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 suddenly disappeared. Uttara replaced the flag which bore symbol of a lion & put Pāndavās weapons back in the tree. Arjun once again tied his hair into a braid & put on bangles


After picking up reins of the chariot, Arjun said: Uttara, send cowherd men ahead & have them proclaim your victory. We will enter the city later after bathing horses & resting a while


Meanwhile Virāta after returning to his city enquired about his son Uttara. The palace ladies joyfully said: O King, taking only Brhannala with him, your son went to fight with great Kuru warriors that plundered your cows. Hearing this, Virāta became aggrieved & ordered his ministers to let the army set out at once to assist Uttara. He lamented: Since my son has entered battlefield with support of only a eunuch, I think he has surely been slain


Yudhisthira smilingly said: O King! With Brhannala as charioteer your son could defeat all demigods & demons combined, what to speak of mere band of mortals


Just then messengers arrived proclaiming Uttara’s victory & recovery of plundered cows. When Virāta heard this, he felt great ecstasy. After amply rewarding bearers of good news, he ordered entire city to be decorated. He asked his daughter Uttarā & her friends, musicians, princes to go out & welcome his son after dressing themselves gorgeously


On this happy occasion he asked Kanka (Yudhisthira) to play the game of dice with him. But, Yudhisthira said: One who is intoxicated with joy should not foolishly play with a cunning gambler


There are 2 ways to examine our actions:

-When we reflect on our past actions & evaluate what we did and what could have been done better, it protects us from repeating our mistakes


-When using our intelligence we understand which actions will lead to what consequences and thereby choose our actions wisely


Both are important & there should be a balance in our approach. Only reflecting on the past or projecting the future would be a confusing and we may get stuck in not doing anything


Thoughts? #gameoflife

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