Mahabharata - It all ends with a Dog's tale

 
That’s right..The story of Mahabharata starts with a dog's tale..and it ends with a dog’s tale.
This post is my interpretation from the end part as can be read originally here.

Below story demonstrates that Yudhishthira was a man of clear conscience. He was  also able to follow Dharma as it is supposed to be. His reasoning of everyone's failing shows his ability to clearly separate dharma and adharma with clear boundaries.

Here is the story...

After the death of Krishna, Pandavas too lost their interest in life. So they decided to renounce everything and started travelling towards heaven. A stray dog joined them somewhere and kept them company all along.

One by one the brothers and Draupadi fall on their way. As each one stumbles, Yudhishthira gives the rest the reason for their fall: 

• Draupadi was partial to Arjuna
• Nakula and Sahadeva were vain and proud of their looks,
• Bhima and Arjuna were proud of their strength and archery skills, respectively

Yudhishthira saw his dear ones fall and die. Yet, serenely he went on not giving way to grief, for the light of Truth burned bright before him. Yudhishthira knew what was Shadow and what was Substance.

The dog still followed Yudhishthira. This part of dog coveys the message that Dharma is the only constant companion in life's journey. Later, the dog reveals himself to be the god Yama (also known as Yama Dharmaraja).

It was Dharma who, in the shape of the dog, followed Yudhishthira up the wearisome mountain path, when his brothers and wife had gone leaving him alone.

Finally, when he reached a great height, Indra appeared in his chariot...
"Your brothers and Draupadi have arrived before you. You have lagged behind, burdened with your body. Ascend my chariot and go with me in the flesh. I have come to take you," said Indra.

But when Yudhishthira went up to take his seat in Indra's chariot, the dog also climbed up.
"No, no," said Indra. "There is no place for dogs in Swarga," and pushed the dog away.

"Then there is no room for me either," said Yudhishthira, and refused to enter the heavenly chariot if he had to leave his faithful companion behind.

Dharma had come to test Yudhishthira's loyalty and he was pleased with his conduct.

Finally, the dog vanished from sight and Yudhishthira reached Swarga.

Reincarnation

The commonly known idea of reincarnation, as it's understood in many discussions in current age, I think, is probably not  accurate interpretation from what it was talked about in the past. E.g Did Buddha really mean some soul passing form body to body?

Here, I'm just trying to make an honest attempt to see if we can get to it's conceptual idea.

We'll start with acknowledging the idea that there is no everlasting "self" or "soul".
If that's so, we wonder what is it that's being reincarnated and transferred from body to body?

I like to use the analogy of an eddy in a stream, a tiny whirlpool forming behind a rock or log in the water.  (source)

[Note: Eddies form when flowing water hits an obstruction, such as a rock or a log, and slows down. As the water slows down, it creates a mini whirlpool. Fish feed in this "whirlpool" because it collects a lot of food]

Now, we can regard this eddy as something distinct from the rest of the stream.
It has a life, it has behaviors.
It is born and it passes away.
We could even give it a name if we wanted to. Ed would be appropriate.

The thing about Ed is, there's nothing in particular about him that makes him fundamentally different from the rest of the stream. Can we reach into the stream and pull Ed out? No. Ed depends on the stream,
Eddie is just a manifestation of energy concentrated in a particular region of the stream.

Let's say the rock is moved and Ed ceases to exist. Where did Ed go?
It's sort of silly question. Because to ask where Ed went presumes that there is something particular about Ed that it can "go somewhere".
Ed wasn't anywhere in particular to begin with. It was just a concentration of energy.

Further, we can't even say that the water that once was Ed is now somewhere else, really, because the water was constantly passing through Ed.

Now let's say we put the rock in another spot in the stream. Another eddy forms. We'll name this one Flo.
Is Flo a reincarnation of Ed? 

Maybe some of the water that moved through Ed now moves through Flo. Maybe they behave similarly. Hell, it's the same rock that gave rise to them both.

The problem in asking this question, again, is the assumption there's something particular about Ed or Flo that we can identify as being the "essence" of them, something distinct from the stream.

