हरी ॐ
Dear Parents,
Dear Parents,
With this new policy of staying indoors, we have started E-Bala Vihar sessions. This week (March 20th) will be the first such session. This will continue for as long as the need to avoid crowds remains. Thank you all for your understanding, as we navigate a new form of learning.
Opening Prayers: Three long Om chants, followed by sloka Sahanā vavatu, and Om Sree Ganeśaya Namaha, Sree Saraswatyai Namaha, Sree Sat Gurubhyo Namaha.
Story: The Rajasuya preparations are in full swing. Yudhisthira sends his brothers in 4 different directions to get the allegiance of all Kingdoms, and conquer those that resist. Arjuna goes North, while Bheema goes East. Nakula and Sahadeva go West and South respectively. They are all very successful in their ventures. Sahadeva, with Ghatotkacha, even invites Vibheeshana to the yagna. On his way back, Ghatotkacha wonders how his uncle, Hanuman, leaped over to Lanka. He is also in awe of the beautiful bridge built by Rama and the vānarās to get across to Lanka. Sahadeva also invites Chitrangada and Babruvahana (Arjuna's wife and son). Meanwhile, Nakula invites the Vrishnis and is gifted thousands of presents by Krishna and Balarama. Nakula then goes to Hastinapura and personally invites every elder and Kaurava brother to the yagna, including Radheya.
The day arrives, and all the great kings arrive to witness the greatest yagna, Rajasuya, being performed by the greatest King, Yudhisthira. They bless him with gold and kind words, which festers in Duryodhana's mind. Sage Narada enters, but realizes that this might very well be the last time there is peace and tranquility, before chaos ensues and eventually cause the death of many present at the yagna.
The yagna goes off without a hitch. Yudhisthira, humbled by the huge turnout, wishes to honor the person that always guided him well, and was also responsible for the smooth conducting of the yagna - Krishna. Sahadeva requests to have the honor of washing Krishna's feet, and does so with great reverence. While the padhapooja concludes, Śiśupala, unable to contain himself, rises with rage. He accuses Yudhisthira of calling great kings from all over the world, and honoring a cowherd like Krishna instead. He insults Krishna and every member of the Kuru clan for sitting idly while this atrocity happened. Krishna smiles and waits his turn. As Śiśupala's diatribe ends, Krishna brings to attention the promise that he made to his sister (that he would pardon the boy a 100 times). He tells them that the anger also stemmed from the fact that Rukmini chose Krishna, even though her brother had Rukmi had promised her to Śiśupala. Now that he has more than exceeded that number, Krishna says it is time to fulfill his duty of ending Śiśupala's life. He sends the Sudarshana chakra, decapitating his nephew and giving him mukti from all of his mortal births.
A heavenly voice also warns of much sorrow that will plague the Kuru house, and the Kshatriya race at large.
The visiting kings, having attended the Rajasuya, were all finding their way back to their respective kingdoms. All except Duryodhana, Dusshasana, Śakuni and Radheya. They stayed back with the excuse that they wanted to see the new sabha. As happy as Yudhisthira was to host his cousins, the warning at the Rajasuya festered largely in his mind. As Vyasa approached him to take leave, Yudhisthira gently asked what the ominous warning was about. Vyasa, in his mind's eye, could foresee the future destruction, and tells Yudhisthira that the killing at the yagna had repercussions, and the death and destruction that falls upon his clan will be unstoppable.
Meanwhile, Duryodhana starts exploring the palace and finds the great Mayasabha. He is astounded to see the beauty and intricacy in design. Maya's design was such that any person who looked at the sabha with jealousy would be deceived by many of the architectural ploys. What looked like an expanse of water, also looked like a marble floor. It was only when he fell into it and got drenched, that he realized that it really was a pool of water. Another time, a wall looked like a doorway, leaving him with a bump on his head and a largely bruised ego, with Draupadi laughing at every one of his missteps. The anger and jealousy towards the Pandavas quickly turned into burning hatred, leaving quickly from Indraprastha while venting his anger out on the journey back to Hastinapura. His grief and anger were his alone; nothing could stop that envy, jealousy and anger to subside.
Discussion: Was Duryodhana truly a villain in the Mahābhārata? Or did the circumstances not act in his favor? We analyzed Duryodhana's relationships - his anger and jealousy towards the Pandavas, the power over his weak father, his manipulative uncle's influence, his readiness to ally with any one who even did not favor the Pandavas, and so on.
Geeta Chanting: Practicing verses 1-15 and guided chanting of verses 29 & 30 with Sw. Shantanandaji. Please have the children practice every day.
Pranāms,
Akshay and Nivedita
