30/05/2015, 5:31 pm - Chandrasekar :
Karna was a great Karma yogi. He lived a great life in which every action teaches a great message. I'll try to put some of the great qualities of Karna which I always admired and the things we should learn from them.
Karna was a great Karma yogi. He lived a great life in which every action teaches a great message. I'll try to put some of the great qualities of Karna which I always admired and the things we should learn from them.
A man of values
Krishna asked Karna to abandon Duryodhana and join his brothers (Pandavas). Krishina offered before him the entire kingdom and even Drawpathi. But Karna still did not want to abandon his friend who never abandoned him. Karna knew that his side was going to loose but still he did not want to betray his friendship for material benefits. Karna even knew that it was the god himself (Krishna) making him that offer!
This incident was actually Krishna's work to show Karna's greatness to the world and reveal this valuable message. Krishna already knew that Karna would not slip away from his values for any reason.
Things we should learn: Even the god asks you, don't go away from your own Dharma. Values are important than material benefits or life. Don't betray your friend for money or power or fame or girl. Be sincere to the ones who love you/trust you.
The great giver
Karna never refused to give anything asked from him. Indra exploited this and obtained Karna's natural armor and ear rings. Karna can not be defeated by any human warrior if he had his armor and ear rings. But, still he gave them to Indra because he valued giving alms asked form him more than his own safety. He knew that it was Indra and not a genuine Bhramana who deserved alarms but still he gave him what he asked.
Things we should learn: Generosity, selflessness, adherence to the values
A man of his words
Karna promised Kunti that she'd always have five sons (He or Arjuna will die in the battle but he would not Kill any of her other sons). In the battle, Karna got chance to kill all other Pandavas in different occasions but, remembering his words to Kunti, he did not Kill them. Karna still honored his mother who abandoned him upon his birth. It's because of Kunti, Karna went through many miseries but, still he wanted to keep his mother happy and gave her the boon that he would not take the life of any of her sons except Arjuna.
Things we should learn: Always keep your promises, never give up them under any circumstances. Respect your parents even if they did not do much to you.
The ideal role model
Karna had to undergo a lot of problems throughout his life but he faced them cheerfully. For us it may appear those incidents affected him but in reality Karna was a stable person who walked through all problems with a great self-confidence and determination without discouraged or affected by them. He turned every stopping stone as his stepping stone.
Things we should learn: Face the life cheerfully. Don't be discouraged by the challenges of life. Barriers cant stop you if you are talented and determined.
This question may arise now. Karna was a great person but was he killed in the end?
Karna lived a great life despite the challenges he faced. He fought for the side of Adarma but that was his right Dharma. At the end, Karna was killed in the battle but it was not a deal. Everyone die one day and dying in such a war does not make a person unfortunate. In those days dying in a war was considered as the greatest end for a warrior (Kshatriya). How a person lived his life is the only thing that makes him remembered and honored. In this way Karna was a great achiever and his life itself was a great teaching.
30/05/2015, 5:38 pm - V V Devanathan :
Bheem s other name is Virugodharan. Means his stomach won't satisfy with food like wolf. Arjun's other notable name is Savyasachi. Means he can hit the target using arrow in both right and left hand.
30/05/2015, 5:45 pm - Chandrasekar :
Bheema is the most haughty person in the whole Mahabharat. He afflicted pain on Duryodhan and his brothers in the childhood. The ominous nature of Bheema engendered hatred among Pandavas and Kauravas. When Karna entered Rang Bhoomi competition, Bheema vituperated Karna by calling him a 'Suta putra'. He married Hidami, a Rakshaha who then bore a son named 'Ghatotkatch'. He then married Draupadi. Though he was arrogant, he was the only one among his brothers who truly cared and loved Draupadi. He slayed 100 sons of Dhrithrashtra. Suyodhan(Duryodhan) was invincible in mace fight. There was a mace duel between the mighty Suyodhan and Bheema. Bheema is no match for Suyodhan as he was the favourite and best student of Lord Balaram(brother of Lord Krishna). But Bheema struck Duryodhan's thigh which was a violation of mace duel. A mace fighter must not strike below the waist. Bheema claimed that he had followed his vow.
