Time is linear. History however, is more like a river, meandering at times, thundering like rapids at others; or flowing along silently, depositing in its wake monuments and memories across the lands. Its currents push and pull at each other, and while we see only the surface and marvel at its myriad patterns, the undercurrents are equally, if not more fascinating. Ages ago, in Ancient Greece, sometime after the life of Jesus, lived a philosopher and historian named Plutarch. He wrote the 'Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans', or as it is known commonly today, 'Parallel Lives'. It consists of forty-eight biographies; twenty-four Greeks and twenty-four Romans paired of in what he thought were similar life stories. Some of these were Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar, Demosthenes and Cicero, and Theseus and Romulus.
Today, academic history consists of roughly two parts, a description of ages and empires, linear in its method describing what came after what, and which empire was conquered by which one, in a linear progression; the second part consists of isolated biographies of great people that rarely place them in the broader context of time and as a result, portray their greatness as something inherent in in them that was little influenced by their cultural and historical settings. While most men of such greatness undeniably possessed some innate virtues that most of us do not possess, they were also undeniably shaped by the times they they lived in and the the people around them.
This is the first of a series of essays that seek to portray such men who were contemporaries, and who we rarely see as contemporaries. Some of them are interconnected by their work or by their influences while others are just contemporaries as such, with nothing much in common between them, but the fact that their lives were probably written on the same page of time.
At the beginning of recorded history, dates are uncertain, timelines are foggy. As historians find more manuscripts and documents, and decipher hitherto unseen or untranslated languages, as archaeologists dig more, reaching into the bowels of the earth to unravel the story of man, estimated dates are pushed back or pulled up. Most historians agree however, that at the beginning of the sixth century BC, there was born, in a town called Kundagrama, in the lower Ganga Basin, a prince who would later be known as Nigantha Nataputta. Some traditions say that his childhood name was Vardhamana, while he is universally known as Mahavira, the last thirthankara of the Jain Tradition. At the time, Kundagrama was a part of a confederation of states called Vajji, one of the sixteen great Mahajanapadas, the great states that lay across northern India, mainly located on the Ganga and its tributaries. Vardhamana, according to Jain tradition was a descendant of the Ikshvaku clan, the famed lineage tracing its origins to the Sun God, Surya himself. At the same time, far to the west, in the rolling hills of Persia, was born another prince, grandson to the kings of Anshan and Media, a boy named Cyrus. Cyrus too boasted of a rich pedigree. Apart from being born into royalty, he too traced the origin of his house to a mythical ancestor, Achaemenes, the founder of the Achaemenid dynasty. According to the Swetambara tradition, one of the two main Jain traditions, the embryo of Mahavira was transferred from a brahmin woman, to the womb of Queen Trishala, his eventual mother. Cyrus too, had a strange birth. His maternal grandfather Astyages, the king of Media had seen a prophecy that his grandson would usurp his throne, and conspired to kill the unborn child. Cyrus was birthed in secret and grew up as the son of a shepherd, Mithridates.
Both Cyrus and Mahavira grew up as princes, albeit not of great kingdoms. Babylon was the great power in the middle east of that time and in India, the sixteen great states were tied together in alliances and pacts which rendered them more or less equal. Jain traditions differ on the marriage of Mahavira. One school of thought believes that he married Yashoda and had a daughter, Priyadarshana, while another school believes that he never married. In any event, Mahavira, at the age of thirty gave up his home and his royalty and became a shramana, a monk of one of the various traditions that co-existed with the more orthodox brahminical tradition of the day, based on the Vedas. Mahavira's parents, King Shuddhodhana and Queen Trishala probably were already followers of Parshvanatha, the twenty-third Jain thirthankara, and Mahavira followed in the same tradition. At the age of forty-three, approximately in 556 ot 557 BC, Mahavira would attain Kevala Jnana, which can be literally translated as 'Only Knowledge' or 'Pure Knowledge'. It's actual meaning is something more like infinite knowledge or omniscience. A couple of years earlier, in around 559 BC, Cyrus would succeed his father Cambyses as the King of Persia, aged around forty years old himself. By then, he was already married and probably a father to two sons and three daughters.
Mahavira preached his philosophy, which consisted of an extreme form of non-violence and asceticism, for the next thirty years or so until he attained nirvana at the age of seventy-two. At the time, he would have in his company around fifty thousand Jain monks, both men and women, and around four hundred and eighty thousand lay followers, among them, King Chetaka of Videha and King Bimbisara of Magadha. Of course many of those lay followers could also practice or follow other sects and schools of thought as well. The location of Mahavira's attainment of Moksha in Pavapuri, is today known as Jal Mandir. Needless to say, it is an important place of pilgrimage for the Jains.
In this thirty year span, Cyrus too would rise to greatness, conquering Media, Lydia and finally the jewel in the Persian crown, Babylon. He would die a hero's death on the field of battle, a great king and emperor. Along with his military and political prowess, his policies and his philosophy of justice, fairness and compassion would lead him to be given the epithet 'the Great'. Most famously Cyrus gave refuge to the Jews who were driven out of Jerusalem by the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, earning him a place in Jewish history, the Bible and the Quran. An inscribed clay cylinder dating from his times was discovered in 1879 and is considered as one of the earliest examples of a sort of charter of human rights. It lies today in the British Museum in London. Cyrus' tomb, or what many believe to be his tomb in the ruins of ancient Pasargadae is today a UNESCO Heritage Site.
