did not utter a word in protest or by wa y of complaint. But he \nlamented within himself. ‘Mother is always scolding  & harassing me under \none pretext or other. Won’t there be an end to all this? They feel that I’m no \ngood and I had better die! I must take this as a ch allenge and show them that I \ntoo, can face life.’  \nHe decided to go to Kanchannagar. Quite a few princ es had by then assembled \nat Kanchannagar. There were some young men, too, wi shing to try their luck, \nif the princes were to fail. They all spent their t ime guessing what kind of tests \nthe princess would put them through. Some of them t hought it could be \n\nwrestling. Some others thought it could be their pe rformance with the bow \nand arrow. \n \nThe time came to announce the details of the tests.  The King & Princess \nIndumati came to the stage and sat next to the king , and on the other side of \nthe king sat the Prime Minister. He got up from his  seat and faced the princely \nsuitors. \" The contest is about to start! Several s uitors are present here to win \nthe hand of princess Indumati. It is her wish that they are put to certain tests. \nWhoever succeed in the test will qualify to wed her . You all can see the wall \nin front of you. You have to climb the wall and jum p down into the three- \ntiered cage of sharp knives. The test is, while doi ng so, you must be careful \nnot to injure yourself. There should not be a singl e scratch on your body from \nthe blades of the knives. Whoever is willing to par ticipate in the test may step \nforward!\" \n \nMany princes rose from their seats, and went and to ok a good look at the high \nwall as well as the cage of knives. One by they wen t back to their seats. The \nwall looked too high for them; the cage was placed deep down below; and the \nspace between the knives was very small. They would  not be able to jump \ndown without injuring themselves. None dared even t o make an attempt. \n \nAs they went back to their seats, some of them prot ested. \"What kind of test is \nthis? It could have been a sword- fight or wrestlin g or \narchery, or any other of that kind. But not this! I t is \nalmost trap from where one can’t escape with one’s \nlife. Why should any one sacrifice his life for the  \nhand of a mad princess in the world!\" \nIt looked as though no suitor was willing to take t he \ntest. The king was in a dilemma. He regretted that his \ndaughter did not accept his advice and desite from \ninsisting ontests. \nKurupshana was watching all this from his seat. sud denly a thought struck \nhim. After all, people back home, like his stepmoth er, were only wishing for \nhis death. If he were to succeed in the test by the  grace of god, he stood to win \nthe hand of none else than a princess!  \n\nSo, why should he not try his luck? And if he were to die, nobody would \ngrieve over his fate. He left his seat and walked u p to King Chandradeep . \n\"Your Majesty, can I have your permission to take t he test?\" \n \nThe king was shocked. Who was this ugly- looking ha ndicapped youth? \nSuppose he were to succeed in the test? His daughte r would have to marry \nhim- according to the rules of the game. And if tha t happened, she would have \nto spend the rest of her life in the company of a h andicapped husband! \n \nPrincess Indumati, too, was in a similar dilemma. S he was expecting to be \nmarried off to a prince, brave, daring and handsome . But look at this ugly \nyouth! Would it be her fate to become his wife? She  regretted she ever \nthought of tests for her suitors. \nSuddenly a doubt arose in her mind: would this youn g man be able to climb \nthat high wall? How would he avoid a scratch while jumping into the cage \nwhen he had no hands to guide him through the sharp  knives? She almost \nconcluded that he would only meet with his end \nif he were to be foolish enough to attempt \njumping down from the wall. King Chandradeep  \nwaited for a moment to know his daughter’s \nreaction, and then gave the permission to \nKurupshana. \n \nKurupshana went up the wall and asked the soldiers to take him to the top of \nthe wall.  \nHe then took a good look at the cage and jumped dow n. He landed between \nthe knives arrayed all around on all the three tier s. He was unscrathed! A loud \ncheer arose from the audience. \nThe cage was slowly raised, to allow the young man to come out. He then \nwalked towards the king and the princess. Their fac e had gone a milky white. \n \nKurupshana realised their predicament. \"O King! Ple ase don’t worry. I didn’t \nwish to marry the princess. I had only wanted to ta ke a challenge and I know \nI’ve succeeded.  \nThat itself is a big reward of my life and I can no w face life.\" He bowed low \nbefore the king and retreated. \n\n \nThe vampire ended his narration there and turned to  \nKing Vikramaditya. \" O King! Didn’t Kurupshana \nbehave like a foolish? If he had no intention of \nmarrying the princess, why did he at all decide to \nundergo the test?  \nAnd after having succeeded in the test and qualifie d to \nwed the princess, why did not want to marry her? Wh at was the reward he was \nreferring to when he said he didn’t want to aspire for anything \nmore? If you know the answer and still decide not t o satisfy me, \nbeware, your head will be blown to pieces! \n\"\"True, Kurupshana was a handicapped young man,\" sa id the \nking. \" He was fully aware of his handicap that bot hered his \nstepmother. He really wished that she changed her o pinion \nabout him. She should not any longer feel that he w as no good. \nInstead she should know that where people with no h andicap had failed, he \ncould, despite his handicap, come out a victor.  \nThat, for him, was the biggest reward he could aspi re for. He decided to \nundergo the hazardous test not with the hope of mar rying a princess. If he \nmarried her, he would one day be called upon to rul e the kingdom. But as a \nruler, he wouldn’t be able even to hold sword.  \nIf that was the case, it wouldn’t be proper for him  to marry her. That was why \nhe gave up his claim to her hand. It was not any ac t of a foolish person. On the \ncontrary, it was the decision of an intelligent, wi se person.\" \nBetaal knew that king will definitely speak out the  answer \nso he flew back to the ancient tree carrying the co rpse along \nwith him.  \nVikramaditya drew his sword and went after the  Bet aal.  \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \nThe four boys who made a lion \n \nOnce upon a time there lived four sons of a poor br ahmin who taught them all \nthe Vedas and the holy scriptures. On their parents  death, they decided to go \nand stay with their mother's father. But on reachin g there they found that they \nwere unwelcome there and that their cousins were un receptive to the brothers. \nThen the brothers decided to each go out into the w orld and learn a special \nskill and come back and meet at a common place afte r a while. So they \ndispersed and came back to the same place at the ap pointed time. Each told \nwhat he had learnt. The first one said, \" I can cre ate flesh of a creature from a \nsingle one of the creature\". The second one said, \"  I know how to grow the \nhair and skin of a creature if it has flesh and bon es.\" The third one said, \"I can \ncreate the limbs of a creature if its form is compl ete with skin hair and flesh \nand bones\". The fourth one said, \" I know how to gi ve life to that creature \nonce it is complete in form with limbs\". \nSo they set off into the forest to find a piece of bone on which they could test \ntheir skills. The first one they found was a lion's . So each of them displayed \nhis skill and created a live huge Lion, which as fa te would have it, killed all \nfour of them and sped away. \n \nBetaal stops and asks King Vikram asks this questio n: Who among the four \nbrothers is responsible for the death of all of the m? Vikram replies with a \nlot of thought, \"The fourth one, as he was the one who gave life to the \notherwise dead structure of bones flesh and limbs a nd hair\" \n \nAs soon as Vikram had finished his answer, Betaal d isappeared back to the \ntree. \n \n \n \nTrue Reward \nIt was a dark night and was raining heavily and the re were strange noises from \nevery where and voice of  the moaning of jackals co uld be heard. \nAlthough there was a  bad atmosphere king Vikramadi tya did not fear a bit. \nHe climbed the tree to bring the corpse down and so on he began to walk with \nthe corpse lying on his shoulder. \nThe Betaal spoke: \"O King , I pity you as you are m aking untiring efforts \nwithout relaxing as if you wish to achieve somethin g. Instead of enjoying a \ncomfortable sleep in your palace  you’re still comi ng after me”  \nKing didn’t speak anything because any word from hi s mouth would keep \nBetaal right back on the tree. \nSo Betaal starts his story………. \nLong long ago, Kanchannagar was being ruled by King  Chandradeep . His \ndaughter was Indumati . Being an only child, the pr incess was brought up like \na boy, and given training in the use of arms an war fare. The princes of many \nof the neighbouring kingdoms cherished a desire to marry Indumati, who was, \nextremely beautiful. \nWhenever the king broached the subject of marriage,  Indumati said \"Yes,  \nbut... Whoever marries me must be strong and brave.  And he must succeed in \nthe tests that I give.\"  \nIndumati, then she listed out what kind of tests sh e was contemplating for her \nsuitors. The king was horrified. \"Don’t insist on a ny such test, They’re all \nhazardous. No one will come forward to undergo the tests for fear their life. \nJust forget about them.\"  \nIndumati said,  \"Don't worry father! All those who said that they love me than \ntheir life will certainly take these tests.” \nMinister said \"If the princess wanted to impose the  tests, let her wish be \ncarried out\"  \nThe royal announcement about the princess wedding w as made stated that the \nsuitors would have to take certain tests. The annou ncement was made in all \nthe neighbouring kingdoms. \nWhen  young handicapped man named Kurupshana from J ayanagar heard it. \nHis mother died soon after he was born, and his fat her took a second wife. His \nstep mother kept his name  Kurupshana, which means ugly looking.  His \nstepmother ill-treated him much. It was seldom that  he even got a full meal. \nShe knew that the boy, with his handicap, would not  be much use to her. \nHe decided to go to Kanchannagar. Few princes had w ere there \nKanchannagar. They were guessing what kind of tests  the princess would put \nthem through. The time came to announce the details  of the tests. The Princess \nIndumati came to the stage and sat next to the king . \nPrime Minister got up from his seat and faced the p rincely suitors. \"Several \nsuitors are present here to win the hand of princes s Indumati. It is her wish \nthat they are put to certain tests and Whoever succ eed in the test will qualify \nto wed her. You all can see the wall in front of yo u. You have to climb the \nwall and jump down into the three- tiered cage of s harp knives. The important \nthing is, while doing so, you must not injure yours elf. There should not be a \nsingle scratch on your body from the blades of the knives.\" \nMany princes took a good look at the high wall as w ell as the cage of knives. \nThe wall looked too high for them; the cage was pla ced deep down below; and \nthe space between the knives was very small. None d ared even to make an \nattempt. As they went back to their seats. \nIt looked as though no suitor was willing to take t he test. The king regretted \nthat his daughter did not accept his advice. Kurups hana was watching all this \nfrom his seat. Suddenly a thought struck him. After  all, people back home,  \nwere only wishing for his death. If he were to succ eed in the test , he stood to \nwin the hand of  princess So, he decided to try his  luck. He left his seat and \nwalked up to King Chandradeep. The king was shocked . Princess Indumati, \ntoo, was in a similar dilemma. She was expecting to  be married off to a prince. \nSuddenly a doubt arose in her mind: would this youn g man be able to \ncomplete the test.  King Chandradeep waited for a m oment to know his \ndaughter’s decision, and then gave the permission t o Kurupshana. Kurupshana \nwent up the wall. He then took a good look at the c age and jumped down. He \nlanded between the knives arrayed all around on all  the three tiers. He was \nunscathed!  He then walked towards the king and the  princess. Kurupshana  \nsaid \"Huzoor ! Please don’t worry. I didn’t wish to  marry the princess. I had \nonly wanted to take a challenge and I know I’ve suc ceeded. That itself is a big \nreward of my life and I can now face life.\" He bowe d low before the king and \nretreated. \nThe Betaal ended his story and asked  to Vikramadit ya “King! Didn’t \nKurupshana behave like a \nfoolish? If he had no intention of marrying the pri ncess, why did he at all \ndecide to undergo the test?” And after having succe eded in the test and \nqualified to wed the princess, why did \nnot want to marry her? “ , “If you know the answer and still decide not to \nsatisfy me, beware, your head will be blown to piec es!” \n\"\"You are right, Kurupshana was a handicapped young  man,\" said the \nVikramaditya.\" He was aware of his handicap that bo thered his stepmother. \nHe really wished that she changed her opinion about  him. She should not any \nlonger feel that he was no good. Instead she should  know that where people \nwith no handicap had failed, he could, despite his handicap, come out a victor. \nThat, for him, was the biggest reward he could aspi re for. He decided to \nundergo the test not with the hope of marrying a pr incess. If he married her, \nhe would one day be called upon to rule the kingdom . But as a ruler, he \nwouldn’t be able even to hold sword and could not e ven protect his kingdom, \nso it wouldn’t be wise decision for him to marry he r. That’s why he gave up \nhis claim to her hand. It was the decision of a wis e person.\"  \nBetaal knew that king will definitely speak out the  answer so he flew back to \nthe ancient tree carrying the corpse along with him . Vikramaditya drew his \nsword and went after the Betaal . \n \nReward for Gatekeeper \n \nIt was a dark night and was raining heavily and the re were strange noises from \nevery where and voice of  the moaning of jackals co uld be heard. \nAlthough there was a  bad atmosphere king Vikramadi tya did not fear a bit. \nHe climbed the tree to bring the corpse down and so on he began to walk with \nthe corpse lying on his shoulder. \nThe Betaal  spoke: \"O King , I pity you as you are making unti ring efforts \nwithout relaxing as if you wish to achieve somethin g. Instead of enjoying a \ncomfortable sleep in your palace  you’re still comi ng after me”  \nKing didn’t speak anything because any word from hi s mouth would keep \nBetaal  right back on the tree. \nSo Betaal  starts his story………. \nOnce Upon a time there lived a king named Chandraka nt. He is very brave \nand kind king. He was taking good care of his subje cts. Everyone was living \nwith peace in his kingdom. \nOnce a guard came to him and told him that “Huzoor!  you must alert our \nsoldiers, as enemy might attack our country within few days”.  Chandrakant \nasked him how could he say before the moment. The g uard didn’t reply \nanything.  \nFew days went away. Suddenly neighbour country atta cked Chandrakant’s \nKingdom , but as his soldiers were alert. They foug ht bravely and defeat the \nopponent. Chandrakant remembered the advice of the guard. \nAfter finishing war he came back to the palace. He was relaxing on his bed at \nthe night. He decided to give good reward to the gu ard next day.  \nNext day, he called a guard. Guard came very happil y to receive his reward. \nKing gave him 1000 gold coins and asked him how you  got an idea enemies \nwere going to attack on our kingdom. Guard replied “Sir I can see future \nthings which are going to happen in my dreams, that  night while doing my \nduty at night I had a dream that enemy was attackin g us”. King was pleased \nwith him. He gave him 1000 gold coins. But suddenly  he said “You have done \ngood work by alerting us, but you are dismissed fro m the post of the guard”. \nPeople were surprised by King’s decision, but no on e had a dare to ask him \nwhy. But the guard said “Yes sir, I must be punishe d and went away”. \nBetaal stops and asks King Vikram  asks this question: Why King dismissed \nguard even if he helped him to win against the enem y? \nVikram replies with a lot of thought, \"Betaal, duty  of guard is to take care of \npalace’s gate. As guard said he said he had a dream  during the duty, king got \nthe idea he was sleeping at the gate so although he   helped him to win against \nenemy he forgot to do his duty so king dismissed hi m from the post of the \nguard.\" \nAs soon as Vikram  had finished his answer, Betaal  disappeared back to the \ntree.", "category": "folks and regional stories"}
{"text": "Category: folks and regional stories\nContent: Purna Vidya 1 Panchatantra Stories \n \n \n \n \n \n \nKumud Singhal  \n \n \nPurna Vidya 2   \nStory of PancnTantra \n \n\n \n \nPurna Vidya 3 \n\n \n \nPurna Vidya 4 \n \n \n \nPurna Vidya 5 The Brahmin and The Cobra \naridatta was a Brahmin who was very poor. He was a farmer but \nthe piece of land he cultivated gave him very littl e to survive. One \nday, unable to stand the heat of the summer sun, he  went to a big \ntree in his land to rest for a while. Before he cou ld spread himself \non the ground he saw in the nearby anthill a huge c obra swaying \nwith his hood open.  \nHe thought, “This cobra must really be the Goddess of this land. I \nhave never worshipped her, which is why I am not ab le to get \nanything from the land. From today, I will worship her.”  \nAt once he went back to his village and returned wi th a glass full of \nmilk.  \nHe poured it in a bowl and turning to the anthill s aid, “O ruler of \nthe land, I did not know you were living in this an thill. That is why I \nhave not paid my tribute to you. Please excuse me a nd accept this \nhumble offering.”  \nHe then placed the bowl of milk at the anthill and left the place.  \n \n \n \nPurna Vidya 6 Next day when the Brahmin came to his land before t he Sun was up, \nhe saw a gold coin in the bowl he had left at the a nthill. \nHenceforth, he came alone every dawn, collected the  coin, offered \nthe milk in the bowl and left. One day the Brahmin,  leaving for \nanother village on business, asked his son to go to  the anthill and \noffer milk. When the son went the next day, he foun d a gold coin in \nthe bowl.  \nHe collected the coin and thought, “This anthill mu st be full of gold. \nIf I kill the cobra, I can collect all the gold in one go instead of \ncoming here every day.”  \nHe then struck the cobra with a big stick. But the cobra deftly \ndodged the blow but stung the son to death with his  poisonous \nfangs. Returning to his village the next day, Harid atta heard the \nstory of his son’s death and at once realised that greed was behind \nit.  \n \nThe Brahmin went to the anthill the day after his s on’s cremation \nand offered milk to the cobra. Without coming out o f his hole, the \ncobra told Haridatta,  \n \n \nPurna Vidya 7 “You have come here for gold forgetting that you ha d lost a son \nand that you were in mourning. The reason is greed,  pure greed. \nFrom today, there is no meaning in our relationship . Blinded by his \nyouth, your son has struck me and I bit him back. H ow can I forget \nthat blow? How can you suffer the grief of your son ’s death? \nFinally, I am giving you this diamond, don’t come b ack again.”  \n \nMORAL: Excess of greed is harmful. \n \n \n \nThe Bird With Two Heads \n \n \ngreat bird named Bharunda lived on the banks of a l ake. He had \ntwo heads but a single body. One day,as the bird wa s wandering on \nthe bank of the lake, he found a fruit, which was a s delicious as \nambrosia. One of his heads mumbled, “Oh what a frui t. I am sure \nthe heavens have sent it for me. I am so lucky.”  \n \n \nPurna Vidya 8 Hearing this, the second head said, “O brother, let  me also taste \nthe fruit you are praising so much.”  \nThe first head laughed and said, “Both of us have t he same \nstomach. It makes no difference whether I eat it or  you eat it. I \nshall give it to our beloved. She will be very happ y.” Bharunda thus \ngave the fruit to his wife. The second head was dis appointed at \nthis action of the first head.  \nOne day, the second head found a poisonous fruit an d told the \nfirst head, “You treacherous fellow. For what you h ave done to me, \nI will eat this poisonous fruit and avenge your ins ult.”  \nThe second head said, “You fool, if you eat that, b oth of us will die \nbecause we have the same body.”  \nIgnoring his warning, the second head ate the poiso nous fruit and \nboth of them died.  \n \n \nMORAL: Sharing of a good thing with others is always good. \n \n \nPurna Vidya 9  \n \n Once upon a time there lived a group of mice under  a tree \npeacefully. But once a group of elephants came that  way and \ndestroyed the homes of all the rats as a result of which many of \nthem were crushed to death. Then the king of rats d ecided to \napproach the elephant chief and request him to guid e his herd \nthrough another route. The elephant king agreed to this and took \nanother route to the water. And so the lives of the  rats were \nsaved.  \n \nOne day a group of elephant-hunters came and trappe d the group \nof elephants in huge nets. Then the elephant king s uddenly \nremembered the king of the rats. He summoned one of  the \nelephants of his herd which had not been trapped, t o go and \ncontact the king of rats.  \n \nOn listening to the elephant, the rat king took his  entire group of \nmice and they cut open the nets which trapped the e lephant herd. \nSo the elephant herd was totally set free. \n \nMORAL: A friend in need is a friend indeed. \n \n \nPurna Vidya 10  \nThe Blue Jackal \n \nOnce upon a time there was a forest by a \ncity. The forest was the home of many \nanimals. Among them was a jackal. There \nwere many other jackals who belonged to \nthe same pack but the others moved \naround together and seldom left the \nforest.  \nNow this particular jackal was more \nadventurous and often strayed into the \nvillage in search of food. He had already tasted th e wonderful \nthings the human beings were fond of cooking and we nt to look for \nsome whenever he could. It was not a particularly e asy thing to do. \nHe knew that the human beings would give him a soun d beating if \nhe were caught. Besides, the city was full of dogs and the jackal \nwas afraid of them. They were sure to kill him or h urt him badly if \nthey ever managed to catch him. But the lure of foo d proved too \nstrong for him and the jackal went to the city agai n and again. \nOne day just as he was about to enter a big house h e heard the \nsound of loud barking. To his horror he saw a group  of dogs running \ntowards the house. They looked fierce and the jacka l was soon \ntrembling in fear. He ran willy-nilly and tumbled r ight inside a tub \nof blue dye. The dogs missed him and ran the other way. By the \ntime the jackal climbed out of the tub he was dyed blue from head \n\n \n \nPurna Vidya 11 to foot. He looked really strange and totally unlik e any other animal. \nThe jackal was very happy. \"No one will be able to recognize me \nnow\" he told himself, \"I can easily fool everyone i n the forest.\" \nThe jackal was quite right. When he entered the for est once again \neveryone was surprised to see such a strange animal . There had \nnever seen any animal of that color before. \n\"Who are you?\" the smaller animals asked him. \"Wher e have you \ncome from?\" asked the mighty lion with a frown. \"Di d anyone send \nyou?\" asked the fierce tiger giving him a keen look .  \n\"Lord Indra, king of heaven, has sent me to look af ter you\" said \nthe blue jackal in a grand voice, \"I'll be your kin g from now on.\" \n\"But I have always been the king of the forest\" pro tested the \nmighty lion. \n\"All that must change now as I am the king\" said th e blue jackal \nenjoying himself, \"all of you must serve me and do exactly as I tell \nyou.\" \n\"What if we don't?\" asked the tiger. \n\"Then Lord Indra will destroy the entire forest and  all of you with \nit\" said the blue jackal. \nThe animals did not dare to say anything more. \n\"What would you like us to do?\" they asked the blue  jackal. \n\"Bring me lots of food, to start with\" said the blu e jackal promptly, \n\"I am hungry and can't take care of you unless I am  properly \nlooked after.\" \n \n \n \nPurna Vidya 12 The animals rushed off in different directions. Bef ore long they \nwere back with lots of food. They took care to brin g whatever they \ncould find and offered the best of everything to th e blue jackal. \nThe jackal was happy and had his fill. Needless to say, there was \nfar more food than he could eat. \"Now all of you ca n eat up the \nrest of the food\" he said, \"But mind you, you must bring me fresh \nfood every day.\" \nThe animals promised to serve him faithfully. He as signed special \nduties to all the animals but banished the pack of jackals from the \nforest because he was afraid they might recognize h im some day.  \nThe blue jackal had a wonderful time after that. He  did not need \nto step out of the forest or risk confronting the d ogs. He now got \nthe best of everything without doing anything at al l. He laughed by \nhimself whenever he remembered how cleverly he had tricked the \nlot – including the tiger, the mighty elephant and the lion who \nconsidered themselves too grand for words. But one day something \nunexpected happened. The banished pack of jackals w as roaming \njust outside the forest and howled together loudly.  The blue jackal \nforgot himself and joined in the howling just as he  used to do \nbefore.  \nThe other animals were present when it happened and  stared at \nhim incredulously. Here was their mighty blue king howling just like \na jackal! So he was a jackal after all and not a st range creature \nsent from heaven! He had merely colored himself som ehow and had \nbeen fooling them all these days! Fooling the lion king, the fierce \ntiger and mighty elephant! \n \n \nPurna Vidya 13 Well, they were not going to be fooled any longer. They fell upon \nthe blue jackal and killed him before he could expl ain or protest. \nAnd that was the end of the blue jackal's reign as king!     \nMORAL: DO NOT PRETEND TO BE SOMEONE ELSE BE YOURSEL F \n \n \n \n\n \n \nPurna Vidya 14 \n\n \n \nPurna Vidya 15 \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nPurna Vidya 16 \n\n \n \nPurna Vidya 17 \n\n \n \nPurna Vidya 18 \n \n \n \nPurna Vidya 19  \n\n \n \nPurna Vidya 20 \n\n \n \nPurna Vidya 21 \n\n \n \nPurna Vidya 22 \n\n \n \nPurna Vidya 23", "category": "folks and regional stories"}
{"text": "Category: ramayan\nContent: Ramayana is one of the two major Sanskrit ancient epics (Itihasas) of Hindu literature. It was composed by sage Valmiki. This is a list of important figures that appear in the epic.\n\nA\n\nRama releasing Ahalya from curse. Lakshmana and sage Vishvamitra are present.\nAgastya: Rishi (sage). Son of sage Pulastya and brother of sage Vishrava. He was an uncle of Ravana. Agastya and his wife Lopamudra met Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana during their exile and gave them a divine bow and arrow.[1]\nAhalya: Wife of the sage Gautama Maharishi. Many Hindu scriptures say that she was seduced by Indra (the king of the gods), cursed by her husband for infidelity, and liberated from the curse by Rama (an avatar of Vishnu).\nAkampana: A a maternal uncle of Ravana. He was one of ten sons of Sumali and Ketumathi. He also had four sisters. He was one of the survivors of the battle between Khara and Dushana along with Shurpanakha. After escaping the deadly carnage, he instigated Ravana to kidnap Sita, thus indirectly making him one of the masterminds behind the war. Later he was killed in the battle by Hanuman.\nAkshayakumara: Youngest son of Ravana and Mandodari. He was killed by Hanuman during the encounter in the Ashoka Vatika.\nAngada: A vanara and the son of Vali and Tara. Angada helped Rama find his wife Sita and fight her abductor, Ravana.\nAñjanā: Mother of Hanuman. According to a version of the legend, Añjanā was an apsara named Puñjikastalā, who was born on earth as a vanara princess and married Kesari, a vanara chief. In some Shaiva traditions, Vayu, the god of the wind, carried the divine power of Shiva to Anjana's womb, and thus Hanuman was born as an incarnation of Shiva.[2][3]\nAtikaya: Son of Ravana and his second wife Dhanyamalini. He was killed by Lakshmana by the Brahmastra, after the advice given by Vayu at the behest of Indra, that an otherwise invincible armour of Brahma was granted to Atikaya, that could only be pierced by a Brahmastra, during the battle when Lakshmana struggled to kill Atikaya.\nB\nBharata: The second son of Dasharatha, born to Kaikeyi, and the younger half brother of Rama. He was married to Sita's cousin Mandavi with whom he had two children.\nC\nChandrabhaga: Wife of Janaka's younger brother Kushadhvaja. Chandrabhagha 's two daughters Mandavi and Shrutakirti were married to Rama's younger brothers Bharata and Shatrughna respectively.\nD\n\nRama and his brothers in the company of Raja Dashratha and his three queens.\nDasharatha: King of Ayodhya. He had three queens, Kaushalya, Kaikeyi and Sumitra, and four sons: Rama, Bharata, and twins Lakshmana, Shatrughna. Dasharatha also had a daughter named Shanta. Once, Kaikeyi saved Dasharatha in a battle, and as a reward, she acquired two boons from her husband to be invoked at a later time. Manipulated by Manthara, she asked Dasharatha to make their son Bharata the crown prince and send Rama into exile for a period of fourteen years. Dasharatha died heartbroken after Rama went into exile.\nDevantaka: A son of Ravana who was described as a Warrior with a machete as his weapon.He was killed by Hanuman in a duel.\nDhanyamalini: The second wife of Ravana. Her origin is unknown but some stories refer to her as the daughter of Maya and sister of Mandodari. She was the mother of Atikaya.\nDhumraksha: A maternal uncle of Ravana and one of ten sons of Sumali. He was killed by Hanuman.\nDushana: A man-eating rakshasa. He is the twin brother of Khara, the younger male cousin of Ravana, and son of Kaikesi's sister Raka. They were demons who ruled the Dandaka Forest. After Lakshmana humiliated Shurpanakha by cutting off her nose and ears, Khara and Dushana went to war against Lakshmana and Rama. During this fight, Dushana was killed by Rama.[4]\nG\nGanga: River goddess and the daughter of Himavan. Because of her incomparable beauty, she was given to the devas. At Bhagiratha's request, she assumed the form of a river and flowed down to the earth with the assistance of Shiva and became the river Ganga.\nGuha: The king of Śṛṅgiverapura, a nation of the Nishadas, and one of the allies of Rama. He helps the deity and his companions be ferried across the river Ganga during his exile.\nH\nHanuman: A divine vanara companion and devotee of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central figures of the epic. He is a brahmachari (life long celibate) and one of the chiranjivis. In some versions of the epic, he is described as an avatar of Shiva.\nHema: An apsara in Indra's court. When Mayasura visited Svarga, he saw and married her. They had two sons, Mayavi and Dundubhi, and a daughter named Mandodari. She later left them and returned to Svarga.\nI\nIndrajit (Meghanada): The elder son of Ravana mothered by Mandodari and a prince of Lanka. In the epic, he is described to be a great warrior and master of illusions. he is also known as Indraari.\nJ\nJambavan: The king of the bears. He was created by Brahma to assist Rama in his struggle against Ravana.\nJanaka: The king of Mithila and the father of Sita and Urmila.\nJambumali: One of the eight sons of Lanka's commander-in-chief Prahasta. He was killed by Hanuman during the encounter in the Ashoka Vatika\nJatayu: A divine bird and the younger son of Aruṇa. He was an old friend of Dasharatha (Rama's father). Jatayu's wings were lopped off and killed by Ravana when he tried to save Sita during her abduction.\nK\nKabandha: A gandharva, cursed by sage Shtulashira to become a repulsive demon with no head or neck but his mouth in the belly and a single fiery eye on the chest along extremely long arms. He was freed from the curse when his arms were sliced of by Rama and Lakshman and when he was cremated.\nKaikasi (Nikasha, Malini, Sukeshi): A wife of sage Vishrava, and mother of Ravana, Kumbhakarna, Vibhishana, and Shurpanakha. She was a daughter of the rakshasa king Sumali by his wife Ketumati/Ketumali.[5] Her elder sisters, Raka and Pushpotkata, were also wives of Vishrava.\nKaikeyi: The third and most favorable wife of King Dasharatha, and mother of Bharata. After she saved the life of Dasharatha in battle, he offered to grant anything she would ask of him. She later calls in this favour to have Bharata crowned king and Rama sent into the forest, manipulated by the words of her maid, Manthara.\nKausalya: The mother of Rama and the first consort of King Dasharatha. She is also described to be the king's favourite wife.\nKhara: man-eating rakshasa. He is the twin brother of Dushana, younger male cousin of Ravana, and son of Kaikesi's sister Raka. He was killed by Rama and Lakshmana when he attacked Rama after Shurpanakha's humiliation. After Lakshmana cut off Shurpanakha's nose and ears, Khara fought against Lakshmana and Rama. During this fight, Khara lost and was killed by Rama, who also killed his brothers Dushana and Trishiras.[6]\nKumbhakarna: The second son of Vishrava and Kaikasi. He was the younger brother of Ravana and the elder brother of Vibhishana and Shurpanakha. Despite his gigantic size and great appetite, he was described to be of good character and a great warrior in those times. When offered a boon by Brahma, he was tricked into asking for eternal sleep. A horrified Ravana, out of brotherly love, persuaded Brahma to amend the boon. Brahma mitigated the power of the boon by making Kumbhakarna sleep for six months and being awake for the rest six months of a year (in some versions, he is awake for one day out of the year). He was one of the rakshasas who opposed Ravana's abduction of Sita.\nKusha: one of the two sons of Rama and Sita.\nL\nLakshmana: The third son of King Dasharatha, and a half-brother of Rama. He was the twin brother of Shatrughna, both born to queen Sumitra. In some traditions, he is regarded to be an incarnation of Shesha. He was deeply devoted to his brother, whom he followed through many dangerous adventures and quests. He was married to Sita's younger sister, Urmila. He is stated to have guarded his brother Rama and Sita during their exile for fourteen years without sleeping .\nLava: one of the two sons of Rama and Sita. He had a twin brother named Kusha, one of the youths to whom Valmiki taught the Ramayana.\nM\nMalyavan: A maternal granduncle of Ravana. He was one of three sons of Sukesha. He had two younger brothers named Sumali and Mali. Malyavan's wife was Sundari. He had seven sons - Vajramusthi, Virupaksha, Durmukha, Suptaghna, Yajnakopa, Matta, Unmatta, and a daughter named Anala. He was one of the rakshasas who opposed Ravana's abduction of Sita.\nMandavi: The daughter of King Kushadhvaja and Queen Chandrabhaga. She was a cousin of Sita and Urmila. She also had a younger sister named Shrutakirti. Mandavi was married to Rama's brother Bharata. After the Ramayana, she became the queen of Gandhara and had two sons, Pushkala and Taksha, who founded Peshawar, then called Purushapura, and Takshashila, now called Taxila, respectively.\nMandodari: The chief consort of Ravana. The epic describes her as beautiful, pious, and righteous. Mandodari was the daughter of Mayasura and an apsara named Hema. Mandodari bears two sons: Meghanada (Indrajit) and Akshayakumara. She was one of the rakshasas who opposed Ravana's abduction of Sita.\nManthara: Maid of Kaikeyi. She is said to be hunch-backed, ugly and antagonistic in appearance. She manipulates Kaikeyi into fears that her position would be overshadowed by Kausalya after the coronation of Rama, persuading her mistress to invoke her boons and send Rama into his exile.\nMaricha: A rakshasa (demon) who plays a role in the kidnapping of Sita, Rama's wife, by assuming the form of a golden deer. His mother was Tataka and brother was Subahu, who were killed by Rama earlier in the story.\nN\nNala: A vanara who helped Rama during his war with Ravana. He is credited as the engineer of the Rama Setu. He was a son of Vishvakarma, and the twin brother of Nila.[7]\nNarantaka: A son of Ravana. He was killed by Angada.\nNila: The commander-in-chief of the vanara army in Rama's battle against Ravana. Along with his twin brother Nala, he is also credited for constructing the Rama Setu. Nila is the son of Agni.\nNirvani: A yakshini and niece of the yaksha king Suketu.\nP\nParashurama: The sixth avatar of Vishnu, present in the Ramayana in his conflict with Rama over Shiva's broken bow pinaka, and due to the vow he had made to kill Kshatriya kings. He challenged Rama to bend the bow of Vishnu, and when this was done, accepted that Rama was an incarnation of Vishnu and retired to his penance.[8]\nPrahasta: A maternal uncle of Ravana and chief commander of Lanka's army. He was a son of Sumali and Ketumati.\nR\nRama: The protagonist of the epic. He is an avatar of Vishnu. He was the son of King Dasharatha of the Kosala Kingdom and his eldest consort, Kausalya. He is regarded to be the embodiment of justice and dharma. He marries Princess Sita of Mithila. The crux of the epic details his attempts to rescue her from Ravana's clutches at Lanka.\nRavana: The rakshasa king of Lanka. He is the main antagonist of the epic. He was the son of Vishrava and Kaikashi. His kidnapping of Rama's wife Sita is the central event that sparked the conflict of the epic.\nRishyasringa: A rishi (sage) presided over the sacrifice that King Dasharatha offered in order to get a son. He was married to Dasharatha's daughter Shanta.\nRumā: The wife of Sugriva. She is mentioned in Book IV (Kishkindha Kanda) of the epic. Ruma and Sugriva fell in love with each other and wanted to marry each other. But Ruma's father did not approve. Hence, Sugriva with the help of Hanuman abducted Ruma and they married each other. Rumā was taken away from Sugriva by Vali following the strife of two royal vanara brothers. Later, the fact of Rumā being withheld by Vali became the primary justification of Rama's slaying Vali and helping Sugriva to become the sovereign of Kishkindha. When accused by Vali of lowly, treacherous and unexpected assassination from the shades by Rama's arrow, Rāma says his assassination was a just punishment for the sin Vali committed when he robbed Sugriva of Rumā, his wedded spouse, and used her for his own pleasure.[9][10][11]\nS\nSampati: A supporter of Rama. He was the brother of Jatayu and the son of Aruna. He traced Sita with his divine vision and informed Rama that Sita was in Lanka\nShanta: The daughter of a King Dasharatha and his elder consort Kausalya. Later she was adopted by King Romapada of Anga. She was married to the sage Rishyasringa.\nShabari: An elderly ascetic who was devoted to Rama. As her guru Matanga had instructed her to worship Rama, she waited for him for several years. Sabari finally met Rama after the abduction of Sita. She helped Rama to find Sugriva and Hanuman.\nShatrughna: The youngest son of King Dasharatha. He was born to queen Sumitra and was a twin brother of Lakshmana. He was married to Sita's cousin Shrutakirti with whom he had two children.\nShiva: A part of the Trimurti, the supreme trinity in Hinduism, along with Vishnu and Brahma. Both Rama and Ravana were great to devotees of Shiva. Some versions of the epic also describe Hanuman as one of the avatars of Shiva. His wife is Parvati.\nShrutakirti: The daughter of king Kushadhvaja and queen Chandrabhaga. She was a cousin of Sita and Urmila. She also had an elder sister Mandavi.[12] Shrutakirti was married to Rama's brother Shatrughna.