Grudge-The heaviest thing to hold!

Asvattāma hurriedly yoked horses to his chariot & set out, as Krpa & Krtvarma anxiously followed him. He soon arrived at Pāndava camp & saw a gigantic being with enormous head with flames emanating from his eyes, nose, ear & mouth

 

Asvattāma fearlessly attacked that awesome being with his celestial weapons but failed in all his attempt. He thought to himself: Krpa had warned me that persons who don’t listen to their elders must lament later. The frustration of my attempt must be due to its inherently sinful nature. I wonder who is this astonishing being that has defeated me. Obviously further exertion on my part will be useless until my destiny is favourable. Let me now take shelter of my worshipful Lord Siva & seek his guidance

 

Asvattāma got down from his chariot & fervently prayed to Lord Siva offering his body, mind & soul. Lord Siva personally appeared & smilingly said: Dear Asvattāma, there is no one dearer to me than Sri Krsna. In fact, it was because of my affection to Sri Krsna that I protected the Pancālas during great battle by utilizing my mystic powers in various ways. Now, the destined life span of Pāncalas has run out. To fulfil your ardent desire, I’ll now enable you to act instrumentally for their destruction

 

Saying this Lord Siva handed Asvattāma a wonderful sword & then disappeared. Being thus empowered, Asvattāma blazed with intense energy. He returned to the gate of the Pāndava camp & saw Krpā & Krtvarma waiting to assist him

 

Asvattāma instructed: I’ll now enter the Pāndava camp & create a great massacre of the Pāncālas. You should both remain here so

that you can kill anyone who tries to escape. Thereafter, by the mercy of Lord Siva, Asvattāma was able to stealthily enter Pāndava camp & first entered Dhristadyumna’s tent. He saw the son of Drupada peacefully sleeping on an excellent bed covered with a very costly sheet upon which fragrant flowers were strewn

 

Asvattāma angrily gave him a violent kick, making the Pāncāla prince open his eyes. Recognizing that it was son of Drona standing before him, Dhrsta feverishly tried to get out of bed, but Asvattāma quickly grabbed him by hair & pushed him onto floor. As Asvattāma proceeded to kick him on chest, so that he would die like an animal rather than a warrior, Dhrsta tried to fight back

 

However, due to being overwhelmed by fear & drowsiness, Dhrsta could not fight & pleaded: O son of Drona, kindly kill me with a weapon so that I will attain an exalted destination. Asvattāma harshly replied: The killer of his Guru can never hope to achieve such a noble end. With the series of violent kicks with his heels, Asvattāma forced Dhrsta to give up his life

 

Asvattāma then ran amok. He then killed Yudhāmanyu & Uttamaujā. Shikhandi, Satānika, Sutasoma, Srutkarmā were killed next. Thousands of Pāncala warriors including five sons of Draupadi were killed & before half of the night was over, not a single Pāndava or Pāncāla warrior remained alive

 

Asvattāma felt highly exhilarated after having avenged the death of his father by killing all the Pānclas. He then met Krpā & Krtvarma, embraced them & suggested that they take this good news to Duryodhana. The three then joyfully departed

 

When others hurt, we are filled with anger & resentment and hold grudge against them. Just as heavy weights burden us physically, grudges burden us emotionally. A grudge is the heaviest thing to hold because under its weight, our whole life gets crushed by negativity & misery

 

Just as putting aside weights offers physical relief, putting aside grudges offers emotional relief. But our mind doesn’t let it go-how can the person who has hurt me so much can go scot-free? Letting go of grudges doesn’t mean letting others go scot-free, it essentially means letting ourselves go free

 

Unburdened by grudges, we give ourselves the freedom to act according to life’s higher purpose, not with the petty purpose of getting back at others. Guided by that higher purpose, we may well do the needful to correct wrongdoers, but we will do it without animosity

 

Thoughts? #gameoflife

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