Śṛṅgabhuja (शृङ्गभुज) is the son of king Vīrabhuja and his wife Guṇavarā, born from an elixer made of goat’s horn prepared by the physician Śrutavardhana, according to the Kathāsaritsāgara, chapter 39. Accordingly, “... and as he was sprung from the juice of the fleshy part of the horns, his father, the king, gave him the name of Śṛṅgabhuja, and rejoiced greatly at his birth. He grew up with those other brothers, and though in age he was the youngest of all, he was superior to all in good qualities. And in course of time that prince became like the God of Love in beauty, and like Arjuna in his skill in archery, and like Bhīma in strength”. The story of Śṛṅgabhuja and Vīrabhuja was narrated by Hariśikha in order to demonstrate that “good women value nothing more than their husbands”, in other words, “virtuous women serve their husbands in every way, devoted to them alone”.
Author
Anant Pai popularly known as Uncle Pai, was an Indian educationalist and creator of Indian comics, in particular the Amar Chitra Katha series in 1967, along with the India Book House publishers, and which retold traditional Indian folk tales, mythological stories, and biographies of historical characters. In 1980, he launched Tinkle, a children's anthology, which was started under Rang Rekha Features, India's first comic and cartoon syndicate, that lasted till 1998, with him as the Managing Director. Today, Amar Chitra Katha sells about three million comic books a year, in English and more than 20 Indian languages, and has sold about 100 million copies since it inception in 1967 by Anant Pai, and in 2007 was taken over by ACK Media.