\nShurpanakha: The daughter of Vishrava and Kaikesi; and the younger sister of Ravana. She met Rama during one such visit to the forest of Panchavati and was instantly smitten by his youthful good looks. Rama meanwhile kindly rejected her advances, telling her that he was faithful to his wife Sita and thus would never take another wife. Rejected, Shurpanakha then approached his younger brother, Lakshmana, who also rejected her, the humiliated and envious Shurpanakha attacked Sita but was thwarted by Lakshmana, who cut off her nose and ears and sent her back to Lanka\nSita: The principal female figure of the epic. The reincarnation of Vedavati, Sita was raised by King Janaka of Mithila as his own daughter. She married Rama of Ayodhya and accompanied him on his exile. She is famed for her virtue and beauty and is regarded as an avatar of the goddess of prosperity, Lakshmi.\nSubahu: A rakshasa. He and his mother, Tataka, took immense pleasure in harassing the munis of the jungle, especially Vishvamitra, by disrupting their yajnas with rains of flesh and blood.[13] Vishvamitra approached Dasharatha for help in getting rid of these pestilences. Dasharatha obliged by sending two of his sons, Rama and Lakshmana, to the forest with Vishvamitra, charging them to protect both the sage and his sacrificial fires.[citation needed] When Subahu and Maricha again attempted to rain flesh and blood on the sage's yajna, Subahu was killed by Rama.[14]\nSugriva: A vanara. He was the younger brother of Vali, whom he succeeded as ruler of the vanara the kingdom of Kishkindha. Rumā was his wife. He was the spiritual son of Surya. Sugriva aided Rama in his quest to liberate his wife Sita from the captivity at the hands of Ravana.\nSuketu: A yaksha who performed a yajna to get an heir, with the strength equal to thousand elephants. After the ritual, he got a daughter named Tataka.\nSumali: The son of rakshasa king Sukesa and gandharva princess Devavati.[15] He had two brothers Malyavana and Mali. Sumali was married to Ketumati with whom he had ten sons (Prahasta, Akampana, Vikata, Kalikamukha, Dhumraksha, Danda, Suprasva, Sanhradi, Praghasa, and Bhaskarna) and four daughters (Raka, Puspotkata, Kaikashi, Kumbhnashi). One of his daughters Kaikashi was married to sage Vishrava who later gave birth to Ravana, Kumbhakarna, Vibhishana, and Shurpanakha.\nSumantra was the prime minister in the court of Ayodhya. He was extremely loyal to the rulers of Ayodhya and was King Dasharatha's a most trusted minister. He knew many secrets about the royal family, including what he had heard from the conversation between King Dasharatha and Durvasa. He helped Rama in his exile.\nSumitra: The second consort of King Dasharatha of Ayodhya. She was the mother of the twins Lakshmana and Shatrughna.\nSunayana: The queen of Mithila, wife of King Janaka, and the mother of Sita and Urmila.\nT\nTara: The wife of Vali, and the mother of Angada. She was the queen of Kishkindha and is regarded as one of the panchakanyas.\nTataka: A beautiful woman who was transformed into a demon (rakshasa) once she tried to seduce the sage Agastya. As a demon, she used to drink the blood of living creatures and used to kill anything she sees. In one of Rama's great acts, he broke her curse by slaying her.\nTrijata: A demoness who was assigned the duty of guarding Sita who was kidnapped by the king of Lanka. In later adaptions of Ramayana, she is described as the daughter of Vibhishana.\nTrishira: A son of Ravana. He was killed by Hanuman.\nU\nUrmila: The younger daughter of King Janaka and queen Sunayana, and the younger sister of Sita. She married Lakshmana and had two sons, Angada and Chandraketu. In the Garga Samhita, she is stated to be an avatar of Nagalakshmi. Urmila slept continuously for fourteen years, so that her husband could protect Rama and Sita during the exile.\nV\nVali: A vanara king of Kishkindha. He was a spiritual son of Indra, the biological son of Vriksharaja, the elder brother of Sugriva, husband of Tara, and father of Angada. He is slain by Rama.\nVasishtha: A sage and the guru of King Dasharatha, offering religious advice to the king and the royal family.\nVibhishana: A younger brother of Ravana. Though a rakshasa himself, Vibhishana was of a noble character. When Ravana kidnapped Sita, he advised Ravana to return her to her husband Rama in an orderly fashion and promptly which Ravana refused sternly. When Ravana did not heed his advice and threw him out of the kingdom, Vibhishana deserted Ravana and joined Rama's army. Later, when Rama defeated Ravana, Rama crowned Vibhishana as the king of Lanka.\nVidyutjiva: A Danava and the husband of Ravana's sister Shurpanakha.\nVishrava: The son of Pulatsya, the brother of the sage Agastya and the grandson of Brahma. His first wife was Ilavida with whom he had a son named Kubera. Later, he also married the rakshasa princess Kaikasi with whom he had three sons (Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Vibhishana) and a daughter (Shurpanakha).\nVishvamitra: A sage who was once a king. Through long meditation, he gained a number of spiritual powers. He took Rama on a quest to defeat a demon and to lift the bow of Shiva.", "category": "ramayan"}
{"text": "Category: mahabharata\nContent: Princess in the Mahabharata Fictional character Amba Mahabharata character Amba Information Gender Female Family Parents Kashya (Father) Kausalya (Mother) Sisters Ambika Ambalika Brother Senabindu Significant other Salva Home Kashi Amba ( Sanskrit : अम्बा , romanized : Ambā ) is a character in the Hindu epic Mahabharata .\n\nShe is the eldest and most beautiful daughter of Kashya, the King of Kashi , and the sister of Ambika and Ambalika .\n\nAmba, along with her sisters, were abducted by Bhishma during their svayamvara ceremony, as brides to marry Vichitravirya , the King of Hastinapura .\n\nBefore the wedding ceremony, the princess approaches Bhishma, and informs him of her love for King Salva , upon which she is allowed to go to the latter and urge him to accept her as his wife.\n\nTo her dismay, Salva rejects her, regarding her to have been customarily accepted by Bhishma as his wife.\n\nDespite her efforts, as well as those of Parashurama , Bhishma refuses to marry her.\n\nAmba holds Bhishma responsible for her misfortune, undertaking a penance, and is granted a boon by Shiva .\n\nShe is reborn as Shikhandi , the child of King Drupada , and the sibling of the epic's female protagonist, Draupadi .\n\nEtymology [ edit ] Amba is a commonly used word in Sanskrit meaning mother, also with Vedic linkage as the mother of the Vedas .\n\nLegend [ edit ] Mahabharata Partial Family Tree Svayamvara [ edit ] The Adi Parva of the Mahabharata narrates the events of Amba's svayamvara at the Kingdom of Kashi.\n\nAmba and Salva, the King of Salva , were secretly in love and Amba had promised to place the varmala on his neck, thereby choosing him as her bridegroom.\n\nBhishma learned of the ceremony of the three virtuous princesses, and went to the svayamvara to win the princesses for his step-brother Vichitravirya .\n\nUpon arrival, Bhishma announced his intention to abduct the brides, challenging the assembled suitors to stop him.\n\nBhishma then forced the princesses into his chariot and rode away.\n\nThe kings followed and showered Bhishma with arrows; however, Bhishma returned the attack and defeated them.\n\nSalva challenged Bhishma for a duel; Bhishma overpowered and wounded Salva, but spared his life.\n\nUnaware of Amba's feelings, Bhishma proceeded to Hastinapura and presented them to Satyavati , who made arrangements for their marriage to Vichitravirya.\n\nAmba approached Bhishma and the council of Brahmins and revealed that she and Salva were in love with each other and that she had been going to choose him as her husband in the svayamvara.\n\nBhishma conceded that she should make her own decision regarding the matter and sent her to Salva with honours, while Ambika and Ambalika were married to Vichitravirya.\n\nSalva's rejection [ edit ] In the Ambopakhyanaparvan chapter of the book Udyoga Parva of the Mahabharata , the rest of Amba's tale is narrated by Bhishma when Duryodhana questions him as to why he did not kill Shikhandi , an ally of the Pandavas , the cousins and foes of the Kauravas .\n\nBhishma ensured that Amba was escorted safely to Salva's kingdom .\n\nAmba informed Salva that she had come for him.\n\nSalva retorted that he no longer desired her, as she was to be wed to another man.\n\nHe declared that she had been rightfully won by Bhishma, who had defeated and insulted him and the other kings.\n\nHe accused her of leaving with him of her own free will.\n\nAmba pleaded with Salva, whom she considered her true love, to accept her.\n\nBut Salva reiterated his Kshatriya dharma and refused to accept her.\n\nRejected, the heart-broken Amba left the Salva Kingdom and retired to the forest.\n\nIn another version, Amba stung by this rejection went to Bhishma and accosted him, stating that he was responsible for all her problems.\n\nBhishma tried to convince Vichitravirya to marry Amba, but he rejected her stating that she was in love with someone else.\n\nShe then approached Bhishma to marry her.\n\nHe also refused due to his vow of celibacy .\n\nThis further infuriated Amba, as she had now been spurned by three bachelors.\n\nShe appealed to various kings to defeat Bhishma and bring her justice, but all of them refused, knowing Bhishma's capabilities.\n\nFinally, the furious Amba went to the forest to please the devas so that she may have her revenge on Bhishma.\n\nParshurama's mediation [ edit ] Parasurama shoots Bhima in the presence of Amba , ca.\n\n1616 Amba reflected on her plight and considered all the people responsible for it, including herself (as she did not escape Bhishma's chariot when Bhishma was fighting Salva), Bhishma (who abducted her), Salva (who rejected her) and her father (who arranged her svayamvara).\n\nShe finally arrived at the conclusion that Bhishma was the main culprit and swore to destroy him by austerities or battle.\n\nShe sought shelter with a group of ascetics that night and narrated her tale to them.\n\nThere the learned sage Shaikhavatya consoled Amba and promised to guide her in her austerities.\n\nOther sages discussed amongst themselves Amba's situation and contemplated her alternatives and advised her to return to her father as there are only two true protectors of a woman: a father and a husband.\n\nHowever, Amba declined, deciding to practice austerities.\n\nThe next day, the sage Hotravahana (of the Srinjaya race), a former king and Amba's maternal grandfather, passed by the place.\n\nUpon listening to Amba's woe, the sage advised her not to return to her father and instead approach the sage Parashurama .\n\nAkritavrana, one of Parashurama's disciples, also arrived at the place.\n\nHotravahana introduced Amba to Akritavrana and both of them explained Amba's ordeal to him.\n\nAkritavrana gave Amba two options: either Parashurama should approach Salva to marry her or Bhishma should be defeated by Parashurama.\n\nAmba asked Akritavrana to decide who was her culprit.\n\nAkritavrana agreed with Amba that Bhishma was the root cause of her plight and should be the target of her revenge.\n\nAkritavrana and Hotravahana explained Amba's predicament to Parashurama, whom Amba herself prayed to for help.\n\nParashurama gave his word to Amba that he would slay Bhishma, who was his disciple in the past, and destroy his pride.\n\nWhen Parashurama arrived with his retinue at Kurukshetra and sent a message to Bhishma of his arrival, Bhishma came to see his guru, offering him the traditional respects.\n\nA pleased Parashurama commanded Bhishma to accept Amba.\n\nBhishma refused, restating that he had taken a vow of celibacy.\n\nAn infuriated Parashurama threatened Bhishma with death.\n\nBhishma tried to calm the sage, but in vain, and he finally agreed to battle his guru to safeguard his Kshatriya duty.\n\nGanga tried stopping the battle by beseeching her son as well as the great sage, but failed.\n\nThe great battle lasted for 23 days, without any result.\n\nOn the 24th day when Bhishma chose to use a deadly weapon, at the behest of the divine sage Narada and the devas, Parashurama ended the conflict and the battle was declared a draw.\n\nParashurama narrated the events to Amba and told her to seek Bhishma's protection.\n\nHowever, Amba refused to listen to Parashurama's advice and left angrily declaring that she would achieve her objective by asceticism.\n\nAusterities [ edit ] Amba gave up food and sleep, and practised asceticism standing still for six months in the Yamuna river valley, surviving only on air.\n\nShe became emaciated and developed matted locks.\n\nAfter that, she stood in the waters of the Yamuna, without food and practised austerities.\n\nAfter that, she spent time standing on her tip toes, having eaten only one fallen leaf of a tree.\n\nHer penance for twelve years started burning the heavens and the earth.\n\nShe then went to Vatsa kingdom, in which many renowned sages lived.\n\nShe roamed the kingdom, bathing in the sacred waters of the Ganges (Ganga) and the Yamuna.\n\nThen, she visited the ashrams of many sages like Narada , Uluka , Chyavana , Vishwamitra , Mandavya , and Garga , as well as sacred sites like Prayaga , Bhogavati , and holy groves.\n\nDuring her journey, she observed difficult vows and performed ablutions in the holy waters.\n\nThe goddess Ganga appeared before Amba and listened to Amba's tale that her austerities were aimed to destroy Bhishma , Ganga's son.\n\nThe angry goddess Ganga replied that since Amba's mind was crooked, she would become a crooked and tortuous river, which will remain dry for eight months and flow in the four months of the rainy season.\n\nGanga declared that the bathing places along the river's course would be in difficult terrain, and it will be infested with crocodiles and other fierce creatures.\n\nAmba wandered practising severe vows and forgoing food and water for months.\n\nShe visited many tirthas in this time and finally returned to Vatsa , where Ganga's curse materialized.\n\nThough half of her became the river Amba, the other half remained human, due to her ascetic merit.\n\nShiva's boon and Amba's death [ edit ] The ascetics of Vatsa dissuaded her from the austerities, but Amba maintained her resolve and told them her desire was to be born a man and slay Bhishma to avenge her misery.\n\nThe god Shiva appeared to her and blessed her that she would become a man in her next birth and destroy Bhishma.\n\nAmba would be born to the king Drupada of Panchala and become a great warrior.\n\nAmba would remember her previous birth and hatred of Bhishma.\n\nPleased with the boon, Amba created a funeral pyre of wood on the banks of the Yamuna and jumped in the fire saying \"for Bhishma's destruction!\".\n\nGarland of ever-fresh lotuses [ edit ] Another variant narrates that Amba performed austerities and pleased Kartikeya , the god of war and Shiva's son.\n\nHe granted her a garland of ever-fresh lotuses and declared that whoever wore it will destroy Bhishma.\n\nWith this garland, Amba made one more attempt to seek help of many kings and princes to support her in her just cause.\n\nHowever, there was no response from anyone of them to help her as they did not want to be on the wrong side of Bhishma.\n\nIn a final effort she approached Drupada but even he declined; in frustration she cast the garland off on a pillar outside Drupada's palace and went for austerities in the forest again.\n\nWhile Amba kills herself, no one dares to touch the garland.\n\nRebirth as Shikhandi [ edit ] Main article: Shikhandi Drupada had no children, and so he engaged himself in austerities in the forest, seeking the blessings of Shiva for begetting a son.\n\nShiva granted him the boon that a girl would be born to him, but would transform into a boy later.\n\nAs prophesied, Amba was reborn as Shikhandi, whose true sex was not disclosed, and she was brought up as a boy.\n\nWhen Drupada got his daughter in the garb of a son married to the daughter of Hiranyavarna, the King of Dasharna , her true identity was revealed, not only to the chagrin of the girl, her father, but also to Shikhandi herself.\n\nThe agitated Hiranyavarna declared war on Panchala.\n\nDistressed by the turn of events, Shikhandi went into the forest to meet a yaksha (a nature spirit), Sthunakarna, who helped her by offering to exchange their sexes for a period of time.\n\nThus, Shikhandi became biologically male.\n\nAfter Hiranyavarna's death, Shikhandi returned to swap sexes with the yaksha, but learnt that the yaksha had been cursed by Kubera to remain female until Shikhandi's death.\n\nIn the variant where the garland of ever-fresh lotuses is mentioned, Shikhandi wears the garland once, and Drupada realises that she would slay Bhishma.\n\nMeanwhile, over the course of time, Ambika and Ambalika had grandchildren: the Kauravas and the Pandavas , who became arch-enemies.\n\nDraupadi , the daughter of Drupada, was married to the Pandavas.\n\nWhen a great Kurukshetra war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas ensued, Shikhandi sided with his brothers-in-law, while Bhishma stood with the Kauravas.\n\nBhishma had vowed \"not to shoot at a woman, anyone who used to be a woman or has a woman's name or appears to be a woman\", and so he narrated the tale of Amba to Duryodhana , and refused to fight Shikhandi.\n\nWhen Bhishma led the Kaurava army, Shikhandi rode as the charioteer of Arjuna , the third of the Pandava brothers.\n\nOn seeing Shikhandi, Bhishma lowered his weapons.\n\nShikhandi and Arjuna pierced Bhishma's body, though all Shikhandi's arrows were not effective in wounding Bhishma.\n\nAt this stage, it was also the desire of Bhishma to die.\n\nBefore collapsing, he cried out that it was Arjuna's arrow that had killed him, and not of Shikhandi.\n\nBhishma lay on a bed of arrows for days, and died on the holy day of Uttarayana .\n\nThus, Amba's vengeance was fulfilled, when Shikhandi became the cause of Bhishma's death.\n\nShikhandi is killed in a sword fight with Ashwatthama when he, Kripacharya , and Kritavarma attacked the Pandava camp on the night of the final day of the war.\n\nReferences [ edit ] ^ www.wisdomlib.org (15 June 2012).\n\n\"Amba, Ambā, Aṃbā, Āmba: 27 definitions\" .\n\nwww.wisdomlib.org .\n\nRetrieved 16 November 2022 .\n\n^ www.wisdomlib.org (28 January 2019).\n\n\"Story of Ambā\" .\n\nwww.wisdomlib.org .\n\nRetrieved 16 November 2022 .\n\n^ Simon Brodbeck; Professor Brian Black (2007).\n\nGender and Narrative in the Mahabharata .\n\nRoutledge.\n\np.\n\n205.\n\nISBN 978-1-134-11995-0 .\n\n^ T.\n\nB.\n\nCoburn (1988).\n\nDevī-māhātmya: The Crystallization of the Goddess Tradition .\n\nMotilal Banarsidass.\n\np.\n\n201.\n\nISBN 978-81-208-0557-6 .\n\n^ Kisari Mohan Ganguli .\n\n\"Section CII\" .\n\nThe Mahabharata, Book 1: Adi Parva .\n\nSacred-texts.com .\n\n^ John Garrett (1989).\n\nA Classical Dictionary of India Illustrative of the Mythology, Philosophy, Literature, Antiquities, Arts, Manners Customs &c.\n\nof the Hindus .\n\nAtlantic Publishers & Distri.\n\np.\n\n27.\n\nGGKEY:YTLNG1DG7JN.\n\n^ Kisari Mohan Ganguli .\n\n\"Section CLXXVI\" .\n\nThe Mahabharata, Book 5: Udyoga Parva .\n\nSacred-texts.com.\n\n^ \"4.\n\nAmba and Bhishma\" .\n\nMahabharataonline.com .\n\nRetrieved 30 April 2013 .\n\n^ Mani, Vettam (1975).\n\n\"Amba\".\n\nPuranic Encyclopaedia: a Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature .\n\nMotilal Banarsidass Publishers.\n\npp.\n\n27–29.\n\nISBN 978-0-8426-0822-0 .\n\n^ Kisari Mohan Ganguli .\n\n\"Section CLXXVII\" .\n\nThe Mahabharata, Book 5: Udyoga Parva .\n\nSacred-texts.com.\n\n^ Kisari Mohan Ganguli .\n\n\"Section CLXXVIII\" .\n\nThe Mahabharata, Book 5: Udyoga Parva .\n\nSacred-texts.com.\n\n^ Kisari Mohan Ganguli .\n\n\"Section CLXXIX\" .\n\nThe Mahabharata, Book 5: Udyoga Parva .\n\nSacred-texts.com.\n\n^ Kisari Mohan Ganguli .\n\n\"Section CLXXX\" .\n\nThe Mahabharata, Book 5: Udyoga Parva .\n\nSacred-texts.com.\n\n^ Kisari Mohan Ganguli .\n\n\"Section CLXXXI\" .\n\nThe Mahabharata, Book 5: Udyoga Parva .\n\nSacred-texts.com.\n\n^ Kisari Mohan Ganguli .\n\n\"Section CLXXXVIII\" .\n\nThe Mahabharata, Book 5: Udyoga Parva .\n\nSacred-texts.com.\n\n^ Kisari Mohan Ganguli .\n\n\"Section CLXXXIX\" .\n\nThe Mahabharata, Book 5: Udyoga Parva .\n\nSacred-texts.com.\n\n^ Kisari Mohan Ganguli .\n\n\"Section CXC\" .\n\nThe Mahabharata, Book 5: Udyoga Parva .\n\nSacred-texts.com.\n\n^ Gaṅgā Rām Garg (1992).\n\nEncyclopaedia of the Hindu World: Ak-Aq .\n\nConcept Publishing Company.\n\np.\n\n371.\n\nISBN 978-81-7022-375-7 .\n\n^ Devdutt Pattanaik (2002).\n\nThe man who was a woman and other queer tales of Hindu lore .\n\nHarrington Park Press.\n\np.\n\n60.\n\nISBN 978-1-56023-180-6 .\n\n^ Gopal, Madan (1990).\n\nK.S.\n\nGautam (ed.).\n\nIndia through the ages .\n\nPublication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India.\n\np.\n\n62 .\n\n^ Wendy Doniger (1999).\n\nSplitting the Difference: Gender and Myth in Ancient Greece and India .\n\nUniversity of Chicago Press.\n\np.\n\n284.\n\nISBN 978-0-226-15641-5 .\n\n^ David W.\n\nMachacek; Melissa M.\n\nWilcox (2003).\n\nSexuality and the world's religions .\n\nABC-CLIO.\n\np.\n\n126.\n\nISBN 978-1-57607-359-9 .\n\n^ K M Ganguly (1883-1896).\n\nThe Mahabharatha Book 10: Sauptika Parva section 8 Ashwatthama killing Shikindin, October 2003, Retrieved 2015-10-2 External links [ edit ] Rajaji Mahabharata Summary/Amba and Bhishma v t e Mahabharata Traditional author and narrators Vyasa Vaisampayana Ugrashrava Sauti Books ( parva s) Adi Sabha Vana Virata Udyoga Bhishma Bhagavad Gita Drona Karna Shalya Sauptika Stri Shanti Anushasana Ashvamedhika Ashramavasika Mausala Mahaprasthanika Svargarohana Harivamsha Tribes Main tribes Bharata Kauravas Pandavas Yadu Kunti Gandhara Matsya List of tribes Janapadas Mahajanapadas Places Capitals Hastinapur Indraprastha 48 kos parikrama of Kurukshetra Kurukshetra Jyotisar Panchagrama Indraprastha Pranaprastha Swarnaprastha Tilaprastha Vyagaprastha Events Svayamvara Kurukshetra War Vishvarupa Chakravyūha Characters Abhimanyu Amba Ambika Ambalika Arjuna Ashwatthama Babruvahana Bahlika Balarama Bhagadatta Bharata Bhima Bhishma Bhurishravas Chitrāngada Chitrāngadā Damayanti Dhrishtadyumna Dhritarashtra Draupadi Drona Drupada Duhsala Durvasa Duryodhana Dushasana Dushyanta Ekalavya Gandhari Ganga Ghatotkacha Hidimba Hidimbi Iravan Janamejaya Jarasandha Jayadratha Karna Kichaka Kindama Kripa Krishna Role in the Mahabharata Kritavarma Kunti Lomasha Madri Nahusha Nakula Nala Pandu Parashurama Parikshit Purochana Pururavas Rukmi Rukmini Sahadeva Sanjaya Satyaki Satyavati Savitri Shantanu Shakuni Shakuntala Shalya Shikhandi Shishupala Subhadra Sudeshna Ulupi Upapandavas Uttara Uttarā Vichitravirya Vidura Vikarna Virata Vrishaketu Vrishasena Vyasa Yayati Yudhishthira Yuyutsu Related Avatars Kingdoms Vedic era Epic-Puranic chronology Sarasvati River Category v t e Hindu deities and texts Gods Trimurti Brahma Vishnu Shiva Agni Ashvins Chandra Dattatreya Ganesha Hanuman Indra Kama Kartikeya Krishna Kubera Rama Shasta Surya Varuna Vayu Vishvakarma Yama more Goddesses Tridevi Saraswati Lakshmi Parvati Aditi Bhumi Chhaya Durga Ganga Shachi Kali Mahadevi Mahavidya Matangi Matrikas Radha Rati Rohini Rukmini Sanjna Sati Shakti Shashthi Sita more Other deities Apsaras Asuras Daitya Danava Devata Dikpāla Gandharvas Gana Kuladevatas Gramadevatas Rakshasas Vahanas Yakshas / Yakshini Texts ( list ) Vedas Rig Sama Yajur Atharva Upanishads Puranas Ramayana Mahabharata Bhagavad Gita Yoga Sutras of Patanjali more Hinduism Hindu mythology Retrieved from \" https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Amba_(Mahabharata)&oldid=1251858778 \"", "category": "mahabharata"}
