Hari Om!
Here is the update from last class.
Stotram: We chanted the Devi dhyana shloka and the Mahalakshmi ashtakam.
Mahabharata: Drona was single handedly destroying the Pandava army and was focused on capturing Yudhishtra. Bhima was very frustrated that Arjuna was not taking on Drona with his full power out of deference and Drishtadyumna was also not being successful in attacking Drona. Many fierce battles happened between Bhima and Karna, Nakula and Duryodhana and Sahadeva and Dusshasana. Duryodhana has a moment of wistfulness when in combat with Satyaki, recalling times when they were friends. He regrets the nature of Kshatriya dharma which pits friends against each other in battle.
Mahabharata: Drona was single handedly destroying the Pandava army and was focused on capturing Yudhishtra. Bhima was very frustrated that Arjuna was not taking on Drona with his full power out of deference and Drishtadyumna was also not being successful in attacking Drona. Many fierce battles happened between Bhima and Karna, Nakula and Duryodhana and Sahadeva and Dusshasana. Duryodhana has a moment of wistfulness when in combat with Satyaki, recalling times when they were friends. He regrets the nature of Kshatriya dharma which pits friends against each other in battle.
Looking at the carnage caused by Drona's prowess, Krishna tells the Pandavas that the only way to defeat Drona is to get him to lay down his weapons. This could be accomplished only if he believes that Ashwattama, his son, is dead. Bhima agrees and decides to kill an elephant named Ashwattama and say that fact out loud near Drona. Yudhishtra very reluctantly agrees, but Arjuna cannot bring himself to agree with this. Bhima kills the elephant called Ashwathama. He screams that he has killed Aswathama. Dronacharya continues to fight, somewhat confused that Ashwattama could so easily have been killed. Bhima continues to taunt him saying he first went against his Brahmana dharma by being a warrior and now fights even after the death of his son. Drona wants confirmation from Yudhistra since he has never lied. Dharmaputra says Aswathama (the elephant)is dead. His statement was partially camouflaged (the elephant) by the sankha nadham made by Krishna.
A helpless and grief-stricken acharya sets to a meditative state and Dristadyumna grabs this opportunity to chop his head off. Everyone who witnessed this vile act berates Drishtadyumna. Arjuna enters into a furious argument with Drishtadyumna. Bhima intervenes and tells Arjuna that as a kshatriya, they have to do what is necessary to win.
A helpless and grief-stricken acharya sets to a meditative state and Dristadyumna grabs this opportunity to chop his head off. Everyone who witnessed this vile act berates Drishtadyumna. Arjuna enters into a furious argument with Drishtadyumna. Bhima intervenes and tells Arjuna that as a kshatriya, they have to do what is necessary to win.
Aswatthama, hearing of his father's death, is furious. He invokes the Narayanastra to kill everyone in the battlefield. Krishna tells everyone in the Pandava army to drop their weapons and prostrate , as the weapon will not harm those who surrender to it. Bhima refuses to surrender and slowly feels the effects of it and Arjuna tries to protect with the Varunastra in the process of convincing him to drop his weapons. On Day 15, Karna becomes the Commander in chief. He starts the war on the backfoot, having used the Shakti astra he had received from Indra on Ghatotkacha, having given up his invincible armor and having the curse from Parashurama weighing on him.
Bhagavad Geeta: We learnt verses 24 and 25 from chapter 4.
Regards
Keerthi Kobla and Abhirami Shrinivas
