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Bhadrabāhu

2007-01-07T10:21:34Z

59.144.200.134: /* Legends Associated with Acharya Bhadrabahu */

'''Acharya Bhadrabahu''' (433 B.C. - 357 B.C. ?) was a [[Jain]] monk. He is more famously known as a spiritual teacher of [[Chandragupta Maurya]] and author of several texts related to Jainism. Some of most important work, he is considered to have authored are [[Upsargar Stotra]] and [[Kalpasutra (Jain)|Kalpasutra]].

His brother [[Varahmihira]], was a known [[Vedic civilization|vedic]] scholar of his times. He was a learned scholar of 11 Anga.

Bhadrabhau is considered to be last expert of 14 [[Poorva]]s, of 12th [[Anga]] called as [[Dristivaad]], one of the scriptures of Jainism. Of these, 10 [[Poorva]] were passed on to [[Sthulibhadra]], his chief disciple. Bhadrabahu went to Nepal for twelve years for doing the "Mahaprana Sadhana" a [[tantra|tantric]] exercise.

According to the Digambaras, he died after committing [[Sallekhana]].

==== Legends Associated with Acharya Bhadrabahu ====
Acharya Bhadrabahu, had a brother named [[Varahmihir]].
Both were in same kingdom. When a son was born to the king, Varahmihira declared that he will be living for hundred years but Bhadrabahu declared that he will be living for only seven days and on that king's son will die because of cat. On the eighth day the prince died because of door's anklet falling on his head which had a picture of cat drawn on it. Due to such a humiliation Varahmihira left the kingdom and died after sometime.

According to the story Varahmihira became a [[Satan]] (known with some other term in Jainism) and tortured and horrified the Jains and specially disciples and followers of Bhadrabahu. Acharya Bhadrabahu then formed a mantric prayer to 23rd jain tirthankar LORD PARSHVANATH called "the upsarghar stotra" (now known as 'Uvassagaharam Stotra') and called upon Dharnendra ,the divine follower (a "devta") of PARSHVA. As an effect of it, Satan (Varahmihira) was defeated and Jain society was relieved. That mantric prayer is still famous among the Jains and they do chanting of it with due respect and faith. And that prayer had made Bhadrabahu's name immortal among Jain Ascetics.

[[Category:Jain Acharyas]]
[[Category:Indian Jain Monks and Nuns]]
[[Category:Sallekhana]]

{{Jainism-stub}}

Michelin

2006-11-03T09:19:12Z

59.144.200.134: /* Formula One */

:''This page is about Michelin tyres, maps and tourist guides. For Michelin Stars and restaurants, see [[Michelin Guide]].''

[[Image:Michelin logo.PNG|right|250px|]]
'''Michelin''' (full name: ''Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin'') ({{Euronext|ML}}) based in [[Clermont-Ferrand, France|Clermont-Ferrand]] in the [[Auvergne (région)|Auvergne]] ''[[région]]'' of [[France]], is primarily a [[tire|tyre]] manufacturer. However, it is also famous for its [[Michelin Guide|Red]] and Green [[Michelin Guide|travel guide]]s, for the '''Michelin stars''' the Red Guide awards to restaurants for their cooking, for its [[road map]]s, and for its historic emblem '''Bibendum''', the Michelin Man.

The tyre manufacturing subsidiary is officially called ''Manufacture Française des Pneumatiques Michelin'', "Michelin tyre manufacturing company of France." Michelin's North American headquarters are located in [[Greenville, South Carolina]].

==History==

Incorporated on [[May 28]] [[1888]], Michelin's activities date back to 1830 in [[vulcanization|vulcanized]] [[rubber]], before they moved into tyres for [[bicycle]]s and later for [[car]]s. Michelin owned the automobile manufacturer [[Citroën]] between [[1934]] and [[1976]].

Michelin has made a number of innovations to tyres, including in 1946 the [[radial tire|radial tyre]] (then known as the "X" tyre). [http://www.senat.fr/basile/visio.do?id=a/commission/fin/Fin991120.html&idtable=a/commission/fin/Fin991120.html#toc18]

In 1988, Michelin acquired the tyre and rubber manufacturing divisions of the American [[Goodrich Corporation|B.F. Goodrich Company]] founded in 1870. Two years later, they bought out Uniroyal Inc., founded in 1892 as the [[United States Rubber Company]].

Michelin is currently the world's largest tyre manufacturer{{fact}}.

===Formula One===
Michelin stopped supplying [[Formula One]] teams in 1984 but returned to Formula One in [[2001 Formula One season|2001]]. In that first year they supplied [[Williams F1|Williams]], [[Jaguar Racing|Jaguar]], [[Benetton Formula|Benetton]] (renamed [[Renault F1|Renault]] in 2002), [[Prost (racing team)|Prost]] and [[Minardi]]. [[Toyota F1|Toyota]] joined F1 in 2002 with Michelin tyres and [[Team McLaren|McLaren]] also signed up with the company. Michelin's tyres were initially uncompetitive compared to rival Bridgestone's, however by 2005 Michelin were totally dominant. This was in part due to new regulations stating that tyres must last the whole race distance (and qualifying) and also due to the fact with only one top team running Bridgestone tyres (Ferrari), they alone were responsible for much of the development work. Michelin in contrast had much more testing and race data due to the larger number of teams running their tyres.

