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Vishwambhar or Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as he was later known, was born at a time when a very large area of northern and eastern India had come under Muslim rule. He showed the people a simple path to reach God, which later came to be known as Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Chaitanya not only stemmed the tide of conversion to Islam, but also provided a new life force to Hinduism.

Of the many ways by which devotees can reach Him, Krishna highlights this simple one in the Gita: "Sarvadharman parityajya mamekam sharanam vraja" (Forsaking all dogmas of religion, take refuge in me). This complete surrender to God, known to Vaishnavites as "Prapattivada" leads to Krishna or Rama (both incarnations of Lord Vishnu). To attain complete surrender, Chaitanya emphasized the gopibhava, the method of worship adopted by the damsels (gopis) of Vraja. They loved Krishna deeply, expecting nothing in return. Chaitanya also shunned casteism and preached that all men were equal. "Don't ask a Vaishnava what his caste is." Said the Vaishnavites, "because he who worships Vishnu is His."

But even while preaching love and brotherhood, Chaitanya taught people not to yield to injustice and untruth. Perhaps the first ever non-cooperation movement (satyagraha, as Gandhiji later called it) was launched by Chaitanya. When the Kazi of Nabadwip forbade the singing of bhajans in the open, Chaitanya ordered peaceful mass singing, leading a peaceful procession of hundreds who sang all the way to the house of the Kazi. So

Abhimanyu, like a shooting star, illuminates the horizon of the Mahabharata epic for a few moments and vanishes in trails of glory.

Abhimanyu's father was the great Arjuna. His mother, Subhadra, was the sister of Lord Krishna. In spite of being overshadowed by such powerful personalities, Abhimanyu had no difficulty in finding his rightful place among the greatest of his time.

We know little of Abhimanyu's childhood except his lineage. His marriage to Uttara remained in the shadow of Arjuna's overbearing presence. But in the battlefield of Kurukshetra, he came into his own and proved his mettle. His humility as seen in his obedience to Yudhishthira, his idealism in taking up the fatal assignment and his courage in confronting the enemy -all these proclaim a hero greater: than any of the Pandavas.

It took seven of the greatest on the Kaurava side to vanquish the young lion that was Abhimanyu. Youth has seldom scaled such heights in any epic known to mankind.

He was born a Kshatriya. He became a Brahmarishi. When Satyavati, wife of Rishi Ruchik, exchanges with her mother, Queen Ratna, the magic potion for bearing a child, they change not just their children’s destiny, but also the history of mankind. Born of this mix up is Vishwamitra, the son of a Kshatriya, with the qualities of a Brahmin. The duality in his life soon begins to show as he strives to become a Brahmarishi—the ultimate, the most powerful of all Gurus. Vishwamitra is the riveting story of a brave but stubborn, haughty yet compassionate, visionary king of Aryavarta who became one of the most well- Known sages of all time.