Scientific name : Panthera uncia Family : Felidae Native to : The mountain ranges of Central and South Asia Interesting fact : Snow leopards cannot roar. Conservation status : Endangered Snow leopards have long, thick, smoky grey to yellowish tan fur with whitish underparts. They have dark grey to black open rosettes on their bodies, […]
Scientific name : Bradypus torquatus Family : Bradypodidae Native to : Central and South America Interesting fact : They move two metres per minute. Conservation status : Vulnerable Sloths are medium-sized mammals, native to Central and South America. Sloths are known for being slow-moving, and only move when necessary. Depending on the species, its coat
Common name : Forest baby Scientific name : Loris tardigradus malabaricus, Loris lydekkerianus Family : Lorisidae Native to : India and Sri Lanka Interesting fact : The slender loris rubs urine over its hands, feet and face. This is thought to protect it against the sting of toxic insects. Conservation status : Endangered It is
Scientific name : Mephitis mephitis Family : Mephitidae Native to : America Interesting fact : They love to eat honeybees. Conservation status : Least Concern They have moderately elongated bodies with relatively short, well-muscled legs and long front claws for digging. Although the most common fur colour is black and white yet some skunks are
Common name : Amur tiger, Ussuri tiger Scientific name : Panthera tigris altaica Family : Felidae Native to : The mountainous region of Russia Interesting fact : Largest tiger in the world Conservation status : Endangered The Siberian tiger is reddish-rusty, or rusty-yellow in colour which turns very pale during winter, with narrow dark-brown transverse
When Devarshi Narada visited Sage Valmiki once, the sage asked him which hero in the world stands the highest in virtue and wisdom. Narada said Rama of the Suryavanshi dynasty, ruler of Ayodhya, was the hero. He told Valmiki the story of Rama. Valmiki kept thinking of it as he went to the Tamasa river,
For almost one-third part of the day Yudhishthira stayed there. Then suddenly a strange fragrance wafted into the place. A fresh breeze blew and it seemed to blow away the darkness and the suffering. Yudhishthira looked up in surprise to see Indra, the king of devas, and Yama, the lord of Dharma, his father, standing
As they went along, the passage became dark and gloomy. Blood and dead bodies covered the floor. Worms and maggots crawled everywhere. There was a horrible stench. Yudhishthira was horror-struck and asked how long they had to walk. The messenger asked him if he wished to turn back. But from far ahead, Yudhishthira heard voices
The dog vanished, as Yudhishthira had succeeded in Dharma’s test. Indra took him to heaven. He looked all around him. It was a beautiful place but there was no sign of his brothers. He saw Duryodhana seated in splendour with divine forms around him. He looked away. “Where are my brothers?” he asked, “I do
The Yadavas were finished. Krishna, their cousin, friend and guide, was gone. The Pandavas did not wish to live any longer in Hastinapura. Abhimanyu’s son, Parikshit, was crowned the king. Then the Pandavas and Draupadi began a long pilgrimage which was their last journey. Somewhere along the way, a dog attached itself to the group.
Pradyumna, Krishna’s son, was also fighting among the Yadava men. He and Satyaki were also killed. It was not long before Krishna knew the hour of departure had come and gave them the rushes. The Yadavas plucked out the strong sharp rushes growing there to attack one another. As they were plucked, each one became
One day, the Yadavas went to the beach. As usual, they were merry-making, with lots of dance and music, and drinking a lot of wine. Soon they lost all sense of good conduct and began to behave very badly, teasing, mocking and quarrelling with one another. A major argument began between Kritavarma, who had fought
The frightened Yadavas wondered if the second part of the curse of the sages would also come true. Would the mace be the cause of their destruction? They did not know what to do. After discussion, they decided that the best thing was to smash the mace, grind it into powder and scatter it. So,
Krishna belonged to one of the Yadava tribes, the Vrishnis. There were several Yadava tribes. After the war at Kurukshetra, the tribes were relaxed. They became lazy and used to indulge in all kinds of luxury. There was no more discipline or good behaviour among them. One day, some sages came to Dwaraka. The Yadavas
Dhritarashtra and Gandhari went into the palace and broke their fast, eating a meal with Kunti. Then they blessed Yudhishthira and the Pandavas and began the journey into the forest. Dhritarashtra held Gandhari’s shoulder. She had tied a scarf over her eyes since her marriage, so Kunti led her. Sanjaya went with them. As they