 The biographies of legendary persons like Rama and Krishna, in the Jain versions of the epics "Ramayana" and "Mahabharata",
also have karma as one of the major themes.The major events, characters and circumstances are explained by reference to their past lives, with examples of specific actions of particular intensity in one life determining events in the next.Jain texts narrate how even Māhavīra, one of the most popular propagators of Jainism and the 24th ' (ford-maker), had to bear the brunt of his previous karma before attaining "kevala jñāna" (enlightenment).