I am Mahavira

Author(s): N L Jain
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith

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FROM THE DREAMS INTO THE WORLD.
It is about 2600 years. The Bharata country had sixteen large republics. The people were happy with the bounties of nature. However, their religious and social condition was not satisfactory. The saints like Mankhali Gośāla, Sañjaya, Keśī and Katyāyana postulated different doctrines. The society was luxurious, traditional and conservative. The people thought the status of some as low and the others as high. They did not behave properly with each other. The women were taken as a property like houses and lands. Their condition was pitiable. The men were also sold as slaves. This was the period of crisis for the whole society.
During this period, there was a village republic named as Kṣatriya Kundagrāma near Vaiśālī in Magadha area of Bharata. The King Siddhāratha ruled this republic. He belonged to the lineage of Jñātṛka Kṣatriyas. He was like Kubera- the god of wealth. There was the confluence of all the four exertions of life - religion, riches, fulfilment of worldly desires and liberation, in his Kingdom. The people there were happy- internally and externally. The king had Trisala as his chief queen. She was the princess of the king Cetaka - the ruler of the country of Videha (in current state of