Q. In Tamil literature the glorious Epic ‘Manimegalai’ are related to:
Explanation:
Silappadikaram and Manimekalai are Continuous epics. Manimekalai was written by Sattanar of Madurai. It is the story of Manimekalai, the daughter of Kovalan and Madhavi. She later became a Buddhist nun. It gives glimpses of the development of the fine arts in the Sangam Age. Silappadikaram is the greatest and earliest epic by Ilanko Adikal. It is a story of Kovalan of Puhar who falls in love with Madhavi a dancer. Kovalan’s wife Kannagi takes revenge for his husband’s death at the hands of a Pandyan king and becomes a goddess.
Jainism:
- Jainas believe in 24 Tirthankaras as great teachers or leaders of their religion.
- Rishabhdeva is believed to be the first Tirthankara by the Jainas. He was also known as Adinath.
- The twenty-third Tirthankara, Parshvanath was the son of Ikshvaku king Ashvasena of Kasi.
- Rishabhdeva and Arishtanemi are mentioned in Rigveda.
- The twenty-fourth Tirthankara was Vardhamana Mahavira.
Buddhism:
- Buddhism, religion, and philosophy developed from the teachings of the Buddha (Sanskrit: “Awakened One”), a teacher who lived in northern India between the mid-6th and mid-4th centuries BC.
- Buddha was born in 563 BC in a Shakya Kshatriya family in Lumbini near Kapilavastu (Nepal).
- Buddha got Enlightenment at the age of 35 at Bodh Gaya under the pipal tree on the bank of river Nilanjana.
- Four important events in the life of Buddha were Mahabhimisikram, Nirvana, Chakra Pravarthan, and Mahaparinirvana.
Source: Tamil Nadu State Board Class 11

