The Jaina Agamas are believed to have come down from Mahavira. Some of them even pre-date him. The stories in the agamas were conceptualized as a means to convey the austere teachings of the Jainas in a more relatable, 'entertaining' manner. For the first time, Sudhamahi Regunathan has translated a selection of these and other stories from Jaina literature into English. Ranging from the funny to the tragic, each story has a lesson embedded in it. A dancing girl who teaches a monk the meaning of restraint, a butcher's son who is pressurized by his family to continue his father's violent profession, a young man who wants to study the Kamasastra and more such colourful and interesting characters populate the pages of this book.