Vedic Wisdom Talks

  Adherence!   Upon his arrival at Kuru capital, Bhisma handed over Amba, Ambalika & Ambika to Satyavati. Being very pleased with her stepson, Satyavati smelled his head & due to great affection tears of joy came to her eyes. Thereafter, when the marriage day approached, Amba shyly came to Bhisma & said: I have already been secretly proposed by Salva, without my father's knowledge. Because I accepted him as my husband within my heart, I beg you to let me go, so that I can marry him   Bhisma consulted Satyavati & his ministers & then agreed to release Amba. Having been provided with some brahmanas & a maidservant as escorts, Amba went to the King of the Salvas, confident that he would accept her. However, when Arnba presented herself before Salva, the king laughed & said: O princess, I could never marry a girl who was already offered to another. Because you were forcibly kidnapped by Bhisma, I cannot accept you. You had better return to ...

  Vocal!   At Duryodhana’s request to talk more about the warriors on Pāndava side, Bhisma responded by categorizing numerous warriors. While doing so, he said: Virata, Drupada and Dhristaketu (son of Sisupala) are maha-rathas. Bhima, Dhrishtadyumna, Kuntibhoja & Satyajit (son of Drupada) are ati-rathas. Of course, Arjun is the best of all ati-rathas, & his son, Abhimanyu is practically on equal level   Bhisma proceeded to describe Arjuna's incomparable prowess, and he also narrated his wonderful conquests & described his unrivaled celestial weapons. When assembled kings heard this & considered how Arjuna had Sri Krsna as his ally, they became disheartened   Bhisma concluded: On Kaurava side only Drona & I are capable of contending with Arjuna, but since he is youthful & we are old and worn out in comparison, he must be considered superior. Still, I will mainly fight with Arjuna and Krsna, just to keep them engaged. However, even if Shikhandi ...

Self-assessment! UIuka took Maharaja Yudhisthira’s permission & departed. When he reached the Kaurava camp, he related to Duryodhana all that was said by the Pandavas & Sri Krsna. After hearing the Pandavas' messages, Duryodhana ordered his army to get ready so that the battle could begin early next morning   Similarly, on Pāndava side, Dhrishtadyumna prepared the army so that it would be ready to begin fighting the next day. Duryodhana went to Bhisma and asked him to estimate the relative strengths of the great warriors on both sides. Bhisma responded with a long list of warriors & their ratings. While doing so, he said:   Krtavarrna, Salya, Bahlika, Drona & Asvatthama are ati-rathas, whereas Satyavan, Alambusa and Vrsasena (the son of Karna) are maha-rathis. Karna is a foolish braggart who will surely be vanquished by Arjuna, and thus I consider him to be just half of a ratha   Drona confirmed this by saying: Karna frequently retreated from b...

  Depend on self! Inspite of Sri Krsna telling UIuka to return to Duryodhana & simply inform him that Pandavas will answer his challenges, Uluka began to repeat Duryodhana's message a third time At this Arjuna became so agitated that he had to wipe perspiration from his forehead. In fact, when other kings saw how excited Arjuna became, and because they once again had to hear Krsna & Arjuna insulted, they also burnt with rage. Dhrishtadyumna, Sikhandi, Satyaki, Ghatotkaca, the sons of Draupadi, Abhimanyu, Dhrastaketu, Bhima and Madri's twins jumped up from their seats with great agitation Bhirna gnashed his teeth while licking the corners of his mouth. As he squeezed his hands in anger, he vowed: Foolish messenger, you can assure Duryodhana that as sure as the sun shines, I will kill him & all his brothers in battle! Similarly, Sahadeva vowed to kill UIuka and his father, Sakuni. After composing himself, Arjuna smilingly told Bhima & Sahadeva:  My dear brot...

Make things worse! Sanjaya continued telling King Dhritarashtra what Duryodhana conveyed thro’ his messenger Uluka in Pandava’s court:   Next, Duryodhana challenged: O Krsna, let us see You exhibit once more the form that You displayed at our royal assembly hall. Such magic tricks will not help You save Your life on the battlefield   Duryodhana then said: O Bhima, I think it would have been better if you had remained a cook in Virata's court, but since you have come here to fight, let us see if you can make good your vow to drink Dushasana's blood   Sanjaya continued:   My dear King, your son gave similar boasting messages to other warriors on Pandavas' side. After doing so, he laughed out loud, being very proud of his cleverness in insulting others. Duryodhana then reminded Pandavas of injustices & hardships they had endured at his hands. He tauntingly challenged them to take revenge if they were able to do so   Your foolish son became int...

  Hypocrite! Duryodhana thro’ Uluka sent Yudhishthira a message by relaying a story which once Narada told Dhritrāshtra Once there was a wicked cat that lived by the side of the Ganga. One day, to fool the animals around him, the cat announced: My dear friends, I'm going to renounce all work. By practicing piety & austerity, I'll purify my heart. To make a show of being a great devotee, the cat stood on the banks of the river with folded hands, as if absorbed in meditation upon Supreme Lord As a result, within a short while, the cat managed to gain trust & confidence of all birds living there. When the birds came & congratulated him for his change of heart, the wicked cat felt as if his purpose was already accomplished. After seeing the birds worshiping cat, the mice also came & admired his saintly behavior. In fact, the mice decided that virtuous cat should become their protector, so that they could roam about free from fear of their enemies Addressing him as u...

  Boasting!   Prince Rukmi came to Pandavas’s camp and was welcomed by Maharaj Yudhisthira. Later, when all the kings had assembled, Rukmi confidently approached Arjuna and declared: If you and your brothers are at all fearful about fighting with the Kurus, please give up your anxiety, for I have come here to assist you. I have become the most powerful warrior on earth. If you like, everyone else can stand aside as spectators while I single-handedly vanquish the enemy and hand over the kingdom to Yudhisthira   Upon hearing these boasting words, Arjuna smilingly looked at Yudhisthira and Krsna, He then replied in a friendly tone of voice:  My dear Rukmi, I am not at all afraid, for I have my Gandiva bow and Sri Krsna is my ally. You must have heard of how I had defeated the Gandharvas, how I had exterminated millions of Danavas, and how I had vanquished the Kurus at Virata’s kingdom. Considering all this, why should I be afraid? My dear Rukmi, we do not need your...