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 purity. I greatly fear false accusations & so I would prefer that she becomes wife of Abhimanyu, Sri Krsna’s favorite nephew

 

Virāta happily consented, as did Yudhisthira. Both kings sent out invitations for the royal wedding. The Pāndavās moved to a small town named Upaplavya, which was situated within Virāta’s kingdom. Lord Krsna, Balarām, Abhimanyu, Subhadrā & many other great Yadu heroes came there, so dis Drupada and his sons, the King of Kāsi and many other illustrious kings with their armies

 

Virāta entertained them all in the best royal style. At this time Indrasena arrived from Dvāraka with the Pāndavās chariots

 

The wedding of Uttarā & Abhimanyu took place in Virāta’s palace and Lord Krsna gave the Pāndavās gifts of indescribable value. After the completion of the fire sacrifice, Virāta offered not only his kingdom to the Pāndavās, but his very self as well

 

Finally, Maharāj Yudhisthira took whatever he had received from Lord Krsna & the other kings, and distributed it to the Brāhmanās

 

It was now time for Pāndavās after they had completed the period of their exile (12 years in forest & 01 year incognito), to reclaim their kingdom from Kauravas. This would set the course of the biggest war that happened on planet Earth ever

 

This finishes the Virāta Parva of epic Mahabharata, laying the foundation of the Udhyoga parva to start

 

We all face tough life situations testing our integrity and adherence to principles of self-control. We need to understand that more than self-control, it is our alignment to the higher purpose which will take us thro’ these situations without fall. Striving for a worthwhile cause gives us deep fulfillment & increases our endurance. We can thus understand ourselves better & act accordingly

 

A purposeful life saves us from weakness and aligns our actions for betterment of both the self & of others

 

Thoughts? #gameoflife

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