[Fegasderty]

Remember Amrapali and Yayati's stories appearing back to back in Amar Chitra Katha releases in the mid-80s. I think RK Narayan covered yayati in "Gods, Demons and Other Stories".

[Raj_Copi_Jin]

Anyway, hehewalrus, that was Shantanu. He was Bheesma's father. It was he who married Ganga.

Badri, thanks for correcting Nice recollection there! I forgot how Bheeshma was born. I remember the point where Ganga takes another baby to the river and Shanthanu follows her and stops her before she tosses that one. Who exactly was Bheeshma's mother?

About Yayati, I am not able to remember much. I can only recollect this fragment : Yayati is going on a chariot with his first wife and they approach a group of boys playing in the forest. The boys note him and cry out "It's father"! Yayati's wife cries out, "Father?? Nooooooo!!!" :P Is that the same Yayati or am I totally wrong there?

Its not true that other than TV there is no way of recollecting these stories. Starting with Krishna(1980) Amar Chitra Katha was released as a fortnightly and covered one character from history/mythology each issue. This was the bread-and-butter of most school kids and they covered arguably lesser known characters in great detail, such as Shikhandi, Parasurama, Hari Singh Nalva. (When I was 12, I fractured my hand and was exempt from school for 2 months. My mother used to get half dozen books daily from the nearby library to keep me occupied. When Mahabharat started in October, my joy knew no bounds - Ramayan had ended in July 88 and the scenes of those funny graphic wars between Indrajith and Ram/Lakshman vanished for a while. Good to see those funny fights where the TV screen shows two toy arrows approaching each other at top speed, with a loud whoooooooooosh sound in the background, and then one arrow hits the other exactly in the middle and splits it into two! After watching those fights, we kids started collecting ballpen refills and fire away on "targets" all over the neighborhood)

[Lillie_Steins]

Surya
Normal people will not die if a toe is cut off.But,Lord Krishna dies!!! That is because his duty is done and he no longer needs to be in the earth.
So,he uses this oppurtunity to leave his mortal body.It also teaches us that bad karma will have bad reaction and even God cannot avoid it.
So,try to accumulate good karma is the message to all of us

Exactly!

Excellent!!!!

[softy54534]

This always interests me.

Krishna at the end of Shree Krishna's avataram, is sitting below a tree, resting. When a hunter takes aim at Krishna's feet thinking it's a fruit, and shoots the arrow. The arrow kills Shree Krishna. And this is justified because, In Vishnu's last avatar (Shree RAM) Shree Ram kills Valee from behind, shooting valee on his back with an arrow. Which is against the Yudha Dharm. And vaalee is supposed to have taken another life of the Vedan in that time.

PS: Great Topic!!

[LottiFurmann]

Dear BlahBlah
Mahabharatha is an Indian Mythology.Hindu Gods play a part in it because at those times all were following Hinduism in India.

All people of Indian origin can ***own*** it and comment on it.

What does that mean?

[HedgeYourBets]

Dear all,

Great to see all the Participants, esp Blablah being a Christian his knowledge is commandable in Hindusim.

HHW,

Please try and discuss about Mahabharth or Ramayana only, if possible, thanks

[Big A]

One interesting thing about Krishna pushing the chariot down when the Nagaasthra is about to kill Arjuna.Krishna could have easily done it even when Karna sends his asthram.But,Arjuna had ego that it would not do anything and he could destroy the weapon using his prowess alone.
All his weapons fails to stop the Naga Astra and only then he asks Krishna for his help.

The moral behind this is that Lord demands total devotion,total surrender onto him.If there is a slight ego which makes us think "we" ,"I" can do anything,then he'll prove it to you that even an atom cannot move without HIS will.

Another story to support this is when Draupadi is being disrobed.She is full of arrogance and never calls to Krishna.She tries to protect her "Body" associating her atma with this body.atma is undying and this body is just a clothe for it for some time.Finally,draupadi lets go of her association with her body and reveals her breasts and prays to Krishna with both hands beseeching HIM.
**ONLY** then,Krishna saves her honour.

[HedgeYourBets]

Karna was also born with a Kavacham and kundalam.
Even that is taken away by Krishna in the battle when he is pierced with Arjuna's arrows.With which God did Kunti beget Karnan? Was it Surya?

