Vedic Wisdom Talks

Blame or take responsibility! After Bhima was defeated & insulted by Karna, he went to Arjun and requested him to fulfill his vow to kill the Suta’s son. Arjun approached Karna, who was mounted upon a new chariot. While standing at some distance he said: O wretch! Why have you acted so basely by abusing Bhima after defeating him? Just prior to that Bhima had vanquished you, and yet he did not utter any harsh words. While Abhimanyu was engaged in fighting with numerous warriors, you had broken his bow, enabling him to be unfairly killed. I hereby vow to avenge this act by killing your dear son Vrsasena, in your presence! Saying this, Arjun departed, and as he went along Sri Krsna praised him very highly for his heroic fighting that day. Sri Krsna pointed out the huge pile of dead bodies, broken chariots and shattered weapons & said: Dear Arjun, you have performed a superhuman task by accomplishing such a great massacre! Arjun replied: Dear Lord! I know that whatever has been don...

  Cause of all Causes!   Witnessing Jayadratha’s death, Kaurava warriors became highly enraged. When Arjun continued attacking their army, Krpā & Asvattāma came to oppose him. Arjun did not want to kill his former teacher and son of his other Guru & so he released his arrows mildly. Still, Krpā became so covered by Arjun’s arrows that he soon lost his strength and fainted on the floor of his chariot   Thinking that his master might have been killed, Krpā’s driver quickly took him away from the battlefield and so Asvattāma also desisted from fighting out of fear. When Arjun saw how Krpā had fallen down on his chariot, tears came to his eyes. He exclaimed: O Krsna! To hell with the life of Kshatriya, because it forces one to fight with a Brāhmanā and his own guru! Just as good disciples reward their spiritual masters and thus attain exalted destinations, wretched persons like me who assault their guru must certainly go to hell!   While Arjun was thu...

  Bigger Plan!   Sri Krsna revealed the secret of Jayadratha’s birth, saying: Dear Arjun! Jayadratha’s father is Vrddhaaksatra & when he was born, a voice from sky announced: O King! This boy will become a great Kshatriya who is worthy of your dynasty. Still, an illustrious hero will one day cut off your son’s head as he is engaged in battle. After hearing this prophecy, Vrddhaksatra became very aggrieved   After thinking over the matter deeply, Vrddha summoned all his relatives & made the following proclamation: Whoever causes my son’s head to fall to the ground while he is engaged in battle will find that his own head would break into a hundred pieces. After saying this Vrddha installed infant Jayadratha upon the royal throne & retired to the forest to perform austerities   My dear Arjun, Vrdhhaksatra is still undergoing penance not far from this battlefield, by the side of Samanta-pancaka lakes. After cutting off Jayadratha’s head, you must...

Eternal Savior! Many Kaurav warriors rushed at Arjun from all sides & so he invoked an Aindra weapon that caused thousands of shining arrows to fill the entire sky, practically blinding those who gazed upon it. Indeed, it appeared as if the sky had become filled with innumerable blazing meteors. Due to the assault of this wonderful weapon, a great number of Kaurav warriors were killed   Arjun continued towards Jayadratha while piercing Asvattāma, Karna, Krpā & the others. In fact, Arjun very soon came close enough to begin showering his arrows upon the King of Sindh. In response, Jayadratha became highly enraged & so rushed to meet his assailant, greeting him with sharp arrows. With his adversary now close at hand, Arjun swelled with uncheckable prowess & quickly cut off the head of Jayadratha’s driver and knocked down his royal emblem   The sun was just about to set, however, and so Sri Krsna said: My dear arjun, you’ll never be able to kill Jayadrat...

  Grudge!   Dhritrāshtra inquired: O Sanjaya, how is it that incomparably heroic Sātyaki, after having vanquished Drona, Karna & many other great heroes, could have been thrown down and dragged by Bhurisrāva, a much lesser warrior?   Sanjaya replied: O King! I will explain how this came to be. Surasena, the father Vasudeva, is a descendent in the Soma dynasty. Another son of Surasena is Sini. When Maharāj Devaka held a Swayamvara for his daughter, Devaki, Sini forcibly took her away on his chariot with the intention of handing her over to Vasudeva   Somadatta could not tolerate this & so he fought with Sini. Finally, after half the day had passed in battle. Sini threw Somadatta to the ground as they were wrestling. Then, as he held Somadatta by the hair, Sini drew his sword & kicked him in the head while thousands of kings watched. Sini then released Somadatta out of compassion, but thereafter Somadatta angrily sought revenge while worshipping...

