Ancient and Medieval Indian Rulers

There are a number of Chola kings as mentioned in the Sangam literature with different surnames like Kill, Valavan, Senni, and Cholan. One of them was Karikalan who ruled in southern part of India during Sangam Period. He is considered to be the greatest of the early Cholas. The name Karikalan means " a man with the charred leg". 

The three main ruling dynasties of the Sangam Age were the Chola, Chera, and Pandya. The Pallavas rose to prominence later.

Mahavira was originally born as Vardhamana in northeast India in 599 BCE (that's the traditional date but some modern scholars prefer 540 BCE, or even later).

 He was a prince, the son of King Siddhartha and Queen Trishala, who were members of the kshatriya (warrior) caste of Lichchhavis.

Chandragupta Maurya and King Kharavela of Kalinga were both well-known patrons of Jainism. Srenika Bimbisara was a patron of Buddhism.

Mahavira was the twenty fourth and last Jain Tirthankaras.  According to the Jain philosophy, a Tirthankara is an enlightened soul who is born as a human being and attains perfection through intense meditation. Mahavira travelled throughout the India to teach Jainism.

Kharavela patronized Jainism. Kharavela was king of Kalinga from Mahameghavahana dynasty or Chedi dynasty. From the Hathigumpha inscription, it came to known that Kharavela was a follower of Jainism. 

Vardhamana Mahavira was believed to be born in 540 B.C. near Vaishali, in north Bihar. His father Siddartha was the head of the Jnatrika clan and his mother Trishala was the sister of the Lichchhavi chief Chetaka, whose daughter Chellana was wedded to king Bimbisara of Magadha. Thus Mahavira's family was connected with the royal family of Magadha.

Emperor Chandragupta Maurya (322-298 B.C.) became a Jaina, gave up his throne and spent the last years of his life in Karnataka as a Jaina ascetic and contributed to the growth of Jainism in South India.

Kharavela was a king of Kalinga in present-day Odisha. He ruled somewhere around first or second century BCE. Kharavela is the best known king of the Mahameghavahana dynasty of Kalinga. Most of the information about him is known from Hathigumpha inscription in Udayagiri hills near Bhubaneshwar. The inscription suggests that Kharavela gave patronage to various religious orders, including Jainism.

Chandragupta Mauryan was the very first emperor in India who converted into Jainism during the last years of his life. He did this because he believed that his power and thrones would not give him peace. He became a disciple of Jain monk Acharya Bhadrabahu, In his last days of his life, he did Santhara and fasted unto death at Shravan Belagolain, Karnataka. During his rule, Jainism was divided into two branches- Shwetambara and Digamabara.

From the beginning of his rule, Kharvela became a patron of Jainism and did whatever he could do to promote Jainism. As he was a follower of Jainism by birth, he maintained the glory of Jainism during his conquest also. His Hathigumpha description described his devotion towards Jainism. This inscription also contained several sacred symbols of Jainism.

Chandragupta Mauryan adopted Jainism and he performed Jain ritual Santhara in the last days of his life. During his reign, Jainism was divided into two sects- Shvetambara and Digambara. Bindusara was the follower of Ajivaka Sect. 

The first Jain Council was held at Pataliputra under the chairmanship of Sthulabahu in the beginning of the third century BC. It resulted in the compilation of 12 Angas replacing the lost 14 Purvas.

Mahavira Jain left his home at the age of 30 and wandered for 12 years before finally attaining Kaivalya (Enlightenment) at Jimbhikagrama, on the banks of Rijupalika river.

Nalanda University was founded by the Gupta emperor Kumaragupta I in the 5th century A.D.