Hari OM,
This week we started our class with prayers followed by a Zoom recording of the Sri Maha Lakshmi Ashtakam. We will be submitting this recording for House Points.
This was followed by a discussion of our Project #1 (Temples). In this class, we assigned the respective teams (Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath & Badrinath) into Zoom breakout rooms where each team worked on their slide deck presentation. Each team will be presenting their final slides in the next class (Dec 20).
This was followed by the continuation of Mahabharata - Virata Parva:
- Uttara Kumara and Arjuna as charioteer arrive at the battlefield in order to fend off Duryodhana and the Kauravas. Uttara Kumara is overwhelmed upon seeing the formidable army before him, and begins to retreat in anxiety. Arjuna runs after Uttara Kumara, consoles him, and says that he will take care of the fighting while revealing his true identity.
- Drona and Bhisma also realize the true identity of Arjuna. However, Bhisma subsequently reveals to everyone that in fact the true exile time period has come to an end, and the Pandavas may not be sent back to the forest for another 12 years. A ferocious battle ensues, with Arjuna easily defeating the entire Kaurava army including Karna. Arjuna and Utttara Kumara depart the battlefield with the armor and clothings of the Kauravas, leaving them in a trance.
- Meanwhile, Virata hears about this victory and is overjoyed at his son's prowess. Yudhishthira calmly tells him that it was Brihannala who actually did the fighting, but Virata takes this as an insult and hurls a dice at Yudhisthira. Yudhisthira is still bleeding from this injury when Arjuna and Uttara Kumara finally return to the city.
This was followed by chanting of verses 11-12 from Bhagavad Gita - Chapter 2 - this is the start of Bhagavad Upadesa! We will send the video of this to the Parents via WhatsApp. We also reviewed all the various House activities that the class can perform to earn additional points.We concluded the class with Chinmaya Pledge.
Pranaams!
Krishna and Vijay