This is the idea of reincarnation we are talking about. Reincarnation is just the manifestation of the universe in various forms.

Does reincarnation exist? Surely YES. It's just a way of describing the movement of energy. No supernatural mechanisms needed.

Karna and Arjuna..

Once Krishna and Arjuna were walking towards a village. Arjuna was pestering Krishna, asking him why Karna should be considered a role model for all Danas (donations) and not himself. Krishna, wanting to teach him a lesson snapped his fingers. The mountains beside the path they were walking on turned into gold. Krishna said "Arjuna, distribute these two mountains of gold among the villagers, but you must donate every last bit of gold". Arjuna went into the village, and proclaimed he was going to donate gold to every villager, and asked them to gather near the mountain. The villagers sang his praises and Arjuna walked towards the mountain with a huffed up chest. For two days and two continuous nights Arjuna shovelled gold from the mountain and donated to each villager. The mountains did not diminish in their slightest.

Most villagers came back and stood in queue within minutes. After a while, Arjuna, started feeling exhausted, but not ready to let go of his ego just yet, told Krishna he couldn't go on any longer without rest. Krishna called Karna. "You must donate every last bit of this mountain, Karna" he told him. Karna called two villagers. "You see those two mountains?" Karna asked, "those two mountains of gold are yours to do with as you please" he said,  and walked away.

Arjuna sat dumbfounded. Why hadn't this thought occurred to him? Krishna smiled mischievously and told him "Arjuna, subconsciously,  you yourself were attracted to the gold, you regretfully gave it away to each villager, giving them what you thought was a generous amount. Thus the size of your donation to each villager depended only on your imagination. Karna holds no such reservations. Look at him walking away after giving away a fortune, he doesn't expect people to sing his praises, he doesn't even care if people talk good or bad about him behind his back. That is the sign of a man already on the path of enlightenment".

This story especially rings true in this age of obscene wealth, where everyone and his dog are standing in line to help the "poor and the needy", yet all that goes on is a shallow vulgar display of wealth.

Source: Amar Chitra Katha

Mahabharata–Why did Hanuman protected Arjuna’s Chariot

 

We know that lord Hanuman was present and protected Arjuna’s chariot in the war of Mahabharata.

But very few know the story behind why did this happened. So the story goes something like this..

Arjuna was once on a  pilgrimage, touring the land with many saints. After covering various shrines, they reached Rameswaram, south India. 

During the age of Ramayana, lord Rama had established a Sivalinga there, seeking the  blessings of lord Siva before commencing his journey to Lanka to rescue his  wife Sita. With the help of the army of monkeys and bears, they constructed a bridge of stones and trees across the vast ocean.

Arjuna looked amazed at the remains of the bridge that had survived. He wondered, "Why did a great archer like Rama had to rely on creatures like monkeys and bears to build a bridge? Why couldn't he have instead bridged the distance with arrows?"

 

 

 

 

        None of the pilgrims had an answer.

 

 

 

 

Then, a small monkey who had been following the company for quite some distance laughed out and replied to his question. "A bridge of arrows?! O prince, are you aware of the might of the monkeys of old? Stalwarts like Sugreeva, Nala,  Neela, Angada and Hanuman adorned their ranks. No bridge of arrows could  have withstood their weight. Why, no bridge of arrows could even  withstand my weight, puny as I am!"

Arjuna was quick to take up what he perceived as an implied challenge. "Let us have a wager. I shall lay  down a bridge of arrows. I am willing to burn myself if it fails to bear your weight."

The monkey agreed. Arjuna, taking the aid of his famed quiver of inexhaustible arrows, laid down a bridge across the ocean. The monkey jumped onto it and no sooner had he walked ten paces than the  bridge collapsed.

Arjuna helped the monkey out of the water and asked  for another attempt. The monkey agreed.

Arjuna constructed another  bridge, this time laying his arrows closer to each other, and asked the  monkey to try again. The monkey set out on the bridge in the direction  of the island of Lanka yet again but the bridge collapsed.

Arjuna was  ashamed of himself. Not wasting any more time, he prepared a pyre and was about to step into it and give up his life, in accordance with the  terms of the wager when a youth held him back and stopped him.

