Dear Parents,
As we return to our second week, we start with the review of what we did in Mahābhārata in grade 5.
Opening Prayers: Om Sahanā vavatu, followed by the chants Om Sree Ganeśaya Namaha, Sree Saraswatyai Namaha, Sree Sat Gurubhyo Namaha.
The daily prayers (as suggested in the 'My Prayers' book) were all chanted, giving every child an opportunity to recite. Please have the children do these daily prayers at home regularly.
Ślokās: Mahalakshmyaśtakam - first two verses were completed.
Mahābhārata:
The story starts off with Shāntanu, the King of Hastināpura. His marriage to Ganga, the drowning of his 7 newborns and the subsequent birth of the boy that lived - Devavrata. The child was raised by Ganga and brought to Shāntanu as a young man. He was the crown prince of Hastināpura, which didn't last for long. He was informed of his father's love for a fisherwoman princess Satyavati, and also that the marriage was not possible because any child born of that union would not be at the throne. Devavrata immediately gave up his right to the throne along with a vow to never marry and create heirs, thereby earning him the name 'Bhīshma'. His father, in response to his huge sacrifice, gave him the blessing to choose his time of death.
Satyavati and Shāntanu had 2 sons, Vichitraveerya and Chitrāngadha. Chitrāngadha was killed by a Gandharva of the same name, while Vichitraveerya was one who enjoyed the excesses of pleasure and gluttony. To remedy the situation, Satyavati requested for him to be married and Bhīshma brought the 3 princesses of Kashi - Ambā, Ambika and Ambālika. Ambā wanted to marry Sālva, but that was thwarted when Bhīshma abducted her along with her sisters to be married to Vichitraveerya. In her anger, she cursed that she will be the one to end. Bhīshma's life. Meanwhile, Ambika and Ambālika married Vichitraveerya, but he did not live long. Satyavati, in her attempt to produce heirs, asked Bhīshma to marry the princesses and procreate, but he refused strongly. Satyavati then approached her first son (with Sage Parāshar), Krishna Dwaipāyana, also known as Veda Vyāsa. He agreed to bless Ambika and Ambālika with children.
Now, Veda Vyāsa was a slightly fierce looking person that instilled a sense of fear in the weak minded. Ambika, afraid to even look, shut her eyes at the time of blessing, giving birth to a blind child, Dhritarāshtra. Ambālika, on the other hand, went pale at the time of blessing, giving birth to a pale child, Pāndu. Unable to trust an entire kingdom on weakling newborns, she asked Ambika to have another child through Veda Vyāsa. This time she sent a maid in her place, who then gave birth to the wise Vidura.
Pāndu grew to be a true warrior, conquering many kingdoms. He married Kunti and Mādri. Dhritarāshtra, raised in the shadow of his brother, married Gāndhāri. Pāndu decided to stop the battles and relax in the forest with his wives. Dhritarāshtra agreed to take the throne, with Vidura as his wise counsel.
In the forest Pāndu could not keep away from his weapons and went hunting. In the process he killed a deer, who turned out to be Sage Kindama who was playing with his wife. The Sage's wife cursed Pāndu that he would drop dead upon touching his wife. He was in a dilemma - how would he procreate with the curse like a 'Sword of Damocles' hanging over him. Kunti, then revealed a childhood blessing she received from Sage Durvāsa, giving her the ability to produce a child blessed by any of the Gods. With that mantra, Kunti gave birth to Yudhisthira, Bheema and Arjuna (with blessings from Yamā, Vāyu and Indrā respectfully), while Mādri gave birth to Nakula and Sahādeva ( with blessings from the Ashwini Kumārās). Meanwhile, in Hastināpura Gāndhāri gave birth to Duryodhana on the same night Bheema was born. Then came the 98 other sons and the daughter Dusshāla.
A few years passed and life went well, till it didn't. Pāndu, in an amorous mood, approached Mādri. Shocked that he had forgotten the curse, Mādri got away from him but it was too late. Pāndu dropped dead right in front of her. Unable to forgive herself, Mādri decides to join her husband in his journey to the heavens, giving Kunti the responsibility of raising the twins along with their brothers.
The Pāndavās along with their mother, Kunti came to Hastināpura to start their princely education.
This arrival of the Pāndavās irritated their cousins, the Kauravās. Duryodhana, having enjoyed special status, knew the special love the elders for the 'fatherless Pāndavās'. He even gave Bheema poisoned food and threw him in a river inhabited with snakes. Unfortunate for him, the snakes' poison counteracted with the poison in his system. While there, he was also blessed with the strength of 8000 elephants by the King of the Snakes. All these instances made the Kauravās even angrier towards their cousins.
Bhishma decided that it was time for the royal princes' to start their education in weaponry, among other areas. He selected Dronācharya to be the ideal teacher. Drona was immensely happy, not just to be the teacher of the Hastināpura princes' but also in the knowledge that he had his trained army to avenge the humiliation he experienced at the hands of Drupada. His own friend had insulted him, had asked him how a mighty king could be friends with a pauper. Drona swore to bring that mighty ego to his knees.
While the Pāndavās trained under the mighty Drona, a young Nishāda boy, Ekalavya, also wished to master the art of archery. But being of a lower birth, he was denied. He proceeded to make an idol of Drona and treated that as his teacher and went ahead to train in archery. Within no time he mastered the art. One day, upon witnessing his superior skills, Drona and his students realize that his mastery was better than even Arjuna. Worried that his own student will be bested, Drona asks the young Ekalavya for his right thumb as Gurudakshina. Without any hesitation, Ekalavya cuts it off and offers it to Drona.