30/05/2015, 5:49 pm - Ajay Khankoje :
TRIVIA
• Second Longest Epic of the World
• “What’s not in Bharata, is not in Bharata”
• “A Buffet of Ideologies.”
• Written around 3000 BC.
• “Harappan” Cultre. Urban Way of life.
• Narrated thrice :
– “Jaya” by Vyasa to Ganesha
– “Bharata” by Vaishampayan to Janamejaya
– “Mahabharata” by Suta/Sauti to the Rishis at Naimisharanya.
• Has “mindboggling” revelations.
– Astronomy: Existence of Uranus(Shweta) and Neptune(Ksharaka).
– Geography. Lands as far as Cambodia(Kamboja), Kazakhistan and/or Scandinavia(Uttarakuru),
– Mathemetics: Nos to the range of 10 raised to powers of 16 and -16.
– Descriptions of Weapons which resemble modern day weaponry including Nuclear and/or
Chemical Weapons.
Chemical Weapons.
– Complex Millitary Formations and Strategies.
– Philosphy, Psychology, Sociology, Spirituality, Religion, Politics.
– Even Mangement Lessons.
Logistics
1 Akshouhini = 21,870 chariots, 21,870 elephants, 65,610 horses and 109,350 foot-soldiers (in a ratio of 1:1:3:5).
Generals
Kauravas :
• Bhishma
• Drona
• Karna
• Shalya
• Kripacharya
• Kripacharya
• Ashwatthama
• Duryodhan
Pandavas :
• Arjuna
• Bhima
• Dhrshtadyumna
• Abhimanyu
• Ghatotkach
• Shikhandi
• Satyaki
Background
Pandavas :
Exiled for 13 years. Have no kingdom. Their main strength both in terms of political and financial power depends on their friends and relatives : The Pancalas, The Yadavas, The Magadhas and The Chedis.
Kauravas :
In power for 13 years. Duryodhan has been a benevolent king. Theres no guarantee that the Subjects really miss the Pandavas. Not only have they the wealth and power of Hastinapur, but also that of Indraprastha, the kingdom that the Pandvas had taken such labours to build and which had surpassed the Hastina of old in all degrees. Karna had gone on a nation-wide conquering on behalf of Duryodhana. They are the national soverigns
Motivation
Kauravas :
“Without war, will concede not a needle-prick of earth.” - Duryodhna
Duryodhana was completely focused on the War.It was his moment of truth. He had usurped a kingdom, and he meant to keep it. He had resorted to any means, foul or fair to get the kingdom, which he believed to be rightfully his, and he was in no mood to give it up.
Pandavas :
“We fight over a Kingdom, as dogs over a piece of meat.”-Yudhisthira
The Pandavas had been humiliated, their wife insulted, their kingdom taken. But…still they wanted to avoid the War. The three elder Pandavas were against the War. They even went as far as making an offer that they will stop the War in exchange of 5 villages.
Result
War Lasted : 18 Days. 10 Days (Bhisma), 3 Days(Drona), 1½ Days (Karna) ½ Day (No General),1 Day (Shalya), 1 Night(Ashwatthama)
18th Night of the War :
Ashwatthama slaughtered the Pandava camp in sleep.
Before That :
Before That :
Kauravas :
Bhishma, Drona, Karna and his sons, Shalya, Bhagadutta, Bhurisrava, Susharma, Jayadrath, Duhsasana and all of Duryodhana’s brothers, Shakuni and Ulooka.
Pandavas :
Drupad, Virat and his sons, Abhimanyu, Ghatotkach and Iravan.
SO HOW DID THE PANDAVAS WIN ?????
Preparation
Kauravas :
• Karna went on a country-wide milliatry mission, subdued the different kingdoms and aquirred wealth. But it meant a loss in terms of both men and money and creation of new enemies.
