On Day 14, Drona constructed three vyuhas- chakra, sakata and suchi to protect Jayadrata. With Arjuna off to kill Jayadrata, Satyaki and Satyajit protect Yudhishtra. Yudhishtra,concerned for Arjuna's safety sent Satyajit and Satyaki after him. In a one on one battle with Bhurisravas, Satyaki was about to be killed by Bhurisravas when Arjuna stepped in and shot and severed Bhurisravas' arm to save Saryaki. Arjuna defended his actions by saying it was his duty to protect Satyaki who is under his care. Disappointed at this breach of war rules by Arjuna, Bhurisravas gave up fighting and sat down in meditation. Satyaki, rushed towards Bhurisravas who was weaponless, and beheaded him. He was looked down upon by all the warriors. Meanwhile, Bhima and Karna faced each other one on one. First, Bhima won, injuring Karna severely. Duryodhana sent his brothers to help Karna move away and fight with Bhima. Vikarna, Durjay, Durmukha and seven others fought with Bhima. Bhima killed all of them and Karna entered back with more fire and injured Bhima heavily, but he remembered the promise given to Kunti mata that he would not kill other brothers, but for Arjuna. Just then, Arjuna came in and rescued Bhima. With sunset time imminent, Lord Krishna then took the chariot in a flash towards Jayadrata. The Lord used his Sudarshana chakra to eclipse the sun and create the effect of sunset. Jayadrata and the others relaxed and Jayadrata came out of hiding to get a good look at the setting sun. Arjuna used this opportunity to strike and behead Jayadrata and on Krishna's advice, the Sindhu king's head was carried far away, all the way to the meditating King Vridakshatra's (Jayadrata's father)lap. The shocked older king stood up and the head rolled down in a split second and his head burst into pieces. Vriddhakshatra had a boon which caused the head of a person who causes his son's head to roll (away from his body) to burst into pieces. As Krishna was aware of this, he counseled Arjuna wisely.
Feb 4, 2024 - Grade 6 (Sunday AM)
Hari Om!
Here is the update for last week.
Stotram: We chanted the Devi dhyana shlokam and Mahalakshmi ashtakam
Mahabharata: The battle on the thirteenth day ended, with Drona still unable to capture Yudhishtra. Arjuna returned from defeating the Trigarta brothers. He noticed the eerie silence in the Pandava camp and is worried about the safety of his brothers. He finds out about Dronacharya and the Padma Vyuha and how Abhimanyu is trapped by the Kauravas. Yudhishtira took the blame with a heavy heart and told Arjuna that Jayadrata is the one who stopped the Pandavas from entering the Padmavyuha. Arjuna vowed to slay Jayadrata before the sunset on the following day, failing which, he vowed to do Agni pravesam (self immolation). Krishna told His charioteer Daaruka to keep His chariot ready as he was preparing to fight if Arjuna were to fail his oath.
The war continued after Jayadratha's death and the subsequent sun set. As the day turned into a darkening evening and night, the rakshas got more power in the dark. Bhima and Hidimbi's son Ghatotkacha was in full form and showed no mercy to the Kaurava camp. With his increasing power, he wreaked havoc on the Kaurava's army, and Duryodhana was devastated. He accosted Drona and Karna and regretted giving them permission to continue the battle beyond sunset. He insisted that Karna kill the demon using the Sakthi astra. Karna, to keep his friend's word, used the Sakthi astra, given by Indra,which was meant to destroy Arjuna .Gatotkacha succumbed to the astra and fell on part of the Kaurava army and crushed it. Vyasa consoled the grieving Pandavas. The war went on, even after the fall of Ghatotkacha. As the armies grew increasingly tired, Arjuna made a common announcement to both armies to call a very temporary halt to the hostilities and rest a while. Soldiers in both camps appreciated this call and rested for some time. Duryodhana and Karna even fruitlessly considered killing their opponents even during the brief respite. After a while the war continued into the next sunrise.
Bhagavad Gita: We learnt verses 22 and 23 from Chapter 4.
Regards
Keerthi Kobla and Abhirami Shrinivas