{"text": "Category: Cultural Elements\nContent: Traditional Indian Game s – Dr. Swati Kela           World Forum On Early Care and Education -  Vancouver, April 2024                  1 | Page  \n Traditional Indian Games  \nDr. Swati Kela, India  \n  \"GAME\" is universal and has no cultural or linguistic boundaries. Games appear to be the common property of people who know t hem professionally or \nas amateurs. Many games, which we think are just pastimes, are, in fact, relics of religious rituals that often date back to the birth of humankind. Games echo the \ntraditions and ethos of a particular country or region. The pleasure of voluntary action is the soul of games. Traditional Ga mes act as learning aids. They teach us \nmany things while playing, like lear ning to win and lose, developing sensory skills, counting, adding, improving motor skills, identifying colour , improving hand -\neye coordination, and finally, having fun. The values we achieve by playing these games are more than those we play nowadays. Some of the values we gain are \nthat they are environment friendly, we get a chance to learn about our culture and history, and the important thing is they a re suitable for all ages, increasing the \ninteraction between generations. Many modern game s played around the world have their origin in these traditional games. This is a matter of pride in our nation's \nculture. Some prominent traditional games originated in our country and became famous worldwide.   \n                    Games are top -rated worldwide, and everyone prefers to participate, from children to adults. Various traditional games are part and parcel of Indian \ntradition. India has consistently exhibited its rich culture and tradition. Games have been an essential part of Indian culture endlessly, suitable from their origin. \nIndia is considered a place of origin for several traditional games which are well -known worldwide. Several leading traditional games of Indian origin are \nTeerandaji, kabaddi, kho-kho, Polo, shatranj, and Martial Art. All these games require technical and tactical skills and other physiological component s like speed, \nstrength, stamina, agility, and coordinative abilities. Apart from this, our traditional games require very little equipment and are less expensive than modern \ngames. As a result, the traditional games of Indian origin have become more popular amongst the masses.  \n   Simplicity and accessibility are the genuine flavours  of traditional Indian games.  \nAdditionally, these games have a traditional, social, and cultural perspective. In their leisure time, children get together and develop a camaraderie that aids in \ndeveloping their social and cultural ties. These kids come from various socioeconomic, relig ious, and familial backgrounds. However, they discover a shared \nphilosophy and game plan when they play these games. These games don't ask kids to be anything other than themselves, whether  they live in rural or metropolitan \nsettings or any income stratum.  Not to mention how modest traditional games frequently foster true team spirit inadvertently.  \n       The history of traditional games in India is very ancient. With its origin in the early Vedic era (2000- 1000 B.C.), it passed from different periods of political \nhistory, such as the epic age (1000- 600 B.C.) and the historical age (600 B.C.). Nalandine period (300 A.D), Rajput period (300- 1200 A.D), Muslim period (1200 -\n1750 A.D), British period (up to 1947), and leading the way for the post -independence era. It is more likely that many of today's Olympic disciplines are advanced \nversions of games of strength and speed that flourished in ancient India. Chess, wrestling, Polo, archery, and hockey (possibly a fallout from Pol o) are some \ngames believed to have originated in India.  \n \n \n \nTraditional Indian Game s – Dr. Swati Kela           World Forum On Early Care and Education -  Vancouver, April 2024                  2 | Page  \n Benefits of play:    \n1. Including any sport or game in a child's daily routine significantly impacts that youngster's personality development and mat uration.  \n2. A kid develops resilience and mental and physical strength by engaging in sports and physical activities. Similar to how t hey aid in a child's general \ndevelopment.  \nTraditional Indian games.  \n1. Youngsters learn to amuse themselves with fewer resources by playing traditional Indian games.  \n2. Strengthens the mind.  \n3. Encourages a mind -set of problem -solving.  \n4. Educate the youngster in social interaction.  \n5. Makes hand- eye coordination better.  \n6. Encourages discipline in children.  \n7. Promotes a winning attitude.  \n8. Children learn about our culture by participating in traditional Indian games.  \n9. Meet new people.  \n10. Children are kept joyful and upbeat by these games.  \n \n \n1]  GILLI - DANDA:  \nName of Game:  Gilli Danda/Vitti- Dandu.  \nCountry of Origin:  India.   \n  History Of Game (Other Notes ): * It is an amateur sport.  \n \n *Gilli Danda is one of the most thrilling traditional Indian games.  \n    It was invented on the Indian Subcontinent & thought to have originated 2,500 years ago.  *This game is the root of some games, like Cricket, Softball, & Baseball.  \n   Material required:  \n       1. Two sticks - The smaller, oval -shaped wooden piece, 5 to 13 cm long & 2 to 3 cm in diameter & both ends pointed, is called a “Gilli”    \n & the longer one, 42 to 45 cm long & 3 to 4 cm in diame ter & only one end pointed, is termed a “Danda” .  \n       2. Ground -  No specific requirement of shape/size. Only a  pit called Gali is required to put the Gilli to start the  game.  \n       3. Players -  No such binding two/more up to a hundred players of any age group above six years can play.  \n Gilli -Danda  \n\nTraditional Indian Game s – Dr. Swati Kela           World Forum On Early Care and Education -  Vancouver, April 2024                  3 | Page  \n Instructions:   \n1. The game starts by tossing -  olisukhi .  \n2. The player who wins the toss starts first.  \n3. The player first places the Gilli on the pit & the pointed end of the stick -Danda  is bent over                   \nstick & hits the Gilli at the raised end, which flips it into the air.   \n4. While in the air, the player hits the Gilli  as far as possible.   \n5. If a player standing in the field catches a stick hit by a player, then that player is dismissed.  \n6. Otherwise, the player earns points on the number of hits of Galli in the air & the distance between                   \nthe pit & the dropped Galli on the ground. Danda  measures this distance.  \n7. Ultimately, the person or the team with the most points wins the game.  \n8. The secret to winning this game is in raising and hitting Gilli.  \n \nCultural Links:  \nhttps://inmarathi.net/vitti- dandu- information -in-marathi/#viti_dandu_khelaca_itihasa_-\n_history_of_vitti_dandu_game  \nLearning Outcome s: \n1. It helps to improve eye & hand coordination.  \n2. Increase & build concentration power. \n3. Increase numeracy skills.  \n4. It fosters a healthy competitive spirit.  \n5. It provides a mode of interaction with children in a similar age group.  \nAdult Role:  \n        There is no need for adults.  \nControl +  Click on image to watch  a video.  \nhttps://drive.google.com/file/d/1xSz8L_2mqeUe -\nH2ycOBz9KxQr8NaCvA9/view   \nTraditional Indian Game s – Dr. Swati Kela           World Forum On Early Care and Education -  Vancouver, April 2024                  4 | Page  \n 2] LAGORI:  \nName of Game:  Lagori/ Lingocha/ Seven Stones  \nCountry of Origin:  India - Southern part of India.   \nHistory Of Game (Other Notes):  \n It is the most ancient game of the Indian subcontinent, whose history dates back to the Bhagwata Purana,   \n A Hindu religious text, nearly 5000 years old. It mentions Lord Krishna playing the game with his friends.  \n It is included as a demonstration sport in the 2023 National Games of  India.  \n Today, the Lagori is played in thirty nations across the world & gained global prominence . Since 2015 the \nLagori World Cup Tournament has started.  \n \nMaterial Required:  \n1.Seven stones, probably flat stones.  \n2. Rubber ball  \n3. Ground-  Outdoor area. \nPlayers- The game is played between two teams-  the seeker & the hitter, with a minimum of three players in each team.         \nIn the World Cup Tournament, there are a total of twelve players in  each team & only six players are on the ground for each set.  \n1. A total of three sets are played. Each set is of three minutes, followed by a half -minute break.  \n2.  A pile of flat stones is placed in the middle of the ground.   \n3. One team member - the Seeker, throws a ball at a pile of stones to knock them over and then tries to  \n    restore the pile of stones while staying safe from the opposite team the Hitter's throws.  \n4. The Hitter ’s aim is to hit the ball before the seekers reconstruct the stone pile. If the ball touches the Seeker,  \nLagori  \nTraditional Indian Game s – Dr. Swati Kela           World Forum On Early Care and Education -  Vancouver, April 2024                  5 | Page  \n     that Seeker is out.  \n5. A Seeker can always safeguard themselves by touching an opposite team member before the ball hits the  \n    Seeker.   \n6. The Hitter cannot run with the ball to hit the Seeker.  \n7. To declare the reconstruction of the pile, the Seeker must say the game's name after restoring the pile of stones.  \n8. If the ball hits the pile & opposite member catches the ball, then the whole team is out. \n Cultural Links:  \n https://www.topendsports.com/sport/list/lagori.htm\n \nLearning Outcome  \n1. It improves observation skills, strategy- building skills, speed, concentration & strength. \n2. Improves eye & hand coordination.  \n3. Improves team- building spirit in children.  \n4. Children can learn to compete in a healthy environment and value friendship & leadership. Thus improve social interactions. \n5. It improves physical health.  \n Adult Role:  \n  In general, children play on their own. Adult instructions are not necessary. But when tournaments are there, fixed rules & regulations are followed.  \n \n \nTraditional Indian Game s – Dr. Swati Kela           World Forum On Early Care and Education -  Vancouver, April 2024                  6 | Page  \n 3] KANCHEY/ GOTYA : \nName of Game: Kanchey/Gotya/Gooli Gundu/Marbles   \nCountry Of Origin: India.  \nHistory Of Game (Other Notes):  \n     * It is interesting, inexpensive traditional game invented in Indian land. \n• In the ancient Era, when humans lived in caves, they used mud & to make small, circular balls to play.  \n• In the first half of the twentieth century, 2500 BCE, the marbles were found in excavations near Mohenjo- Daro, a site associated with the Indus \nCivilization.   \n• In ancient Egypt, it was made up of clay, stones, or glass.  \n• Imported marble from the Low Countries came to Britain during the Middle Ages . \nMaterial Required:  \n1. Dark green or multicolour marbles half to one inch in diameter.  \n2. Ground - It can play in a tiny place, outdoors or indoors. It requires a small pit & a circle measuring approximately 2 to 3 feet in diameter. The game could \nbe played on any surface and weather.  \n3. Players - Two or more players of any age can play the game.  \nInstructions:  \n1. A circle measuring approximately 2 -3 feet in diameter is drawn in the ground using a stick or a stone. \n2. Each player contributes a minimum of two marbles each to begin the game. All the marbles are  \ncollected at the centre of the circle.   \n3. Approximately three feet away from the hole there is a line & the players stand at the line and try to  \nthrow their marbles into the pit. The person whose marble is closest to the pit gets to play first,  \nfollowed by the second nearest, and so on. \n4. The players take turns shooting the marbles. The player shoots by holding the marble tautly in the  \nforefinger of the left hand, then stretching the finger back like a bow -string by the pressure of the  \nforefinger of the right hand, and finally by releasing the finger such that the marble flies forward.  \n\nTraditional Indian Game s – Dr. Swati Kela           World Forum On Early Care and Education -  Vancouver, April 2024                  7 | Page  \n 5. The left thumb should always firmly touch the ground.  \n6. The players take turns knocking marbles out of the circle. They get to keep the marbles knocked out of the circle.  \n7. The game ends when no marbles are left in the circle.   \n8. The player with the highest num ber of marbles wins the game.  \n Variation: In a variation of the above game, the other players select the marble to hit once the marbles are collected in the circle's centre . If the player \nhit the desired marble, he wins all the remaining marbles in the circle. The game continues similarly with the other players.  \nCultural Links:  \n https://sportkhelo.co.in/gotya -game -information -in-marathi/  \nLearning Outcome:  \n1. It improves concentration, eye & hand coordination. \n2. It helps to develop mathematical numeracy skills, & motor skills.  \n3. It nurtures healthy competition & provides an opportunity to socialize.  \nAdult Role:   \nChildren play on their own. \n \n \n \n \n \n  \nTraditional Indian Game s – Dr. Swati Kela           World Forum On Early Care and Education -  Vancouver, April 2024                  8 | Page  \n 4] LANGADI  \nName of G ame: Langadi  \nCountry Of Origin: India.  \nHistory Of Langadi (Other Notes):  \n It is a traditional Indian field sport, which combines elements of tag and hopscotch.  \n It originated from the Pandiyan Dynasty and was called,  Nondiyaatt am. \n Langdi is useful in training for sports like  kho kho, volleyball  and gymnastics . \n The National Langdi Federation received national recognition in 2010. \n Now Langadi is becoming popular in other countries.  \n \nMaterial Required:  \n1. Ground-  As such, no material is required. Only 10 to 18 meters of ground is needed.  \n2. Players - A minimum of two players can play this game as a pastime & for fun.  \n3. Anyone above three can play this game.  \n4. It is also a team sport. There are two sides, with twelve players on each side & an  \nadditional three extra players.  \n Instructions:  \n1. A match lasts 36 minutes.   \n2. It is played in four innings of nine minutes each, with the teams alternating roles in each inning.  \n3. A coin toss is done before the game, with the team that wins the toss defending. \n4. The chasing team sends chasers who hop on one foot and try to tag the defenders. The chasers can step out of the ground as long as they keep on one foot. \nThe defenders are declared out if they step out of the ground or commit a line fault.  \nControl  + Click on image to watch a video.  \nhttps://drive.google.com/file/d/106ZVM_adjJ\nz9vs9XRJ6QPKSdMa_BN5ab/view   \nTraditional Indian Game s – Dr. Swati Kela           World Forum On Early Care and Education -  Vancouver, April 2024                  9 | Page  \n 5. Once all defenders in the field are tagged, a new set of defenders enter the field from a designated entry zone, with the cha ser required to go to the other \nhalf of the field before tagging the latest defenders. If the chaser fails to remain on one foot, they leave the field, and a new teammate will come.   \n6. During the first turn that a team chases, their chasers must hop on their right foot, and then in their next chasing turn the y must all hop on their left foot.   \n7. The team that tags the most defenders is declared the winner.  \n \nCultural Links:  \nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langdi_(sport)  \n Learning Outcome:  \n1. In Langadi, we do all the running, sprinting, stabilizing, reaching, outbound, and hopping on a single leg. So, the leg strength increases.  \n2. It fosters stamina, balance, & concentration.  \n3. It improves the work of the respiratory system.  \n4. It gives good physical exercise & good motor control.  \n5. It helps in body awareness & reduces  the chances of injuries & helps in performance improvements.  \n6. It is helpful for games like Kho -Kho, Volleyball, Athletics, & Gymnastics. \nAdult Role:  \nWhen it is played as a past ime, then there is no need for adults. Children play on their own. \n    \n       \n \n \n \n \n \nTraditional Indian Game s – Dr. Swati Kela           World Forum On Early Care and Education -  Vancouver, April 2024                  10 | Page  \n 5] TIKKAR/ STAPOO  \n     Game Name: Tikkar/ Chhipri/Kith Kith/ Stapoo/Nondi /Hopscotch \n        Country Of Origin: Popular in Indian Sub -continent. But its origins dating back to ancient Rome.  \nHistory Of Game:  \n• It is believed that Roman soldiers invented this game for impro ving their footwork.   \n \nMaterial Required:  \nThe game costs nothing.  \n1. It requires coal/chalk to draw a playing court.  \n2. A square/ round piece of flat stone, not bigger than 4inches/10cm.  \n3. Ground-  flat ground, to draw the grid. Or sand & a stick to draw grids.  \n4. Players - Individual child plays this game for pastime & fun. Two or more players \ncan play the game. Commonly, three to five players play the game. Girls of six to \ntwelve commonly play this game.  \n \nInstructions:  \n1. One of the participants draws a playing court on a flat surface (usually the floor of alleys ) with the help of a piece of coal or chalk.    \n A ladder shape pattern is drawn on the floor and every box is numbered from one to six or sometimes one to eight or ten.  \n2. The court's size depends upon the participants' wishes and may thus vary greatly. For example, if all the participants agree to have        \na court of eight boxes  two by four feet (0.61 by 1.22 m) each, that constitutes the playing court.  \n3. Once the playing court is ready, each participant takes turn.  \n4. Initially, the player stands backward at one side of the court and throws the stone blindly over her head so that it may land inside               \nthe farthest box of the court.  \n5. If it lands successfully inside the designated box (without touching any lines) of the court, the player stands  barefoot  near that piece       \nof stone with one foot in the air.  \n \nControl + C lick on image to watch a video.  \nhttps://drive.google.com/file/d/1BmwLwfex2t8 -\nzdd73jb5Bj4TIjq -RkJp/view   \nTraditional Indian Game s – Dr. Swati Kela           World Forum On Early Care and Education -  Vancouver, April 2024                  11 | Page  \n 6. She pushes the stone (in a single try) to attempt to slide it into the adjoining box. If successful (once again without touch ing any      \nof the lines), then the player carries on doing the same until the piece of stone is successfully out of the court and the player       \nis back at the place from where she threw the stone.   \n7. Once successfully out of the court, the player may stand on both feet.  \n8. Consequently, the player's turn prematurely ends when the player can no longer stand on one foot and both feet touch the cour t,      \nor stone touches the line, on the line, or out of the court.  \nCultural Links:  \nhttps://www.dsource.in/resource/indian- games/outdoor -games/stapoo  \n \nLearning Outcome:  \n1. It improves balance, coordination of eyes and legs, & strength of legs.  \n2. It imparts social skills for dispute resolution, negotiations & coordination.  \n3. It improves guessing skills & counting skills.  \nAdult Role:  \nChildren play the game on their own. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \nTraditional Indian Game s – Dr. Swati Kela           World Forum On Early Care and Education -  Vancouver, April 2024                  12 | Page  \n 6] SAGARGOTE \nName of Game:  Sagargote/Gajage/Pacheta/Five Stone.  \nHistory Of Game:  \n It is an ancient traditional game.  \n It is a popular game among girls & women aged six & above.  \n This game was played in each & every house 50 /55 years back.  \nMaterial Required:  \nFive stones or pebbles.  It is the fruit of one plant.  A minimum of five pebbles are needed.  \nGround -  There is no specific requirement for ground. The game can be played anywhere in the house or outside the home.  \nPlayers: Children play in small groups of two to four players.  \nInstructions:  \n1. Players used to sit facing each other and play this game; if there are more girls, they sit in the  \ncircle & play turn by turn clockwise.  \n2. Players spread the stones on the ground. \n3. One stone should be thrown in the air and before, it comes down, pick up another stone on the ground and swing the high -flying stone.  \n4. If the stone falls while picking it up, the innings ends; otherwise, the first inning is called Erai,  \nthe second inning is called Durkhai and the third one is Tirkhai, Chowkhai.  \n5. The second time one Sagargota is thrown high, the following two Sagargota should be picked up at once.  The first round ends. \n \n6. Like this, it is played in various levels, which are sequential & predetermined by the players to suit the age levels.  \n7. The winner of the game is the first one that finishes all the game's levels.  \n \n\nTraditional Indian Game s – Dr. Swati Kela           World Forum On Early Care and Education -  Vancouver, April 2024                  13 | Page  \n  \nCultural Links:  \n https://www.dsource.in/resource/indian -games/indoor -games/pacheta  \nLearning Outcome:  \n1. In this game, hands, fingers, and eyes exercise well.  \n2. It improves the catching skills.  \n3. It fosters motor skills.  \n Adult Role:  \nChildren play on their own. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n  \nControl +  Click on image to watch a video.  \nhttps://drive.google.com/file/d/1lSURsyf1g\n-gJ9oDw05B -v-PUDB5i9_IQ/view  \nTraditional Indian Game s – Dr. Swati Kela           World Forum On Early Care and Education -  Vancouver, April 2024                  14 | Page  \n 7] KABADDI  \nGame Name: Kabaddi/ Hututu \nCountry Of Origin:  India.  \nGame History:  \nKabaddi  is a highly energetic and exciting sport invented in India.  \n1. Rononjoy Sen speculates in his book Nation At Play that it originated during the  Vedic period, between    \n    1500 BC and 500 BC. Lord Krishna and Gautam Buddha also played this game.  \n2. According to another version, it originated in Tamilnadu.  \n3. There are also accounts that it was played in Iran 2000 years ago. \n4. First organized competition was held in 1920s.  \n5. In 1930, it was introduced in the Indian Olympic Games.  \n6. The game is Hadudu in Bangladesh, Baibalaa in the Maldives, Hututu in Maharashtra, Kaudi in Panjab,   \n    Kabadi or Sadugudu in Tamilnadu, Kapardi in Nepal, Chakgudu in Sri Lanka.   \n \n Material Required:  \n No special equipment or material is necessary for kabaddi.  \n Kabaddi court for men is flat, rectangular, 13 meters wide and 10 meters long; for  \nwomen, it is 12 meters wide and 8 meters long. These are official measurements.  \n While playing casually or time past with friends, there is no need for exact  \nmeasurements; only the ground must be flat, open, and rectangular.  \n Lines & markings of the court are as follows - boundary line, play area line, midline,  \nbalkline, and bonus line. \n Players - there are two teams of seven players each.  \n Instructions:  \n1. The raiders should take a breath and repeatedly yell ‘kabaddi kabaddi’ without any break. \nKabaddi/ Hututu  \nTraditional Indian Game s – Dr. Swati Kela           World Forum On Early Care and Education -  Vancouver, April 2024                  15 | Page  \n 2. The raider should tag a member of the opposite team and return to his half.  \n3. A player is ‘out ,’ when they break the breath or fail to tag the opponent team member.  \n4. 30 seconds are available for each raid.  \n5. If the raider fails to reach his half within time, he is out, and the opposite team gets  \nOne point.  \n6. If the raider crosses the check line with one foot and the other one in the air when the  \ndefending team has 6 or 7 defenders, the player gets a bonus point.  \nCultural Links:  \nhttps://www.wikihow.com/Play -Kabaddi  \n \nLearning Outcome:  \n1. It improves coordination between various body parts.  \n2. It fosters quick and fast moves.  \n3. It enhances flexibility.  \n4. It improves breathing and physical strength.  \n5. It improves offensive and defensive skills and decision -making power. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\nTraditional Indian Game s – Dr. Swati Kela           World Forum On Early Care and Education -  Vancouver, April 2024                  16 | Page  \n 8] MALLAKHAMB  \nGame Name:  Mallakhamb / Pole Yoga / Pole Dancing  \nMallakhamb is a form of ancient martial arts intended as a training aid for wrestlers and  warriors.  \nOrigin of Game:  India.  \n \nHistory of Game:  \nMallakhamb is an ancient traditional Indian sport. Malla means gymnast/ wrestler, and  khamb means pole. \nSo, it stands for a gymnast ’s pole. In the Ramayana and in the Buddhist  Chinese pilgrims to India, there are \nsome references to some form of Mallakhamb. The game originated in the 12th century. In the 19th century, \nPeshwa Bajirao sports and fitness instructor, Balambhatta Dada Deodhar, revived the game. Maratha empire \nfigers like Rani  Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi, Tantia tope, Nana Saheb Peshwa practised Mallakhamb.  \n \n Mallakhamb was demonstrated at the 1936 Summer  Olympics.  \n In 1958, competitive Mallakhamb first appeared at the National Gymnastics  Championships.  \nMaterial Required:  \n1. There are three variations of Mallakhamb - \n Pole Mallakhamb  \n Hanging Mallakhamb  \n Rope Mallakhamb  \n Both men and women practiced all variations.  \n Pole Mallakhamb --A vertical wooden pole made of teak wood or sheesham, of 2.6  meters in height with a \ncircumference of 55 centimeters at the base and gradually tapers to 35 centimeters at the top and is fixed to the ground \nand smoothened with castor oil, which helps to minimize excessive friction.  \n Hanging Mallakhamb--  It is a smaller version of fixed Mallakhamb. It is suspended  with the aid of hooks and chains. \nThe bottom of the pole doesn’t  touch the ground.  \n The swinging and revolving motion makes it quite difficult.  \n Rope Mallakhamb-  A thick rope is suspended vertically, 5.5 meters long, and 2centimeters in diameter.  \n Players - One or more players can perform on the same pole or rope.  \nMallakhamb  \n\nTraditional Indian Game s – Dr. Swati Kela           World Forum On Early Care and Education -  Vancouver, April 2024                  17 | Page  \n  \nInstructions:  \nBoth men and women practiced all variations.  \n1. The first step of Mallakhamb is to familiarise your body to the pole/ rope and trust it. \n2. First, use the toe to secure your stand and pull yourself up using your arms and core  muscles.  \n3. The player/ gymnast performs aerial yoga postures, different positions, and exercises and  holds their     \npositions longer.  \n4. Before beginning Rope Mllakhamb, warming up the body muscles is necessary.  \n4. Training and practice are necessary to perform this sport. It is essential to take safety  precautions.  \n5. It is essential to do it slowly at first.  \n6. It is a strenuous kind of workout that may exhaust the body, so rest days are essential.  \n7. While performing this sport, it is essential to maintain the body ’s hydration. \nCultural Links:  \n1) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mallakhamba  \n2) https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/rope -mallakhamb -traditional- sport -improves -your-overall -\nfitness?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android&utm_campaign=share_via  \nLearning Outcomes:   \n1. It is a fantastic workout for strengthening. It helps in developing core strength.  \n2. It enhances flexibility, particularly in the shoulders and the back. \n3. It enhances balance and general coordination.  \n4. It builds endurance and enhances general stamina.   \n5. It increases concentration.  \nAdult Role : \n  The adult role is significant. The tricks and techniques and practice in the trainer ’s presence are essential.  \n \n  \n  \nTraditional Indian Game s – Dr. Swati Kela           World Forum On Early Care and Education -  Vancouver, April 2024                  18 | Page  \n 9] CHAUPAR/ CHAUPAT  \nName of Game: Chaupar/ Chaupat/ Chopad/ Chaupad/ Pachisi  \nIt is a cross and circle board game. The word Chaupar is composed of two Sanskrit words, Chau and Para. Chaur means four and Para means pata/ cloth board, \nwhich forms four arms of playing surface. The board is made of wool or cloth, with wooden pawns and s even cowry shells. Unlike cowry shells in ancient times, \nthe three long dice had four sides.  \nOrigin of Game: India.  \n \nHistory of Game:  \n For centuries, people have played a similar version of the game. It was played on mediums like cloth, slate, and boards using tamarind seeds, pista shells, \ngroundnut shells, staves, or dice.  \n The exact origins of this game are uncertain.  \n In the Vedic Era, in Rug -Veda and Atharv -Veda, gambling with dice is mentioned. They used Vibhitak tree nuts for dice. The great epic Mahabharata \ncontains a dice game called Chaupar played between King Duryodhan and Yudhishthir, whose families were in conf lict. \n It is also found in the 3rd millennium B.C. in the Indus Valley Harappan.  \n The size and shape of dice changed gradually, generally rectangular, occasionally triangular and variously \nmarked with numbers.  \n Cubical dice are known in antiquity outside of India, for example, Tepe Gawra in Mesopotamia and Tellel'Amarna in Egypt.  \n Gautam Buddha , while laying down rules in the text Vinaypitika, warns against playing the board game \nChausar.  \n The visual reference occurred in one of the most adorned caves in Maharashtra, Ellora cave number 29, built \nbetween the 6th and the 8th centuries CE; one wall is sculpted with figures of Shiva and Parvati, shown \nenjoying a game Chausar. \n Mughal Emperor Akbar and Abul Fazal were addicted to this game. Richard Carnac Temple describes the game.  \n During the 19th and 20th centuries, and even today, it was a more popular indoor fun game for women and children.  \n This game is the ancestor of the modern game, Ludo. \n The USA and Europe sold the game in the 1860s.  \nMaterial Required:  \n The board of any material, wooden or embroidered cloth, in the shape of a cross, each arm is divided into three adjacent columns of eight squares.  \nChaurpar  \nTraditional Indian Game s – Dr. Swati Kela           World Forum On Early Care and Education -  Vancouver, April 2024                  19 | Page  \n All 7 facing down – 7 points  \n1 facing up, 6 facing down – 10 points  \n2 facing up, 5 facing down – 2 points    \n3 facing up, 4 facing down – 3 points  4 facing up, 3 facing down – 4 points  \n5 facing up, 2 facing down – 25 points  \n6 facing up, 1 facing down – 30 points  \nAll 7 facing up – 14 points   Three squares on each arm are highlighted with a cross or some other distinguishing mark - the middle square at the end of each arm and the fourth square \nfrom the end of the arm on either side. These squares are called castles. The middle of the cross form s a large square called the Charkoni.  \n Sixteen beehive -shaped pieces (songati/ men) are used: four in black, four in green, four in red, and four in yellow.  \n Six small cowry shells.   \n A maximum of four players play this game, each sitting in front of an arm of the cross. The center of the cross is ghar or ho me. \nInstructions:  \n The starting point for each player is the flower motif on the column to the left of their home column.  \n To start, each player takes turns throwing the cowry shells. The player with the highest score starts first.  \n Each player must enter four men into the game from the starting point. The men travel around the outer perimeter columns in a n anti -clockwise direction.  \n Before a player can bring any of his men home, he has to knock out at least one man of another player. This is called a tohd. Only the player's own men \ncan enter the home column of each player. Once the men cross the flower motif, they are played by laying the pieces on their side to indicate they are in \ntheir final home stretch and are safe now from any further attack.  \n A score of 25 points - All seven cowry shells are used in each throw. In one version, scoring is as follows:  \n                 \n                 \n                 \n                           \nCultural Links:  \n1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaupar  \n2. https://www.mastersofgames.com/rules/pachisi -rules.htm  \n \nLearning Outcome:  \n \n \n \n \nIn adults, this game reduces the risk of Alzheimer's or Dementia and improves self -confidence.  \nAdult Role:  \nAdult interference is unnecessary when children play the game for fun and pastime.  \n  1. It fosters numeracy skills.  \n2. It improves concentration. \n3. It builds motor skills  \n4. Kids learn to identify colours.  \n 5. Kids improve hand -eye coordination.  \n6. Children can learn to hold conversations and negotiate  \n7. It builds memory, logic, and reasoning. \n8. It boosts brain power.  \nTraditional Indian Game s – Dr. Swati Kela           World Forum On Early Care and Education -  Vancouver, April 2024                  20 | Page  \n 10] LATTOO   \nName of Game:  Latto/ Spinning Top/ Bhanvara/ Latu \nOrigin of Game: India  \nLattoo or Spinning Top is the most popular Indian traditional game among children in rural areas. The game is evergreen and e xciting for generations.   \nThis game is pretty simple to play if one has the right skills.   \n \nHistory of Game:  \n It is one of the oldest recognizable toys found on archaeological  sites. All over the world, it originates independently in cultures.  \n Ancient Roman wooden spinning top, from Tebtynis (Egypt), dating from the 1st –3rd century CE.  \n \nMaterial required:  \n The tops were made of clay earlier and later replaced with wood/plastic. However, with technological advancement, \none can find many different varieties and colours  of tops today in the market. Some are with lights and sound effects.  \n A nail - the wooden top is mounted on the nail.  \n A string - to spin the top and also pick the top the string is used. \n The string is tied across the top.  \n Players - can be played alone or in groups. \nInstructions:  \n  There are various modifications & techniques associated with this simple -looking yet scientific game, like, lifting the \nmoving top off with the string, rolling the top on the string, and many more.  \n There are no set rules. A group of kids decide the rules.   \n Smaller tops have a short stem and are set in motion by twirling it using the fingers. A  thumbtack may also be made \nto spin on its tip similarly.  \n They may be set in motion by twirling a handle with the fingers, by pulling a  rope  coiled around the body,  \nor using a built -in auger. \n \n \n \nControl + Click image to watch a video  \nhttps://drive.google.com/file/d/1P27yhx\nmBz --1g41jqGxBiImdRthF1orj/view   \nTraditional Indian Game s – Dr. Swati Kela           World Forum On Early Care and Education -  Vancouver, April 2024                  21 | Page  \n  \n Physics in the game:  \n A spinning top, or simply a  top, is a toy with a squat body and a sharp point at the bottom, designed to be  spun  on its vertical axis,  \nbalancing on the tip due to the gyroscopic effect. Once set in motion, a top will usually wobble  for a few seconds, spin upright for a  \nwhile, then wobble again with increasing amplitude as it loses energy, and finally tip over and roll on its side. The motion of a top is  \ndescribed by equations of  rigid body dynamics, specifically the theory of  rotating rigid bodies. Because of the small contact area  \nbetween the tip and the underlying surface and the large  rotational inertia  of its body, a top that is started on a hard surface will usually  \nkeep spinning for tens of seconds or more, even without additional energy input. Typically, the top will wobble until  friction  and  \ntorque  between the tip and the underlying surface force it to spin with the axis steady and upright. The total spinning time of a top  \nis generally increased by increasing its moment of inertia  and lowering its  center of gravity . \n Cultural Links:  \n1. https://natkhatduniya.in/lattu -the-indian- traditional -spinning- top-toy/\n \n2. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top  \n3. https://www.teachermagazine.com/in_en/articles/using -toys-to-improve -learning  \n4. https://www.momjunction.com/articles/top -traditional -indian -games- list_00687698/  \n Learning Outcomes:  \n It improves concentration. \n It fosters hand -eye coordination.  \n Children can understand Physics concepts.  \n \nAdult Role:  \n   No need for adults. Children learn themselves while playing.", "category": "Cultural Elements"}
