Vedic Wisdom Talks

  Advise!   The son of Dhritrāshtra named Citrasena rushed at Bhima while riding his chariot. Bhima ran to meet him & while brandishing his upraised mace menacingly, he roared terrifyingly. When they saw Bhima’s ferocious feature, all Kaurava soldiers began to run away. When Bhima hurled his mace, Chitrasena managed to jump on ground, while his chariot, horses & driver were smashed to pulp. Vikarna quickly came back & took his brother away to safety   Bhisma rushed at Yudhisthira & seeing this, all Pāndava warriors considered their king to be already in the jaws of death. Yudhisthira showered his well-aimed arrows at Bhisma, as did Nakula & Sahadev, who were protecting his chariot wheels. Still, Bhisma killed Yudhisthira’s horses & he had to get on to Nakula’s chariot   As Bhisma continued showering his arrows, Yudhisthira ordered the Pāndava army to launch al all-out attack. The result, however, was that the Grandsire created a ...

                                          Path-forward!   Fighting fiercely, Krpā broke Cekitāna’s bow & killed his horses & driver. Cekitāna picked up his mace & after jumping from his disabled chariot rushed at Krpā with reckless abandon, killing his horses & driver. Krpā also jumped to ground & as he proceeded to release volleys of arrows, Cekitāna hurled his gigantic mace, hoping to kill his adversary. Krpā checked his mace’s progress by discharging 1000’s of arrows. Upon seeing his attempt foiled, Cekitāna unsheathed his sword   As Cekitāna impetuously rushed at him, Krpā threw down his bow, unsheathed his sword & ran to meet his assailant. When they met, Krpā & Cekitāna struck one another simultaneously with their swords, causing both to fall on ground unconscious, partly due to force of the blows & partly be...

  Temptation!   Asvatthāmā fought with Shikhandi & drove him from battlefield. Sātyaki attacked Rāksasa Alambusa. By employing an aindra weapon, Sātyaki forced him to flee. Dhrishtadyumna broke Duryodhana’s bow & killed his horses. The Kaurava king jumped from his chariot & rushed at Dhrishta wielding his upraised sword. Sakuni intervened, placing Duryodhana on his chariot & taking him away from the battlefield. Being left unopposed, Dhrishta created a great slaughter in Kaurava ranks   Great Atiratha Kritvarmā, fought with Bhima, but the heroic son of Vāyu soon killed his driver & horses and cut down his emblem. When Bhima proceeded to pierce Krtvarmā all over his body with arrows, the Yadu hero departed after getting on to Vrsaka’s chariot. Irāvan fought with Avanti kings, Vinda & Anuvinda. When his horses were slain by Ulupi’s son, Anuvinda got onto Vinda’s chariot. The 2 brothers continued to fight, showering their arrows, but Iravān soon kille...

  A cārya!   On the 7 th day of the war, while Kauravas were arranging their army, Duryodhana approached Bhisma & expressed anguish: O Grandsire! Yesterday Pāndavās easily penetrated our army & inflicted very heavy losses. In fact, my own wounds are still giving me much pain. Even more painful, however, is my grief at seeing how you & Drona stand aside as spectators while Pāndava warriors vanquish my soldiers without impediment. O Bhisma! I beg you to defeat Pāndavās for my sake. You should remember that it is your sacred duty to annihilate the enemy without giving sway to personal sentiment   Bhisma cheerlessly laughed & said: I’ll surely fight to the best of my ability against all the Pāndava warriors. However, you should not expect that such numerous & illustrious heroes will be easily defeated. Still, I hereby vow to give up all concern for my life & penetrate the Pāndava army, either to vanquish them or else be slain while attempting to do so...

  Vigilance!   When Maharāja Yudhisthira became very anxious not seeing either Bhima or Dhrishtadyumna, he ordered 12 great chariot warriors to penetrate the Kaurava army & come to their rescue. A formation called ‘Sucimukha’ (needle-mouthed) was arranged with Abhimanyu at the head, followed by Draupadi’s sons, the Kaikeyas, Dhrstaketu & a large army. Since Kaurava army had already been greatly afflicted by Bhima, this Pāndava force was easily able to penetrate their ranks   Drona came to check the Pāndava onslaught & so Bhima had Dhrishtadyumna get onto the chariot of one of the Kekaya kings to oppose him. Dhrishtadyumna rushed impetuously at Drona, but the preceptor immediately broke his bow. He picked up another bow, but as he began to release his arrows, Drona cut it in half & killed his 4 horses. Dhrishtadyumna quickly got down & then got on Abhimanyu’s chariot. After thus vanquishing his adversary, Drona proceeded to route rest of Pāndava...