With Ekalavya out of the way, Drona felt a little relieved. Little did he know that there was another warrior in the making, about to make his presence known. That young man was Radheya, the son of Atiratha (a royal charioteer) and Radha. He was originally born to Kunti and Surya (as a result of the boon given by Durvasa). But Kunti was too young and decided to send the baby down the River to be adopted by another. Born with golden armor and earrings (Kavacha Kundala), this child was a Kshatriya by birth, but raised a charioteer's son. Radheya had the urge to learn weaponry and the art of war. His search brought him to Bhargava, a Sage who had refused to teach Kshatriyas. Posing as a Brahmin, he acquired the knowledge of warfare from Bhargava. Once, Radheya sat through the pain of an insect boring through his thigh while his Guru slept peacefully on his lap. Bhargava woke up feeling the warm blood on his cheek, and accused Radheya for lying to him about his parentage, because a Brahmin could never sit through such pain. He cursed Radheya that all that acquired knowledge would fail him when he needed it.
(The insect was Indra's doing, to ensure Radheya did not get more powerful than Indra's son Arjuna). Dejected, Radheya sat by the shores of the sea. When he spotted an animal flash by, his instinct made him raise his weapon and shoot an arrow, killing it instantly. He was shocked to see it was a cow, incurring the wrath of the Brahmin to whom it belonged. He received another curse - that the wheel of his chariot will sink to the ground and that he would be killed by his worst enemy when he was least prepared. Radheya knew that his fate was sealed and accepted it as a consequence of his birth..
Meanwhile Drona, proud of his students' progress and skill, wished to have a tournament to display their prowess. A magnificent arena was erected and many were invited to watch. The Kuru princes each showed their forte. As the tournament progressed, the doors to the arena opened and Radheya entered, requesting to display his skill. He was refused on account of his birth. After much humiliation from the elders, Duryodhana rushed to his aid and made him King of Anga, thereby making him eligible to participate. The Tournament was from sunup to sundown, and after the coronation there was no time left for Radheya.
Riding high on the success of the tournament, Drona decided to collect his Gurudakshina - avenging his humiliation in Drupada's court. The Kauravās volunteered to go right away with their army, but they were outmatched by Drupada's mighty army. The Pāndavās went next, captured Drupada and brought him to his knees in front of Drona. Drupada asked for Drona's forgiveness, and Drona hugged his friend and forgave him. But Drupada felt humiliated and silently vowed revenge.
The Kauravās were dejected at having lost to Drupada while the Pāndavās were victorious. With Śakuni on their side, they hatched a plot to get rid of the Pāndavās. Then they used Dhritarashtra to get the Pāndavās to take a vacation and visit the city of Varnavata. Using Purochana, they created a palace of lac and other flammable materials, with the idea of torching the palace while the Pāndavās were trapped within. Vidura, the wise counselor to the king, conveyed to his nephews and Kunti of an imminent danger in Varnavata. He also sent a miner to Varnavata to build a tunnel for the Pāndavās to escape. On a beautiful moonlit night, the Pāndavās and Kunti escaped the lac palace via the tunnel, torching it and leaving behind the bodies of a mother, her 5 sons and Purochana. Bheeshma, court elders and citizens of Hastinapura were shocked and inconsolable. Vidura quietly informed Bheeshma of the plot and the subsequent escape of the Pāndavās.
The Pāndavās got out of the tunnel, with most of them on Bheema's mighty shoulders. They entered the forest named Hidimbavana, and decided to take a break. While Bheema went to fetch water, a rakshasa named Hidimba and his sister Hidimbi sat on a tree nearby. They saw the lady and 4 young men sleeping nearby and Hidimba sent his sister to kill them for his next meal. Soon, she spotted Bheema carrying water towards the sleeping lot. She fell in love with Bheema and approached him, warning him about her brother and his intentions. Bheema laughed it away, asking to duel with her brother. Hidimba, overhearing this, came rushing towards Bheema. But he was no match, as Bheema lifted him high and threw him to the ground, killing him instantly.
Hidimbi marries Bheema and requests Kunti and her sons to stay with her for a year before proceeding on their journey. Soon a son is born to Bheema and Hidimbi - Ghatotkacha.
The Pandavas and their mother soon found their way to their next stop Ekachakra, posing as Brahmins so as to not be identified as the Pandavas. There they lived with a Brahmin and his family. Bheema and Kunti once overheard the Brahmin talking to his gamily who were crying inconsolably. It was apparent from the conversation that he was next in line to be sacrificed to an asura named Bakāsura. Kunti joined the Brahmin and informed him that her son would take his place and vanquish the asura. Bheema loaded up a cart load of food and took off towards the place of Bakāsura. He challenged the asura to a fight and managed to break him in two pieces. He then left the pieces at the gate of the city of Ekachakra and went back to the Brahmin's home.
We will resume with more from Ādi Parvā next week...
Bhagavad Gita: This week we played the Bhagavad Gita chanting primer 2. The link to the chanting primer videos will be sent on the class WhatsApp group.
Aarti: The Gurudev Aarti and pledge were done in class by the children.
Next class is on Friday, October 2, 2020
Pranāms,
Viji Lakshmi and Nivedita
Friday, Grade 6 Sevikas
