Hari Om,
We started our class with Likitha Japa. We plan on doing this while waiting for all to come into the class and get settled in. Likitha Japa books will be provided. For the time being, we are handing out papers for them to do the Likita Jpa. Please make sure they have pen/pencil to write with.
We then did our 3 Om chants followed by our regular set of Bhajans.
Mahabharat continues - The Pandavas and Kunti, along with the Rishis from Satasringa, reach Hastinapur. Dhirtarashtra, Bheeshma, Satyavati, Ambaalika, Ambika , Gandhari and Vidura go to the gates. They are informed by the Rishis of the unfortunate deaths of Pandu and Madri. They introduce the princes and return to the forest. Vyaasa encourages his mother, Satyavati, to proceed to the forest for her last stage of life. She also asks Ambika and Ambaalika to join her. Satyavati summons Bheeshma and asks him to continue looking after the family.
The Kauravas and Pandavas start their education under the watchful eye of Bheeshma. There is lot of jealousy amongst them and Duryodhana especially resents Bheema. His uncle Shakuni and he waste no opportunity to put him into trouble. On one instance, they feed naive Bheema a hearty meal which is mixed with poison. This puts him to sleep and they throw him into the Ganga. He is bitten by snakes under water and this works as an antidote. Bheema wakes up and he starts hurling the snakes around. They rush to their king Vasuki, who learns of Bheema and is overjoyed to meet this young son of Kunti. He is offered a bowl of medicinal potion. Each bowl will give him the strength of a thousand elephants. He eats 8 such bowls. This puts Bheema into sleep for eight days, after which he reunites with his mother and brothers. He informs them of Duryodhana's mischief. Duryodhana is surprised and shocked to see Bheema alive after all. Bheeshma then appoints Kripa to undertake the education of all the princes. Later on, Drona, the husband of Kripa's sister Kripi, becomes their teacher.
Meanwhile, Radheya, the first born of Kunti , impersonating himself as a brahmin, manages to learn all the astras from Bhargava. Before Radheya's departure, his guru understands that he is not a brahmin and curses him to forget the astras when he desperately needs it. The unfortunate Radheya is also cursed by another brahmin that the wheel of his chariot will get stuck when he is in combat with his foremost enemy, and will be attacked when he is the most unprepared.
Drona thinks that the time has come for his pupils to show their prowess to the citizens of the city. All the royal households are in attendance and it is a moment of pride for Kunti to see her children excel in all fields. Vidura is next to Dhirtarashtra, giving him a detailed commentary on the feats performed. There is a mace fight between Duryodhana and Bheema, which eventually has to be averted to prevent unpleasantness that day. Suddenly, a young man arrives at the gate. This is Radheya, in his Kavacha and Kundala. He matches all the feats performed by Arjuna and challenges him to a combat, not knowing that this is his own brother. Kunti, on seeing this young man, faints as she recognizes him as her first born. As the two get ready for a combat, Kripa encourages Radheya to introduce himself because Arjuna, being a prince, cannot fight with one who is inferior. This is humiliating to Radheya and he puts his head down in defeat. Duryodhana jumps to his rescue and crowns him as the king of Anga. This puts both Radheya and Arjuna of equal rank - this gesture puts Radheya in Duryodhana's debt and he never leaves his side, even knowing that Duryodhana does not always play fair. Bheema, after knowing Radheya is the son of a charioteer, rebukes him by saying that he is not fit to hold a bow and that he should take the whip, which will suit him better. Duryodhana defends his new friend and speaks very highly of him. His words are applauded by one and all. Finally, the day ends in fiasco, as all the attention is now on Radheya . Yudhishtra is a little anxious, realizing that the pact between Duryodhana and Radheya tilts the balance in Duryodhana's favor, as he clearly sees the greatness in Radheya's archery.
As the education of the princes ends, Drona demands his Guru Dakshina. He wants them to go to the kingdom of the Panchalas, defeat Drupada, and bring him alive. The reason for this is that Drupada and Drona were childhood friends. As adults, however, Drona was a poor brahmin and to satisfy his son Aswatthama, he approached his friend- Drupada refused to recognize him, as he did not think they were equals. The thirst for revenge is finally be accomplished, and Drupada is captured and brought to Drona. He takes half of Drupada's kingdom and returns the other half, claiming that they are equal now. Drupada now burns with humiliation and hatred for Drona. He performs a yajna - a penance to get a son who is powerful to kill Drona.
As days go by, Yudhishthira is crowned the Yuvaraja as he is the oldest. Yudhishthira becomes extremely popular with the masses and they want him to rule them. This news is reported by Duryodhana's spies and he approaches his father. Dhritarashtra conveys his helplessness. Duryodhana considers it to be his right to rule the kingdom, he being the king's son. Duryodhana decides to hatch a plan, but without the knowledge of Bheeshma as he thinks he is partial to the Pandavas - he hopes to finalize a plot with the help of his evil mentors. Dhritarashtra's jealousy for the unfortunate sons of his dead brother is just as great and violent as his son's. Duryodhana asks his father to send the Pandavas and their mother to Varnavata for a year. During this time, Duryodhana hopes to win the love of his people. Dhritarashtra sends for a man named Kanika, who is a friend of his wife's brother, Shakuni. This man is extremely crooked, suggesting that the only way to get rid of the Pandavas is to kill them. He then goes away.
We will be starting with our next curriculum which is Saints of India. We have made a list of the saints and these were picked by the students in class. They will be doing a project on the Saint they picked and presenting it to the class. The presentation should include a brief introduction, childhood etc and conclude with the teaching and what we can learn from the Saint. Please have your child start with the project as we have 2 weeks break. Our first presentation starts on 29th October.
Geeta chanting resumed and we learnt verses 2 and 3 from Chapter 4. I have forwarded the links in our Whatsapp group. Please have the kids practice them.
We are off for the next 2 weeks for Navrathri festivities. See you all on the 29th!
May the nine days and nights of Navrathri bring you and your family good health and fortune ! Wishing all a happy and blessed Navrathri !
Regards,