"What  were you about to do, o mighty prince?", asked the boy, surprised.

"I  was given a challenge and I failed. I do not wish to continue with this  life now that I have faced such great shame", replied Arjuna.

The boy  was aghast. "But was there an adjudicator? Who was there to see if the  challenger was playing fair? A contest without a judge is meaningless.  Pray construct another bridge and this time, I shall be the judge." 

Neither Arjuna, nor the monkey could refute the boy's argument and so  they got ready for a third round. Infused with some confidence, Arjuna  built a third bridge, using every bit of his ingenuity.

"There! Try  crossing it now", he said to the monkey. The monkey happily obliged.

He  walked on, but the bridge was still solid. "He must have locked the  arrows together better this time", thought the monkey to himself. He  began to jump on the bridge but it did not collapse. It stayed strong.

The monkey was surprised. "Let me take on the form I took while leaping  across the ocean", he thought and lo! He was large as a mountain now. 

Arjuna was awestruck when he saw that his challenger was none other than the great Hanuman himself.

He bowed his head in reverence, realizing  that sooner or later his bridge would succumb to the strength of the  great monkey. His foolishness in assuming that a bridge of arrows would  bear warriors like Hanuman became quite apparent to him.

He was humbled. 

However, the bridge did not collapse. Not even under the weight of the  now gigantic Hanuman. Arjuna was nonplussed. He could not comprehend  what was happening. There seemed to be no logical explanation as to why  the bridge hadn't broken yet.

Apparently, Hanuman couldn't fathom things  either. He began jumping on the bridge but it still wouldn't yield. All  the while the boy was smiling. In a moment of enlightenment, it struck  both participants of the contest that their adjudicator was no ordinary  boy.

Arjuna and Hanuman fell at his feet and then Vishnu was standing  before them. "I am Rama, and I am Krishna. I protected your bridge from  collapsing, Arjuna. May this be a lesson in humility for you. Vanity and pride undo the best of men. Dear Hanuman, you should have known  better than to humiliate Arjuna thus. He is a fine warrior, one of the  best of his times. How could you drive him into giving up his life?" 

Arjuna and Hanuman sought the Lord's forgiveness and He blessed them. 

"As an act of remorse, I shall stabilize and protect your chariot in the  great battle that is imminent.", said Hanuman. "So be it. You shall be  present on the banner of Arjuna's chariot when he rides out to do battle  in the great war of his age that is to come.

Mahabharata - It all starts with a Dog's tale

That’s right. The epic story of Mahabharata started with the story of a dog.
The story goes something like this…

“Maharshi Sounkaadi  and others were performing dheerdha-satra-yagna (yagna for 12 years) in Niamishaaranya. There arrives Ugrashravasuvu who is the disciple of Vedavyasa.  Ugarshavasuvu then described about his earlier visit to Janemejaya's yagashala.
This is where Mahabharata starts.
Janemejaya was performing a yaga for the welfare of his country/people. Outside the yagashala a small dog ( you can call it a pup) out of curiosity was looking at what is going on. This pup happened to be the son of Sarama (a holy female dog).
If a dog enters the yagashala then devatas wont accept the offerings made in the yaga. So Janamejaya's three brothers Shrutasena, Ugrasena, Bhimasena caught the pup; did not let it escape and then thrashed it causing a lot of pain.

So this poor pup goes and cries and tells it’s mother that I didnt go inside and didnt do any harm to anyone near the yagashala, but still these rajakumaras beat me so much; not even letting me escape.
In the mean time the yaga gets completed. Sarama goes to Janamejaya and complained about the whole incident and un-justified actions of his brothers.
Sarama did not curse Janamejaya. It just wanted to convey the point and leave. It did not ask Janamejaya for any justice.
Sarama finished whatever it wanted to say and left. the remaining story is about the consequences of this act and Karma etc etc“

So, how do we interpret this story from Mahabharata's in current context? So here is my interpretation:

The story re-emphasizes that Mahabharata is the story of following Dharma.
There are many instances of misuse of the power in current society. People, in power, try to abuse and treat others who are are under them. This is not a generalization though. But the story shows how not to pursue our life.
In Short: Follow Dharma at all times.

