Hari Om Parents,
Please find below updates from our class on Sep 20th.
We started our class with 3 OMs and the following slokas
Sahana Vavatu
Vakratunda Mahakaya
Saraswathi Namastubhyam
Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu
One of the kids led 'Karagare vasathe', 'Samudra vasane' slokas, while others followed.
Mahabharata Summary: We continued with the summary recap.
Amba and Bhishma: Satyavati gave birth to two sons- Chitrangada and Vichitravirya, the former brave and clever, the latter proficient in archery and warfare. The older Prince, Chitrangada passed away in a terrible duel with a Gandharva and so the younger prince became the king. Bhishma embarked on a hunt to find brides for his younger brother which led him to the kingdom of Kashi. The King has arranged for the Swayamvara of his three beautiful daughters, Amba, Ambika and Ambalika. The entire assembly of prospective grooms ridiculed Bhishma for forsaking his terrible vow of celibacy. An enraged Bhishma defeated all of them in terrible duels and carried away the Princesses to Hastinapura. Amba disclosed her affection for King Salva and pleaded with Bhishma to follow the rules inscribed in the scriptures and send her to the kingdom of Saubala. Bhishma did the same and proceeded to wed his brother to the other two princesses. King Salva proclaimed defeat at the hands of Bhishma as a dishonor and refused to marry Amba. Amba implored Bhishma to marry her after multiple futile attempts to convince either Salva or Vichitravirya to wed her. Upon Bhishma's refusal, she vowed to avenge her dishonor and tried to convince other able warriors to kill him. They, clearly intimidated by the prowess of Bhishma, refused to do so which prompted Amba to perform a severe penance to appease Lord Subramanya. He granted her a garland of ever fresh Lotus flowers and instructed that the person who agrees to wear this magnificent garland would vanquish Bhishma. Again, disheartened by the numerous rejections, she tried to convince King Drupada to accept the garland. The mighty warrior rejected her affair and so, in a fit of rage, she hung the garland on the palace gates and retired to the forest. She performed a great penance that appeased Lord Shiva who granted her a boon that her wish will be fulfilled in her subsequent birth. Impatient and driven by vengeful feelings, she built a pyre and perished. In her next life, she was born to King Drupada and hoisted that garland of flowers onto her neck. King Drupada feared for her safety and so sent her to the forest where she performed severe austerities and transformed herself into a male warrior named Shikandhi. In this role, she was instrumental in bringing upon the demise and the death of Bhishma in the Kurukshetra war.
Pandu, Kunti and Madri : Vichitravirya fell sick and died childless leaving the royal family in grief. Satyavati implored Bhishma to marry and produce an heir to the throne. Upon Bhishma's staunch refusal, she turned to Vyasa for help, who blessed Ambika, Ambalika and a friend of Ambalika with three sons. They were Dhritarashtra, known for his physical strength, Pandu, an excellent archer and Vidura, renowned for his religious pursuits. Since Dhritarashtra was born blind, Pandu was crowned the King of Hastinapura. When the boys grew older, Bhishma arranged the marriage of Dhritarashtra with Gandhari who had been granted the boon of begetting a hundred sons. Pandu was married to Kunti, who was ordained with a special mantra by Sage Durvasa that she could birth a child by the mere invocation of a deity and chanting the mantra. Out of curiosity, she invoked the Sun God and was blessed with a child adorned with armor and earrings. Afraid of social criticism, she placed the child in a basket and floated him away. This child was discovered by a charioteer Athiratha, who named him as Radheya and brought him up as his own.
Bhishma also arranged the marriage of Pandu with Madri, who was the sister of King Shalya, the illustrious KIng of Madra. Gandhari had one hundred sons and one daughter by the boon of Lord Shiva. The oldest one of them all, Duryodhana brayed like a donkey as soon as he was born, to which the jackals and crows cried in response. A strong storm swept through the kingdom and fire broke out in many places. Vidura saw these inauspicious signs and predicted the demise of the Kaurava race. He implored Dhritarashtra to cast away this child to save humanity and the whole world as such. But the attachment to his first born prevented the Blind King from ignoring Vidura's warnings.
Pandu had a total of five sons, deemed as the Pandavas - three were Kunti's children and the youngest two were Madri's children.
- Yudhishtra, born through the invocation of Lord Dharmaraja
- Bhima, through the blessings of Vayu, the wind God.
- Arjuna, blessed by Lord Indra
- Nakula and Sahadeva through the blessings of the AshwiniKumaras.
Pandu's death: Once on a hunting trip, Pandu shot a stag with an arrow, who, in turn happened to be the son of the great Rishi Kardama. On the death bed, the stag cursed Pandu that the God of Death would claim his life if he ever were engaging in marital bliss. Shortly after, Pandu passed away. Madri cast away her life along with Pandu. Kunti along with the five children went to live in the palace of Hastinapura.
Bhima poisoned: The Pandavas were well received by all and earned fame with their military prowess and adept sensibilities. The Kuravas, Duryodhana, harbored resentment towards their cousins and harassed them in many ways. Once, Bhima was poisoned and thrown into a river full of venomous snakes. The poison in the snakes served as an antidote and he merely suffered a fainting spell. Vasuki granted an ambrosia to Bhima, who after consuming eight cups gained the power of eight thousand elephants. Yudhishtra convinced his brothers to keep this entire episode a secret to not invite the wrath of their cousins.
