Hari Om!
Stotram: We chanted the Mahalakshmi Ashtakam in class.
Mahabharata: On Day 16, Karna, the new commander in chief, valorous and eager to prove his capabilities, wreaks havoc on the Pandava army. Due to his promise to Kunti that he will not kill any Pandavas but for Arjuna, he causes severe injuries to the other Pandavas in battle, but does not kill any of them. Major battles happen between Ashwattama and Arjuna, Yudhishtra and Duryodhana. Most of the kaurava brothers are dead. Sakuni's son Ulluka is also seen fighting with the pandava army. Samasaptakas keep challenging Arjuna. Bhima and Dushasana get into a battle. Dushasana's improper behavior flashes in Bhima's mind every second. He is in extreme anger. He breaks every weapon of Dushasana until he stands with no weapon on the ground after his chariot was also broken by Bhima. In the terrible face-off with Dushasana, Bhima jumps on him, hits with the mace, wrestles with him and fulfills his promise by ripping his arms, breaking his chest and drinking the blood again and again. It was indeed a gruesome scene in the battle field. Aswaththaama pleads to Duryodhana to stop the war but Duryodhana is still in the fighting mode until he wants every Pandava to be killed. The 16th day thus gets over . Karna requests Shalya, the Madra king to be his charioteer to prepare for his battle with Arjuna as Shalya is equal to Krishna in his knowledge of steeds and navigating the battlefield. Initially Shalya hesitates and shows his disinterest in being a charioteer to a non kshatriya. Duryodhana explains the equivalence with Krishna and the importance of the role and Shalya agrees.
On the 17th Day, Karna enters the battlefield determined to kill Arjuna. His mind is filled with foreboding, as he remembers his guru Parashurama's curse. He knows that it will be his crucial war with his sworn enemy and the inevitable curse by his own guru - Bhargava Rama. His horses stumble right as they start out and other bad omens foretell his own defeat, but despite all that Karna proceeds. Shalya, keeps praising Arjuna and his might and how Karna is inferior to him in every way. He makes sure that he unsettles Karna's mental balance by praising Arjuna again and again : that was the promise he had given to Yudhistra after he accidentally accepts Duryodhana's hospitality for Yudhistra's and promises to give his best to the one who gave him the best welcome and hospitality. But Karna never looks back, keeps fighting and giving all his strength and putting full focus on the war. Karna faces Yudhistra and they both fight. He severely injures Yudhistra who is returned to his camp for first aid and rest. Arjuna also is creating havoc in the Kaurava forces. Krishna advises Arjuna to just check on Yudhistra, in order to give Arjuna a brief respite before facing Karna. He turns the chariot towards Yudhistra's camp. Yudhistra thinks the battle with Karna is over and he is dead and Arjuna has come to give him the good news. Yudhistra loses his temper and berates Arjuna for leaving the battlefield, telling him to give his Gandiva to whoever can kill Karna. Arjuna has a vow to kill anyone who insults the Gandiva and therefore goes to kill Yudhistra. Krishna counsels Arjuna that insulting an elder is the equivalent of killing them and Arjuna then speaks insultingly of Yudhishtra. Having said those harsh words, he feels distraught and goes to kill himself. Krishna again prevails upon and tells him that singing one's own praises is the equivalent of suicide. Arjuna then sings his own praises! He also explains Arjuna's strange behavior to a confused Yudhishtra. Arjuna gets Yudhistra's blessings and leaves back to the warfront.
