Panic?

 

Drona said to Duryodhana: Be assured that I will fight to the best of my ability. As Kauravas’ anger has been aroused by Jayadratha’s killing, I suggest we continue fighting into the night, in the hope that we can turn the tide against the Pāndavās

 

Thereafter, a great conflict took place as Duryodhana, who was determined to fight till death, penetrated Pāndava ranks & began to create a great massacre. Soon Pāndava soldiers began fleeing in fear & so Maharāj Yudhisthira released two arrows that broke Duryodhana’s bow into 3 pieces & then pierced him very deeply. After that, by discharging a very fierce arrow, Yudhisthira made Duryodhana sit down upon his chariot, bereft of consciousness

 

Seeing this, Pāndava soldiers shouted with joy. Duryodhana, however, quickly recovered and once again rushed at Yudhisthira as Drona came to support him. The sun had set long ago, and in the darkness, Drona blazed up so fiercely that no one dared to face him in battle. This Drona ravaged the Pāndava army that night, killing the Kaikeyas, Dhrishtadyumna’s sons, tens of thousands of chariot warriors, thousands of elephants & many millions of cavalry & infantries

 

At the same time Bhima created a great slaughter amongst the Kauravas while traversing the battlefield on foot. When two Dhārtarāshtrās-Durmada & Duskara-rushed at him, Bhima killed Durmada’s horses & driver. Durmada got into Duskara’s chariot & the two brothers rushed to Bhima. And yet, amazingly, simply by stamping it with foot, Bhima made their chariot sink into the earth. Then, as Karna and many other Kaurava warriors looked on, Bhima angrily pounded the two Dhārtarāshtrās to death with his fists

 

Somadatta had become mad with rage after the death of his son, Bhurisravā. He angrily challenged Sātyaki by vowing to kill him that very night without fail. Sātyaki returned the challenge, and at that time Duryodhana and Sakuni arrived with a large army to support Somadatta. Dhrishtadyumna then came with his army to help Sātyaki and thereafter a very fierce battle took place

 

After a short time, Sātyaki was able to overwhelm Somadatta with his showers of arrows, making him fall unconscious. As Somadatta’s driver took him away, Drona rushed at Sātyaki & so Yudhisthira and others came to his aid

 

Drona quickly scattered Pāndava army & so Arjun rushed at him. Due to this Pāndava forces rallied, but Drona proceeded to fight so vigorously that he once again routed the entire Pāndava army in Arjun’s presence. Bhima, Arjun & Sātyaki then rushed at Drona, followed by other leading warriors

 

Asvattāma attacked Sātyaki & in turn Ghatotkaca charged at Drona’s son while riding upon his 8-wheeled chariot and surrounded by one akshauhini of Rāksasās. When the Kaurava soldiers saw these fierce Rāksasās approach, they trembled with fear. When the Rāksasās showered huge rocks & other weapons from the sky, the entire Kaurava army including the Dhārtarāshtrās and Karna, panicked, scattering in all directions

 

When we are faced with sudden calamity, unless we are trained to absorb such situations & respond, we would just panic and react. When we cannot make sense of things, our usual reaction is that of hysteria, but instead it should be sensible in the worst of times. We can thus minimize the affect or negate at the best

 

Gita wisdom can train us in such situations. It can equip us with a spiritual understanding of our place & purpose in the world. We are all parts of a bigger whole & we are meant to do our parts in a cosmic order whose underlying wisdom far exceeds ours. With this understanding, we can shift our focus from trying to make sense of things to trying to make sense in things

 

Instead of asking “Why is this happening to me?”, we can query about “What can I do to make things better?” This changed question can decrease the hold of negative emotions on our mind, thereby freeing us to take whatever small steps we can as parts of the solution. If we act thus in a mood of service & contribution, we will eventually discover that things have become better, and we have become stronger & wiser

 

Very much applicable to the younger generation. Thoughts?

#gameoflife