Pandavas : Though in exile they turned their attention to improving over their weakness
• Arjuna set out on a mission to aquires Divyastras.
• Bhima met his brother Hanuman and got a blessing of enhanced strength.
• Yudhisthira aquirred teachings from the various wise rishis, and also learnt the Game of Dice from Gandharava Chtrasena, lest he was challenged to yet another dice game. Its said that he had become undefeatable in Dice.
Turn your weakness into your Strength.
Allies
Kauravas : Centralised power system. The gretatest empire of the time. But not many pwerful allies, except from old relations from far off places like Gandhara(Shakuni), Sindhu(Jayadrath) and Kambodia(Camboja - Bhagadutt)
Pandavas : No wealth. No power of their own. But powerful alllies all over India.
• Panchala throgh Marriage with Darupadi.
• Dwarka throgh marriage with Arjuna and Subhadra.
• Magadh through marriage of Shadeva and Vijaya.
• Chedi through marriage of Nakula and Karenmayi.
• Kasi throgh marriage of Bhima and Balandhara.
• Kekaya throgh marriage of Yudhisthira and Devika.
• Matsya throgh marriage of Abhimanyu and Uttara.
• The Rakshasas through marriage of Bhima and Hidimba.
• The Nagas through marriage of Arjuna and Uloopi.
Make Powerful Allies.
Leadership
Kauravas : Centralised leadership. One Head of Army at a time, who has supreme authority of 11 akshouhini of army. Bhishma, Drona, Karna, Shalya and Ashwatthama.
Pandavas : Distributed leadership. Seven commanders for the seven divisons.(1 man command 1 akshouhini each).
• Virat (King of Matsya).
• Drupad (King of Pancala).
• Sahadeva(King of Magadha).
• Dhrshtaketu (King of Chedi).
• Satyaki (Only warrior from Dwarka).
• Shikhandi (Prince of Pancala).
Dhrshtadymna – Commander in Chief.
Arjuna –Supreme Commander.
Krishna – Arjuna’s charioteer and counsellor.
Share your responsibilities
Team Spirit
Kauravas : No team spirit. They all fough their individual wars.
• Bhishma : For his Vow to protect the throne Hastinapur.
• Drona and Kripa : They owed allegiance to the throne.
• Shalya : Simply cheated by Duryodhana to be there. Was originally a Pandava ally.
• Karna : To prove his mantle aginst Arjuna. Friendship for Duryodhana.
They didn’t gel wel with each other. Bhishma and Karna. Bhisma and Shakuni. Karna nd Shakuni. Karna and Shalya. Shalya and Bhishma. It was like a bees, hornets and mosquitoes put together in a jar.
Pandavas : One team.One Goal. As men, they all had huge respect for Krishna and Yudhisthira. While as warriors they were in complete awe of Bhima and Arjuna. Most of them were close relatives – cousins, brother-in-laws, father-in-laws. More than that they all werwe part of the decision-making process. It was their “common” war.
Teamwork succeeds where Individual effort fails
Individual Motives
Kauravas : Except for Duryodhana nobody wanted the War.All the 4 main generals had strong ties with the Pandavas.
• Bhishma(grandchildern) – Wont kill the panadavas. Will kill a thousand soldiers each day.
• Shalya (Nakula-Shadeva’s maternal uncle) : Loved the Pandavas and covertly helped them by humilating Karna
• Karna (brother to the Pandavas) : Promised not to kill any of the other Pandavas save Arjuna.
A Team of Traitors.
Pandavas : Common goal.But the individuals had their individual targets. Their own agenda, which just became one with the teams’ agenda.
• Dhratsadyumna : Drona.
• Shikhandi : Bhisma.
• Satayaki – Bhurisravas.
• Arjuna – Karna.
• Bhima – Duryodhana and his brothers.
• Sahadeva – Shakuni and his sons.
• Nakula –Karna’s sons.