{"text": "Category: mahabharata\nContent: 2013 novel by Christopher C.\n\nDoyle The Mahabharata Secret Author Christopher C.\n\nDoyle Cover artist Ritu Rathour Anand Prakash Language English Genre Fiction Publisher Om Books Publication date 21 October 2013 Publication place India Media type Paperback Kindle Pages 386 ISBN 9-789383-202317 The Mahabharata Secret is the debut novel by Indian author Christopher C.\n\nDoyle and was released on 21 October 2013 by Om Books.\n\nThe story follows Vijay and his friends, as they try to decipher a series of clues which would lead them to a devastating Secret hidden by a brotherhood known as the Nine Men.\n\nDoyle had initially started writing a story for his daughter, which gradually expanded into the book.\n\nThe author was primarily inspired by the Indian epic Mahabharata , believing its events to be based on scientific facts.\n\nThe book was followed by Doyle's second novel, The Mahabharata Quest: The Alexander Secret , which is the first book in a planned trilogy of sequels.\n\nDoyle believes in the possibility of the existence of a secret history which was probably not recorded in antiquity.\n\nWhile researching he also came across legends prevalent about King Ashoka and linked the story with him.\n\nFollowing its release, The Mahabharata Secret was a commercial success, which enabled the author to get signed for further thriller novels based on the subject matter and was also nominated for the 2014 Crossword Book Award .\n\nPlot synopsis [ edit ] In 244 BC, Indian emperor Ashoka finds a hilly cave with an astonishing secret.\n\nBelieving it could destroy the world, he creates a secret brotherhood of Nine Men, who would guard the cave's contents through the centuries.\n\nHe also removed the Vimana Parva chapter of the Indian epic, Mahabharata , from its written transcripts.\n\nIn present day, Vikram Singh, an Indian nuclear scientist, is murdered at his fort in Jaungarh.\n\nBefore his death he sent four cryptic emails to his nephew Vijay, who with his business partner Colin, childhood friend Radha and her father, linguist Dr.\n\nShukla, start analyzing it.\n\nThey are aided by Bheem Singh, current owner of Rajvirgarh fort and Greg White, an archaeologist mentioned in Vikram's emails.\n\nThe group deduce that the emails refer to the Nine Men and their secret, which can be revealed by using a metal disc, a key, a ball of rock and a riddle.\n\nTheir mission is interrupted by a man called Farooq, a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant.\n\nThe group find that the metal disc and the key together point to the Edicts of Ashoka .\n\nThey travel to Bairat and find a hidden library of the Nine, but are imprisoned inside by Farooq and his men.\n\nThe group find an alternate route and the ball of rock.\n\nThe Barabar Caves , location of the second inscribed ball.\n\nIn the meantime, Intelligence Bureau (IB) official Imran Kidwai gets information about Farooq and starts investigating.\n\nVijay and his friends travel to the Barabar Caves in Bihar after interpreting a clue in Bairat.\n\nInside the caves they unearth another such ball with inscriptions on it.\n\nHowever, Vijay and Radha are kidnapped by Farooq.\n\nImran suspects Bheem Singh and investigates in his basement, but gets caught.\n\nBheem explains that the Vimana Parva of the Mahabharata spoke about ancient arsenal which could be made invisible by covering them with an undisclosed element, thus making them fatal.\n\nThis was what the Nine tried to protect.\n\nImran understands that Bheem was allied with Farooq and were trying to discover the secret location of the weapons.\n\nIn an ensuing conflict, Bheem's attack on Imran backfires and he himself is killed.\n\nFarooq had given 48 hours time to Vijay's friends to decipher the meaning of the final clue in the ball.\n\nThey unearth the final secret to be at Hazaribagh , atop a hill called Marang Buru .\n\nFarooq and his men escape with Vijay on being notified of Imran's advance, leaving Radha behind.\n\nAs the whole group reaches Marang Buru, there it is revealed that Greg was actually an assassin employed by Farooq called Murphy, impersonating the real Greg White.\n\nOn Farooq's insistence, Vijay and Colin enter the hill and through numerous chambers reach the secret vault of the Nine.\n\nThere they discover the giant artillery, including the nuclear weapons.\n\nFarooq and his henchmen start collecting the weapons, unaware that Imran and Indian commandos had surrounded them.\n\nColin, Shukla and Vijay are rescued and reunite with Radha, with Imran driving them away from Hazaribagh.\n\nA mistimed grenade blasts the secret cavern, destroying the hillside and killing off Farooq and the others, thereby wiping out the Nine's secret.\n\nA few days later, Vijay re-reads his uncle's e-mails and finds another clue, directing him to the vicinity of Jaungarh fort.\n\nThere he finds a secret chamber containing the documents belonging to the Nine, as well as important texts, scriptures and ancient artifacts.\n\nA letter from his uncle reveals him as the last member of the Nine, and a request for Vijay to accept the guardianship of the documents.\n\nVijay accepts and becomes a member of the Nine Men.\n\nDevelopment [ edit ] Author Christopher C.\n\nDoyle had studied Business Management from Indian Institute of Management Calcutta and runs a firm for training CEO and CXOs .\n\nHowever, he always had a childhood weakness for fantasy novels, being inspired by authors like Jules Verne , H.\n\nG.\n\nWells , J.\n\nR.\n\nR.\n\nTolkien as well as Robert Jordan .\n\nOne day he started writing a novel for his daughter, who was interested in stories based on fantasy and science.\n\nHowever, as she grew older, she wanted a more mature story.\n\nIt was then that Doyle decided to expand the story and write it into a full novel.\n\nHe was inspired by a 1917 book he had read, The Hindu History by Akshay Majumdar, which wrote about an alternate history of India by combining legends and mythology.\n\nDoyle was also intrigued by the Indian epic Mahabharata which translated into \"this is what happened\".\n\nHe thought about the basis of the epic in history and science and moved forward with his writing.\n\nTwo other books contributed to his inspiration and research, Fingerprints of the Gods by Graham Hancock and Uriel's Machine by Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas .\n\nHis reading led him to the conclusion that the Mahabharata might be true, and he stated that: And if the Mahabharata was true, then it was possible that some of the fantastic events described in the Mahabharata could have a scientific base as well, which no one has explored as of now.\n\nThis fascinating thought lingered in my mind and propelled me to explore this aspect further.\n\nSo that's really how history, mythology and science came together.\n\nDoyle researched the legends surrounding King Ashoka , including those of the Nine Men, and Ashoka's alleged suppression of science.\n\nDoyle says he used such legends to develop a plot about the brotherhood of the Nine, setting it between 200 BC and 500 BC.\n\nDoyle visited The Asiatic Society in Kolkata to review material on Ashoka and emperor's edicts that are preserved there.\n\nDoyle stated that it took him two years to finalize and complete The Mahabharata Secret .\n\nAccording to Doyle, the fictional weapon in the book \"used a totally different scientific concept which I had to build from scratch.\n\nThe use of hard core science and accepted scientific fact to explain mythology was something that makes my books different\".\n\nRelease and reception [ edit ] The Mahabharata Secret was released by Om Books on 21 October 2013.\n\nFollowing its release, the book was a commercial success, selling over 100,000 copies within two years.\n\nIt was nominated for the 2014 Crossword Book Award with Vivek Tejuja of Scroll.in giving a positive feedback, comparing the novel with that of author Dan Brown 's The Da Vinci Code (2003), and adding \"A suspense thriller served with large helpings of history makes for a good in-flight read.\" Seeing the success of the book, Westland Publishers signed Doyle to write a thriller trilogy inspired by the Mahabharata .\n\nThe Mahabharata Quest: The Alexander Secret , Doyle's second novel and the first in the planned trilogy, was released in October 2014.\n\nSee also [ edit ] India portal Religion portal Mythology portal Nuclear technology portal Ashokavadana Ashoka's Major Rock Edicts Bhagavad Gita Cloaking device The Emperor's Riddles Edicts of Ashoka Metamaterial cloaking Pillars of Ashoka The Nine Unknown References [ edit ] ^ The Mahabharata Secret , 2013, p.\n\n2 ^ Barooah Pisharoty, Sangeeta (26 November 2014).\n\n\"A Taste of Legends\" .\n\nThe Hindu .\n\nRetrieved 6 July 2015 .\n\n^ \"Christopher Doyle's Mahabharata Quest\" .\n\nDomain Business.\n\n15 December 2014 .\n\nRetrieved 6 July 2015 .\n\n^ Sripathi, Apoorva (28 November 2014).\n\n\"Even Gods Have Problems\" .\n\nThe Hindu .\n\nRetrieved 6 July 2015 .\n\n^ Vijayan, Naveena (1 December 2014).\n\n\"Doyle and his 'Secret' Quest\" .\n\nThe New Indian Express .\n\nArchived from the original on 10 July 2015 .\n\nRetrieved 6 July 2015 .\n\n^ Venkatesh, M (19 August 2016).\n\n\"Readers in India still prefer paper to pixels: Christopher Doyle\" .\n\nMint .\n\nRetrieved 5 September 2016 .\n\n^ Christopher C.\n\nDoyle (Author).\n\nBuy The Mahabharata Secret Book Online at Low Prices in India | The Mahabharata Secret Reviews & Ratings .\n\nASIN 9383202319 .\n\n{{ cite book }} : |author= has generic name ( help ) ^ Mishra, Mayank (7 March 2015).\n\n\"Turning a new leaf: Engineer-MBA's romance with popular fiction\" .\n\nBusiness Standard .\n\nRetrieved 6 July 2015 .\n\n^ Tejuja, Vivek (23 March 2015).\n\n\"14 books shortlisted for the Crossword Popular Choice award\" .\n\nScroll.in .\n\nRetrieved 6 July 2015 .\n\n^ \"Westland ropes in 'The Mahabharata Secret' author for thriller trilogy\" .\n\nZee News .\n\n29 May 2014 .\n\nRetrieved 6 July 2015 .\n\nExternal links [ edit ] Official website The Mahabharata Secret trailer (Aug 28, 2013) on YouTube Retrieved from \" https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Mahabharata_Secret&oldid=1227597331 \"", "category": "mahabharata"}
{"text": "Category: mythology\nContent: introduction\nThe Sacred Love Story\n/L64627/L64625/L64625/L64625/L64625/L64625/L64625/L64625/L64625/L64625/L64625/L64625/L64625/L64625/L64626\nDance of Divine Love presents India’s classical sacred love story known\nas the Rasa Lila.1It is a dramatic poem about young maidens joining\nwith their ideal beloved to perform the wondrous “circle dance of\nlove,” or Rasa. Its story is an expression of the eternal soul’s loving\nunion with the supreme deity in “divine play,” or Lila.T he Rasa Lila is\nconsidered the ultimate message of one of India’s most treasured\nscriptures, the Bhagavata Pur ana.2\nThe narrator of this story tells us that the highest devotional love\nfor God is attained when hearing or reciting the R asa Lila.U n d e n i -\nably, its charming poetic imagery, co mbined with deeply resonating\ndevotional motifs, expresses to any reader much about the nature of\nlove. Narrated in eloquently rich and flowing Sanskrit verse, it hasbeen recognized as one of the most beautiful love poems ever written.\nA DRAMA OF LOVE\nThe Rasa Lila is set in a sacred realm of enchantment in the land\nknown as Vraja, far beyond the universe, within the highest domain ofthe heavenly world. This sacred realm also imprints itself onto part ofour world as the earthly Vraja, a rural area known as Vraja Ma ndala\n(“the circular area of Vraja”) in northern India, about eighty miles\n1. The four-syllable phrase Rasa Lila (abbreviated as RL throughout this book) consists\nof two Sanskrit words pronounced phonetically “Rah–suh Lee–lah” (“ah” as “a” in “father,”\n“uh”as “u” in “sun,” and “ee” as in “see”). Definitions of key Sanskrit terms are listed in the\nglossary. In Hindi, the second short syllable is dropped, resulting in the three-syllable\nphrase “Rah-s Lee–lah.” In Bengali, the second syllable is also dropped, but pronounced\n“Rah-sh Lee–lah.” The specific sacred text known as “R asa Lila” is to be distinguished from\nthe name used for the pilgrimage dramas of Vraja, known in Hindi as ras lila. Note that the\ndistinction is made clear in this work through the presentation of the latter term in lower-case italic letters, with the Hindi spelling. For pr oper pronunciation of transliterated words\nfrom the Sanskrit language used throughout this book, please see the pronunciation table.\n2. The words Bhagavata Pur ana mean “the timeless stories (Pur ana) about God (Bh a-\ngavata).” The title for this most popular sacred text of India has two variations: Srimad Bha-\ngavatam and Bhagavata Mah apur anam. It is often called simply the Bhagavata .A m o ng the\neighteen famous Pur anas, it is considered the most important, as will be discussed below.\n© Copyright, Princeton University Press. No part of this book may be \ndistributed, posted, or reproduced in any form by digital or mechanical \nmeans without prior written permission of the publisher. \nFor general queries, contact [email protected]\nsouth of the modern capital city of Delhi.3Vraja is described as a land\nof idyllic natural beauty, filled with abundant foliage heavy with fruit\nand bloom, roaming cows, and brightly colored birds singing melodi-ously. The Rasa Lila takes place in the earthly Vraja during the boun-\ntiful autumn season, when eve nings abound with soothing scents and\ngentle river breezes. The following is a summary of the five chaptersof the R asa Lila story from the Bhagavata ’s tenth book.\nOne special evening, the rising moon reached its fullness with a re-\nsplendent glow. Its reddish rays lit up the forest as night-blooming lotusflowers began to unfold. The forest during those nights was decoratedprofusely with delicate starlike jasmine flowers, resembling the flowingdark hair of goddesses adorned with flower blossoms. So rapturous wasthis setting that the supreme Lord himself, as Krishna, the eternallyyouthful cowherd, was compelled to play captivating music on his flute.\nMov ed by this beauteous scene, Krishna was inspired toward love.\nUpon hearing the alluring flute music, the cowherd maidens,\nknown as the Gopis,\n4who were already in love with Krishna, abruptly\nleft their homes, families, and domestic duties. They ran off to joinhim in the moonlit forest. Krishna and the Gop is met and played on\nthe banks of the Y amun aRiver. When the maidens became proud of\nhis loving attention, however, their beloved Lord suddenly vanishedfrom their sight. The Gop is searched everywhere for Krishna. Discov-\nering that he had run off with one special maiden, they soon foundthat she too had been deserted by him. As darkness engulfed the for-\nest, the cowherd maidens gave up their search, singing sweet songs ofhope and despair, longing for his return. Then Krishna cleverly reap-peared and spoke to them on the nature of love.\nThe story culminates in the commencement of the R asa dance. The\nGop is link arms together, forming a great circle. By divine arrange-\nment, Krishna dances with every cowherd maiden at once, yet eachone thinks she is dancing with him alone. Supreme love has nowreached its perfect fulfillment and expression through joyous dancing\nand singing long into the night, in the divine circle of the R asa. Retir-2Introduction\n3. Vraja (commonly spelled and pronounced as the Hindi “Braj”) is a region covering\napproximately 1,450 square miles. At the heart of Vraja is the forest village of Vrind avana,\nthe home of Krishna, and the city of Mathur a,K r ishna’s birthplace. Vrind avana is located\nbetween Delhi and the city of Agra (the home of the Taj Mahal, about 34 miles to the\nsouth). Throughout the R asa Lila passage, Vraja is interchangeable with and often refers to\nVrindavana; see RL 1.18–19.\n4.Gopis is the plural of Gopi,“a female cowherd,” pronounced as the English word “go,”\nand “-pi,” as the English word “pea.”\n© Copyright, Princeton University Press. No part of this book may be \ndistributed, posted, or reproduced in any form by digital or mechanical \nmeans without prior written permission of the publisher. \nFor general queries, contact [email protected]\ning from the vigorous dancing, Krishna and the Gop is refresh them-\nselves by bathing in the river. Then, reluctantly, the cowherd maidens\nreturn to their homes.\nA first reading of the story might lead one to believe that an obses-\nsive love and passion for Krishna consumed the cowherd maidens.Their love could appear selfish and irresponsible, perhaps even un-ethical, as they abandoned their children, husbands, families, andhomes. A closer reading, however, r eveals the idealized vision of the\nstory intended by its author and embraced and expounded upon byvarious traditions, in which the passionate love of the Gop is becomes\nthe model, even the veritable symbol, of the highest, most intense de-votion to God.\nContrary interpretations may arise because the vision of God pre-\nsented herein is intimate, esoteric, and complex, containing elementsthat are familiar to both Western and Indic religious traditions, aswell as those that are unfamiliar. Certainly, one can observe howKrishna is acknowledged within the text as being a sovereign deity—\na God of grace who teaches and redeems devoted souls, and who pos-sesses other mighty and divine attributes, characteristics one wouldexpect to find in the divinity of Semitic traditions. But there is aunique vision presented in this dramat ic poem—a vision of the inner\nlife of the deity. Here, God is celebrated as an adorable, eternallyyouthful cowherd boy who plays the flute and delights in amorous\ndalliance with his dearest devotees.\nIn Indic traditions, the attainment of God is commonly believed to\nbe achieved through asceticism and renunciation. Y et such an unyield-\ning, self-imposed ren unciation for personal spiritual gain is not fa-\nvored in the Bhagavata Pur ana, thus contrasting with the greater\ntradition out of which it arises. Rather, the text promotes renun-\nciation that is naturally occurring and selflessly generated, sponta-\nneously arising out of love. The cowherd maidens are considered tohave achieved the perfection of all asceticism and to have attained thehighest transcendence simply through their love and passionate devo-tion to God. This method of attainm ent is clearly distinct from the\nrigorous asceticism and ceaseless search for world-denying transcen-\ndence for which much of religious India is known.\nEven though the divinely erotic tenor of the R asa Lila story has de-\nlighted many, it has confused others. Some Western and even Indianinterpreters have assumed that the lo ve exhibited between the cow-\nherd women and their beloved Krishna is nothing more than a displayDrama of Love 3\n© Copyright, Princeton University Press. No part of this book may be \ndistributed, posted, or reproduced in any form by digital or mechanical \nmeans without prior written permission of the publisher. \nFor general queries, contact [email protected]\nof worldly lust.5The author’s intention expressed in the text, however,\nis quite the contrary—the hearing or reciting of this story, he pro-\nclaims, will freesouls from lust, the “disease of the heart.” Therefore\nsaintly voices from particular traditions within the Hindu complex ofreligion claim that its erotic imagery is an expression of the intensity\nand intimacy of divine love, rather than a portrayal of worldly pas-sion. It is only a lack of enculturation and purity of heart on the partof the reader that prevents one from appreciating the R asa Lila as the\ngreatest revelation of love.\n6\nSuch traditions tell us that the true interpretation of the story re-\nquires a certain type of vision, the “eye of pure love,” prem a-netra,\nwhich sees a world permeated by supreme love constantly celebratedby all beings and all of life.\n7This eye beholds a realm of consummate\nbeauty and bliss, in which both the soul and intimate deity lose them-selves in the eternal play of love. Prem a-netra is said to be attained\nwhen the “eye of devotion” is anointed with the “mystical ointment oflove,” an ointment that grants a specific vision of the “incomprehensi-ble qualities of the essential form of Krishna.”\n8These traditions claim\nthat such qualities are revealed through the R asa Li latext, which, with4Introduction\n5. The various interpretations of the R asa Lila story in the West as well as the East have\na long and interesting history, not within the scope of this study. My interest here is to pre-\npare the reader for appreciating the rich literary and religious dimensions of the text, andfor understanding aspects of the esoteric vision of its drama.