Cyrus laid the foundations to the greatness of Persia, and the unique culture, literature and architecture of Persia derived from his heritage. The Greek writer Xenophon of Athens wrote a biography of Cyrus named, Cyropedia which itself influenced many leaders in the ages since. Two hundred years after Cyrus, a young Macedonian king named Alexander would seek to emulate Cyrus as he conquered nation after nation. Mahavira's legacy of non-violence and ahimsa survived the ages as well. Strong Jain traditions flourished in many kingdoms across India in the ancient and middle ages. Two hundred years after Mahavira, another king and conqueror and contemporary of Alexander, Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of the Mauryan kingdom and probably the first true pan-Indian emperor of history, would adopt Jainism and become a Jain monk after abdicating the throne. Several centuries later, Mahavira's concept of ahimsa would influence Mohandas Gandhi, the champion of India's struggle for freedom.
Today, Jainism thrives in the western Indian state of Gujarat along with smaller populations in other states such as Rajasthan and Karnataka. Jain architecture is unique in its language, and with the rising popularity of vegetarianism and veganism, Jain 'food items' are found on the menus of many Indian restaurants. At the time of the Islamic conquests of Persia, the Parsis, Zoroastrian by religion like Cyrus fled to India, where they live to this day, like the Jains, in western India, in the state of Gujarat and the city of Mumbai. Famous Parsis such as Cyrus Mistry, Cyrus Broacha and Cyrus Sahukar attest to the fact that the legacy of that great king is still alive.
Click the 'Follow by Mail' button to get updates on new posts. Leave your comments below.
Both Cyrus and Mahavira grew up as princes, albeit not of great kingdoms. Babylon was the great power in the middle east of that time and in India, the sixteen great states were tied together in alliances and pacts which rendered them more or less equal. Jain traditions differ on the marriage of Mahavira. One school of thought believes that he married Yashoda and had a daughter, Priyadarshana, while another school believes that he never married. In any event, Mahavira, at the age of thirty gave up his home and his royalty and became a shramana, a monk of one of the various traditions that co-existed with the more orthodox brahminical tradition of the day, based on the Vedas. Mahavira's parents, King Shuddhodhana and Queen Trishala probably were already followers of Parshvanatha, the twenty-third Jain thirthankara, and Mahavira followed in the same tradition. At the age of forty-three, approximately in 556 ot 557 BC, Mahavira would attain Kevala Jnana, which can be literally translated as 'Only Knowledge' or 'Pure Knowledge'. It's actual meaning is something more like infinite knowledge or omniscience. A couple of years earlier, in around 559 BC, Cyrus would succeed his father Cambyses as the King of Persia, aged around forty years old himself. By then, he was already married and probably a father to two sons and three daughters.
Mahavira preached his philosophy, which consisted of an extreme form of non-violence and asceticism, for the next thirty years or so until he attained nirvana at the age of seventy-two. At the time, he would have in his company around fifty thousand Jain monks, both men and women, and around four hundred and eighty thousand lay followers, among them, King Chetaka of Videha and King Bimbisara of Magadha. Of course many of those lay followers could also practice or follow other sects and schools of thought as well. The location of Mahavira's attainment of Moksha in Pavapuri, is today known as Jal Mandir. Needless to say, it is an important place of pilgrimage for the Jains.
In this thirty year span, Cyrus too would rise to greatness, conquering Media, Lydia and finally the jewel in the Persian crown, Babylon. He would die a hero's death on the field of battle, a great king and emperor. Along with his military and political prowess, his policies and his philosophy of justice, fairness and compassion would lead him to be given the epithet 'the Great'. Most famously Cyrus gave refuge to the Jews who were driven out of Jerusalem by the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, earning him a place in Jewish history, the Bible and the Quran. An inscribed clay cylinder dating from his times was discovered in 1879 and is considered as one of the earliest examples of a sort of charter of human rights. It lies today in the British Museum in London. Cyrus' tomb, or what many believe to be his tomb in the ruins of ancient Pasargadae is today a UNESCO Heritage Site.
Cyrus laid the foundations to the greatness of Persia, and the unique culture, literature and architecture of Persia derived from his heritage. The Greek writer Xenophon of Athens wrote a biography of Cyrus named, Cyropedia which itself influenced many leaders in the ages since. Two hundred years after Cyrus, a young Macedonian king named Alexander would seek to emulate Cyrus as he conquered nation after nation. Mahavira's legacy of non-violence and ahimsa survived the ages as well. Strong Jain traditions flourished in many kingdoms across India in the ancient and middle ages. Two hundred years after Mahavira, another king and conqueror and contemporary of Alexander, Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of the Mauryan kingdom and probably the first true pan-Indian emperor of history, would adopt Jainism and become a Jain monk after abdicating the throne. Several centuries later, Mahavira's concept of ahimsa would influence Mohandas Gandhi, the champion of India's struggle for freedom.
Today, Jainism thrives in the western Indian state of Gujarat along with smaller populations in other states such as Rajasthan and Karnataka. Jain architecture is unique in its language, and with the rising popularity of vegetarianism and veganism, Jain 'food items' are found on the menus of many Indian restaurants. At the time of the Islamic conquests of Persia, the Parsis, Zoroastrian by religion like Cyrus fled to India, where they live to this day, like the Jains, in western India, in the state of Gujarat and the city of Mumbai. Famous Parsis such as Cyrus Mistry, Cyrus Broacha and Cyrus Sahukar attest to the fact that the legacy of that great king is still alive.
"Success always calls for greater generosities - though most people, lost in the darkness of their own egos, great it as an occasion for greater greed." - Cyrus the Great
"Non-violence and kindness to all living beings is kindness to oneself." - Mahavira
Click the 'Follow by Mail' button to get updates on new posts. Leave your comments below.
No comments:
Post a Comment