Hari Om Everyone,
This week in Balavihar, we started with the opening prayers as usual and then followed up by chanting the Lakshmi Ashtakam as well as five verses of the Mahishasura Mardini. This week we learned the sixth verse.
We continued the Mahabharata where we left off the previous class. After the 18th day of the war when Duryodhana is killed, Gandhari finds out about the carnage of the war and how all her sons have died, and she curses Krishna that he will see a similar fate: he will die having seen a similar annihilation to his family and Krishna accepts this curse. Many years later, after Krishna dies, the Pandavas receive word of this news and decide to renounce their lives and retreat the mountains. Slowly, as they climb the mountain, one by one, each of them falls and dies. First Draupadi dies, then Nakula and Sahadeva, and then Arjuna and Bhima. Finally, only Yudhisthira is left, accompanied by a dog that has accompanied the Pandavas thus far. The dog reveals himself to be Lord Yama and tells Yudhisthira he is going to heaven. When he reaches there, he sees Duryodhana but doesn't not see any of the Pandavas or Draupadi, and asks where they are and why Duryodhana is in heaven. Yama explains that Duryodhana gets to spend some time in heaven for his good deeds, and will then go to hell. Similarly, the rest of the Pandavas and Draupadi are spending time in hell for some of their bad deeds and will then come to heaven. Yudhisthira says he does not want to be in heaven without his brothers, so he goes to hell, and they eventually are all united together in heaven.
As always, if there are any questions, feel free to reach out to su.
Pranaams,
Thejasvi & Shasi
