Vedic Wisdom Talks

Self-control or? Virāta realized how much he had offended Maharāj Yudhisthira. Desiring to please the Pāndavās, he offered his beautiful young daughter Uttarā to Arjun. He then humbly approached Yudhisthira & for the purpose of making an alliance, offered his entire kingdom to Pāndavās to rule. Virāta repeatedly embraced all Pāndavās with great affection & once again requested Arjun to accept the hand of his daughter in marriage   Arjun replied: O King! I shall happily accept Uttarā as my daughter-in-law   Virāta was a little disappointed & so he asked: My dear Arjun! Why are you unwilling to accept my daughter as your wife?   Arjun explained: I have been living with Uttarā for the past year & during that time I have always treated her like a daughter. Besides, since she has already attained the age of puberty, people will doubt whether she has remained a virgin while we were living together. By accepting her as my daughter-in-law, I am testifying to her p...

  Remorse!   As Virāta begged for forgiveness, Yudhisthira said: I’ve already forgiven you, as I know that powerful persons tend to act with unreasonable severity when insulted. Still, it is a fact that if my blood had fallen to the floor, without a doubt you would’ve been destroyed along with entire kingdom   Maharāj Yudhisthira’s bleeding finally stopped & some time later Brhannala (Arjun) entered royal court. After offering his respects to Virāta & Kanka, he stood silently. At that time the king once again glorified his son: I’m amazed at how Uttara could’ve defeated such great Kuru warriors   Uttara said: Father, it wasn’t I who defeated Kauravas. In fact, as soon as I saw them I ran away out of fear. But a certain son of a demigod came & stopped me. After instilling confidence in me, he got onto my chariot to fight. That powerful celestial hero threw entire Kaurav army into confusion & rebuked fleeing Duryodhana. After stupefying the warriors, he...

  Wisdom!   After Maharāj Yudhisthira (as Kanka) warning against, Virāta still intended to play the game of dice saying: I already want to give vast amounts of charity today on account of my son defeating the mighty Kauravas. What is the harm if I happen to lose a little at dice? Still Kanka warned: You should consider the inherent evil of gambling. Remember how Yudhisthira lost his empire while gambling   Virāta was insistent & so play began. While picking up dice, he bragged about how his son had single-handedly defeated all Kuru warriors. Yudhisthira said: This is not very surprising because Brhannala drove Uttara’s chariot   This comment irritated the king & he shouted: Foolish Brāhmanā, how can you compare a eunuch with my heroic son? I consider this to be a great insult! It is only in consideration of our friendship that I’m willing to forgive you. Let me warn you that if you want to continue living here, better be careful to never to say su...

  Reflections & Projections! As Kauravas set out for Hastināpur, Arjun followed them for a while to worship his superiors. After offering respects to Bhisma, Drona, Krpā & Asvattāma, Arjun released one last arrow that smashed Duryodhana’s crown into fragments. He then blew Devdutta conch & twanged his mighty Gāndiva, shattering hearts of enemies Arjun ordered Uttara to turn back to Matsya capital. At that time demigods departed for their abodes after glorifying him for his victory. Arjun soon caught up with cows & proceeded to escort them back to city. He said to Uttara: You’re only one who knows my true identity. When we return to the royal court, I want you to proclaim this victory as your own. Otherwise, if Virāta discovers that it was Pāndavās who were living with him as menial servants, he may become afraid & hide Arjun first went to the sami tree. Hanumān & other ferocious creatures departed into the sky, while the banner upon which they had perched su...

Real Values! Duryodhana approached Arjun & pierced him on forehead with an arrow. Although blood streamed from wound, Arjun simply became angrier & retaliated with swift volley of arrows. Then, when Vikarna suddenly charged at him, riding an elephant, Arjun pierced the beast on forehead, making him tremble violently before falling down dead. Vikarna left Arjun pierced Duryodhana in chest with a fierce arrow that made him vomit blood. At this all Kaurav warriors panicked & fled. Duryodhana was alarmed at being left unprotected & quickly turned his chariot around to retreat Arjun chastised wicked son of Dhritrāshtra: How can you sacrifice your honor as Kshatriya by turning your back & fleeing from battlefield? Come back & fight with me. Struck by these harsh words, Duryodhana turned around & once again stood ready to fight Karna, Bhishma, Drona, Krpā, Dushasana & other warriors came to their King’s aid so that Arjun soon became besieged by showers of arrow...