Following the [[2005 United States Grand Prix]], where Michelin would not allow the Formula One teams it supplies to race due to safety concerns, Michelin's share price fell by 2.5% (though it recovered later the same day). On [[June 28]], Michelin announced that it would offer compensation to all race fans who had purchased tickets for the Grand Prix. The company committed to refunding the price of all tickets for the race. Additionally, they announced that they would provide 20,000 complimentary tickets for the 2006 race to spectators who had attended the 2005 event.

Michelin have had a difficult relationship with the sport's governing body (the [[Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile|FIA]]) since around 2003 and this escalated to apparent disdain between the two parties during the [[2005 Formula One season|2005 season]]. The most high profile disagreement was the United States Grand Prix and the acrimony afterwards. Michelin criticised the FIA's intention to move to a single source (i.e one brand) tyre from 2008 and threatened to withdraw from the sport. In a public rebuke FIA President [[Max Mosley]] wrote ''"There are simple arguments for a single tyre and if (Michelin boss [[Édouard Michelin (born 1963)|Édouard Michelin]]) is not aware of this he shows an almost comical lack of knowledge of modern Formula One."'' Another disagreement has been the reintroduction of tyre changes during pit-stops from 2006. Michelin criticised the move claiming ''"this event illustrates F1's problems of incoherent decision-making and lack of transparency."''

In [[December 2005]] and as a result of the difficult relationship with the sport's governing body, Michelin announced they will not extend their involvement in Formula One beyond the 2006 season.[http://newsonf1.net/2005/news/12/dec14m.htm]

The last race won by Michelin in Formula1 was the Japanese Grand Prix 2006, when [[Fernando Alonso]] won the race after the [[Ferrari]] engine of [[Bridgestone]] tyre user [[Michael Schumacher]] blew up at Bridgestone's Home, the [[Japanese Grand Prix]]

===Recent Developments===
[[Pax System]], [[Tweel]], [[X One]]

==Bibendum==
[[Image:MichelinManRunning.png|thumb|right|Bibendum (The Michelin Man) as he looked in the early 1990s]]
The company's symbol is [http://www.michelin.com/corporate/front/templates/affich.jsp?codeRubrique=99&lang=EN '''Bibendum'''], the Michelin Man, introduced in [[1898]] by French artist O'Galop (pseudonym of Marius Rossillon), and one of the world's oldest [[trademark]]s. [[André Michelin]] apparently commissioned the creation of this jolly, rotund figure after his brother, Édouard, observed that a display of stacked tyres resembled a human form. Today, Bibendum is one of the world's most recognized trademarks, representing Michelin in over 150 countries.

The 1898 poster showed him offering the toast ''Nunc est bibendum'' ("Cheers!" or "Now is the time to drink" in Latin) to his scrawny competitors with a glass full of road hazards, with the title and the tag "'À votre santé': Le pneu Michelin boit l'obstacle" ('Cheers!': The Michelin tyre soaks up obstacles). It is unclear when the word "Bibendum" came to be the name of the character himself. At the latest, it was in 1908, when Michelin commissioned [[Curnonsky]] to write a newspaper column signed "Bibendum".

The name of the plump tyre-man has entered the language to describe the appearance of someone obese or wearing comically bulky clothing: "How can I wrap up warm without looking like the Michelin Man?".
In Spain, ''michelín''<ref>[http://buscon.rae.es/draeI/SrvltGUIBusUsual?LEMA=michel%C3%ADn&TIPO_HTML=2&FORMATO=ampliado Diccionario] de la [[Real Academia Española]].</ref> has acquired the meaning of the "tyres" or folds of fatty skin around the waist.

His shape has changed over the years. O'Galop's logo was based on bicycle tyres, and wore glasses and smoked a cigar. By the 1980's, Bibendum was being shown as a running Bib, and in 1998, a slimmed-down version became the company's new logo; his vision had improved, and he had long since given up smoking. The slimming of the logo reflected both lower-profile, smaller tyres on sport compact automobiles and a more athletic, slimmer, and trimmer Bib.

Bibendum made a brief guest appearance in the [[Asterix]] series as the chariot wheel dealer in certain translations, including the English translation, of ''[[Asterix in Switzerland]]''. (The original French version used the Gaulish warrior mascot of French service station company [[Antar]].) The image also plays a key role in [[William Gibson (novelist)|William Gibson]]'s [[Pattern Recognition (novel)|Pattern Recognition]].

==Other products==
===Tour guides===

''Main article: [[Michelin Guide]]''

Michelin has long published two guidebook series, the Red Guides to [[hotel]]s and [[restaurant]]s and the Green Guides for tourism. It now publishes several additional guides as well as digital map and guide products. The city maps in both the Red and the Green guides are of high quality, and are linked to the smaller-scale road maps.

===Maps===
Michelin publishes various series of road maps, mostly of France but also on European countries, Africa, Thailand and the United States.

