Clarity!


Because Yudhisthira had knowledge of mysteries of dice, he soon endeared himself to King Virāta as well as princes & other royal attendants. Whatever he won by gambling, he distributed it to his brothers & Draupadi. Similarly, Bhima was able to distribute food, Arjun valuable clothes & Sahadev milk products, to his brothers & Draupadi. Nakula distributed ample rewards Virāta gave him pleased with his service. Draupadi also tried to look after her husbands as best as she could


Pāndavās lived comfortably, but were always on alert afraid of being discovered. At the same time, they were always expecting danger from their enemy, Duryodhana. During 4th month of their stay, a great  festival in honor of Lord Brahmā was organized. 1000’s of huge wrestlers assembled in Matsya capital from all over the world, desiring to display their prowess


Amongst visiting wrestlers was one who towered over all others, named Jimuta. When this giant challenged other wrestlers, none dared come before him. When Virāta saw Jimuta, proudly strutting around arena without finding a single combatant, he ordered his cook Vallabha (Bhima) to answer the challenge. Although Bhima was reluctant to exhibit his strength openly, he didn’t want to disobey King’s order


Bhima boldly entered the arena & challenged Jimuta. As contest began, both wrestlers exhibited their extraordinary prowess hoping to gain victory. Indeed, as they gradually displayed their skills & energy, they were pleased to find that they had obtained worthy opponents


The two giants enthusiastically beat each other with their fists, threw one another on ground, squeezed tightly in their embrace. They would slap, kick & jab each other


Finally, Bhima grabbed Jimuta while letting out a terrible roar. Picking him over his head, Bhima whirled him around 100 times until Jimuta lost consciousness from centrifugal force. At last Bhima dashed giant wrestler to ground, forcing him to give up his precious life


King Virāta & other spectators were amazed to witness Bhimā’s extraordinary prowess & delighted as well. The King joyfully presented Vallabha many valuable gifts as reward for his victory. Bhima then defeated some more wrestlers who dared fight with him & when finally there were no human combatants, Virāta had him battle with tigers, lions & elephants


Sometimes we are also torn between executing our duty versus dharma. It seems following one is at loggerhead with the other & we are overwhelmed in deciding what to do. Bhima as a Kshatriya was supposed to fight but as a Pāndava in exile & to remain incognito, it was a huge risk to fight and show his strength in public


Such internal tension requires inner stability & connecting with the Supreme Lord or his pure devotees. Taking shelter of the spiritual master paves clarity on what to do. Arjun was similarly confused when he was to fight his family members at Kurukshetra but surrendering to Lord Krsna gave him clarity on what he should do


Thoughts? #gameoflife

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