Category History

          The teachings of Buddha had not been written down during his lifetime. So, six months after he died, or attained Nirvana, the first Great Buddhist Council was held at Rajgir, under the patronage of King Ajatashatru. Its objective was to preserve Buddha’s sayings, and to lay down monastic discipline or rules. In the centuries that followed, four Buddhist councils were held to discuss Buddha’s teachings. It was during the fourth council that the division of Buddhism into two sects was finally accepted.

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          Buddha is one of the greatest philosophers of India. He was a prince and his original name was Siddhartha. Siddhartha spent his boyhood at Kapilavastu and its vicinity.

          At the age of twenty-nine, Siddhartha suddenly abandoned his home, his wife and child to devote himself entirely too spiritual pursuits and yogic practices. Do you know why? One day, Siddhartha left the walled enclosure of the palace and roamed about in the town along with his servant, to see how the people were getting on. The sight of a weak old man, a sick man, a corpse and a monk finally induced Siddhartha to renounce the world.

          Siddhartha realized that worldly life with all its luxuries was worthless, and that the pleasure obtained from worldly things was fleeting. At the same time, he noticed that the monk looked serene and peaceful, and decided that he too, would find a way to get relief from the endless cycle of birth, suffering and death.

          Siddhartha left his palace and family, and wandered for many years in search of enlightenment. Finally, as he sat under a Peepul tree, he freed himself of all attachments and discovered the truth, and the secret of happiness. He became Buddha or ‘the Enlightened One’. According to Buddha, people can get free of the cycle of birth, suffering and death by leading a balanced life. He stressed the importance of being good, of learning not to care about worldly things, and of meditation. Buddha had many followers in his lifetime, and after his death, Buddhism, the religion he founded, spread throughout India and other parts of Asia.

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        It was Mahavira who gave Jainism the proper form of a religion. He is also considered as the 24th and last ‘Tirthankara’. In Jainism, ‘Tirthankara’ is a great soul who becomes the bridge to enlightenment.

        Mahavira was born in Kundagrama, near Vaishali in Bihar, in 599 BC.

        Mahavira was a prince, and his name was Vardhamana. He was a very brave child who once mounted a charging elephant! At the age of thirty, Mahavira renounced his kingdom, and family.

        It is believed that Mahavira did not consume even water, for two days. He pulled out his hair, and wore only a piece of cloth. Later, he gave half of that garment to a beggar. After a little over a year, he gave up clothes altogether. Mahavira’s teachings are full of universal compassion. He taught about the internal beauty and harmony of the soul. Mahavira preached that right faith, right knowledge, and right conduct together would lead one towards liberation.

        Mahavira himself is also called ‘Jina’, which means conqueror, for he was a spiritual conqueror.

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        The Nandas have a special place in Indian history as the first empire builders of India. They inherited the large kingdom of Magadha, and wished to extend it to even more distant frontiers. The first Nanda ruler was Mahapadma, and the last was Dhana Nanda. At the time of Dhana Nanda, the Nandas had an army consisting of 80,000 cavalry, 2,00,000 infantry, 8,000 armed chariots, and 6,000 war elephants!

          The Nandas were very wealthy, and they got their wealth through the taxes they collected. They also built canals and carried out irrigation projects. They were not popular rulers, but their powerful army was famous. In fact, many historians hold the view that Alexander the Great confined himself to the plains of Punjab for fear of the mighty Nandas!

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          Have you heard the story of how the Greeks won a battle against the kingdom of Troy by building a huge wooden horse? The horse was so big that Greek soldiers could hide inside it. The Greeks left the horse outside the gates of Troy, and pretended to leave. When the Trojans saw the horse, they took it inside their city, for it was so magnificent. At night, while the Trojans slept, the Greek soldiers came out of the horse and destroyed Troy. Did you know that a similar thing happened in India too? Pradyota, king of Avanti, one of the most prosperous states in the north, wanted to capture the king of Vatsa, Udayana. Therefore, he built a huge wooden elephant, hid his soldiers inside it, and left the elephant in the forest. Udayana was very fond of elephants, and when he heard that there was a huge elephant in the forest, he went in search of it. He was then captured by Pradyota’s soldiers, who emerged from the elephant and brought to Avanti. The story has a happy ending though. Pradyota’s daughter fell in love with Udayana, and helped him to escape. They married and she lived happily as his queen!

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