The Right team is made by selecting the Right Individuals. Get the right man for the right job
Commitment
Kauravas : Already said the Big 4 had big emeotional attachment with the 5 Pandavas. Looking further on their commitment.
• Bhisma himself gave away the secret of killing him to the Pandavas.He prolonged the War by killing only inconsenqual soldiers.He did not fight a warrior like Shikhandi because of his personal bias.
• Drona too indirectly gave away his secret, by saying he was invulnereable as long as he held a weapon.Moereover he abandoned weapons as soon as he knew his son had died.
• Karna did not kill Yudhisthira and BHima when he got the chance.He gave away his
30/05/2015, 5:49 pm - Ajay Khankoje : Kavac and Kundala prior to his War. Karna feld innumerous times from the War when he was hurt. He didn’t save Duhsasana when Bhima was killing him.
• Shalya kept on insulting Karna while in Battle.
Pandavas :
• Abhimanyu , a 16 year old kid. Ventured beyond enemy lines alone. This was suicide mission but he still went in and took a great part of the army down with him. It took the combined effeort of 7 Maharathis to take him down.
• Ghatotkach even in death, took with him almost half the army.
• Yudhisthira, he knew he couldn’t face Karna in War, but still went in to set an example.Yudhitshira diodnt hesitate to tell a lie or a twisted truth when faced with the decision of hwether to stick to his personal integrity or welfare of the team.
• Krishna took up arms twice and almost eneterd the War, inspite of his promise, only to be stopped by Arjuna.
The interests of the Individual should never exceed the Team interest.
The best man for a Job is not the one with the best capabilities but one with the greatest commitment
Right Managers
Krishna : The Greatest Crisis Manager the world has seen.
Yudhisthira : Low-key strategist.
• On the first day of the War, he played a Master game.Went over to the Enemy side to seek blessings from Elders. In reality he made a covert deal with them, wherein all of them agreed to help him and unfolded the secrets of defeating them.
• While coming back, he took a calculated risk. He made an offer to all the assembled people to change sides if they wanted to. He knew well of the lack of cohesiveness among the Kauravas. Yuyutsu, son of Dhrtarashtra crossed over to the Pandavas. This exposed the waekness of the Kauravas for all to see.
Know your enemies weaknesses and exploit them.
Take Calculated risks.
Inspire, invigorate, counsel your own team in moments of need.
Recap
• Turn your weaknesses into strengths.
• Turn enemies into allies.
• Share your responsibilities.
• Share your responsibilities.
• Teamworks scores over Individual Effort.
• Right Team = Right set of Individuals. The right man for the right job.
• Commitment scores over Competence.
• Team interests over Individual interests.
• Know your enemy/challenges. Exploit its weaknesses. Take calculated risks.
• The Right Managers : To inspire, invogourate, counsel in crisis .
• Know Ground realities. Accept different ideologies. Cooperate.
Empower Women. The Gender Balance is required for stability and administration
30/05/2015, 5:59 pm - Sekar :
Ajay, that's why I gave spl invitation. But others have also contributed a lot. Thanks for all. But the real qtn is who is the hero. Saguni or Krishna?
30/05/2015, 6:00 pm - Seeni :
Lord Krishna..... Sir...
30/05/2015, 6:00 pm - Chandrasekar :
Saguni. And Karna is second hero
Saguni has used, Krishna 's to achieve his goal.
30/05/2015, 6:02 pm - J Rathinakumar :
Suguni is hero
30/05/2015, 6:02 pm - Sekar :
Saguni is the Achiever a nd hero
30/05/2015, 6:12 pm - V V Devanathan :
My point of view....
Geetha to be told for the goodness of human kind.
Others were used as weapons.
Real hero Krishna
31/05/2015, 4:51 pm - Chandrasekar :
What happened after the Kuruskshetra war:
Pandavas win: wohoo! Draupadi makes nice food for her husbands as part of the celebrations.
Burn the dead: bodies of warriors who died in the war are put in a great pile and because they do not have lots of wooden logs, they put in all the broken chariots (wheels and banners) to burn the dead.