Mahabharata - Kunti reveals her Secret

The great war of Mahabharata is over and Pandavas had prevailed.

It was chaos everywhere on the battleground.

Pandavas saw their mother, Kunti, wandering among the dead Kauravas.

"Who are you looking for, Mother?" asked Yudhishtira.

"Karan", she said.

"Why that charioteer's son?" Asked Arjuna.

"Because he was your eldest brother, My firstborn" said Kunti.

This was the first time she was unafraid to face the truth. Her secret was open to the world now.

At first, the words did not sink in, but when they finally did, Pandavas went weak in the knees.

Arjun realized, he did not only killed Bhishma and Drona, but also Karna, who was in fact his brother.

Kunti told her sons how out of childish curiosity she had used sage Durvasa's magic formula that compelled the sun-god to give her a child. She also told them how Karna had promised never to harm any of her sons except Arjuna, so she could always tell the world 'you have five sons', he had said.

Pandavas remembered how Karna never killed them in the war despite having ample of opportunities to do so. Now only had they realized this why. This made them feel miserable. Victory came to them stained in their brother's blood.

'May no woman ever again be able to keep such secrets from the world' pronounced Yudhishtira.

"Why did you not tell us?" asked Arjuna.

To this, Krishna came to Kunti's rescue and responded: "if she did, would you have fought him? And if you would have not fought him, the Kauravas would have not been defeated and dharama would have not been established."

But, this logic of Krishna did not take away the gloom of surviving sons of Kunti.

After revealing the truth of Karna's origin, the relationship between Kunti and her sons was never the same again. They were angry with her. 

In their view, she had abandoned her own child to save her reputation. She had allowed them to hate him all the years. If she would have revealed this earlier, Karna would have not been treated so unjustly by the world.

So what comes to me is this:  

• The knowledge of the world around us is imperfect because it's based on perceptions and false information. 
• We are surrounded by Kuntis who hide the truth in fear. 
• We are surrounded by Karans, villians, who are actually brothers.

Hindu Mythology - Garuda and Lizards restricted in Kashi

It's said that the Garud - golden eagle (also the vehicle of Lord Vishnu) do not fly over Kashi (also known as Varanasi, Banaras) around a radius of about 50 km. 

Similarly the house lizards do not make their noises in Kashi. 

There is a reference abut the reason for this peculiarity in the scriptures. 

So the story goes something like this:

After killing Ravana, Lord Rama wanted to offer special pooja to Lord Siva in order to get rid of the 'BrahmaHatya sin' (the sin of killing Brahmin). 

He asked to Hanuman to go to Kashi and bring a 'Swayamboo Ling' (a Siva Ling of self originated) from there. 

When Hanuman went there the place was full of Siva Lings. So he could not identify the Swayamboo Ling. 

Garud, came to help Hanuman then, and showed a Swayamboo ling by flying in a  circle over it. 

Also, at that time the lizard helped Hanuman and made its sound to confirm the selection of Garud. 

Hanuman, then removed the ling and started flying out of Kashi towards Rameswaram. 

Now, Kasi was believed to be guarded by Lord Bhairav. 

When Hanuman reached the border of Kashi, Bhairav stopped him and asked him as to how dare he (Hanuman) is to take Shiva Ling without his (Bhairav's) permission.

To this, Hanuman replied that he need no permission from any body as it is as per by the request of his lord Shri Rama. 

Thus followed a fierce battle between Bhairav and Hanuman. Neither of them were getting defeated or winning. 

All the gods watched this with great sorrow. After some time some of them took initiative to stop the fight. 

They requested Bhairav to allow Hanuman to take the Ling so that Lord Shri Ram can offer the worship. 

Bhairav agreed to their request. 

Now, since Garud and Lizard helped Hanuman to identify the Swayamboo Ling, Bhairav  made a condition that Garud should not fly within 45 miles of Kashi and Lizards should always be silent in Kasi. 

Mahabharata - Sahadev as greatest Astrologer

Sahadev knew about the up-coming Mahabharata war well in advance.

