The flying city of Salva and how it was destroyed by Shrikrishna

Shrikrishna told Yudhishthira that had he been in Dwaraka and heard about the dice game plan he would have come down to Hastinapura without even an invite and made sure it did not happen. Talking about the ill-effects of Dyuta, he said that he would have tried to convince Dhritarashtra to stop and had he not been convinced he would have used force but made sure that they did not go through the Dyuta game. Hearing about this Yudhishthira asked him about his reason for being away from Dwaraka.

This post is about what kept Shrikrishna away. Salva attacked Dwaraka in Shrikrishna's absence and was faced by Shrikrishna's sons

On Yudhishthira's enquiry Shrikrishna told Yudhishthira that he was fighting Salva away from the coast of Dwaraka. As soon as Salva heard about Shishupal's death at the hands of Shrikrishna he commandeered his flying city towards Dwaraka and caused havoc there, attacking innocent citizens.

Salva brought a large army and laid siege to the city of Dwaraka in Shrikrishna's absence. Yadava army led by Charudeshna, Samba and Pradyuma came of out the city and started fighting Salva's army. Jambavanti's son Samba fought Salva's commander Kshemavriddhi. Kshemavriddhi started attacking Samba with his magical arrows which were countered by Samba. Tormented by Samba's arrows Kshemavriddhi retreated. Then a daitya named Vegavaan attacked Samba, whom Samba faced with his mace. Vegavaan was no match for Samba and lost his life in the duel.

Rukmini's son Charudeshna faced a danava named Vivindhya. After Vivindhya was brought down by Charudeshna in a fierce exchange of arrows, Salva arrived there in his flying city Saubha.

Past Lives of Karna and Arjuna - Padma Purana

Like most of us, Bhishma was also curious about the reason behind the rivalry between Karna and Arjuna. On the surface he would have also been confused considering Arjuna did nothing in his entire life to provoke Karna while Karna despite being many years older felt like competing against Arjuna and proving himself better than him was his sole life goal. He went to the extent that despite knowing that Arjuna was hist brother, he could not let the desire to kill Arjuna go.

So like any curious person, Bhishma wanted to find out and he asked Pulastya rishi for the reason behind this epic rivalry between the two great warriors. Pulastya rishi answered Bhishma's curiosity by narrating the story of their past births, which is recorded in Chapter 14 of Srishti Khanda of Padma Purana. This is that story.
After Mahadeva chopped of one of the heads of Brahmadeva, Brahmadeva in his anger took up the sweat on his forehead and struck it on the ground. From that perspiration emerged a being having rings, arrows, a great bow and one thousand armours.

Brahma ordered this being with thousand armours to kill Rudra. The being picked up the bow and started attacking Maheshwara. Maheshwara went to Bhagwan Vishnu asking him to kill the being emerged from Brahma's sweat.

This is one of the most amazing scenes from the Kurukshetra war:

His son was brutally killed when multiple warriors ganged up on him after breaking his bow from behind. In his grief he had taken the oath to kill the man he thought was responsible for the same next day or enter the fire himself.

He could not sleep all night thinking about how he would pull off this impossible feat. His best friend also made his plans to make sure his friend would succeed in what he had set out to achieve. Next day his teacher who was also the commander of the opposing army constructed the most complex battle formation imaginable to protect the man he had vowed to kill. It was a 40 miles long formation combining three vyuhas; Padma, Shakata and Shuchimukha. The man he had vowed to kill was at the end of this formation protected by six of the best warriors of opposing army.

He entered the formation riding the divine chariot driven by his divine friend and kept moving forward without wasting any time on the way. He kept defeating warriors that came his way and moved past them as soon as he could. It was a race against time.

Point of no return - the event that sealed the fate of the Kuru's dynasty

As soon as Shakuni announced that he had won the bet, Duryodhana addressed Vidura and asked him to bring Draupadi so that she can be engaged in the tasks appropriate for a slave. This made Vidura extremely angry and he scolded Duryodhana with the harshest words. Vidura even questioned the legitimacy of the bet itself considering Yudhishthira had already lost himself and was in no position to place any bets.

