The three Varnas were the Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas. The fourth were the Shudras. Only Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya men were expected to follow the ashramas.

Vardhamana Mahavira was the most famous thinker of the Jains, who spread his message around 2500 years ago. He was a Kshatriya prince of the Lichchhavis, a group that was a part of the Vajji Sangha.
At the age of thirty, he left home and went to live in a forest. For twelve years, he led a hard and lonely life, at the end of which he attained enlightenment.

Men and women who joined the Sangha led simple lives. They meditated for most of the time, and went to cities and villages to beg for food during fixed hours. That is why, they were known as bhikshus (the Prakrit word for beggar) and bhikshunis. They performed the following functions :
(i) They taught others and helped one another.
(ii) They also held meetings to settle any quarrels that took place within the Sangha.

Sangha could be joined by brahmins, kshatriyas, merchants, labourers, barbers, courtesans and slaves.

It was difficult for farmers to follow Jainism because they had to kill insects to protect their crops which was not allowed in Jainism.

Satyakama Jabala was named after his mother, the slave woman Jabali. He had a deep desire to learn about reality and was accepted as a student by a brahmin teacher named Gautama, and eventually, he became one of the best-known thinkers of that time.

Sohan: Father, I want to go to listen the, preaching of Buddha.
Parents: Who is Buddha? I have never heard this name before.
Sohan: Oh ! (with exclamation) He is a great saint and founder of Buddhism.
Parents: Can you tell us what does he say in his preachings?
Sohan: In one of his preaching he says that just as the waters of rivers loose their name and separateness when they flow into the mighty ocean, similarly, varna, caste, and family are forgotten when we get joined together.
Parents: Very Good. You must go there.

He was a great scholar, who prepared a grammar for Sanskrit. He arranged the vowels and the consonants in a.special order, and then used these to create formulae like those found in Algebra. He used these to write down the rules of the language in short formulae (around 3000 of them).

Many of the thinkers felt that there was something permanent in the universe that would last even after death. They described this as the atman or the individual soul and the brahman or the universal soul. They believed that ultimately, both the atman and the brahman were one

At the age of 30, Mahavira left home and went to live in a forest for 12 years. He led a hard and lonely life, at the end of which he attained enlightenment. He spread his message around 2500 years ago.

Upanishad is later Vedic text. It literally means 'approaching and sitting near' and often ideas are presented through simple conversations between teachers and students. Upanishadic thinkers are mainly men, i.e. branmins and rajas \/ery few women thinkers, like Gargi are mentioned.
Poor people, like Satyakama Jabala is a famous thinker of that period. Upanishads are later developed by the great thinker Shankaracharya.

Saints, monks, nuns, sanyasins renounce the world even today and join sangha. They live in ashramas, viharas, sangha, dargahs or lonely places for worship or meditation. Some live in remote forest, in caves or peak of mountains.
They wear simple clothes. Some wear particular coloured and designed clothes.
They eat generally vegetarian food, milk, fruits, pulses etc. They renounce the world because they think that to get true knowledge, they have to leave the homes.

Anagha's mother wanted her to know the story of the Buddha because Anagha was going on school trip. They boarded the train from Pune to go all the way to Varanasi. Anagha's mother especially told the teacher to take them to see Sarnath and tell the children about the great religious leader, Buddha.

The main teachings of the Mahavira were:
(a) Men and women who wished to know the truth must leave their homes.
(b) Men and women must follow very strictly the rules of ahimsa, which means not hurting or killing living beings.
(e) "All beings" said Mahavira "long to live. To all things life is dear".
(d) Right faith, Right knowledge and Right action can help one to get rid of diseases.
(e) All ceremonies are baseless.
(f) Men had to be absolutely honest, were asked not to Steal.
(g) Men had to give up everything, including their clothes and they had to observe celibacy.

Buddha was trying to tell the sorrowing mother that death will come to all. All people have faced the deaths in their families. No one can escape from death.