He was a great astrologer and was supposed to have known the events of the Mahabharata War beforehand. But, it's said that he was also cursed that if he discloses the knowledge, his head would split in pieces.

Probably due to this, we see him playing a relatively silent role in the epic as compared to other brother pandavas. 

The Bhagavata Purana has a passage in which Sahadeva predicts events of future when asked by his elder brother Yudhisthira, the king.

Of the five Pandavas, Sahadeva was the youngest. Still he has been referred to as the wisest of all of them. 

Yudhishtra even speaks of him as wiser than Brihaspati, the divine teacher of the Devas.

Sahadeva's fury

Source: Amar Chitra Katha

Also note that he was one of the few people (like Bhishma and Vidura) to be able to realize the that Lord Krishna was the almighty Para Brahman himself and lived at that time.

And he was the only one who performed Agrapuja to Lord Krishna, declaring openly among Kings, in the face of opposition, that Lord Krishna, being Parabrahma Swarupi, deserves the first respect.

As per the Bhagavata Purana, he was one of the greatest devotees of Lord Krishna. 

Lord Krishna once asked Sahadeva, what should be done to stop the war. 

Sahadeva told him that Krishna himself must be tied down and imprisoned. And all the Pandavas along with Duryodhana must be sent to forest. And Karna must be made the king.

When Krishna challenged him to tie him down, Sahadeva started meditating and envisioned Krishna as a small baby and tied him down. 

Since Krishna could not move out of the bondage created by Sahadeva in his meditative trance, he blessed him with divine vision and then only Sahadeva released Krishna from the bondage.

At the time of Mahabharata War, both the sides were trying to give sacrifice to Goddess Durga seeking success. 

Sahadeva being a great astrologer, Duryodhana approached him to determine the most auspicious time for performing the sacrifice. 

It is believed, in Hindu school of thought, that the time of sacrifice, denotes the commencement of war and thus decides the very outcome of the great war. 

Sahadeva advised him to perform the sacrifice on the new moon day to ensure success in war.

When questioned by his brothers and Lord Krishna, Sahadeva replied politely that he is ready to die doing his swadharama of being an astrologer.

To this, Lord Krishna came to rescue and played a trick on the Sun and Moon gods to create the Bodhayana Amavasya which occurs one day earlier than the regular Amavasya. 

The Pandavas performed the sacrifice on Bodhayana Amavasya day and obtained the boon of success from Goddess Durga, which sealed their fate to win the war.

Note that Sahadev was probably following the teaching of Lord Krishna even before the Bhagavad Gita was given out by Lord Krishna.

Also note that, similar characteristics were also demonstrated by Ravana in Ramayana, when he agreed to determine the auspicious muhruth for Lord Rama's before the war.

Mahabharata - Krishna's Chariot

The chariot that lord Krishna rode for Arjuna was supposedly very powerful. 

As soon as the war of Mahabharata was over, Krishna took Arjuna's chariot to a remote place. He then asked Arjuna to get down first. Later Krishna himself got down from the chariot.

Then he took Arjuna to some distance away from the chariot and they both started looking at the chariot.

Then he showed Arjun the divine presence of Lord Hanuman on the chariot..

The moment Hanuman got down from the chariot, the horses burnt alive and the chariot exploded into pieces.

It's beleived to be due to the devastating effect of the arrows from Drona and Karna on Arjuna;s horses and chariot. 

It was the devine presence of Lord Hanuman on the chariot that protected Arjuna from certain death by the hands of Drona and Karna.

Observing all this, Arjuna felt ashamed as his ego got hurt. He was under the impression that it was he valour which singlehandedly won the was for Pandavas. 

Mahabharata - Draupadi's past Life

Draupadi, was Indrasena, the wife of Saint Moudgalya in her past life.

Due to Leprosy her husband died early. 

So, now in order to satisfy her desires she prayed Lord Shiva with great devotion. 

Lord Shiva became happy (as usual) and appeared and granted her a wish.

She got bewildered and asked five times for a husband. 

Lord Shiva blessed her with five husbands in next life. 

And so we know the rest of the story.