Duryodhana ignored Vidura's warning and asked one of the palace guards to go and tell Draupadi that Yudhishthira had staked her in the game and lost the bet and bring her to the court. The guard did as ordered. When he informed Draupadi about the situation, she asked the guard to go back and find out if Yudhishthira lost her before or after he lost himself. The guard went back to the court and repeated Draupadi's question. Duryodhana told the guard to go back and tell Draupadi that she must come to the court and ask herself. Sensing the guards hesitation he looked at Dushasana and asked him to bring Draupadi to the court since the guard seems to be too scared of Bhimasena. Dushasana, always eager to please his elder brother rushed to Draupadi's quarter and demanded Draupadi to accompany him to the court. When Draupadi did not see any way out she ran towards the rooms of Hastinapura queens but Dushasana chased her and grabbed her hair.

Draupadi told Duryodhana that she was 'rajaswala' and wearing a single garment and it was not appropriate for her to be present in front of Kuru elders like that. Dushasana ignored her and dragged her to the court. Dushasana said that since she was now a slave it did not matter even if see wasn't wearing anything. Karna and Shakuni laughed and appreciated Dushasana. Bhishma dodged Draupadi's question and asked her to talk to Yudhishthira. Draupadi looked at Yudhishtira and this made Bhima really angry at his elder brother.

Bhima scolded Yudhishthira for staking Draupadi and threatened to burn his hands. Arjuna tried to calm him by saying that this was exactly what their enemies wanted and he should not allow them to succeed.

Mahabharata and ChatGPT a study in 4 questions.

Ghar se niklate hi. Kuchh door chalte hi.

Do you want to know about Barbarika?

Barbarika probably would the the most popular and the most revered figured from Mahabharata who is not mentioned in Mahabharata.

So from where do we get to know about this grandson of Bhimasena who promised to end the Kurukshetra war in a matter of minutes using just three arrows?

Read on, if you want to know more. The story of Barbarika is found in Skanda Purana. Chapter 66 of Section 2 - Kumarika Khanda captures Barbarika's involvement in the events of Mahabharata.

Just before the war was about the begin on the battlefield Pandava spies came back and narrated them about how warriors were talking about the time frame in which they can end the battle in the Kaurava camp. This triggered a similar discussion in the Pandava camp.

The part where Arjuna spoke and talked about the possibility of finishing the battle in a single day is covered in the Mahabharata. Skanda Purana extends that conversation further.

Did Hanuman ji charge at Karna?

I don't know the origin of this story but have been seeing this at multiple places for some reason recently. So what exactly happened here?

Before we get to the Mahabharata and Karna, let me tell you an incident from Ramayana. During the war of Lanka when Kumbhakarna came out to fight for his brother he was really devastating. The kind of damage the giant Rakshasa caused really made Vanarasena run around in fear and Sugriva and Angada had to rally them together to attack Kumbhakarna.

At one point Kumbhakarna captured an unconscious Sugriva and started walking towards Lanka with him.

Hanuman ji saw this and thought whether he should intervene to help Sugriva or not. He concluded that the king of Vanaras was capable enough to deal with the situation and if he intervened it would be embarrassing for the king. So he decided to not interfere and let Sugriva deal with the situation himself.

Rajasuya Yagya

After collecting gifts and taxes from all the kingdoms across Bharatvarsha, Indraprastha became extremely prosperous. When Shrikrishna visited Indraprastha Yudhishthira proposed that they were now ready for the yagya and Shrikrishna consented.

In this post we will cover the Rajasuya yagya of Samrat Yudhishthira of Indraprastha. The Preparations

Indrasena, Vishoka and Puru (Yudhishthira, Bhima and Arjuna's charioteers respectively) were responsible for arranging all the materials required for the sacrifice.

Sahadeva was responsible for sending the invitations to all prominent people across the entire Bharatvarsha. People from all Varnas were invited.