Yudhistir becomes the king: he is already the smartest guy around, so, he is the best candidate for the job. All the other Pandavas have the same opinion of him.
But still, Krishna tells him to get some knowledge transfer (KT) from his granduncle Bhishma coz frankly, Bhishma has been there done that. Bhisma, (uncomfortably) in the bed of arrows, dispenses nice gyan to Yudhistir. Bhishma dies after a few days (as per his wishes).
Kali yuga begins: Krishna says that now people will not be generous and that they will fight amongst each other a lot (as if, the Mahabharat wasn't enough). And yes, he also says that we will copulate like beasts and justice will be a joke. And every victim if given a chance will happily become a victimizer.
Looks like Krishna was right about everything!
Krishna dies: Or may be, it is appropriate to say that Krishna wishes to not live anymore. Frankly, Krishna is God, he decides what should and shouldn't happen. So, he wanted to die, so, he died.
Also, in Hinduism, all that is born must die. Even Krishna must die.
Pandavas grow old and retire: They leave the office with the next generation kid, Parikshit. They (Pandavas and Draupadi) all plan to walk to the Vaikuntam, which is one level above Swarg (heaven, that is). But, on the way, Yamraj (the god of death) gives death to everyone but Yudhistir.
Yudhistir is not bothered and says that he has renounced everything and that his brothers and wife were not fit for Vaikuntam. In that:
Draupadi preferred Karna over Pandavas (Desire is her sin)
Sehadev was too proud of his knowledge (Pride is his sin)
Nakul was really proud of his beauty (Vanity is his sin)
Arjun was envious of all archers (Envy is his sin)
Bhima used to eat like crazy without serving others (Gluttony is his sin)
Wow! Sorry to digress, but I just had a revelation. The sins here sound like the sins in the movie *Seven*! Right! :)
Yudhistir finds Kauravas in Swarg (heaven) and Pandavas in Narak (hell): Yudhistir reaches Swarg! Dammit! Yudhistir gets annoyed to see Kauravas, the villains of the Mahabharata, in heaven. And, he finds his brothers (including Karna) and Draupadi in hell.
Yudhistir wins over himself and gets a place in vaikuntam: When Yudhistir visits his brothers and wife in hell, his family folks tell him to stay in hell for comforting them. Yudhistir, the nice brother he is, plans to stay in hell even though he has a seat in heaven (Swarg). It is because he wants to be supportive of his folks in hell.
That's when the Gods tell Yudhistir that he still hasn't renounced everything and that he still has attachments (relationships).
Yudhistir understands that he really isn't that great for Vaikuntam and that he too has flaws, but then, he understood about it and is wise enough to correct himself. With that, he liberates himself from everything. Indra, impressed by that, gives him a seat in Vaikuntam.
So, the epic doesn't really end with Pandavas winning over Kauravas. The epic ends with Yudhistir (a human) winning over himself.
31/05/2015, 9:47 pm - Ajay Khankoje :
Who was the most powerful warrior in Mahabharat ??
All your answers will be wrong, read this , the name is BARBRIKA
Barbarika was the son of Ghatotkacha and Maurvi (Ahilawati), daughter of Muru, a Yadava king. Barbarika was originally a yaksha, and was reborn as a man. was a grandson of Bhima (second of the Pandava brothers), and the son of Ghatotkacha. Ghatotkacha was the son of Bhima and Hidimbi.
Even in his childhood, Barbarika was a very brave warrior. He learnt the art of warfare from his mother. God Shiva gave him the three infallible arrows (Teen Baan). Hence, Barbarika came to be known by the appellation Teen Baandhaari, the "Bearer of Three Arrows". When Barbarika learnt that battle between the Pandavas and the Kauravas had become inevitable, he wanted to witness what was to be the Mahābhārata War. He promised his mother that if he felt the urge to participate in the battle, he would join the side which would be losing. He rode to the field on his Blue Horse equipped with his three arrows and bow.
