Hari Om All,
This week we started our class with Likhita Japa followed by Shlokas. We started the Phala Shruti of the Sri Mahalakshmi Ashtakam in this class. We continued with Mahabharata - completed all the 18 days of the Kurukshetra War. The following topics were covered:
- Abhimanyu's Valor: After Bhishma's fall, Drona accepted the command of the Kaurava army. Also Karna decided to enter the battlefield with permission from Bhishma who was on a bed of arrows. Duryodhana wanted to capture Yudhishtira alive but news got out to Arjuna about this plan and he kept close to his brother. That day Drona was not able to capture Yudhishtira. Next day he arranged his army in the Chakra Vyuha shape and attacked Yudhishtira fiercely. Bhima fought back but no one could break the Chakra vyuha. The only person who knew how to enter the vyuha was Abhimanyu (Arjuna's son). Yudhishtira asked him to enter the Vyuha - however he only knew how to enter but did not know how to come out of it. Yudhishtira promised to follow him and protect him. Abhimanyu entered the Vyuha and attacked Duryodhana, Karna, Kripa and Dushasana. Bhima and Yudhishtira were right behind Abhimanyu till the entrance of the vyuha, but just at that point Jayadratha stopped them and they could not enter the vyuha. So Abhimanyu was trapped in the vyuha but he fought fearlessly. Drona, Karna and others setup an unfair scheme to kill Abhimanyu. They broke all the laws of war to kill this sixteen-year-old boy. They attacked him from different directions simultaneously. Drona cut off Abhimanyu's sword, Karna's arrows pierced his shield. Finally Dushasana's son hit Abhimanyu in the head and he was killed. This was the cruelest act performed by the Kauravas.
- Arjuna kills Jayadratha: Arjuna heard about the horrible details about the death of his son and took a terrible oath to kill Jayadratha the next day before sunset or he would immolate himself. Next day Arjuna fought fiercely and Krishna encouraged Arjuna to look for Jayadratha. The sun was about to set. Arjuna's chariot was led to center of Chakra Vyuha and Jayadratha was protected from all sides. Arjuna was fighting his way closer to Jayadratha but there were too many warriors for him to fight. Krishna decided to use his mysterious powers to distract everyone. He covered the disc of the sun with his Sudarshana Chakra. Suddently there was darkness everywhere and Kauravs started rejoicing and Jayadratha was unarmed. At that moment Krishna told Arjuna shoot his astra at Jayadratha and removed the Sudarshana chakra from the sun and night turned into day again. Arjuna's astra curt the head of Jayadratha and placed it on his father's lap. Jayadratha's father was shocked and dropped it on the ground and as a result of a curse given by himself, his own head split into thousand pieces.
- Death of Ghatotkacha: Bhima's son Ghototkacha entered the battle after sunset and being an asura he gained more strength at night. Duryodhana wanted to get him killed immediately . So Karna was asked to use his special weapon Shakti given to him by Indra to kill Ghatotkacha. Karna had kept this weapon to kill Arjuna, but to save his army he had to use against Ghatotkacha. The death of Ghototkacha saved Arjuna's life even though it was a great loss for the Pandavas.
- Drona's End: On the fifteenth day of the war, Drona caused unimaginable destruction in the Pandava army. Drona sent Brahmastra towards Arjuna and Arjuna sent another Brhamastra towards Drona and both wepons destroyed each other. Krishna suggested if Yudhishtira told Drona that his son Ashwattama was dead, he would not fight anymore. To achieve this plan, Bhima went and killed an elephant by the name of Ashwattama and went near Drona and shouted that Ashwattama was dead. Drona suspected this may be a trick so he asked Yudhishtira, who would not lie, to verify this.On Krishna's suggestion, Yudhishtira hardened his heart and decided to lie He shouted "Dead is Ashwattama", adding in a whisper "the elephant". However the last two words were drowned in a dim voice which were not heard by Drona. As soon as Drona heard this, he put down his weapon and sat down in his chariot in meditation pose. Dhrishtadyumna, who was born to kill Drona, went to Drona's chariot and cut his head with his sword. Thus came the end of the great Dronacharya.
- Last Days of the War: After Drona, Karna was appointed as the commander of the Kaurava army on the sixteenth day. Karna wanted to kill Arjuna and win the war for Kauravas. On the seventeenth day, a great battle took place between the two greatest archers. Karna shot a powerful arrow at Arjuna's head, but Lord Krishna pressed down the chariot in the nick of time. The arrow knocked off Arjuna's crown and missed his head. Due to a previous curse, Karna's chariot was stuck in the mud and he got down to free his wheel. Karna told Arjuna to wait until he freed his wheel. But Krishna reminded Arjuna of the atrocities committed by Karna to Draupadi and the Pandavas and told him to kill Karna before he got back on his chariot. Arjuna aimed the arrow and killed Karna. Thus the great son of the Sun God fell. Karna was a great hero with noble qualities but he was the victim of circumstances. Duryodhana was very sad at Karna's death. On the Eighteenth (last) day of the war, Duryodhana was still courageous and he fought with Bhima . A terrible fight took place between the two. In the end Bhima took his mace and broke Duryodhana's thigh as he had vowed to do when Draupadi was insulted by Duryodhana. Soon after this, Ashwatthama, Kripacharya, and Kritavarma met Duryodhana at his deathbed and promised to avenge the actions of Bhima. They attacked the Pandavas' camp later that night and killed all the Pandavas' remaining army including their children. Amongst the dead were Dhrishtadyumna, Shikhandi and children of Draupadi. Other than the Pandavas and Krishna, only Satyaki and Yuyutsu survived. Duryodhana was the cause of the whole destruction. Pandavas were dharmic and wanted peace but they had no choice but to fight to establish dharma. They had great faith in Lord Krishna who was their protector.
During the class, we had an extensive quiz session and all the kids participated enthusiastically. We concluded the class by chanting Bhagavad Gita - Chapter 1 - verses 1-18.
Announcements:
1. Art Contests registration is now open. Deadline for submission is Jan 12, 2020. Theme this year is 'Daanam' or 'Giving'. Participation points and prizes for everyone.
Please register at:
2. Shlokathon registration is now open. Shlokathon will be on April 4, 2020 from 1-4pm. Shlokas have to be memorized. Participation points and prizes for everyone.
Please register at:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ceAyR0VinKl6iX_DOCCZjNIAkUt_1iJTxL5KBw_C9qw/edit
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ceAyR0VinKl6iX_DOCCZjNIAkUt_1iJTxL5KBw_C9qw/edit
3. Makara Sankranti/Pongal Celebration at the Ashram on Sat. 25-Jan-2020 from 2PM to 5.30PM.
Thank you!
Krishna and Shasi
