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KumaravyasaBharata : Aranya Parva - Part 3

12) One fine day,  Chitrasena , the master teacher for all Amaras, is brought over by Indira and is asked to teach sangeetha and natya to Arjuna learning that Arjuna has keen interest in that art. Arjuna picks up the teaching very quick. When the Amaravathi is filled with  Samooha Natya gaana  programmes, Arjuna observes * Urvashi * with keen eyes and Indira asks Chitrasena to have a word with urvashi for her hand to Arjuna. Urvashi obliges with full happiness but Chitrasena requests her that even if she fails in pleasing Arjuna, she should not be upset. There is a detailed beauty description verse for Urvashi :)  When Urvashi enters at the door of Arjuna's residence,  her fragrance and glory wakes up Arjuna  from his sleep. He admires her sheer beauty and welcomes her with folded hands and calls her his mother and asks her orders saying  he will do it as her son  and she need not hesitate to ask. Urvashi, taken aback by his addressing, turmoils in her mind with fear of her

KumaravyasaBharata : Aranya Parva - Part 2

8) Shiva comes himself in the form of hunter along with his wife, to test Arjuna's strength. Arjuna's ego gets himself fighting arrow with the hunter. It is described beautifully how Shiva himself gets caught in Arjuna's shastras and slowly detangles himself out of it, in an effort to teach Arjuna, the escape art of the astras. Shiva exclaims to Parvathi how he is blown with Arjuna's strength despite hard tapas with little or no food, and tells her, he is so pleased to give Pashupatastra to this guy alone.  Arjuna on other hand, mesmerized by the hunter's billu vidya, wonders, if he is Surya or Shiva's son Karthikeya or vishnu or Shiva himself in disguise. When one of Arjuna's arrow wounds shiva, shiva rebukes him with a tough one back which causes Arjuna fall to ground bleeding miserably from mouth and ears. At his fall, Shiva has a guilt pang , wondering if he went too far in teaching his beloved son a lesson. With that blow, Vyasa says, Arjuna

KumaravyasaBharata : Aranya Parva - Part 1

1) Hastinapur is believed to be around 22 miles northeast of today's 'Meerut' city . back in hastinapur, rishi maithri, rishi veda vyas, vidura, all advice Duryodhana and Dhritarastra to bring back pandavas but their advice go in vain! 2) Entire village who loved pandavas dearly follow them aimlessly into forest despite Yudhistira and Bhima denying. When Yudhitira worries for their food and needs to Dhowmya maharshi, the maharshi asks him not to worry much on current state. Maharshi says "In happiness and sorrow, in wealth and poverty, In praise and criticism, In cold or hot, samabuddhi and sthira buddhi is a must . You should all stay healthy and sane. Have ability to bear hunger / thirst. For Anna Siddhi, pray Dwadashatmaka Aditya (Soorya) ". Arogya, Aishwarya, moksha and Jnaana are few seeks we all do. At the need of the hour for Pandavas, is the need of health and hence, Yudhistira prays Soorya and soorya agrees to fend their hunger with Anna Daana f

KumaravyasaBharata : SabhaParva - Part 3

Inherent Essence Its very hard to believe, all elders and elite people like Bhisma, Drona, Gandhari kept mum during the game of dice when Yudhistira kept losing cows, sheep, village, cities, wealth, his brothers, himself and finally Draupadi.  Not one, interfered to stop. All this attributes to the idea of their understanding of "Dharma" . It had been taught that dharma is about adhering to rules, and not about human empathy (Think about the instances: Dasharatha asking Rama's exile, Rama abandoning Sita, Renuka beheaded by her own son). Dharma speaks only of duty. But Draupadi, for first time in that era, demanded her rights . She put forth the idea that Dharma is not just about doing one's own duty, but also about ensuring that no one else's rights were violated. She demanded empathy! For the first time, she took up the stand that a person was always sovereign over themselves - and this sovereignty could not be challenged by any authority.The real deal

KumaravyasaBharata : SabhaParva - Part 2

1) Sabha Parva starts with Maya building the palace of illusions in Indraprasta for pandavas. Rajasuya yaaga , Shishupala Harana , Draupadi Vastrapaharana are main contents of Sabha Parva. Rayasuya Yaga was shared earlier under Part 1 :) 2) Krishna's endearing love is shown in how he warns each of the pandavas before leaving to dwaraka after yaaga. He asks Draupadi to not trust weatlh and kingship, asks yudhistira to not bow down to 4 evils mainly drinking, gambling, women and moha saying that has been the destruction for all ancestors like Dasharatha and Nala. One gets a feeling that Krishna is so worried of coming future and he tries hard to warn the pandavas. Vyasa also expresses frank opinion in Yudhistira that the coming future does not look happy or calm for yudhistira and he should not leave dharma and satya at any cost even if someone dares hold his wife by her hair! 3) It is not seen in Kumaravyasa Bharatha that "Draupadi laughed at Duryodhana " at Maya palac

KumaravyasaBharata : SabhaParva - Part 1

RajaSuya Yaaga 1) Rajasuya Yaaga episode is very interesting. It shows how Krishna initially makes Yudhistira understand the full impact / tasks ahead for taking it up by expressing non-agreement and later assures him full confidence in taking it up. It is a yaaga to be performed by a king / person who is eligible to be the ruler of the world . He has to defeat / make all kings in the world surrender to him with Kappa Kanike. Then everyone gets invited for the yaaga ceremony. 2) Jarasandha is the first king to be defeated. He is also very rightly called " Satyasandha " because when krishna offers him to pick either one of them (Krishna, Arjuna and Bheema) to fight with him, he rightly chooses Bheema considering the other two more like his kids and not his merit to fight with. He is also said to have held many kings captive. Jarasandha was about 75 yrs then and krishna / Arjuna / Bheema were about 26-28 yrs age. He is deemed to be nemisis of Krishna because he was furious

KumaravyasaBharata : AadiParva

1) Mahabharata took 3 years to compose by Vyasa and Ganapa 2) It takes 12 complete years to read every verse and understand along this epic. 3) Krishna's introduction happens only at Draupadi Swayamvara 4) There are only 2 people in this whole world who has won over Moha/Kama : one is Hanuma other is Bhishma ! 5) Gandhari carried over pregnancy for 2 years only to end up tearing her womb down by herself on hearing Kunti gave birth to a son first before her. This episode is so horrifying! 6) Kunti conceives hearing Gandhari is pregnant. All the co sister competition tingle is there. 7) Bheema seems more dearer for his love towards his brothers. He is the main triggering reason to kindle the rivalry between Kauravas and Pandavas as he mocks and defeats Kauravas at every game since chilhood. He is son of Vayu and is so powerful that when he was a kid his mother Kunti accidentally drops him from her hand from top of a mountain hut and when he falls in the valley below, the har