  Supreme Dharma!   As Arjun cut off Bhurisravā’s arm, he spread a bed of arrows upon the ground with his left hand. Desiring to give up his life by following the vow known as Prāya (fasting until death), Bhurisravā sat down & began fixing his mind upon the Supreme Brahman while observing the vow of silence. Seeing this noble act, Kauravas began to praise Bhurisravā and condemn Sri Krsna & Arjun   Arjun could not tolerate hearing Dhārtarāshtrās speak like this & so he responded by saying: Do you not remember how I had vowed not to allow any of the principal Pāndava warriors to die in my presence? Why don’t you also consider how you had killed Abhimanyu after he was deprived of his armor & surrounded?   When Bhurisravā heard these words, he shamefully hung his head down. Sri Krsna, then gave the son of Somadutta His blessings saying: O great hero, you may now give up your material body without remorse. I guarantee that, after death, you wil...

  Pretense Vs Reality!   When Bhima saw Karna hiding behind a chariot, he waited for him to come out. Karna suddenly rushed out with a vengeance, bow in hand. As he was without weapon, Bhima hastily retreated, taking shelter amongst heaps of elephants that had been slaughtered by Arjun, since Karna’s chariot could not go there. Bhima picked one of dead elephants & held it over his head so that he looked like Hanumān holding a peak of Gandhamādana mountain. Karna cut that elephant to pieces with arrows & in retaliation, Bhima hurled at him whatever part of elephant’s body remained in his hands   Two warriors fought with each other with great gusto. Bhima remembered how Arjun had vowed to kill Karna & Karna also remembered his promise to Kunti devi, and so they desisted to attack one another fatally   Sri Krsna pointed out to Arjun that Yudhisthira has been left unprotected as Sātyaki also left him to fight. When he saw unfatigued Bhurisravā att...

  Controller Vs being Controlled!   Duryodhana ordered seven more of his brothers to come to Karna’s rescue, but as they rushed at him, Bhima killed each one with a single arrow. Witnessing this, Vidura’s advice came to Karna’s mind, but still he mounted another chariot to continue fighting with Bhima, who cut-off Karna’s armor so that both warriors faced each other unclad & covered with blood   All others stopped fighting to watch this fascinating duel-even Sri Krsna, Arjun, Krpā, Asvattāma, & Bhurisravā. As Bhima continued to successfully counter Karna’s arrows, they applauded him very enthusiastically. Duryodhana ordered seven more brothers to come to Karna’s aid, including Vikarna & Chitrasena, and they soon surrounded Bhima   Bhima quickly released seven arrows that pierced their hearts & continued flying through air after taking away their lives. Actually, Bhima was very aggrieved that he had to kill Vikarna, for this pious son of Dh...

  Gain of intelligence Vs Loss of false ego!   As Duryodhana saw Karna dazed by Bhima’s incessant onslaught, he ordered his brother Durjaya to quickly go to Karna’s rescue. However, as Durjaya rushed towards Karna showering arrows, Bhima effortlessly killed him. While weeping in grief, Karna respectfully circumambulated Durjaya’s dead body & then mounted another chariot sent for him   Regaining composure, Karna once again attacked Bhima with arrows. Bhima suddenly hurled his mace, killing Karna’s horses & then knocked his flag & killed his driver, forcing him to abandon his chariot. After getting down, Karna stood on ground with bow in hand. Seeing that Karna was once again in vulnerable position, Duryodhana sent his brother Durmukha. As Bhima saw Durmukha coming, with nine arrows he sent him to the abode of Yamarāj With tears in eyes, Karna momentarily refrained from fighting   Bhima took advantage of this & pierced Karna deeply, forcing ...

  Emotional outburst – It hurts!   Hearing Bhima’s roar, all Pāndava warriors triumphantly blew conch shells & shouted with joy. Duryodhana went to Drona on a swift chariot. With great anger he said: O Preceptor! Arjun, Sātyaki & Bhima have approached Jayadratha after vanquishing our soldiers. How could you let them defeat you & then pass right thro’ your army? Do you not know that all our warriors harshly criticize you for this grievous lapse? Anyways, let us forget what has passed. Now pls instruct me about what should be done for Jayadratha’s protection?   Drona replied: To protect Jayadratha is certainly our foremost duty, but I wish to remind you that all our present sufferings were brought about because you made Sakuni challenge Yudhisthira to gamble at the dice board. That dice game was the preliminary contest, but this war is the real gambling match wherein Jayadratha has become the stake & the deadly arrows are the dice. Go now, my dear Du...

Protection!   Drona assumed that Bhima would offer him respect, just as Arjun had done. Still, as a matter of course, he challenged: O Bhima! Your brother Arjun had penetrated the Kaurava army with my permission, but even though you consider yourself a great hero, you will never be able to do so   Enraged Bhima responded: You wretch of Brahmana, although I formerly respected you like a father, I will now treat you as my enemy for speaking so abusively. He then violently hurled his mace, forcing Drona to jump & save himself from being smashed along with his chariot. As Bhima proceeded to inflict heavy causalities upon Kaurava army, Drona mounted another chariot   The Dhārtarāshtrās came & surrounded Bhima. While rushing at Bhima, Dushasana hurled a fierce spear. Bhima easily baffled it & then retaliated by killing seven of Dhritrāshtra’s sons. The remaining Dhārtarāshtrās continued to release showers of arrows, but when Bhima killed four more of the...