Vyasdeva became the Brahma for the yagya. Yagyavalkya became adhvaryu. Son of Vasu, Pail along with Dhaumya became the Hota and their sons and students became hotraga.

Various luxurious residences were constructed for the guests to stay in.

Nakula was sent to Hastinapur to invite Bhishma, Drona, Vidura, Dhritarashtra, Kripa, Duryodhana and his brothers.

The burning of the Khandava forest

Khandava-dahan is an important chapter in Mahabharata because of the simple fact that during this episode Arjuna received his famous indestructible divine bow Gandiva. Aftermath of this event was also responsible for the construction of the palace of illusions which in someway refuelled Duryodhana's jealousy towards his cousins.

So today let's get into the details of this key incident from Mahabharata.

After completing his exile Arjuna returned to Indraprastha with Subhadra. Shrikrishna along with other Vrishni family members also came to drop his sister.

One day they all decided to go near the bank of river Yamuna for a picnic.

While they were there a sage with flaming read hair approached them asking for their help. The reason - King Shwetaki's sacrifice

In the ancient times there was a king by the name Shwetaki, who once conducted a twelve year long sacrifice by constantly feeding Ghee to Agnidev, in order to please Mahadev.

Because of this constant feeding of Ghee for so long Agnidev stopped feeling like consuming anything. Which cause bigger problems for everyone. In order to find a solution to this, Agnidev approached Brahmadev who instructed Agnidev to consume Khandava-forest to cure this ailment.

Upon Brahmadev's instruction Agnidev tried to burn Khandav-forest multiple times however could not, primarily because whenever he tried to burn it Indra would stop it by causing rain to protect his friend Takshak and his family.

Arjuna's Exile

Arjuna walked in on Yudhishthira and Draupadi in order retrieve his bow to help recover the stolen cows of a Brahmin. This meant that he had to now go on a 12 year exile as per the condition agreed between the five brothers.

Despite protests from Draupadi and his brothers Arjuna decided to go on exile and was accompanied by many citizens of Indraprastha in his journey.

In today's thread we will examine the events in Arjuna's life during this exile. So keep on reading... Uloopi - a case of widow remarriage in ancient India

Early in his journey Arjuna was abducted by Uloopi, the daughter of Naga king Kauravya, while taking bath in the river Ganga.

Uloopi told Arjuna that she was infatuated by him and wanted to marry him.

Arjuna married the Naga princess and spent the night with her. After fulfilling Uloopi's wish he carried on with his journey.

Uloopi had a son from this union, who was named Iravan.

Who all appear in both Ramayan and Mahabharat

There are many people who appear in the main events of both Ramayan and Mahabharat. This post is dedicated to them.

Shri Hanuman

Pavanputra Bajarangbali played very important role in Shriram's journey that everyone is familiar with.
In Mahabharat during Pandava's exile he meets Bhima to teach him a lesson in humility. He also promised Bhima that he would bless Arjuna during the upcoming war. Maind and Dvivida

These Vanara twins were sons of Ashwinikumars and were generals of Sugriva's army that participated in the war against Ravan.

During Mahabharat they were ruling Kishkindha. Sahadev another son of Ashwinikumars meets Maind during his Rajasuya campaign towards south. Dvivida attacked Dwarka to avenge Narakasura and was killed by Shri Balaram.

The Glory of Gaya #TempleTales

The glory of Gaya is narrated in Vayu Purana and it described how Gaya became one of the holiest places.
According to this there once was an Asura named Gayasura he was a giant. He was a great devotee of Bhagwan Vishnu who performed penance for many years. Pleased with his penance Bhagwan Vishnu appeared in front of him and granted him a boon.
Gayasura asked that he should be holier than all the sages, gods, rivers and mountains.
This caused a problem because everyone started praying to Gayasura and with his boons they all started going to Vaikuntha despite the kind of life they led. When all the other lokas started getting vacant because of Gayasura, Brahmadev accompanied by all the gods approached Narayan. Narayan suggested Brahmadev ask for the Asura's body to perform a sacrifice.

