Spiritual and Inspirational Biography.

Popularly known as Satya Harishchandra, he is truth and honesty incarnate. This is the story of Harishchandra as found in the Markandeya Purana. He belonged to the Ikshawaku clan, the same clan as Sri Rama’s. He was righteous, truthful and a model to others. On a hunting expedition, he once got possessed by Vigneshwara and spoke so harshly that Sage Vishwamitra’s concentration was disturbed. As dakshina, he agreed to give away all that he possessed except his own dharmas, his wife and son. Unable to pay the sage the dakshina for conducting the Rajasuya yajna, he sold his son and wife to a Brahmin who used them as his slaves. Later, out of desperation, he himself became a chandala’s slave. Gradually, he became a chandala himself and worked in a crematorium, grabbing the shrouds from dead bodies and eating whatever was available to him. A year passed this way with him experiencing untold suffering. He couldn’t recognize his wife who had brought their son for cremation as he had been bitten by a snake and was dead. His sorrow knew no bounds when he realized that it was his son who was no more. After lighting his son’s pyre, he sat in meditation of Lord SriKrishna. Yama appeared before him and said that the Lord had staged all this drama to prove to the world what an exemplary king Harishchandra was. The Gods approached the burning pyre and rained nectar on it. Out came Rohitashwa. With Devendra’s blessings, Harishchandra went to Ayodhya where he received sage Vishwamithra’s blessings as well. He requested Devendra to bless all his subjects as he wanted to share it with them. He was truly a model king, one who went to the extent of taking his subjects to heaven, something no king had ever done! Our other books here can be searched using #BharathaSamskruthiPrakashana

Reprint of the original, first published in 1871. The publishing house Anatiposi publishes historical books as reprints. Due to their age, these books may have missing pages or inferior quality. Our aim is to preserve these books and make them available to the public so that they do not get lost.

Acts of martyrdom have been found in nearly all the worlds major religious traditions. Though considered by devotees to be perhaps the most potent expression of religious faith, dying for ones god is also one of the most difficult concepts for modern observers of religion to understand. This is especially true in the West, where martyrdom has all but disappeared and martyrs in other cultures are often viewed skeptically and dismissed as fanatics. This book seeks to foster a greater understanding of these acts of religious devotion by explaining how martyrdom has historically been viewed in the worlds major religions. It provides the first sustained, cross-cultural examination of this fascinating aspect of religious life. Margaret Cormack begins with an introduction that sets out a definition of martyrdom that serves as the point of departure for the rest of the volume. Then, scholars of Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Islam examine martyrdom in specific religious cultures. Spanning 4000 years of history and ranging from Saul in the Hebrew Bible to Sati immolations in present-day India, this book provides a wealth of insight into an often noted but rarely understood cultural phenomenon.

Reproduction of the original: A Lie never Justifiable by H. Clay Trumbull