High above the sky stands Swarga, paradise, abode of the gods. Still above is Vaikuntha, heaven, abode of God. The doorkeepers of Vaikuntha are the twins, Jaya and Vijaya, both whose names mean ‘victory’. One keeps you in Swarga; the other raises you into Vaikuntha. In Vaikuntha there is bliss forever, in Swarga there is pleasure for only as long as you deserve. What is the difference between Jaya and Vijaya? Solve this puzzle and you will solve the mystery of the Mahabharata. In this enthralling retelling of India’s greatest epic, the Mahabharata, originally known as Jaya, Devdutt Pattanaik seamlessly weaves into a single narrative plots from the Sanskrit classic as well as its many folk and regional variants, including the Pandavani of Chattisgarh, Gondhal of Maharashtra, Terukkuttu of Tamil Nadu, and Yakshagana of Karnataka. Richly illustrated with over 250 line drawings by the author, the 108 chapters abound with little-known details such as the names of the hundred Kauravas, the worship of Draupadi as a goddess in Tamil Nadu, the stories of Astika, Madhavi, Jaimini, Aravan and Barbareek, the Mahabharata version of the Shakuntalam and the Ramayana, and the dating of the war based on astronomical data. With clarity and simplicity, the tales in this elegant volume reveal the eternal relevance of the Mahabharata, the complex and disturbing meditation on the human condition that has shaped Indian thought for over 3000 years.

This book introduces readers to the “Jaya” algorithm, an advanced optimization technique that can be applied to many physical and engineering systems. It describes the algorithm, discusses its differences with other advanced optimization techniques, and examines the applications of versions of the algorithm in mechanical, thermal, manufacturing, electrical, computer, civil and structural engineering. In real complex optimization problems, the number of parameters to be optimized can be very large and their influence on the goal function can be very complicated and nonlinear in character. Such problems cannot be solved using classical methods and advanced optimization methods need to be applied. The Jaya algorithm is an algorithm-specific parameter-less algorithm that builds on other advanced optimization techniques. The application of Jaya in several engineering disciplines is critically assessed and its success compared with other complex optimization techniques such as Genetic Algorithms (GA), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Differential Evolution (DE), Artificial Bee Colony (ABC), and other recently developed algorithms.

Jaya’s 17, a transgender Gujarati outsider who detests wealth, secrets, and privilege, though he has them all. Only thing 16-year-old Rasa has is siblings, plus a mother who controls men like a black-widow spider. Neither one of them has ever known real love or family. Not until their chance meeting one sunny day on a mountain in Hau’ula.

There are forces behind the success of a person and of a family. We looked for reasons, traits, and traditions behind the pillar of the family. A woman who carried herself through decades of change with perseverance and guided generations to bright futures. Through listening to the stories of those she impacted, we only begin to see all of her hard work, strife, joy for life, and wealth of knowledge and love. This is a humble effort to paint a story of her life from the compilation of stories we listened to, the things we learned, and the legacies we strive to continue from the woman who raised us.