Vedic Wisdom Talks

Real courage! As Sanjay walked back to Hastināpur, he came upon Krpā, Asvattāma & Krtavarmā. The 3 warriors were happy to see Sanjay & anxiously enquired about Duryodhana. Sanjay informed them of how the king had entered the lake within forest. When Asvattāma heard this, he lamented: O Sanjay, Duryodhana must not have known that we are still alive. Otherwise, there is no need for him to be morose, because the four of us together are quite competent to vanquish our enemies   They then came back to Kaurav camp & informed the outpost guards, as well as the women & old men about the end of the battle. When they heard about the deaths of their husbands, the wives of Dhārtarāshtrās that were killed that day began to cry very piteously while tearing their bodies with their nails & beating their heads with hands. Untying their braided hair, the widows continued to indulge in profuse lamentations while the men quickly dismantled the camp to go back to Hastināpur ...

Self-destruction! Pāndava warriors triumphantly blew their conch & praised Sahadev highly for exterminating wicked Sakuni. As Sakuni’s followers rushed at Sahadev to gain revenge, Bhima & Arjun intercepted them & so the Gāndhara horse soldiers were quickly killed   Duryodhana became enraged after witnessing Sakuni’s death & so he gathered the remnants of Kaurav army & led them to attack Pāndava army. However, when the remains of Kaurav army attacked, instead of gaining revenge, they met with destruction. Duryodhana was already somewhat dazed due to his numerous wounds. When he saw the complete annihilation of his army & heard the victory shouts of Pāndava warriors, he at last decided to give up fighting & flee from the battlefield   Because his horse had been killed, Duryodhana proceeded on foot towards the east, taking with him only his mace. As he walked, Duryodhana’s heart burnt with grief while thinking over the advice of Vidura had fo...

Wickedness! After Salya’s death, Maharaj Yudhisthira continued to massacre Kaurava soldiers. Salya’s younger brother then rushed at the Pāndava king hoping for revenge, but his head was cut-off. Entire Kaurava army panicked & retreated from the battlefield, Sakuni took his army & came to fight. Picking his mace Bhima came to crush 21000 Kaurav foot soldiers   Salva, the king of mlecchas, rushed at the Pāndava army while riding upon his gigantic elephant & proceeded to afflict Pāndava soldiers so severely that they soon began retreating from the battle. Dhristadyumna rushed to check Salva & by repeatedly piercing his elephant, he forced the mleccha king to turn away   Bhima, Satyaki & Shikhandi surrounded Salva’s elephant & pierced it with innumerable arrows. Finally, as the elephant began to weaken, Dhristadyumna quickly came & smashed it over the head with his mace. With its skull split open, the colossal elephant fell dead. Satyaki then ...

Faith in Krsna’s words! To counter Salya, Yudhisthira ordered Nakula & Sahadev to guard his chariot wheels, Bhima to stay in front, Arjun at back, and Dhrstadyumna & Satyaki to remain at his sides. Thus, ensuring his advantage over Salya, Yudhisthira proceeded towards him while all Pāndava heroes joyfully blew their conch shells Thereafter as Yudhisthira confronted Salya with unprecedented rage, he impetuously rushed at him while ruthlessly slaughtering thousands of Kaurava soldiers standing on way. As the two great kings furiously battled one another, no one could tell whether Yudhisthira would regain the kingdom of earth after killing Salya, or whether Salya would bestow the kingdom upon Duryodhana after killing Yudhisthira   Salya broke Yudhisthira’s bow, but after picking up another one, the Pāndava king broke his opponent’s bow in retaliation. As Salya struggled to pick another bow, Yudhisthira killed his horses & cut down his flag. Seeing this, the Kaura...

Be part of Solution not Problem! Kaurava army began to flee, but Salya appeared on the scene. After rallying his soldiers, he launched a ferocious attack upon Pāndava forces. A great battle took place between Maharāj Yudhisthira, Bhima, Draupadi’s sons, Nakul & Sahadev on one side and Salya, Kripā, Asvattāma, Krtvarma, Duryodhana & Sakuni on the other   Salya killed Sahadev’s horses, but in retaliation Madri’s son jumped from his chariot & killed Salya’s son with his sword. Salya attacked Yudhisthira & so Bhima came with his mace upraised. That celebrated iron mace had eight sides & was bedecked with numerous jewels, as well as the blood and fat of countless slain warriors. With it Bhima crushed Salya’s horses to death. In retaliation Salya angrily hurled a lance that passed right thro’ Bhima’s armour & pierced his chest. Without wavering in the least, Bhima pulled out the lance and used it to kill Salya’s driver   Upon seeing this display of ...

Compassion! When Maharāj Yudhisthira heard the joyful shouts of the Kauravas, he could understand that Salya has been installed as their new commander-in-chief. He went to Sri Krsna & said: Dear Lord, we are Your surrendered souls & ever obedient servants. Please do whatever is required for my welfare & that of my brothers   Sri Krsna replied: Dear Yudhisthira, Salya is a very great warrior, perhaps even superior to Bhisma, Drona & Karna. In fact, I consider him to be superior even to Arjun, Bhima & Sātyaki. I do not see any of your allies who can kill him. Only you are a fit match for Salya & so you must fight with him tomorrow. After killing him, you will be able to enjoy the kingdom of the earth. Don’t think of exhibiting compassion for your maternal uncle. You have already crossed over three vast oceans, represented by Bhisma, Drona & Karna. Now you must be careful not to sink into the calf’s hoof print that is represented by Salya. After sayin...