Kripacharya and Dronacharya: The young Princes were taught archery and martial arts by their teacher, Guru Kripacharya. The teacher's sister was married to a renowned and respected teacher, Dronacharya who was the son of Sage Bharadwaja. King Drupada and Drona developed great affection as friends during their times in a Gurukula. in due course of time, King Drupada ascended the throne and Dronacharya begot a son named Ashwatthama. Driven by poverty, Drona pleaded with King Drupada for monetary help to help take care of his family. Drona recalled their childhood fondly and reminded the king, even his promise to grant half of his kingdom to Drona. King Drupada ridiculed Drona and cast him aside as the one who is unequal in status to the king. Drona was enraged and left the Kingdom of Panchala to take refuge in the city of Hastinapura.
One day, a ball that the young Princes were playing with fell into a well. After many futile attempts to retrieve the ball, they sat in desperation.Drona cast a blade of grass into the well that struck the ball like an arrow. He threw down subsequent blades of grass that formed a chain and thus he pulled out the ball from the bottom of the well. He then proceeded to retrieve Yudhishtra's ring from the well by shooting an arrow from a bow. News of his feat spread, and Bhishma engaged Drona to be the teacher of the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Many years passed but the rage in Drona's heart towards the insulting words of Drupada did not subside. He ordered Duryodhana to capture Drona and bring him to Hastinapura but to no avail.
This feat was later accomplished by Arjuna who was lauded for his prowess by Drona. Drona returned half of the Panchala kingdom to Drupada and proclaimed them as equals. Drupada returned to his kingdom in shame and performed austerities to beget a son, who would avenge his dishonor.
One day, a ball that the young Princes were playing with fell into a well. After many futile attempts to retrieve the ball, they sat in desperation.Drona cast a blade of grass into the well that struck the ball like an arrow. He threw down subsequent blades of grass that formed a chain and thus he pulled out the ball from the bottom of the well. He then proceeded to retrieve Yudhishtra's ring from the well by shooting an arrow from a bow. News of his feat spread, and Bhishma engaged Drona to be the teacher of the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Many years passed but the rage in Drona's heart towards the insulting words of Drupada did not subside. He ordered Duryodhana to capture Drona and bring him to Hastinapura but to no avail.
This feat was later accomplished by Arjuna who was lauded for his prowess by Drona. Drona returned half of the Panchala kingdom to Drupada and proclaimed them as equals. Drupada returned to his kingdom in shame and performed austerities to beget a son, who would avenge his dishonor.
Drona promised to make Arjuna a proficient archer and paid special attention to his training. One day, the Kauravas and the Pandavas went on a hunting trip with their dog. The dog strayed away from the camp and was heard barking furiously. Ekalavya, a Nishda Prince, annoyed at the dog's incessant barking, shot seven arrows into its mouth. The entire camp was astonished to see the arrows and started making inquiries as to the shooter's identity. Drona was astonished to see a statue erected in his honor and the young boy declare himself as his student. He pondered for a moment and then asked for the boy's right-hand thumb as Gurudakshina. The boy gladly offered his with no hesitation.
Arjuna grew up to be a great warrior beyond Drona's expectations. His focus and courage exemplified by the simple test that Drona placed in front of the young Princes. He put a bird statue on the topmost branch of the tree and asked those assembled to shoot the bird's head. He then proceeded to ask them as to what they saw. The entire scenery was described by everyone present but Arjuna saw "nothing but the head". Drona was delighted. Arjuna was even awarded the coveted "Brahma Astra" by Drona as a reward for saving his life from crocodile while bathing in the river. The Pandava and the Kaurava Princes concluded their training under the tutelage of Guru Dronacharya with great honors and acclaim.
A special event was arranged to enable the princes' to showcase their talent and prowess, in an arena teeming with notable dignitaries and citizens. The crowd was amazed at the flair exhibited by the Pandava Princes' especially, Arjuna. He effortlessly performed plenty of tricks showcasing his archery skills that the crowd was left astounded. His Kaurava cousins Duryodhana was seething with anger, hatred and jealousy over this show of talent by Arjuna.
Arjuna grew up to be a great warrior beyond Drona's expectations. His focus and courage exemplified by the simple test that Drona placed in front of the young Princes. He put a bird statue on the topmost branch of the tree and asked those assembled to shoot the bird's head. He then proceeded to ask them as to what they saw. The entire scenery was described by everyone present but Arjuna saw "nothing but the head". Drona was delighted. Arjuna was even awarded the coveted "Brahma Astra" by Drona as a reward for saving his life from crocodile while bathing in the river. The Pandava and the Kaurava Princes concluded their training under the tutelage of Guru Dronacharya with great honors and acclaim.
A special event was arranged to enable the princes' to showcase their talent and prowess, in an arena teeming with notable dignitaries and citizens. The crowd was amazed at the flair exhibited by the Pandava Princes' especially, Arjuna. He effortlessly performed plenty of tricks showcasing his archery skills that the crowd was left astounded. His Kaurava cousins Duryodhana was seething with anger, hatred and jealousy over this show of talent by Arjuna.
The children knew the Mahabaratha stories really well and they narrated most of them in the class as we did the recap. They were very attentive and participated well in the class. They also asked pertinent questions as the stories were being narrated and discussed.
Temples of India: We discussed briefly about temples and their architecture, the different styles seen in North and South India.
We played the following clip from Gurudev's video on "Why should I go to the temple".
https://youtu.be/oXQmTX2lAWc?si=p_NCoUDquoYyxRcV
Gita Chanting
We telecast in class a Primer video on Sanskrit alphabet review with emphasis on proper pronunciation.
All the materials are available on our website at www.chinmayavrindavan.org
We assembled in the Main Prayer Hall for Aarathi and concluding prayers.
Next class is on Friday, Sep 27th at 7 pm. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us with any questions you may have.
Thank you!
Pranāms
Purnima & Anupama