[TorryJens]

Surya
Normal people will not die if a toe is cut off.But,Lord Krishna dies!!! That is because his duty is done and he no longer needs to be in the earth.
So,he uses this oppurtunity to leave his mortal body.It also teaches us that bad karma will have bad reaction and even God cannot avoid it.
So,try to accumulate good karma is the message to all of us

[S.T.D.]

All the deceits in the war is done by Krishna.
He is the master of all the aluguni games.

Dronacharya was the chief commander of Kaurava army.He is impossible to defeat in the war.

When an elephant called Ashwathama dies,Krishna asks Yudishtra to tell a lie.Yudihstra refuses to tell a lie.So,Krishna asks him to tell "Aswathama kapi kunjaraha"
The first two words mean "Ashwathama Died" .This he tells loudly.The last word is "Kunjaraha" meaning elephant.When Yudishtra tells this,Krishna blows his conch so that it is not heard clearly to Drona.Saddened that his son has died,Drona puts down his weapons and starts to meditate.Taking this oppurtunity,Draupada's son(Drishtadyumna?) cuts off his head when Drona was meditating!!!(a courageous act by a prince???)

Because of Yudishtra's adherence to dharma,seems his chariot was always in the air and never touches the ground.
Anyway,for telling that one lie, Yudishtra's chariot falls to the ground and becomes like other chariots.

[Peptobismol]

Here is an interesting information,

When the Agneya weapon, "a blazing missile of smokeless fire" is unleashed by the hero Adwattan in mahabaratha war,
"Birds croaked madly...the very elements seemed disturbed. The sun seemed to waver in the heavens. The earth shook, scorched by the terrible violent heat of this weapon. Elephants burst into flame and ran to and fro in a frenzy...over a vast area, other animals crumpled to the ground and died. From all points of the compass the arrows of flame rained continuously and fiercely."
" An incandescent column of smoke and flame as bright as the thousand suns rose in all its splendour...An iron thunderbolt, a gigantic messenger of death, which reduced to ashes the entire race of the Vrishnis and the Andhakas....The corpses were so burned as to be unrecognizable. The hair and nails fell out; pottery broke without apparent cause, and the birds turned white....After a few hours all foodstuffs were infected.... To escape from this fire, the soldiers threw themselves in streams to wash themselves and their equipment..."
- The Mahabharata
Observers feel these descriptions suggest an atomic war!

"When the Rishi City of Mohenjodaro was excavated by archaeologists in the last century, they found skeletons just lying in the streets, some of them holding hands, as if some great doom had suddenly overtaken them. These skeletons are among the most radioactive ever found, on a par with those found at Hiroshima and Nagasaki."
"Futhermore, at Mohenjo-Daro, a well planned city laid on a grid, with a plumbing system superior to those used in Pakistan and India today, the streets were littered with 'black lumps of glass'. These globs of glass were discovered to be clay pots that had melted under intense heat! "
- D. Hatcher Childress, "Ancient Indian Aircraft Technology"
In The Anti-Gravity Handbook

[NeroASERCH]

Ragu,
What do you mean?? Was I talking Greek and Latin here??

[softy54534]

Nice topic guys.Even as a Christian Hindu Mythology has fascinated me always.I have grown up reading them.I can't be sure about my memory.But if I can join in:

The great novel,Yayati by V.S. Khandekar if I remember right,gives a complete insight into the life of this king.He became prematurily aged due to a curse from Shukracharya for illtreating his daughter Devayani whom Yayati married.

Now for Bhishma and Shantanu,Shantanu was the king Mahabhishek in an earlier birth.Once when he was in Indra's durbar,Goddess Ganga entered the place.Due to breeze her dress was slightly removed from her body.All present removed their gaze out of respect for the Goddess but Mahabhishek who was mesmerized by the beauty of the Goddess stared at her.Upon this,Brahma cursed him that he will be born in the Bharatha dynasty and will have Ganga as his wife from whom he will suffer great grief.

When he was born as Shantanu he was once sitting near the Ganga river and saw a beautiful woman.The rest of the story is already discussed here.

Later ,Devavratha,the son of Ganga and Shantanu was returned to him by the Goddess.Once Shantanu went to see the chief of fishermen in his country.He was not home and Shantanu fell for his daughter Satyavati who was alone at home.He requested her hand in marriage,but the fisherman kept the condition that her children should inherit the kingdom.The king returned in sadness as it was the right of Devaratha.Upon seeing his father sad,Devavratha asked his charioteer about the happenings and went to see the fisherman.He promosed that he won't raise claim to the throne.Not satisfied with this the chief raised the suspicion that one day his children may stake claim to the throne.At this Devavratha took a terrible vow,that he will never marry or have children of his own and will stay away from power forever.Devas appeared on the sky and showered praises and flowers upon him ,surprised at his devotion for his father.From that moment he was called Bhishma,one who has taken a terrible oath.[The usage 'Bhishma Shapatham' was derived from this].

