Purpose Vs Pleasure

Sisupāla came next at Swayamvar of Draupadi, but as he attempted to string the bow, he fell to his knees exhausted. Jarāsandha came next but he too was thrown to ground by the spring of mighty bow. Salya faced the same & the crowd began making derisive comments about of Ksatriyās. At this time Arjun suddenly got up from the section of Brāhmanas & majestically strode toward the bow

Indeed, this caused quite a stir amongst Brāhmanas as some of them were pleased but others annoyed thinking that if Arjun fails it would be a disgrace for them. On other hand, many felt confident of Arjun’s success, appreciating his superior strength & having faith in his Brahmanical prowess. Arjun circumambulated the bow & after bowing his head to Lord Shivā, he firmly fixed his mind at the Lotus feet of Sri Krsna. He picked bow & strung it in an instant. After placing the arrow upon bowstring, he drew it back to his ear & carefully took aim

When Arjun released the arrow, it pierced fish target making it crash to ground after falling thro’ one of the openings in protective wheel. Witnessing this feat, that even the greatest of heroes couldn’t accomplish, there was a great uproar both in sky & in arena. 1000’s of Brāhmanas joyfully waved their upper garments, while celestials showered flowers. As musicians began to play, unsuccessful Kshatriyās let out a groan of despair

Lord Krsna was delighted seeing Arjun win & came to present him a white robe & flower garland. King Drupada felt exhilarated seeing the accomplishment & announced his intention to give his daughter to the Brāhmana. The assembled kings & princes looked at one another in bewilderment listening to this & began heatedly addressing each other-We should kill Drupada & Dhrstadyumna or else throw Draupadi into sacrificial fire. How can he insult us like this? Swayamvara of royal princesses are only meant for Kshatriyās & if we don’t rectify matters, the whole system will be disturbed

Kshatriyās picked weapons & rushed towards Drupada to kill him. Out of fear, Pāncāla ruler ran to the shelter of Brāhmanās & so Bhima & Arjun came forward to combat the onrushing kings & princes. Bhima tore a huge tree & rushed forward. Karna confronted Arjun & Salya opposed Bhima, while others headed by Duryodhana mildly fought with other Brāhmanās. Arjun released torrent of arrows that made Karna momentarily fall unconscious. He recovered soon & fought fervently

Seeing Arjun & Karna fighting with incomparable skill & energy, all were surprised. Karna asked-Are you personification of science of weapons, Parasurāma or Indra or Vishnu? Except for this & perhaps Arjun no one is capable to face me on battlefield. Arjun said-I’m just a Brāhmanā who is the foremost of warrior & wielder of weapons. I possess Brahmāstra & will vanquish you in battle

Karna considered Brahmāstra to be invincible & hearing this gave up fighting

We are caught in tension between purpose & pleasure. Purpose correlated with intelligence & pleasure with mind. If we value pleasure over purpose, we will be just a puppet of our senses and our efforts will be futile & foolish

Purpose defines us and when we are grounded in scriptural wisdom, we're purposeful action takers rather than lost followers of minds whims & fancies. Our false ego takes a back seat then

Thoughts? #gameoflife


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