Before the Mahabharata war began, Lord Krishna asked all the Pandavas how many days he would take to finish Mahabharata war alone. Bhishma answered that he would take 20 days to finish the war. Dronacharya replied that it would take him 26 days. When Karna was asked, he said he would take 27 days. Arjuna told Krishna it would take 28 day for him to complete the battle by himself. In this manner, Lord Krishna asked each warrior and received an answer.
Krishna disguised as a Brahmin stopped Barbarika to examine his strength. When asked how many days he would take to finish the war alone, Barbarika answered that he could finish it in one minute. Krishna baited Barbarika by mocking him for going to the great battle with only three arrows. On this, Barbarika replied that a single arrow was enough to destroy all his opponents in the war, and it would then return to his quiver. He stated that, the first arrow is used to mark all the things that he wants to destroy. On releasing the third arrow, it would destroy all the things that are marked and will then return to his quiver. If he uses the second arrow, then the second arrow will mark all the things that he wants to save. On using the third arrow, it will destroy all the things that are not marked. In other words, with one arrow he can fix all his targets and with the other he can destroy them. Krishna then challenges him to tie all the leaves of the peepal tree under which he was standing, with those arrows. Barbarika Baliyadev accepts the challenge and starts meditating to release his arrow by closing his eyes. Then, Krishna without the knowledge of Barbarika, plucks one of the leaf of the tree and puts it under his foot. When Barbarik releases his first arrow, it marks all the leaves of the tree and finally starts revolving around the leg of Krishna.
Then Krishna asks Barbarika why was the arrow revolving around his foot. For this, Barbarika replies that there must be a leaf under his foot and the arrow was targeting his foot to mark the leaf that is hidden under him. Barbarika advises Krishna to lift his leg, since, otherwise the arrow will mark the leaf by pricking Krishna's leg. Thus, Krishna lifts his foot and to his surprise, finds that the first arrow also marks the leaf that was hidden under his foot. Of course, the third arrow does collect all the leaves (including the one under Krishna's foot) and ties them together. By this Krishna concludes that the arrows are so infallible, that even if Barbarika is not aware of his targets, the arrows are so powerful that they can still navigate and trace all his intended targets. The moral of this incident is that, in a real battle field, if Krishna wants to isolate someone (for example: the 5 Pandava brothers) and hides them elsewhere in order to avoid them from being Barbarika's victim, then Krishna will not be successful as the arrows can still trace the target and destroy them. So, nobody will be able to escape from these arrows. Thus Krishna gets a deeper insight about Barbarika's phenomenal power.
Krishna then asks the boy whom he would favour in the war. Barbarika reveals that he intends to fight for the side whichever is weak. As Pandavas have only seven Akshouni army, when compared to Kauravas eleven, he considers that Pandavas are weak and hence wants to support them so that Pandavas will become victorious. But Krishna asks him, did he seriously gave a thought about the consequences before giving such a word to his mother (to support the weak side). Barbarika guesses that his support to the weaker side will make them victorious. Then, Krishna reveals the actual consequence of his word to his mother:
Krishna tells that whichever side he supports will only make the other side weak due to his power. Nobody will be able to defeat him. Hence, he is forced to support the other side that has become weaker due to his word to his mother. Thus, in an actual war, he will keep oscillating between the two sides, thereby destroying the entire army of both sides and eventually only he remains. Subsequently, none of the side is victorious as he will be the only lone survivor. Hence, Krishna avoids his participation from the war by seeking his head in Charity.
DEATH OF PANDAVAS AND KARNA
Mahabharat : Karna and Pandavas Initially Went to Hell!
After the death of Lord Krishna in Mahabharat by Hunter Jara, the Pandavas lost all interest in worldly matters. Nothing appealed them, neither material things nor the fact that they are the actual rulers of Hastinapur. Next, they crowned Abhimanyu’s son Parikshit as the King of Hastinapur under the care of Subhadra, his grandmother and left for a pilgrimage – ultimately walking into the Himalayas. In this journey they were also accompanied by a stray dog.