Brahmadev approached Gayasura and asked for the holiest place in the entire world to perform his sacrifice. Gayasura readily agreed to allow Brahmadev to perform his sacrifice on his body.

The Varanavat Conspiracy - what exactly happened?

This episode is narrated in Jatugruha Parva of Mahabharata and covers how the sinister plot to burn Pandava brothers was put in motion by Duryodhana, how it was executed by the evil Purochana, how Vidura's timely warning and assistance prepared the Pandava for it and how eventually they managed to escape.

In this thread we will explore this important episode from Mahabharata, so keep scrolling. Pandava's Popularity - Duryodhana's Worry

Since the day Pandava brothers came to live in Hastinapur Duryodhana saw them as rivals and tried to get rid of them. When he witnessed the growing popularity of his cousins among the people oh Hastinapur, it worried him even more.

He along with his most trusted advisors, Shakuni, Karna and Dusshasana were constantly coming up with ways to kill them.

Yayati chose his youngest son Puru as his successor, who carried forward the legacy of Chandravamsha. Here we will explore the Puru's lineage in detail.

1. Puru and his wife Paushti had three sons - Pravira, Ishwara and Raudrashva
2. Pravira with his wife Shuraseni had - Manasvu
3. Manasyu and Sauviri had three sons - Shakta, Sanhanan and Vagmi
2. Puru's third son Raudrashva with Apsara Mishrakeshi had ten sons - Hricheyu, Kaksheyu, Krukaneyu, Sthandileyu, Vaneyu, Jaleyu, Tejeyu, Satyeyu, Dharmeyu, Sannateyu
3. Hricheyu, who was also known has Anadhrushti had a son named - Matinar 4. Matinar had four sons - Tansu, Mahan, Atirath and Dryuhyu
5. Tansu's son was - Ilin
6. Ilin with his wife Rathantari had five sons - Dushyuant, Shoor, Bhima, Pravasu and Vasu
7. Dushyant and Shakuntala had - Bharat
8. Bharat with his three wives had 9 sons but he did not find any of them worthy. He later got one more son through a yajna - Bhumanyu

When Kunti met Karna?

This was a very significant event in Mahabharata, a mother meeting her long lost son to tell him that he is about to go to war against his own brothers. The cinematic value of this scene is such that every adaptation of the great epic depicts this scene in great detail, however they often take one very specific creative liberty.

Usually this scene is depicted to show how Kunti worried about her sons seeks a boon from Karna to spare them in battle. This isn't exactly how this scene took place in the text though. Because of the way this scene is depicted in popular retellings, many believe that when the war became inevitable Shrikrishna suggested Kunti should meet Karna and convince him to join Pandava side and if he doesn’t she should at least ask him to spare her sons in battle. This is often sighted as one of the examples of Shrikrishna’s ability to plan ahead and ensure Pandava’s victory.

While Shrikrishna’s ability to plan for the future is never questionable considering he is divine and is always aware of the beginning and the end, as per Mahabharat text Shrikrishna in fact did not ask Kunti to do such a thing.

Armies during Mahabharata era

The war of Mahabharat was fought between the sons of Dhritarashtra and the sons of Pandu, when the eldest son of Dhritarashtra, Duryodhan refused to allow peaceful existence to his cousins Pandavas.

After trying their best to convince Duryodhan otherwise, both the parties met on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Both were backed by their allies from all over the world, but have you ever wondered about the size and construct of these armies? A total of 18 akshauhinis fought in the war of Mahabharat. Duryodhan had the support of 11 akshauhinis, while Yudhisthira was supported by 7 akshauhinis.
Despite being outnumbered, it was Yudhisthira’s army that emerged victorious. Let’s understand the construct of a typical army during Mahabharat era.

What exactly happened at Rangbhoomi? - Was Karna treated unfairly?

Rangbhoomi episode in Mahabharata is often time used as the entry of Karna by cinematic adaptations and usually this scene is used to depict the beginning of the friendship between Duryodhana and Karna.