  Law of Karma!   Next morning on the 6 th day of battle, King Yudhisthira ordered Dhrstadyumna to arrange the Pāndava forces in makara formation. Bhisma countered with crane-shaped formation. At the beginning of the day, Bhima & Arjun continued their massacre of Kaurava soldiers   Dhritrāshtra said to Sanjay: Since our warriors are repeatedly vanquished, despite them being protected by greatest military commanders-Bhisma & Drona-it must be due to destiny alone. Similarly, it must be due to will of the creator that Duryodhana never listened to the good advice given to him by Vidura, me & many others   Sanjaya replied: This great calamity has come about due to your own fault alone. Your foolish son couldn’t see the danger in creating enmity with Pāndavās. However, even though you could understand the dangerous consequences, you condoned Duryodhana’s sinister plans   That morning, while wandering thro’ the Kaurava ranks, creating a gre...

  Fear!   Asvatthāma confronted Arjun, hoping to take the pressure of Bhisma. Arjun was reluctant to fight whole-heartedly with Asvatthāma in consideration of his being a brahmana & the son of his teacher   Abhimanyu blazed up heroically killing many Kaurava warriors, and so Duryodhana’s son Laksmana, came to oppose him. Although Laksmana fought bravely, Abhimanyu soon killed his four horses & chariot driver. Krpā took Laksmana on his chariot & carried him out of the range of Abhimanyu’s arrows. All the while Bhisma was killing innumerable Pāndava warriors. Similarly, Sātyaki was creating a great slaughter in the Kaurava ranks   Duryodhana sent 10000 chariot warriors to attack Sātyaki, but with the use celestial weapons the Yadu hero quickly likked them all. After performing this wonderful feat, Sātyaki approached Bhurisravā, who responded by showering upon him innumerable arrows. Indeed, Bhurisravā attack was so violent that all the warriors supporting S...

  Reciprocation!   Bhisma continued chastising Duryodhana: Who else but you could hate the Supreme Lord & His devotees? Success always resides with Sri Krsna. Because He is now supporting the Pāndavās, there is absolute certainty that they will be victorious   Duryodhana said: Dear Grandfather, pls further describe the glories of Sri Krsna, for I’m eager to hear them   Bhisma said: It is Sri Krsna, in His expanded form as Mahā-Visnu, who generates the innumerable universes in seed-like forms. He enters each universe as Garbhodaksāyi Visnu & at last expands Himself as the all pervading Parmātma. The Ksirodakasāyi Visnu is the source of all the incarnations within the universe. It is unto Him that all the demigods look for protection. It is Sri Krsna whom all the great sages’ worship & meditate upon. It is His Supreme eternal abode that is their ultimate destination. You should also nourish your attraction for Krsna, for it is He who is the Supr...

  A devotee is always protected!   Duryodhana was depressed because of the death of his brothers. He sat silently for a long time, shedding tears of grief while absorbed in contemplation on the day’s events   Meanwhile, in Hastinapur, Dhritrāshtra inquired: My dear Sanjay, how is it that the Pāndavās are able to repeatedly vanquish my son’s mighty army? What austerities did they perform & what benedictions did they receive because of those austerities? Destiny is dealing me a heavy blow, for the extermination of my sons is certainly at hand   Sanjay replied: O King! You should not be surprised to hear how the Pāndavās are defeating your sons & their allies. Not only are they powerful warriors, but they are highly virtuous. Victory always takes the side of the righteous. Your sons are destined to be vanquished because they are so wicked and cruel. They are now reaping the harvest of their previous sinful acts   On the 4 th night of the gr...

                                                         Tactical withdrawal!   As Bhurisravā encountered Sātyaki, Duryodhana, his brothers as well as many Pāndava warriors entered the fray. Bhima turned to face Dhārtarāshtrās & they in turn showered arrows upon him. At that time a chariot arrived for him & so Bhima mounted it and rushed at Dhārtarāshtrās. When he saw Duryodhana afflicting his driver, Bhima became furious & broke Kaurava King’s bow in half   Duryodhana angrily picked up another bow & pierced Bhima in the chest with a powerful arrow, making him faint onto floor of his chariot. Bhima quickly recovered & after piercing Duryodhana, he attacked Salya so severely that he had to be carried away from battlefield   14 Dhārtarāshtrās ganged up on Bhima. Although he w...