[9mm_fan]

Dear BlahBlah
I meant that Mahabharata is an epic of India,not Hindu epic.Hindus do not own any exclusive right to comment on it.All People of Indian origin can own it as their own.

Hope you did not take it any other wrong way??? If yes,you can pm me if there is something wrong in it and i'll delete it immediately.

[Fegasderty]

More or less, the greatest warriors of Kauravas, Like Bhishmar, Guru Drona and Ankaraj Karna were killed in an adharma war, esp Karna, Lord Krishna deprived Karna of his powers in 7 deceitful ways.

1) Send Indran to Deprive his Kavasa Kunadalas
2) Get Kunti to ask Karna uses his Naha Ashthira only once at Arjuna
3) Karna's Chariot wheel get stuck in the earth, during the battle, due to some curse by a bhramin
4) Vows to Kunti, that he will not kill any other pandavas , but Arjuna, later Karna
Defeats all 4 Pandavas and grants their life
5) Lord Krishna Pushes Arjuna's chariot, ask Karna Fires the Nahasthira, so it only takes Arjuna's Crown
6) Curse by Parashuram, as Karna lies,and pretends to be a brahman to learn Archery from the great Acharya.
7) Lord Krishna Makes Karna use an Asthiram on Gadotgaja (Bhima' son), which Karna reserved for Arjuna

any thing else, I missed?
_________________
Om Namashivaya

[softy54534]

Can someone tell me the story behind Karna's wheel getting stuck because of a curse during the battle?

[MannoFr]

I think Mahabharatha as a story starts with King Janemajayan /King Yayati?

[Ifroham4]

Dear Raghu
Let us stick to the characters of Mahabharatha.Going into dates in tricky and will lead to confusions.

Lakshmana was an avatara of Adi Seshan

Dear viggop

Ok, cool, but Balram was an avatar of Lakshman right?

[radikal]

(1)Karna's Father is Sun God but he was the forsaken child of his Mother Kunthi.... picked and brought up by "Raadhaaeya" ... the Charioter of Duryodana. ... So he was considered as a Non-Kshathriya by the Kings, in those days Only a born Kshathriya was considered qualified to become a King or even play or fight with the Royal-family members... or even the common Kshathriyas... in wars..

(2) Duryodana, an Embodiment of Jealousy... could not win over the Pandavas in any Game or even the playful fights with any one of them....considered INVINCIBLE. ... during their early days of Boyhood.

(3) While Duryodana was waiting for someone...(even a Stranger)... who could challenge the valour of Pandavas... he was very happy to find Karna as the best choice to fit in that place of his demand... He considered him as the possible future support to confront Pandavas.. And so moved his Diplomatic coins to gain the friendship of Karna... out of Selfishness and Wickedness. Hence made Karna his Junior-King to rule over the country called "Anga-desam"

(4) Karna's character is UNPARALLEL with any Epic or Story... even Internationally...so commented by the Global scholars... Because he was such a Great NOBLE Man on one face but coupled with an unusual attitude of Complexity, Perplexity and Paradoxical-principles.... Very difficult for anybody to define him correctly either as Good or Bad... In fact he was a Combination of the Best possible Propensities of a Noble Human... even Divine... along with the opposite qualities of a Beastly Cruel Sadist too. .. on the other face.

(5) Hanuman was the Emblem in the Flag of Arjuna... We can see in the Geethoapadesam pictures.

[Raj_Copi_Jin]

Dear all,

Let's discuss about the Greatest Epic ever and it's Characters, from the Pandavas, Kauravas to Lord Krishna. I would be greatful if intellectuals like Sudhaama / Pradheep actively take part in this.

Ok, here is my first Question, Lord Vishnu took an Avatar as Krishna during the Dwapara Yuga as Krishna/Balram, and as Ram/lakshman in Satya Yuga, where the lord is to take an Avatr as Kalki in the Kali yuga.

were all my statements above correct, Kalki avtar is said to be the last Avatar in the process, this is the Lord's 10th Avatar!

now, which year did the greatest battle of Kurushestra take place?