Tribes in Ancient India c52.17

c52.17

A detailed sketch of the life and work of Mahāvīra would fill a volume and is beyond the scope of the present treatise.⁵ We may, however, mention the fact that it was Mahāvīra who brought the Jñātṛkas into intimate touch with the neighbouring communities of eastern India and developed a religion which is still professed by millions of Indians. Another celebrity of the Jñātṛka clan was Ānanda, a staunch follower of Mahāvīra. The story of Ānanda and his wife Śivanandā is related in the *Uvāsagadasāo*.⁶