Hari Om!
Here is the update for last week's class:
Stotram: We chanted the devi dhyAna shloka, MAhalakshmi ashtakam and learnt verse 3 of Mahishashuramardini Stotram.
Mahabharata: We recapped the story so far and started talking about the beginning of the war. After the failure of the peace talks, the battlefield was picked (Kurukshetra) and the commanders-in-chief of both the armies were designated. Bhishma was the commander of the Kaurava army and after a bitter argument regarding his status, Karna refused to fight as long as Bhishma was alive. Drishtadyumna was the commander of the Pandava army. On the day the battle was to start, the armies were arrayed on their respective sides in Kurukshetra. The Pandavas had seven akshauhinis and the Kauravas had eleven akshauhinis in their respective armies. (An akshauhini is described in the Mahabharata as an army formation consisting of 21,870 chariots, 21,870 elephants, 65,610 horses, and 109,350 infantry. Thus one akshauhini consisted of 218,700 warriors (not including the charioteers, who didn't fight). The ratio is 1 chariot : 1 elephant : 3 cavalry : 5 infantry soldiers.
The rules of the war were agreed upon and were as follows:
- Fighting must begin no earlier than sunrise and should end by exact sunset.
- Multiple warriors must not attack a single warrior.
- Two warriors may duel, or engage in prolonged personal combat, only if they carry the same weapons and they are on the same mount (no mount, a horse, an elephant, or a chariot).
- No warrior may kill or injure a warrior who has surrendered.
- One who surrenders becomes a prisoner of war and will then be subject to the protections of a prisoner of war.
- No warrior may kill or injure an unarmed warrior...
- No warrior may kill or injure an unconscious warrior.
- No warrior may kill or injure a person or animal not taking part in the war.
- No warrior may kill or injure a warrior whose back is turned away.
- No warrior may strike an animal not considered a direct threat.
- The rules specific to each weapon must be followed. For example, it is prohibited to strike below the waist in mace warfare.
We also looked at some of the descriptions of the types of weapons (boiling treacle, poisonous snakes were part of weaponry!) and an overview of battle formations (the various vyuhas).
Before war could begin, Yudhishtra walked over to the Kaurava side and took blessings from Bhishma, Drona and Kripa. They all stated that they were duty bound to fight for the Kauravas but as he stood for Dharma, victory will certainly be his. Blessed by his elders and teachers, Yudhishtra then announced that anyone who wanted to switch sides could do so at that time. Yuyutsu, Dhritarashtra's son by a vaishya wife, switched over. Krishna even then asked Karna to fight for the Pandavas, but he refused. With the war about to begin, Arjuna , who had a full view of who he was fighting against - his grandfather, teachers, cousins, other family and friends - was overcome by emotion. He was very much depressed at the thought of fighting against family members for the sake of the kingdom and such worldly matters. Krishna, as his eternal guide, advised him to do his duty, which was to fight for Dharma. The wisdom that Krishna imparted to Arjuna at this juncture is revered to this day as the Bhagavad Gita - the book of practical wisdom that guides us to this day on how to live a life with utmost focus, devotion and skill while on the path to attain moksha.
Bhagavad Gita: We learnt upto verse 9 of chapter 4. Please encourage your children to keep practicing at home. Here is the playlist - https://bit.ly/Ch4verses6-7, https://bit.ly/Ch4verses8-9
Next class is on Dec.10th.
Regards
Keerthi Kobla and Abhirami Shrinivas