==Management==
From 1999 the company was headed by [[CEO]] [[Édouard Michelin (born 1963)|Édouard Michelin]]. On [[May 26]], [[2006]], Édouard drowned while fishing near the island of [[Île de Sein|Sein]], off the coast of [[Brittany]]. [http://www.forbes.com/business/feeds/afx/2006/05/26/afx2776441.html].

The death of Édouard Michelin has brought a non-member of the Michelin family, [[Michel Rollier]], to the head of the company. [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114866900467864406.html?mod=home_whats_news_us].

The Current [[Chief Executive Officer]] of [[Michelin India tyres Pvt Ltd]] is Mr [[Herve Dub]]

==Trivia==
*Allied forces relied heavily on Michelin maps to plan the invasion of [[Normandy]] during [[Operation Overlord]] in the [[Second World War]].

*Michelin is the [[Original Equipment Manufacturer]] supplier to [[Volvo]]'s Mark II vehicles. Michelin was also [[Original Equipment Manufacturer]] supplier to [[General Motors]]'s vehicles until recently.

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
{{commons|Category:Michelin|Michelin}}
* [http://www.michelin.com/portail/home/home.jsp?lang=EN Official global website]
* [http://www.michelin.co.uk/ Michelin UK & Ireland website]
* [http://www.michelinman.com/ Michelin US website]
* [http://www.michelintravel.com/ Michelin guide website]
* [http://www.michelinsport.com/ Michelin Sport website]
* [http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/ Digital mapping services]
* [http://www.michelin.co.uk/travel/ Michelin UK maps and Guides website]
* [http://oldmaps.free.fr/livre/michelin.htm Michelin maps] (in French)
* [http://www.restauranking.com/ European Restaurant Ranking]

===Data===
*[http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/41/41240.html Yahoo! - Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin Company Profile]

{{CAC 40 companies}}

[[Category:Automobile advertising characters]]
[[Category:Companies listed on the Euronext exchanges]]
[[Category:Automotive companies of France]]
[[Category:Automotive companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Consumer guides]]
[[Category:Manufacturing companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Manufacturing companies of France]]
[[Category:Tire manufacturers]]
[[Category:Formula One tire manufacturers]]
[[Category:1889 establishments]]

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Talk:Sanchi

2006-07-03T07:03:14Z

59.144.200.134:

Sanchi is a small village of India, located 46 km north east of Bhopal, in the central part of the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the location of several Buddhist monuments, dating from the third century BCE to the twelfth century CE.

The Great Stupa at SanchiStupa 1 (the 'great stupa') at Sanchi was commissioned by the emperor Ashoka in the third century BCE. Its nucleus was a simple hemispherical brick structure built over the relics of the Buddha. It was crowned by the chhatra, a parasol-like structure symbolising high rank, which was intended to honour and shelter the relics (Dehejia 1997). In the Sunga period, in the first century BCE it was expanded with stone slabs to almost twice its original size. The dome was flattened near the top and crowned by three superimposed parasols within a square railing. With its many tiers it was a symbol of the dharma, the Wheel of the Law. The dome was set on a high circular drum meant for circumambulation, which could be accessed via a double staircase. A second stone pathway at groundlevel was enclosed by a stone balustrade with four monumental gateways (toranas) facing the cardinal directions.

A Torana at Sanchi.The gateways and the balustrade, even though made of stone, were carved and constructed in the manner of wood and the gateways were covered with narrative sculptures. These showed scenes from the life of the Buddha integrated with everyday events that would be familiar to the onlookers and so make it easier for them to understand the Buddhist creed as relevant to their lives. In the case of Sanchi and most other stupas it was the local population who donated money towards the embellishment of the stupa to attain spiritual merit. There was no direct royal patronage. Devotees, both men and women, who donated money towards a sculpture would often choose their favourite scene from the life of the Buddha and then have their names inscribed on it. This accounts for the random repetition of particular episodes on the stupa (Dehejia 1992). On these stone carvings the Buddha was never depicted as a human figure. Instead the artists chose to represent him by certain attributes, such as the horse on which he left his father’s home, his footprints or a canopy under the bodhi tree at the point of his enlightenment. The human body was thought to be too confining for the Buddha.

The compound Buddhist symbols: Shrivatsa within a triratana, over a Chakra wheel, on the Tonana gate at Sanchi.Further stupas and other religious Buddhist and early Hindu structures were added over the following centuries until the 12th century CE. Temple 17 is probably one of the earliest Buddhist temples as it dates to the early Gupta period. It consists of a flat roofed square sanctum with a portico and four pillars. The interior and three sides of the exterior are plain and undecorated but the front and the pillars are elegantly carved, giving the temple an almost ‘classical’ appearance (Mitra 1971).

With the decline of Buddhism, the monuments of Sanchi went out of use and fell into a state of disrepair.

The site was re-discovered in 1818 by a British officer, General Taylor. Amateur archaeologists and treasure hunters, ravaged the site until 1881, when proper restoration work was initiated. Between 1912 and 1919 the structures were restored to their present condition under the supervision of Sir John Marshall.

Today, around fifty monuments remain on the hill of Sanchi, including three stupas and several temples. The monuments have been listed among the UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1998.

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