Ramayana - Shanta Sister of Lord Rama

It might come as a surprise to you that lord Rama had a sister too.

IHMO, she must be the most under-played character of epic Ramayana.
Her name was Shanta. 

She was the eldest of all four brothers.
Shanta is a well documented character in Tulsidas Ramayana. 

The story goes something like this:

Daughter of  king Dasharatha and Kausalya, but was adopted by the king of Angadesh, Raja Rompad, and her aunt Vershini, an elder sister of Kausalya. 

Vershini had no children, and, when at Ayodhya, Vershini jokingly asked for offspring. To this, Dasharatha agreed to allow the adoption of his daughter. 

However, the word of Raghukul was binding, and Shanta became the princess of Angadesh.

Bonus Fact:

As Dashratha had no children after Shanta, he wanted a son to continue his legacy and to enrich his royal dynasty. He called Rishyasringa to perform a putra-kameshthi yagya to beget progeny, and as the consequence of the said Yagya were born: Rama, Bharata, and the twins Lakshmana and Shatrughna.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanta

Hindu Mythology - How many Devi-Devtas?

So how many Devi-Devtas are there in Hindu Mythology?

You might come back with an answer "33 Crore". But is this the correct answer?  appears not to me after I read some analysis. 

My current answer is: No-one knows. 

And if you anyone really understood the concept of Sanatan Dharma (Basis of Hindu Mythology and origins etc), there is really no need to know this as well. There is no value in answering this question anymore.

Here is more analysis on this:

According to our Vedas, there are 33 “koti” Devi-Devtas. 

"Koti" is a Sanskrit word which means Variety or Types. 

Now, my guess is, due to misinterpretation or wrong pronunciation it was wrongly concluded to be 33 Crore since ancient generations.

These 33 types are:


12 types are Aaditya: Dhaata, Mit, Aryamaa, Shakra, Varun, Ansh, Bhag, Vivaswan, Poosha, Savita, Tvashtha, and Vishnu.


8 types are Vasu: Dhar, Dhruv, Som, Ah, Anil, Anal, Pratyush And Prabhash. 
11 types are Rudra: Har, Bahuroop, Tryambak, Aparajita, Vrashakapi, Shambhu, Kapardi, 
Revat, Mragvyadh, Sharva, And Kapali.
And Two Types Are Ashvini And Kumar.


Total: 12+8+11+2=33

Ramayana - Ravana as Rama's Purohit

Ravana was a brahmin and the king of Lanka. He is also considered as a great devotee of Lord Shiva.

It's said that his race from maternal side was Rakshasa and Prajapati (descendants of Brahma) from paternal side. He was the greatest scholar and most learned person of his time.

In this context, also consider the fact that he was also the brahmin from Raja Dashrath's (Rama's father) side.

Now, when Lord Rama crossed the ocean and reached Lanka to battle with Ravana, he is supposed to fix the auspicious date and time of the war (muhurth).

Ravana being the only brahmin available nearby (that too purohit from his father's side), Rama sends Hanuman to Ravana for this.

Even though, Ravana knows that if fixes the date and time, he would definately be loosing the war, he did not turned back on this as it would have been against the brahmin rules.
And hence, It is Ravana who fixed the muhurth in favour of Rama and ...(we know the result)

Ramayana - Vibhishan's character

How do you characterize Vibhishan in Ramayana?

I think the answer depends from what perspective we look at him:

• Ravana's point of view: Vibhishan is a traitor. Obviously not welcomed in Lanka.

• Rama's point of view: Rama would always welcome someone like Vibhisan. Being a native of Lanka, Vibhishan was fully aware of weaknesses and strategies of Lankan army. So for the opponent side, friendship with him is fruitful.

Also note that, as soon as Rama won the battle, he took no time getting rid of Vibhishan by making him the king of Lanka ; as it is not wise enough to keep a person like him on selfside.

• Vibhishan's own point of view: Ravana was a successful king, Lanka flourished in his rule. It was next to impossible for Vibhishan to dethrone Ravana himself and take over Lanka. Friendship with Rama turns out to be the best deal for him to get the throne.