Arjuna goes back to the battle field, where Samasaptakas are again ready to fight with Arjuna, but Bhima takes them on. Karna's son Vrisasena comes to fight with Arjuna and is subsequently killed by Arjuna. Karna is shattered and is even more angry and wants to kill Arjuna. Though Lord Surya's blessings are with Karna, he has more curses than blessings, mother earth's curse, Brahmin's curse, guru's curse and some limitations in relation to certain promises made. Arjuna on the other hand, has the blessings of Indira, Devas and Gandharvas and the Supreme Lord as his Mentor. Karna aims the Nagastra for Arjuna's head. Salya advises to aim at his chest, but Karna would not listen to Salya. Aswasena, the offspring of the pregnant snake which was burned by Arjuna in the process of transitioning Khandavaprastha to Indraprastha, gets into the astra and is ready to kill/take revenge on Arjuna. The Lord makes the chariot to get into the ground a good few inches, the astra along with Aswasena, hits Arjuna's crown and he is unharmed. The snake pleads with Karna to release the nagastra one more time but Karna refuses as it is not in the warrior's code of conduct to reuse the same astra or to take another's secret help. As fate would also play a part against Karna, his chariot gets stuck into the mud and he has no help to release the wheels. Salya leaves the place as he can't help in this situation and he is just acting as a charioteer. Karna gets down and tries to pull the wheels out of the muddy ground. Arjuna keeps talking about all Karna's bad acts. Krishna asked Arjuna to shoot the arrow and Arjuna aimed the Anjalika astra on Karna and killed him. After Karna's death, Kunti declares that he is her oldest son and asks Yudhisthira to do the last rites. He gets shocked and mad with mother for not telling him earlier. He says he always felt when looking at Karna's feet that reminded him of his mother's feet. He curses the womanhood that they cannot keep up any secret, anytime. Thus the Karna parva ends.
India, Sacred Land: It was an eye-opening experience for the children to learn about the contributions of ancient India to the world.
Universities: Takshashila- was the oldest university, established in 700 BCE. The kings governed the universities and each teacher had full autonomy in their respective subjects (Teachers were recognized authorities). Chanakya, Paanini and Acharya Charaka learned and became renowned teachers in the university. Nalandha - located in current day Bihar. It was internationally recognised at the time and more than 10500 students studied at a time. 60 subjects and more were taught here. Students came to learn from India and all over the world. It had a huge library and huge dorms for students with all facilities. It was founded by King Shakraditya of the Gupta Dynasty in 5th century AD.
Geniuses: Indian astronomers knew that the earth was round and it revolved around the Sun, 1000 years before Copernicus. The approximate speed of light is mentioned in the Rg Veda . "Zero" is mentioned in the Chandas shastra of Pingala in 200 BC. There were several towering intellects who contributed greatly to the knowledge systems prevalent to this day.
Aryabhatta was a master in Astronomy and Math. He was a student of Nalandha- later became the Head teacher. He postulated the earth is round and the Moon is dark and shines because of the sun, the scientific explanation for eclipses, the value of Pi (3.1416), value of Sines and the Sine function and expression of large numbers in words. Acharya Charaka was an exponent of medical system "kayachikitsa". He believed in the theory that "Physicians entering the body of a patient with a lamp of knowledge and understanding, could treat diseases better". He prescribed medicines to restore the imbalances created by the Doshas- Vaada, pitta and kapha. He practised preventative medicine (Great timing as we're taking precautions to prevent the prevailing CoronaVirus). He authored the Charaka samhita and Agnivesa tantra. He was a master in genetics and anatomy. Acharya Susruta was the father of surgical medicine. He was an expert anesthesiologist. He conducted surgeries for Cataract, brain surgeries, plastic surgeries,Artificial limbs, c-sections. His susruta samhita gives tips for more than 300 types of surgeries/operations. He designed over 125 types and more instruments from jawbones of animals and birds. Bharathwaja Rishi was a contemporary of SriRama. He was an expert in Aeronautics and wrote the book "Yantra sarvasva.". Bhaskaracharya the 2nd- He was a master in Algebra, Geometry and astronomy. His works are compiled as "surya siddhanta". He wrote on the force of gravity and defined the center of gravity. Patanjali was the father of yoga, to control the fluctuating thoughts in the mind. He postulated the 8 points-Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranaayama,Pratyahara,Dharana, Dhyana and Samaadhi.
We saw a video of the genius contributors on our Ancient India
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2KsoNr1Ryl
Bhagavad Gita: We learnt verses 29 and 30.
Regards
Keerthi Kobla
Abhirami Shrinivas
