India, Nov. 7 -- Vaddaradhane (literally, the veneration of ritual death), the first extant prose work in Kannada, is a 10th-century collection of Jain stories about 19 warrior saints who embrace death in pursuit of moksha. Each tale in this book of living and dying follows the renunciate's transformation from an ordinary person enmeshed in worldly desire to an enlightened being who attains moksha through penance, fasting, meditation, and self-mortification, culminating in ritual death. Originally recited for spiritual protection to Jain renunciates approaching the end of life, these narratives explore duty and discipline. They are attributed to Shivakotyacharya, a Digambara Jain cleric. This English translation is presented alongside the authoritative Kannada text. Jain Tales of Moksha speaks across centuries....