Stories and jewelry from India
Silappathikāram or the lay of the ankle bracelet” is a Tamil epic from 5th century credited to Ilangō Adigal. The story is set in the three kingdoms of Southern India – of Chola, Pandya and Chera and revolves around a gem merchant Kovalan, his wife Kannagi and his mistress courtesan Madhavi. Read the synopsis of
In the city of Dwarka, there lived a nobleman, Satrâjit. He was a devotee of Sûrya, the sun God, who pleased with Satrâjit gifted him the Syamantaka gem. The gem’s specialty was that it could magically produce eight measures of gold everyday. Satrâjit soon became wealthy and the envy of every man in the kingdom.
A version of this story appeared in Amar Chitra Katha as “The celestial necklace” by Toni Patel. It is said to have been an adaptation of a Jain story, written in Hindi by Muni Mahendrakumar Once there lived a pious and charitable king. Pleased with his devotion, a Demi God blessed him with a celestial