\n6. The modern exponent of Vaishnavism who spread the tradition worldwide, Bhakti-\nvedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896–1977), cautioned outsiders or  nonpractitioners in their\nreading of the stories of Krishna and the Gop is presented in his volume entitled, KRSNA:\nThe Supreme Personality of Godhead (Los Angeles: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 1970),\np.188ff., a retelling of the Bhagavata ’s tenth book, interpolated with his own grave warnings\nagainst misinterpretation. It is important to point out that the Swami presented these sto-\nries of the Bhagavata to the modern Western world, a wo rld he encountered as having far\nmore promiscuity than the traditional Indian cult ure out of which he came. However, he\nalso battled the dark side, within his own culture, of radical heterodox Sahajiy atraditions\narising out of Bengal Vaishnavism. Such traditions had been influenced by tantric Buddhistpractices, in which practitioners, according to the Swami, lacked “requisite practice and\nspiritual discipline in devotional love,” sadhana-bhakti, and thus the humility for truly un-\nderstanding the Bhagavata ’s stories. At worst, some Sahajiy asects have attempted, to this\nday, to reenact the divine acts of Krishna with the Gop is through sexual rituals. The per-\nception of orthodox Vaishnavas is that Sahajiy apractitioners dwell on the intimate divine\nacts of God prematurely, taking the te achings cheaply or  sentimentally.\n7. The phrase prem a-netra is taken from Krishnadasa Kaviraja’s great biographical and\ntheological exposition, Caitanya Caritamrta [CC] 1.5.21, in which he describes how the eye\nof love can comprehend “the manif estations of divine essence,” or svarupa-prakasa.\n8. These phrases and ideas are taken from a verse of the Shri Bra hma-Samhita (Madras:\nSree Gaudiya Math, 1958), v. 5.38. Translations are mine. The Brahma Samhita (BrS) was\ndiscovered in south India and canonized by the bhakti saint Caitanya in the sixteenth cen-tury. Caitanya’s discovery of the BrS is related in CC 2.9.237–241.\n© Copyright, Princeton University Press. No part of this book may be \ndistributed, posted, or reproduced in any form by digital or mechanical \nmeans without prior written permission of the publisher. \nFor general queries, contact [email protected]\nDrama of Love 5\nFigure 2. The village of Bars anasurrounded by beautiful Vraja landscape.\nPhotograph courtesy of Helmut Kappel.\nits sensuous spirituality and innocent play fulness set in alluring poetic\nverse, ever beckons and attracts souls to enter into its drama.\nThis is the vision of saints, which I myself do not claim to possess.\nAs one who is Western-born and traine d in the academic study of reli-\ngion, having had the privilege of living in India among saintly practi-\ntioners and participating with them in de votional practices, however, I\nam perhaps in a position to present this work to those both outside\nand within these traditions. My intention is to illuminate a particulartradition’s special vision of such an important text, thereby facilitating\nfurther dialogue with other world traditions of theistic mysticism.\nThis work, then, explores a vision of intimacy with the supreme\ndeity as presented by the R asa Lila text and elaborated upon by recog-\nnized sages possessing this eye of love. The translation of the story,found at the heart of the book, is intended to be literal and faithful,striving to capture some of the ex quisite poetic beauty and profound\ntheological expression of the original. Within the introductory andcommentarial sections that frame the tr anslation, deeper or more\nhidden meanings of its verses are presented through general discus-sion and specific verse comments. It is hoped that these key teachingsand traditional commentaries, from one of the most influential tradi-tions interpreting the text, will enrich the reading of this masterpieceof world literature and enhance its appreciation.\n© Copyright, Princeton University Press. No part of this book may be \ndistributed, posted, or reproduced in any form by digital or mechanical \nmeans without prior written permission of the publisher. \nFor general queries, contact [email protected]\nSACRED LOVE STORIES\nAmong all love stories of the world, only a few are considered divine\nrevelation. Certain mystical traditions honor a particular love story as\ntheir ultimate vision of supreme love. These stories exhibit eroticlongings, often in the feminine voice, as can be observed in the fol-lowing similar expressions of passion presented in two very differentscriptural texts, the first biblical and the second pur anic: “Let him kiss\nme with the kisses of his mouth!” (Song of Solomon 1.2), and “Pleasebestow upon us the nectar of your lips!” (R asa Lila 3.14). These ex-\nplicitly romantic expressions have been perceived as the voice of thesoul in its passionate yearning for the divine. Devout mystics andsaintly persons have shown, through their own elaborate worship andinterpretation of these stories, that the desire to love God intimately\nand passionately lies deeply within the human heart. These specialstories can thus be called sacred love stories.\nGod as the divine lover is not as foreign to us in the West as per-\nhaps we might assume. According to a sociological study conductedseveral years ago, a surprising 45 percent of Americans can “imagineGod as a lover.”\n9Intimate love of the deity, therefore, is apparently\nneither remote nor unco mmon, nor is it seen as existing only in the\npast among people of different cultures and distant places. That itspresence is concealed may be due to the confidential nature of theexperience of intimacy in relation to the sacred; perhaps the phe-nomenon is preserved at an under stated and private level of human\nreligious experience. Though it would be impossible to determine the\npervasiveness of this religious phenomenon, or the type and depth ofexperience, it is clear that humans throughout the ages have desired\nintimacy with the divine.\nSacred love stories, in many ways, appear to present the passionate\nlove shared between a lover and a beloved. They disclose explicit con-ceptions or allegorical depictions of a transcendent realm of love, in\nwhich a supreme deity and affecti onate counterpart—either a devout\nsoul or divine personage—join t ogether in various phases of amor-6Introduction\n9. See Wade Clark Roof and Jennifer L. Roof, “Images of God among Americans,” Jour-\nnal for the Scientific Study of Religion 23, no. 2 (June 1984): 201–205. The summarized re-\nsults of this study received attention from the popular magazine Psycho logy Today (June\n1985): 12, and the nationwide newspaper USA Today (May 30, 1985). The latter focused\nspecifically on the content of “God as a lover” from Psycho logy Today, which was high-\nlighted in its section called “Life,” under “Lif eline: A Quick Read on What People Are Talk-\ning About.”\n© Copyright, Princeton University Press. No part of this book may be \ndistributed, posted, or reproduced in any form by digital or mechanical \nmeans without prior written permission of the publisher. \nFor general queries, contact [email protected]\nous, even erotic intimacy. The purest and highest attainable love asso-\nciated with these stories occurs only when the recipient of the soul’sexclusive devotion is the supreme Beloved. Such stories have inspiredthe human heart to reach for super lative and pure expressions of love.\nIt is not surprising that generations of religious writers, in numerous\nworks, have developed and embe llished essential themes drawn di-\nrectly from these sacred stories.\nIn the Western world, the biblical book Song of Solomon, also\nknown as the Song of Songs, relating the passionate love between aking and queen, has been regarded by many as a sacred love story.\n10\nThis story has become foundational for various forms of Jewish mys-ticism, such as the Kabbalah. The rich and erotic words of the Songreveal the union of lover and beloved who symbolize, for these tradi-\ntions, the divine “queen” and “king” within the godhead. Additionally,the Song of Solomon has been a profound source of inspiration forCatholic love mysticism and Christian piety in general. The feminineand masculine voices of the text have represented the loving relation-ship between the soul and God, respectively, in which the soul be-comes the “bride” and Christ the divine “bridegroom.”\nSimilarly, traditions of Islamic love mysticism have drawn upon an\nancient Arabic tale that allegorizes the soul’ s capacity to be utterly in-\ntoxicated with love for God. The story of Layla and Majnun describes\nMajnun’s uncontainable madness of affection for his beloved Layla,\nfrom early boyhood throughout his life, and even beyond life.\n11Al-\nthough there has never been complete agreement on the sacred value ordegree of holiness of these particular love stories, often because of theexplicit sensuality and erotic imagery of their content, there is no doubt\nthat powerful traditions of love mysticism have based their religious vi-sions on such texts. Sacred love stories are indeed stories of romanceand passion, but they are often seen as much more than that. They areregarded by many as sacred expressions of the innermost self that can\nlift the human spirit into the highest realms of intimacy with the deity.Sacred Love Stories 7\n10. The Song of Songs is readily accessible in any complete translation of the Hebrew\nBible. It has also received scholarly attention as a text apart from its biblical context, and one\nfinds, to this day, attempts to translate its especially rich poetry into English. For example,see The Song of Songs: A New Translation, by Ariel Bloch and Chana Bloch (Berkeley: Uni-\nversity of California Press, 1995) with elaborat e introduction and commentary to the text;\nand The Song of Songs: A New Translation, by Marcia Falk (San Francisco: Harper, 1990)\nwith illustrations and introduction to the translation. Both editions present the original\ntext in Hebrew script.\n11. See Nizami’s The Story of Layla and Majnun, translated from the Persian and edited\nby Dr. Rudolf Gelpke (New Lebanon, N.Y.: Omega Publications, 1997).\n© Copyright, Princeton University Press. No part of this book may be \ndistributed, posted, or reproduced in any form by digital or mechanical \nmeans without prior written permission of the publisher. \nFor general queries, contact [email protected]\nINDIA ’S SONG OF SONGS\nThe love poem of the R asa Lila could easily be regarded as the “Song\nof Songs” of ancient India. Several Vaishnava sects—those traditions\nwithin the Hindu complex of religion whose worship is centered\nupon the supreme deity Vishnu, also known as Krishna—single outthe story of the R asa Lila,c laiming it to be the essence of all lilas.\n12As\nthe Song of Solomon has been elevated to the highest status above allother biblical books by many Jewish and Christian mystics, and thushas become known as the “Song of Songs,” the R asa Lila also has been\nhonored as the “essence of all lilas” and the “crown-jewel of all acts of\nGod” by several Vaishnava traditions, for which it functions as the ul-\ntimate revelation of divine love.\n13\nThe enchanting R asa Li lahas had great influence on the culture and\nreligion of India, perhaps even mo re than the Song of Songs has had\non the Western world. For over a thousand years, poets and dramatistshave continually told its story, often creating new stories that expandupon particular themes of the R asa Li la.Artists and dancers from a va-\nriety of classical Indian schools have attempted to capture the beauty\nand excitement of various events within the story through pictorialrenderings and interpretative danc e performances. In modern times,\nin the West and in India, literary and artistic creations continue to begenerated directly from this great work. The passionate love of theGop is for their beloved Lord Krishna has epitomized sacred love in In-\ndian civilization, and to this day provides the richest source of poeticand religious inspiration for Hindu love mysticism.\nAnother Sanskrit love poem, the Gita Govinda or “Song of\nGovinda,” by Jayadeva, has been referred to as the song of songs ofIndia by some Indian and Western scholars.\n14This twelfth-century\nwork concerning Govinda, who is Krishna, and his most beloved Gop i,8Introduction\n12. The Vaishnava sects of Vallabha, Caitanya, and R adhavallabha celebrate the R asa Lila\nas the greatest lila.\n13. Krishnad asa Kaviraja uses the words lila-sara (“essence of lilas”) to describe the RL\nin C 2.21.44. Vi svanatha Cakravartin describes the R asa Lila as sarva-l ila-cuda-mani in his\ncommentary to the first verse of the RL.\n14. The first translation of Jayadeva’s work was by the nineteenth-century British\nscholar Sir Edwin Arnold, and its title clearly makes the claim: The Indian Song of Songs\n(London, 1875). Indian scholars have echoed Ar nold’s claim and accepted this work’s asso-\nciation with the biblical text; see K angra Paintings of the G ita Govinda, by M. S. Randhawa\n(Delhi: National Museum, 1963), p. 13. Western scholars of the Song of Solomon have also\ndrawn parallels between the two works. See Song of Songs: A New Translation with Introduc-\ntion and Commentary, by Marvin H. Pope (New Y ork: Doubleday, 1977), especially the sec-\ntion entitled “Gita-Govinda, the So-Called ‘Indian Song of Songs,’” pp. 85–89.\n© Copyright, Princeton University Press. No part of this book may be \ndistributed, posted, or reproduced in any form by digital or mechanical \nmeans without prior written permission of the publisher. \nFor general queries, contact [email protected]\nRadha,p resents a tempting parallel to the Song because of the singular\nhero and heroine between whom a passionate love tale ensues. By con-\ntrast, the R asa Li laportrays a group of heroines, though there is special\nattention given in one chapter to a favored Gop i,who is assumed by\nsome Vaishnava sects to be Ra dha.15Furthermore, the R asa Li ladoes\nnot reach the erotic intensity of the Gita Govinda and the Song of\nSongs. Whereas the general tone of the R asa Li lais more amorous or\nromantic, the overall tone of both the Song and Jayadeva’s work is con-\nsiderably more sensuous, if not e xplicitly or metap horically sexual.\nDespite these similarities of Jayadeva’s work to the biblical song, the\nRasa Li ladeserves recognition as India’s song of songs in light of its lit-\nerary-historical and scriptural parallels. Historically, the Gita Govinda\nappears centuries later than the Bha gavata. In fact, the Ra sa Li lais re-\nferred to repeatedly in a refrain within the second part of Jayadeva’sstory (vv. 2–9). Similarly, the Song of Solomon functions as the source\nof much literary activity, as we find with the Spanish mystic poet, Johnof the Cross, who himself derived direct inspiration from the Song forhis poetry describing the spiritual marriage of the soul and Christ.\nThe Song of Solomon has had significant influence on Western re-\nligious traditions, especially on Jew ish and Catholic forms of mysti-\ncism, in which it has received unmatched attention. The R asa Lila\nhas also had widespread cultural and religious recognition, particu-larly within certain bhakti or devotional traditions of Vaishnavism.\nWhereas appr eciation of the Gita Govinda has been primarily concen-\ntrated in eastern regions of India such as the states of Bengal andOrissa, the Rasa Lila has had a pan-Indian presence.\nPerhaps the most compelling argument for claiming the R asa Lila\nto be India’s song of songs would be the powerfully supportive scrip-\ntural contexts in which each text is found. Although Jayadeva’s poemis directly inspired by the Bhagavata, it is an independent poem, lack-\ning the greater literary and scriptural context that the Bhagavata and\nthe Hebrew Bible provide for the R asa Lila and the Song of Solomon,\nrespectively.\n16One could argue that the biblical Song is perhaps even\nmore dependent upon its context than the Ra sa Li lais on its scriptural\nsetting, because of the absence of any explicit religious statements inIndia’s Song of Songs 9\n15. The Gita Govinda is the first text to powerfully establish the name, identity, and role\nof Radha as Krishna’s favorite Gop i,stimulating a great deal of later poetic activity, as well\nas influencing the way viewers and readers perceive R adha’s  role in the RL text itself.\n16. The Gita Govinda compensates for a lack of scriptural context or authority by pro-\nviding a theological introduction: the first chapter is devoted primarily to singing the\npraises of the various “divine descents,” or avataraforms, of Krishna and Vishnu.\n© Copyright, Princeton University Press. No part of this book may be \ndistributed, posted, or reproduced in any form by digital or mechanical \nmeans without prior written permission of the publisher. \nFor general queries, contact [email protected]\nFigure 3. Ivory miniature painting of R adha and Krishna.\nArtist unknown; from the private collection of the author.\n© Copyright, Princeton University Press. No part of this book may be \ndistributed, posted, or reproduced in any form by digital or mechanical \nmeans without prior written permission of the publisher. \nFor general queries, contact [email protected]\nthe Song. The story line of the R asa Lila,o n the other hand, is a con-\ntinuation of earlier events from within the greater Bhagavata story,\nand there is notable material prior and subsequent to the Rasa Lila\nthat anticipates or reflects upon its story. Moreover, much of the the-ological content of the Bhagavata and references to many of its sur-\nrounding stories are engaged within the R asa Lila itself.\nIt is on the basis of this dependence on context that the poetic love\nstory of the R asa Lila gains, as does the Song of Songs, its sacred aura\nand religious authority. Furthermore, each text, as a rarified sacredlove story, has become the jewel in the center of its own scriptural set-ting. In light of these significant parallels, the R asa Lila may truly be\nconsidered the song of songs of India.\nBHA GA VATA AS THE ULTIMATE SCRIPTURE\nThere are eighteen Pur anas, or collections of “ancient stories,” and In-\ndian and Western scholars alike have recognized that among them,the Bhagavata stands out. Dozens of traditional commentaries have\nbeen written on the Bhagavata, whereas other Pur anas have received\njust one or two, if any.\n17The Bhagavata Pur ana (BhP) itself declares\nthat it is “the Purana without imperfection” (amala purana) and themost excellent of all Pur anas.\n18\nModern Indian scholars acknowledge the greatness of the text. S.\nK. De writes that “The Bhagavata is thus one of the most remarkable\nmediaeval documents of mystical and passionate religious devotion,its eroticism and poetry bringing back warmth and colour into reli-gious life.”\n19Specifically referring to the tenth book of the Bhagavata,\nA. K. Majumdar states: “the most distinguishing feature of the Bh.P. is\nthe tenth canto which deals with the life of K rsna, and includes the\nrasa-lila, which is unique in our religious literature.”20Western schol-\nars have also identified the synthetic nature of the text. Daniel H. H.Ingal ls writes: “The Bhagavata draws from all classes, as it does from\nall of India’s intellectual traditio ns. It does this without being at allThe Ultimate Scripture 11\n17. Edwin F. Bryant, in his introduction to his translation of the tenth book of the Bha-\ngavata, has counted as many as eighty-one currently available commentaries on this part of\nthe text. See his work Krishna: The Beautiful Legend of God (New Y ork: Penguin, 2004), p. xii.\n18. See BhP 12.13.17–18.\n19. S. K. De, Early History of the Vai snav a Faith and Movement in Bengal (Calcutta:\nFirma K. L. Mukhopadhya, 1961), p. 7.\n20. A. K. Majumdar, Caitanya: His Life and Doctrine (Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan,\n1969), p. 35.\n© Copyright, Princeton University Press. No part of this book may be \ndistributed, posted, or reproduced in any form by digital or mechanical \nmeans without prior written permission of the publisher. \nFor general queries, contact [email protected]\ninterested in social questions and int erested in intellectual questions\nonly so far as they may illustrate or fortify its doctrine of love. What is\nimportant to the Bhagavata is to feel God, to be moved by Him.”21\nThe compelling text of this Pur ana presents a rich tapestry of di-\nverse forms of ancient Indian theological discourse, social thought,\nand literature, all of which support its evolved doctrine of devotion.\nMore than any other Pur ana, it engages much that comes before it by\nelaborating upon philosophical themes and stories of religious In-\ndia, drawing from both northern and southern traditional cultures,as well as from great scriptures dated as early as the Vedas (circa3000–1200 b.c.e.), India’s oldest and foundational scriptures.