Hari Om! Parents,
Reminder: Please sign up for the Grade 6 Annadanam Seva on April 27th, details are posted on the Parents WA group.
Week 22 Class
Children wrote this Likhita Japa at the start of class - "Sri Krishna Sharanam Mama". Encourage your child to do likhita japa daily.
Shlokas
We started with Om chanting and then chanted Sahana vavatu, Vakratunda mahakaya, Saraswati namastubhyam, Guru brahma, Sarva mangala mangalye (ref. My Prayers book pg 39).
Vasudeva sutam Devam (ref. Bala Vihar Handbook pg 15, verse 5).
Mahabharata
Drona Parva -
Day 11 summary: On the advice of Karna, Duryodhana appoints Drona as the commander-in-chief of the Kaurava forces. Duryodhana asks Dronacharya to capture Yudhistira and bring him as a slave. He planned to send the Pandavas into another 13 years of exile. With a sense of misplaced loyalty, Drona agrees to this plan. The Pandavas are shocked to hear this news from spies and decide to protect Yudhistira. The Pandavas form the "Krauncha vyuha" and Kauravas form the "Shakata vyuha". At the end of the day, Dronacharya is not able to capture Yudhistira. Duryodhana speaks harshly to him.
Day 12 summary: Duryodhana deploys the Narayani Sena. The Samsaptakas, the powerful warriors from the Trigarta kingdom led by Susharma, attack Arjuna. Arjuna uses the celestial weapons to counter them. Bhagadatta, who has a boon from lord Shiva that ensures his immortality while mounted on his elephant, attacks Arjuna. On the advice of Krishna, Arjuna dismounts Bhagadatta from the elephant by killing it and then kills him.
Day 13 summary: Drona deploys the Kaurava forces in the Chakravyuha formation. The Trigarta army diverts Arjuna away from the formation. Arjuna and Krishna were the only ones on the Pandavas' side who knew how to enter and destroy Chakravyuha. Abhimanyu learns how to break the vyuha while in his mother's (Subhadra) womb, as Arjuna described to her. However, he never learns how to destroy the formation, as Arjuna stops the narration upon noticing that Subhadra fell asleep. Abhimanyu enters Chakravyuha hoping that his uncles will follow him to destroy it. Jayadratha with his army blocks the Pandavas from entering the formation. Abhimanyu, left alone, fights valiantly, and kills scores of Kauravas. When he ends up defenseless, he is killed by Dushasana's son. Arjuna returns to learn about his dear son Abhimanyu's death and vows to kill Jayadratha by the next evening or kill himself if he fails.
Day 14 summary: The Kauravas form a protection around Jayadrata. The Kauravas make every effort to stop Arjuna from killing Jayadratha, with the hope that the failure will lead to Arjuna killing himself. By the evening Arjuna fights his way to Jayadratha. Krishna blocks the sun with his chakra. The Kauravas relax briefly thinking that the sun has set, and Arjuna kills Jayadratha. Breaking the rules, fighting continues after dark. Gatotkacha using maya powers destroys many. Karna is forced to use the Shakti astra and kill Gatotkacha. Bhima is very sad to hear about his son's death but is consoled that Arjuna is now safe from Karna.
Day 15 summary: Drona, stung by the Duryodhana's accusations from the previous day, fights ferociously. He defeats the Chedis, the Kaikeyas, the Srinjayas, and the Matsyas. Bhima kills an elephant named Ashwathama and announces that he 'killed Ashwathama'. Drona goes to Yudhisthira for confirmation knowing fully well that Yudhisthira does not lie. Lord Krishna knows that Drona is vulnerable in grief, and advises Yudhisthira that a small lie that saves lives is better than the truth. Yudhishthira confirms that Ashwathama is dead, and adds in a whisper "The elephant". Drona puts down his weapons and sits down in grief. Dhristadyumna takes the opportunity and kills him. This concludes the Drona Parva.
Karna Parva -
Day 16 summary: Ashwathama proposed Karna's name for the next commander and Duryodhana immediately gave him the position. The sixteenth day of war dawned, and Karna arranged the army in the Makara vyuha. The immense Kaurava army had dwindled and did not look as big in size anymore. Arjuna arranged the reduced number of the Pandava army into a crescent vyuha. Karna faced Nakula and defeated him easily. He spoke cruelly to Nakula and the humiliated Nakula fled the battlefield. At the end of the day, Duryodhana was disappointed that the Pandavas were still alive. However he did not criticize Karna, instead he pacified his friend. Duryodhana asks king Salya to be Karna's charioteer and Salya agrees.
Day 17 summary: The day began with the duel between Karna and Yudhistira, who quickly lost, but Karna spared his life. Bhimasena attacked Karna who fainted, but Salya stopped Bhimasena from killing Karna by reminding him of Arjuna's oath. Bhimasena fought Dussasana and made him fall down from his chariot. Holding him on the ground Bhimasena ripped open his chest and drank Dussasana's blood. With Dussana's death, Bhimasena had fulfilled his oath and avenged Draupadi. Duryodhana was mad with grief over the death of his beloved brother. Karna challenged Arjuna to a fight. Lord Krishna assured Arjuna that victory would be theirs and blessed him. Arjuna sent the Agneyastra and Karna used Varunastra. Arjuna's Aindra was destroyed by Karna's Bhargavastra. Lord Krishna spoke to Arjuna as Narayana to Nara and asked him to send the Brahmastra. Surprisingly Karna was able to come out of it. Karna sent Nagastra at Arjuna. Lord Krishna made the chariot sink and the astra hit Arjuna's crown saving his life. Soon Fate made the curses against Karna come true. He tried to invoke the Brahmastra against Arjuna but due to Parashurama's curse, he could not remember the incantation. Suddenly his chariot's wheel got caught in the mud and it began to sink. Karna remembered that when he had killed a Brahmin's cow, he had been cursed to die when he was least prepared for an attack. Karna asked Arjuna to stop fighting till he could be ready to fight back. Lord Krishna laughed and reminded Karna that he had killed Abhimanyu unfairly. He did not deserve to be treated fairly so Lord Krishna commanded Arjuna to kill him. Arjuna used his divine astra and finally killed Karna. It was still the afternoon, and Duryodhana was heartbroken by the death of his beloved friend. He went to see Bhishma to find solace. Bhishma consoled Duryodhana and revealed Karna's true story. Bhishma told him that Karna was a Kaunteya, the eldest son of Kunti. This news shocked Duryodhana, who was moved by Karna's story of sacrifice.
On hearing the news of Karna's death, Yudhistira was overjoyed. The Pandava army celebrated the victory of Arjuna. This concludes the Karna Parva and we paused the story here.
India Sacred Land
Activity - Forgive and Ask Forgiveness. Each child wrote the names of those they have hurt and those who have hurt them. In a plate with a lighted lamp, all the children deposited their folded papers after asking for forgiveness and themselves forgiving others. The lamp symbolically represents the Holi fire. This act of forgiveness, after their introspection, freed their minds.
We concluded the session with Aarti and Pledge recitation in the Prayer Hall.
- Rashmi Kuroodi and Sangeetha Srikanth
Supplies needed for every class:- Bala Vihar Handbook, My Prayers book, the Junior Class Workbook Part 1 & 2, a notebook and pencils for likhita japa; everything in their Bala Vihar bag
*Reference books - Mahabharata by Rajagopalachari / Mahabharata by Kamala Subramaniam