The first one to tumble and die in this journey was Draupadi who had accompanied her five husbands. Yudhisthira quickly explained the downfall of Draupadi in this journey. The reason doesn’t surprise us at all. Well as per Dharamraj’s point of view, she died because she was always partial to Arjuna all throughout her life, though she was married to all five of them. Next were Nakul and Sahadev, who according to Yudhisthira were very proud of their looks.
It was Arjuna’s turn after the death of the twin brothers. Yudhisthira mentioned to Bheem that Arjuna all his life was very proud of his archery skills. Thus remained only 3 people - Bheem, Yudhisthira and the dog. Then Bheem too died who was known for boasting about his strength and also for his greediness when it came to food. Finally, the only two people who remained were Yudhisthira himself and the stray dog. The reason why Yudhisthira did not stumble was simple – He was the most righteous and virtuous of all the five brothers and their common wife Draupadi.
At The Doors of the Heaven
Both Yudhisthira and his companion (dog) reached the doors of the heaven. The door keeper at Heaven requested Yudhisthira to walk alone. However, Yudhisthira being a Dharmaraj mentioned that he cannot enter alone since the very dog had accompanied him all through the journey, even when his own brothers left him alone. Happy to see the virtuous side of Yudhisthira, Lord Yama emerged from the dog and took his divine form. Yes, the stray dog was none other than the Lord Yama himself.
Pandavas Were Not in Heaven, Kauravas Were!
No sooner than Yudhisthira entered the heaven than he saw Duryodhana along with all the other Kauravas present there. Surprised, he expressed his anger on seeing the adharmis in the sacred place. His annoyance was visible as he mentioned the fact that - Duryodhana was the sole reason why the Pandavas had to slaughter so many good and worthy kinsmen that supported the Kauravas. He then asked about his brothers, The son of Radha, the biggest Daanveer – Karna, the mighty man - Bheema, the greatest archer - Arjuna, and the two twin brothers who were known for their skills. Yudhisthira was then taken to a place where his brothers and his wife resided.
Pandavas Were Sent to Hell
To his surprise, Yudhisthira saw all his brothers including Karna in Hell. The God mentioned that they were here for all the wrong things they had done - Karna had insulted Draupadi, Bheem and Arjun had killed Duryodhana and Karna respectively by forgery while Nakul and Sehdeva helped them in doing so.
Highly annoyed, Yudhisthira then questioned the gods about the sin of the Kauravas - He asked if the people who always followed dharma, did good and even maintained the Kshtariya rules are in Hell, why the sinners and the adharmis are living peacefully in the Heaven. Surprisingly God said that the Kauravas are in heaven right now because they died as a kshtariya fighting for their homeland. You might now wonder then why wasn’t Karna along with them. Well, that’s because Karna was not fighting from his homeland but only for the sake of Duryodhana’s friendship though he was aware that he was siding adharm.
People Go to Both, Heaven and Hell
God after seeing Yudhisthira’s sadness then replied, “Of both good and bad there is abundance, O chief of men. He who enjoys first the fruits of his good acts must afterwards endure Hell. He, on the other hand, who first endures Hell, must afterwards enjoy Heaven. He whose sinful acts are many enjoys Heaven first. It is for this, O king, that desirous of doing thee good, I caused thee to be sent for having a view of Hell.”
God further says that Yudhisthira is in Hell right now because he deceived Drona in the war. And contimues, “Come, O chief of men, all of them have been cleansed of their sins. All those kings who had aided thee and who have been slain in battle, have all attained to Heaven. Come and behold them, O foremost one of Bharata’s race.”
Thus making it very clear that as per Mahabharat or should I say Hindus (not sure though) a person goes to both Heaven and Hell based on his good deeds and bad deeds. The more the good deeds the more time he gets to spend in Heaven. This also reminds me about the belief of Roman Catholics where they say before going to heaven a person first goes to the purgatory which is a temporary hell to wash all his sins.