\n22In-\ndeed, the Bhagavata has been regarded as the quintessential scripture:\n“The very essential core (sara msaram ) of all of the Vedas and all of\nthe histories has been collected [in the Bhagavata ]” (CC 2.25.145).\nThe challenge of dating the Bhagavata brings out some of the text’s\nliterary characteristics. The precise date of its complete formation has\nbeen difficult to ascertain, since the Bhagavata re-presents much of what\nhas already come before it.23Whereas scholars have often pointed to the\nseventh or ninth century c.e. as periods during whic h either portions of\nthe text or the complete work appeared in its present written form, thetext has also been dated to as early as the fourth century. Moreover, the\nBhagavata records layers of narrations that were initially orally trans-\nmitted. This is not surprising, since India is known for its rich oralliterary traditions, beginning with the Vedas themselves, which were\npreserved and handed down by pr iestly families for many generations.\nDevout Hindus see the Bhagavata Pur anaas an eternal revelation;\nyet the text itself presents a description of how it came into exis-12 Introduction\n21. Daniel H. H. Ingalls in his foreword to The Divinity of Krishna, by No el Sheth, S.J.\n(New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1984), p. xii.\n22. See BhP 1.1.3. Friedhelm Hardy considers the Bhagavata “an opus universale,” a spe-\ncial puranic text that blends the poetic sense and inte nse devotional expression from south-\nern Tamil culture with philosophical themes of the Upanishads and Vedanta, and the\ndharmic social system of the north. See his work Viraha Bhakti: The Early History of K rsna\nDevotion in South India (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1983), pp. 489ff.\n23. It is interesting to note that as early as the second century c.e., the Rasa dance of\nKrishna has been described in the South Indian text known as the Cilappatik aram by Ilankõ\nAtikal.S ee canto 17 entitled, “The Round Dance of the Herdswomen” in The Cilappati-\nkaram of Ilanko A tikal,A n Epic of South India, translated, with an introduction and post-\nscript, by R. Parthasarathy (New Y ork: Columbia University Press, 1993), pp. 170–178. Fora recent study critically reviewing the complex issues surrounding the dating of the Bhaga-\nvata Pur ana, see Edwin F. Bryant’s lucid article,“The Date and Provenance of the Bhagavata\nPurana and the Vaikuntha Perumal T emple,” Journal of Vaishnava Studies 11, no. 1 (Fall\n2002): 51–80.\n© Copyright, Princeton University Press. No part of this book may be \ndistributed, posted, or reproduced in any form by digital or mechanical \nmeans without prior written permission of the publisher. \nFor general queries, contact [email protected]\ntence.24The sage Vyasa, whose name means “compiler,” became de-\nspondent due to a lack of fulfillment, even after compiling the great\nliteratures of India such as the Vedas, the Mah abharata,and others.25\nHe turned to his teacher, the renowned sage N arada, and expressed\nhis utter dissatisfaction. N arada addressed his disciple’s frustration by\nexplaining to Vyasa that although he had delineated the “ultimatepurposes of human life” ( puru sartha), he had yet to describe the\ngreatness of Krishna. Thus the Bhagavata is a text that is thought of as\ncompleting the task of compiling the scriptures, by crowning them\nwith the full theology of Vishnu or Krishna. Certainly there is no\nother scriptural text that presents this theology so comprehensively.The teachers of the sixteenth-century bhakti school founded by the\nmystic and revivalist Caitanya express the superiority of the text over\nthat of all other sacred Indian texts, collectively referred to in the fol-lowing as the Vedas: “The Bhagavata describes the essential nature of\nKrishna, bhakti, and the relationship to God ( rasa). Therefore its\ngreatness is supreme among Vedic scriptures” (CC 2.25.150).\nMuch of the Bhagavata is a “compilation” of earlier texts, but not\nmerely that. The works engaged by the Bha gavata are refined versions\nof previous materials, incorporating the highly evolved theology ofVishnu, and this is certainly the case with the R asa Li lastory. This act of\nliterary refinement and re-vision is expressed toward the very beginningof the Bhagavata, in a verse that depicts the text as the “ripened fruit” of\nthe wish-granting tree of all Vedic literature.\n26The name of the primary\nnarrator of the text, Suka, meaning “parrot,” holds special significance\nhere.Vy asa’s compiled stories are narrated by Suka, his son, which causes\nthem to become especially refined and sweet, just as it is believed that aparrot makes the juice of a mango sweeter, once it has sliced the fruitwith its beak. Also, parrots are known to repeat faithfully what they hear,and similarly, Suka faithfully retells the stories he has heard.\n27The Ultimate Scripture 13\n24. For the Bhagavata ’s account of why it was written, see BhP 1.5.2–9.\n25. Vyasa is known for compiling sacred texts, especially the Vedas, the oldest and most\nauthoritative scripture of India, perhaps the oldest scriptural text in the world. Among the\nfour parts of the Vedas, the Rg Veda is the best known, appreciated for its Sanskrit hymns\npraising sacrificial practices, philosop hical musings, and devotional expression.\n26. “The ripened fruit ( galitam phalam) of / the wish-granting tree of the Vedas / Has\nperfectly culminated in the flow / of nectar ( amrta-druva) from the mouth of Suka. / Y ou\ndrink the juice ( rasa) of this fruit constantly, / which is the Bhagavata, the ultimate abode—/\nAh, for you appreciate what is tasteful (r asikah) / and possess a sense for what is beautiful\n(bhavukah) in this world” (BhP 1.1.3).\n27. For more information on the significance of Suka as a transmitter within Hindu\ntraditions, see Wendy Doniger’s “Echoes of the Mah abhar ata: Why Is a Parrot the Narrator\n© Copyright, Princeton University Press. No part of this book may be \ndistributed, posted, or reproduced in any form by digital or mechanical \nmeans without prior written permission of the publisher. \nFor general queries, contact [email protected]\nThis finer, more pleasing result produced by the parrotlike effect\nofSuka’s narrations is readily observable when comparing other\npuranic versions of Krishna’s dalliance with the cowherd women to\nthe Bhagavata ’s presentation. Suka’s vision combines some essential\nKrishna-Gopi themes found in three other versions: the Visnu Pu-\nrana, Brahma Purana, and Hariva msa texts. The verses in the Vi snu\nand Brahma Puranas that parallel the Bhagavata ’s Rasa Lila actually\ninclude the event of the R asa dance, whereas the Hariva msa does not,\nalthough it clearly shares other sce nes and motifs of the story. All\nthree versions are similar to the Bhagavata in dramatic content and\nutilize, in places, similar and even the same vocabulary. But the story’sfinest imagery and poetic rendition are found in the Bhagavata ver-\nsion.\n28\nAs mentioned above, the Bhagavata ’s Rasa Li lareflects several of the\nliterary and theological features of the greater Bhagavata, a context that\nis lacking in the three counterpart versions. It is no wonder that this texthas been preferred by later Vaishnava sects (those following Vallabha,Caitanya, and R adhavallabha). The dramatic tone and content of the\nBhagavata story embellish the erotic presentation of the Hariva msaand\nfurther develop the theological apologia of the Visnu Pura na,thus\ncombining and engaging aspects from both, resulting in a far richer\ntext. The effect, then, of Suka’s parrotlike narration on the Bhagavata ’s\nRasa Li lais a substantially more developed story that is the most elo-\nquent, dramatic, and theologically sophisticated of the four versions.\nWe have seen that the Vaishnava teachers regarded the Rasa Lila as\ntheir “song of songs,” the most important and elevated passage of theBhagavata. We may ask, does the Bhagavata text itself enthrone the\nRasa Lila passage as the lila of all lilas? Are the Vaishnava interpreters\nof the text correct in thinking that the Bhagavata regards the Rasa Lila\nin this way, or is their appreciation do ctrinally driven? I will present,\nin the “T extual Illuminations” and “Notes and Comments” sections of14 Introduction\nof the Bh agavata Pur ana and the Devi Bhagavata?” in Purana Perennis: Reciprocity and\nTransformation in Hindu and Jaina Texts, edited by Wendy Doniger (Albany: State Univer-\nsity of New Y ork Press, 1993).\n28. See treatment of first verse in Notes and Comments to RL 1.1 for a comparison of\nthe first verse of the Bhagavata to the Visnu Purana and Hariva msa versions. Clearly, a\nmeasure of vocabulary and imagery is shared by all three. A synoptic analysis of these ver-\nsions brings out much of what is unique about the Bhagavata ’s presentation (see appen-\ndix 3, “Synoptic Analysis of R asa Lila”).\n© Copyright, Princeton University Press. No part of this book may be \ndistributed, posted, or reproduced in any form by digital or mechanical \nmeans without prior written permission of the publisher. \nFor general queries, contact [email protected]\nthis work, compelling indications, both literary and theological, that\nthe Bhagavata indeed elevates the Rasa Lila to an ultimate status\nwithin its vast text.\nLet us consider the major literary indications pointing to the R asa\nLila’s  special status. First, the poetic language and style of the text are\ndistinctive. Second, no other story within the Bhagavata resembles a\ndrama as does the Rasa story, and though its drama clearly fits intothe greater text of which it is a part, it also has the ability to stand in-dependently, as one would expect of a Sanskrit romantic drama. Fur-thermore, the tight dramatic structure stretching over an unusuallylengthy five contiguous chapters is, again, a unique feature among alllilas of the Bhagavata. Third, as has been mentioned, “framing” pas-\nsages placed before the story anticipate and lead up to the text, andthose that follow remember and invoke the significance of the lila.\nThese passages may be a single verse (inside and outside of the tenthbook), or partial and even whole chapters (within the tenth book),prior to or following the five-chapter story. No other episode in theBhagavata has received this type of elaborate framing. Moreover, the\ncharacters of the hero and heroines are developed prior to the story,and their interactions within the episode reach heights not achievedprior to or following the R asa event. Finally, throughout the passage\nas many as eighteen other lilas from within the Bhagavata are recalled,\na rare occurrence in any lila.\nUnique theological features also indicate the special status of the\nRasa Li la.The first and last verses of the piece launch and cap off its\nstory with dramatic indications. Krishna takes full refuge in the God-dess in the first verse, which is unprecedented in the greater Bhagavata\ntext, and the author states in the final benedictory verse that the “high-\nest devotion” is achieved by hearing or reciting this story, a benediction\nthat is not offered anywhere else. Additionally, the Bhagavata presents\nmany great devotees of Krishna, but none receives the same level ofrecognition and praise in the text as the cowherd maidens of Vraja,\nwhose love and sacrifice even amaze Krishna himself. They are de-picted as master yogin iswho are capable of embracing God within\ntheir hearts, their devotion excelled by no one. Furthermore, among allthe Gopi passages of the Bhagavata ’s tenth book, the R asa Li ladrama\nintroduces and tells the tale of the special singular Gop i,i d e n t ified by\nthe Caitanya school as Ra dha,K rishna’s dearest consort. This favored\ncowherd maiden is revisited only once more, seventeen chapters later(BhP 10.47), where her soliloquy to the black bee is presented. Clearly,Sacred Context 15\n© Copyright, Princeton University Press. No part of this book may be \ndistributed, posted, or reproduced in any form by digital or mechanical \nmeans without prior written permission of the publisher. \nFor general queries, contact [email protected]\nthe Bhagavata, through these and other theological and literary\nfeatures of the text, deliberately establishes the R asa Li laas the very\ncenter of its work, celebrated as such by many Vaishnava traditions.\nSACRED CONTEXT OF THE RA SA LI LA\nThe Bhagavata ’s Sanskrit text contains 335 chapters, consisting of sa-\ncred stories, philosophical discourse, and epic poetry that all respond\nto the essential question of what one is to do to prepare for death.29Of\nthe twelve books forming the Bhagavata, the tenth and longest book\ncomprises ninety chapters, including the five chapters of the R asa Lila\n(chapters 29–33). This is the most famous and widely read of thebooks, particularly known for its descriptions of Krishna’s youthfullilas in Vraja.\nThe Bhagavata Pur ana presents a dialogue between the sage Suka\nand a king named Par iksit, which addresses the question of how to\nprepare for death. The text possesses a complex narrative structureconsisting of three layers. The authorial first voice, as we have seen, is\nunderstood to be that of Vy asa. The work opens by introducing the\nvoice of the general narrator, the sage S uta, as he addresses a gather-\ning of holy men in the Naimi sa forest, delivering the outer narrative\nshell. S uta in turn narrates the vision of the narrator of the Bhagavata\nstories themselves, the sage Suka. Thus, the first narrative is by Vy asa,\nwho reveals the dialogue between S uta and the sages assembled at\nNaimisa. And the second narrative is by S uta, who reveals the dia-\nlogue between Suka and King Pariksit. Within this second narrative\nframe, we learn about the king, whose death is imminent due to acurse from a small boy. The story goes as follows:\nThe renowned king Pariksit, while searching for water in the forest,\ncame across a great sage deeply immersed in meditation. The king re-\nquested water from the sage, but received no response. Feeling resent-ful, he picked up a nearby dead snake with his bow, and angrilydraped the snake over the shoulder of the sage. The son of the sage,infuriated upon hearing how the king had insulted his father, cursedthe king to die in just seven days from the poisonous bite of a fancifulsnake-bird.16 Introduction\n29. For a scholarly treatment on the theme of death in the Bhagavata, see E. H. Rick\nJarow’ s book Tales for the Dying: The Death Narrative of the Bh agavata-Pur ana (Albany:\nState University of New Y ork Press, 2003).\n© Copyright, Princeton University Press. No part of this book may be \ndistributed, posted, or reproduced in any form by digital or mechanical \nmeans without prior written permission of the publisher. \nFor general queries, contact [email protected]\nThe king, feeling remorseful, accepted the curse as his fate and\nseated himself on the bank of a holy river. Soon, many renowned\nsages arrived, for he was a much-loved king. After greeting them, theking said, “Let the snake-bird bite me at once. I desire only that all ofyou continue reciting the glorious divine acts of Lord Vishnu.”\n30In-\nquiring from the sages about the hig hest perfection of life, he asked,\n“What is the duty of one who is about to die?”31The beautiful young\nsage known as Suka, son of Vy asa, praised the king for his inquiry, and\noffered an explanation that points to an essential message of the Bha-gavata: a long life wasted in ignorant activity is useless compared to a\nshort life utilized in achieving the ultimate spiritual goal.\n32\nThe third narrative, then, constitutes the greater part of the Bha-\ngavata text. Here, Suka responds to the seminal question of the king\nconcerning how to prepare for death. Throughout the Bhagavata,\nSuka narrates stories to and converses with Par iksit, the king, who is\nin the submissive role of Suka’s student. The R asa Lila also opens with\nSuka as the narrator, and his voice is heard in each act of the drama.\nMost of the stories or narrations of the Bhagavata begin with an\nintroductory line preceding the opening verse (that is, just before thefirst quarter line of the poetically metered verses), and the R asa Lila is\nno exception. Directly preceding the first verse of the drama arethe words, sri-badaraya nir uvaca, “the illustrious Badarayani spoke.”\n33\nHere, Suka is introduced by the name B adarayani, which appears only\nonce, to inform the reader that Suka is the son of Badar ayana, another\nname for Vy asa.34Therefore, Suka is not only a sage recognized by the\nking and assembly of sages accompanying him; he is also the son ofthe divinely empowered Vy asa, the compiler of the Bhagavata, grant-\ning even greater authority to his narration.\nThe vision that Suka shares with his student, King Par iksit, is not\nonly what he sees but also his interpretation of what he sees. WhenSuka reveals the poetic narrative and descriptions of the R asa Li la,h e\nacts as a bard and sage, whereas when he discusses and reflects uponthe stories, he acts as the interpreting theologian. The conversationSacred Context 17\n30. BhP 1.19.15.\n31. BhP 1.19.37.32. BhP 2.1.12.33. The reader may consult the complete transliterated text of the R asa Lila in the sec-\ntion titled “The Sanskrit T ext,” toward the end of this book.\n34. Only some editions of the Bhagavata Pur ana introduce Suka as Badarayani in the\nRasa Lila passage. Other editions simply introduce him as Suka.\n© Copyright, Princeton University Press. No part of this book may be \ndistributed, posted, or reproduced in any form by digital or mechanical \nmeans without prior written permission of the publisher. \nFor general queries, contact [email protected]\nFigure 4. Wall painting of Suka narrating the Bhagavata ’s Rasa Lila to the\nKing and Gathered Sages. From Gop inathji Temple, Jaipur. Photograph by\nthe author.\n© Copyright, Princeton University Press. No part of this book may be \ndistributed, posted, or reproduced in any form by digital or mechanical \nmeans without prior written permission of the publisher. \nFor general queries, contact [email protected]\nbetween Suka and the king is in turn being narrated by S uta to an\naudience consisting of Saunaka and his group of sages. S uta and\nSaunaka’s conversation is obviously narrated, as well, by the original\nnarrator and author, Vy asa. Effectively, then, the Ra sa Li lais delivered\nto the reader through telescoping narratives; it is a multilayered con-\nversation within which narrations of other conversations are taking\nplace.\nBefore exploring the many other remarkable features of this liter-\nary masterpiece in greater detail, I will introduce the translation of\nthe dramatic poem itself, so that the reader may experience a freshencounter of its plot and imagery. Following the translation, furthermediation or guidance will be offered in the “T extual Illuminations,”as well as the “Notes and Comments” portions of this book. Thetranslation is presented as a freestanding drama, with chapters 29through 33 from the tenth book of the Bhagavata now appearing as\nacts 1 through 5 within the drama, each act containing various scenes.\nFollowing the Rasa Lila translation are translations of two famous\npassages concerning the cowherd maidens. These episodes frame theRasa story, one prior to and the other following it. The first is thechapter known as “Song of the Flute” (Ve nu Gita), in which the Gopis\ndescribe the power and beauty of Krishna ’s divine flute music. It is ap-\npropriate that this passage should appear before the R asa Lila in the\nBhagavata, since it is the flute music that awakens the maidens’ loving\nself-surrender at the beginning of the story, initiating the unfolding ofthe plot. The second translation is called “Song of the Black Bee”(Bhramara Gita), a portion of a chapter that expresses loss and love inseparation from Krishna. It is famous for its description of the specialGopi,i d e n t ified as Ra dha,who speaks to a black bee in loving madness.Sacred Context 19\n© Copyright, Princeton University Press. No part of this book may be \ndistributed, posted, or reproduced in any form by digital or mechanical \nmeans without prior written permission of the publisher. \nFor general queries, contact [email protected]", "category": "mythology"}