Most modern adaptations represent this scene as Karna being treated unfairly by everyone present there because of him being a Suta and Duryodhana rises up to the occasion and shut everyone's mouths by declaring him as the king of Anga indebting Karna to him forever.

But what exactly happened at the Rangbhoomi? Let's examine the events as per the text and draw our own conclusions. The Purpose

Rangbhoomi was not an open competition where any warrior was welcomed to demonstrate their skills. It was a closed event reserved for the princes of Hastinapur royal family.

The performers in this event were restricted to the sons of Dhritarashtra and Pandu; no other students of Drona, including his son Ashwatthama participated in this event.
In the audience were the entire Kuru royal family and the residents of Hastinapur.

Bhagwan Parashuram in Mahabharata

Bhagwan Parashuram is special considering his significant influence on the events spanning many generations.
He fought and defeated Kartavirya Arjuna. He met Shriram and tested his divinity using the divine Vaishnava bow in his possession.
Today we will explore his massive influence on the events of Mahabharata. Guru of Major Warriors

Bhagwan Parashuram's biggest contribution to the events of Mahabharata must be him training some key warriors who participated in the Kurukshetra war of the Mahabharata. Had it not been for Bhagwan Parashuram's training to the first 3 commanders of the Kaurava army, entire war would have been completely one-sided.

When Shantanu stopped Ganga from drowning their 8th child, she took the child away with her. The child Devavrat received training under the guidance of Guru Vashishtha and Guru Parashuram, before his mother returned him to Hastinapur to be with his father.

Bhishma turned out to be the most formidable warrior of his time, thanks to the training he received under the guidance of his guru Bhagwan Parashuram.

Did Drona refuse to teach Karna on account of him being a Sutaputra?

One popular belief among many people is that Dronacharya refused to take Karna as his student because of him belonging to the Suta caste. This point is often used to propagate Karna’s victim narrative.

Whether Karna was a student of Drona or not is not a hidden fact of Mahabharata, instead there are multiple references in the great epic that point towards the truth in this matter. We will examine those references in this post.
This shloka from Adi Parva informs us that Drona's gurukul was not restricted for Hastinapur princes only, instead other allies of Hastinapur also sent their princes and warriors to study under the renowned teacher.
One of those students was Sutaputra Radheya - which is undoubtedly a reference for Karna.

Should one keep Mahabharata at home?

This myth is probably responsible for propagation of all other myths related to Mahabharat.

There is a popular belief that keeping Mahabharat at home causes conflict among family members. We are not sure about the origins of this myth but the impact of this is certain. This myth has led to fewer people buying Mahabharat books and thus not reading it.

This has two major implications: publishers will not be selling many copies and would eventually stop publishing this thus making this beautiful text obsolete in time. The other impact is that it allowed propagation of made up stories surrounding Mahabharat. Since not many people read the text on their own they tend to believe these made up stories without verifying them. People often claim that since the book is about conflict between cousins leading to the destruction of an entire generation, reading this may inspire similar effects in our lives. By this logic most of the books explore some conflict or the other, reading them does not mean you will suffer similar consequences as protagonists of the book. If any, it may rather have the opposite effect by teaching you how to avoid such conflicts in your lives.

Would reading Ramayana lead to the kidnapping of your wife?

Where was Sanjay during the war?

Sanjay is an important character of Mahabharata who is most famous for narrating the events of the great war to the blind king. He is the primary narrator of all the chapters of Kurukshetra war.

According to popular belief Sanjay was sitting in front of Dhritarashtra during the entire duration of the war narrating him the live telecast of the events as they happened using the divine vision granted to him by Ved Vyasa.

What does the book say? Let's examine. This is what Vyasdev's boon to Sanjay was. Notice the last verse in the attached screenshot. It effectively says that Sanjay would survive the war and would be protected from any harm.

Now if Sanjay was supposed to spend his entire time sitting inside Hastinapur castle, this last verse does not make any sense.