31/05/2015, 9:51 pm - Sekar :
This is the same thing, PATTINATHAR also told. PATTRATIRU that is PATTRU ATTRU IRUU.
If you have no attachment, then no worries.
He lived like that, but when the mother was in burial ground ,laid on wood.
He gets an intution and reaches at the last minute.
He doesn't want hs mother's body to on hard wood, and he prefers a softer bed for her body.
He ask the relatives to remove the woods and arrange for banana trees to lay her mothers Body on the banana tree bed.
Asks sings the sufferings and sacrifices she has done and orders the banana tree bed to burn.
31/05/2015, 9:54 pm - Ajay Khankoje :
Why Shakuni acted as Villain in Maahabharat
Shakuni also known as Saubala, was the prince of Gandhara Kingdom in present-day Gandhara, later to become the King after his fathers death and one of the main villains in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. He was the brother of Gandhari and hence Duryodhana's maternal uncle. He is believed to be an extremely intelligent but devious man. Shakuni is often credited as the mastermind behind the Mahabharata war. Shakuni had two sons named Uluka and Vrikaasur. Shakuni was born in Gandhara in modern-day Afghanistan to King Subala. He was a great devotee of Lord Shiva.
The first marriage: King Subala of Gandhara, which now falls around modern day Kandahar in Afghanistan, once performed a very holy Yagna in his kingdom.
An astrologer who had attended the Yagna advised him to get his daughter married off to a goat, to bring fortunes upon herself and her family. Heeding to his advise, King Subala got Gandhari married to a goat, and then killed the goat subsequently. Technically, this made Gandhari a widow and Dhritrashtra her second husband.
This fact, though a bit trivial, however was kept hidden from Dhritrashtra, the eldest prince of Kuru kingdom, who was blind since birth. Gandhari had voluntarily decided to blindfold herself throughout her married life.
The moment of truth: Dhritrashtra, eventually learned about the truth of her wife, and decided to punish the entire Subala clan. He imprisoned all of them, and used to supply one handful of rice for all of them every single day. With such a meager amount of food, most of the members of the family died eventually.
King Subala decided that one of them should live and avenge the death of the entire family. From then itself, all the rice allocated for the family was fed to the youngest son, who eventually went on to become stronger and much sharper than before.
There is an unauthenticated folklore which narrates the below story with regards to Shakuni's anger over Hastinapur. But this was a story which has no reference in Mahabharata but was later adopted by many modern writers of Mahabharata. However this fictional folklore has gained its popularity ever since.
It is said that in some military campaign of either Bheeshma, Pandu, or Shantanu's ancestors, Gandhara came under attack from Hastinapur. Hastinapur conquered Gandhar, killed the king Achala Suvala, and imprisoned all the male members of his line, saying that line was full of adharma. This included Shakuni and his 100 brothers (in some accounts, "brothers" is literal, in others it is used to represent other family members in what was common usage at the time). Since all of them were sparsely fed (with one grain of rice each per day) in the prison, the family decided that at least one of them could survive and gave all the rice to Shakuni, the most cunning of them all, so that he could live on to take revenge. Eventually, King Subala, Shakuni's father, bends the knee of Shakuni to make a permanent mark of the injustice. Considered a man of dharma, his family is allowed to live.
In some stories, Shakuni carves from the bones of his dead parents dice that will never lose him a game. Shakuni's father's soul is said to have entered the dice and it would roll to whatever number Shakuni wanted.
Shakuni was unhappy with his sister Gandhari's marriage to Kaurava prince Dhritarashtra. He was more so ever angry with Bhishma for bringing this proposal as he found it insulting and demeaning, not only because Dhritarashtra was blind, but because of the way the Kurus had destroyed his line years before. He swore to avenge this insult by slowly destroying Bhishma's clan. He achieved this by poisoning the mind of his volatile nephew, and influenced Duryodhana into instigating the war with the Pandavas, which resulted in the destruction of the Kuru line. Thus, he is seen by many as one of the key persons that caused the Kurukshetra War.
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