Tag Archives: krishna

THE STORY OF SYAMANTAKA JEWEL

short story, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Copyright@shravancharitymission

                      (A Story from Srimad Bhagavata Purana)

    Satrajit, a Yadava king, was a great devotee of the Sun-God Surya. He had ten wives and three daughters named Satyabhama, Bratini and Prasvapini. Sun-God Surya, greatly pleased, offered him the dazzling Syamantaka jewel as a present, which had the power of conferring great wealth upon its owner. When Satrajit wore the jewel, its brilliance was such that he was mistaken for the sun god himself.

     During a meeting, Krishna asked Satrajit to let King Ugrasena have the jewel, so that it could be used for the good of all. Proud of his possession, Satrajit refused to part with the Syamantaka.Top of Form

    One day, Satrajit’s brother, Prasena, borrowed the jewel from Satrajit and went into a forest to hunt. There, a lion killed him, took the jewel, and went inside a cave. The cave was of Jambavan, the immortal king of the bears. Jambavan killed the lion and took the jewel, and offered it to his son as a toy. When Satrajit did not hear from his brother, he suspected that his brother must have been killed for the jewel, and suspected Krishna of committing the deed. The rumour spread, and Krishna set out to recover the jewel himself in vindication.

    Learning that Prasena had been slain by a lion, which had in turn been killed by a bear on the side of a mountain, Krishna entered the bear’s den. He discovered that the jewel was being used as a toy by a child. Hearing the child’s nurse scream at the sight of the intruder, an enraged Jambavan attacked Krishna. They fought for 28 days and nights before Jambavan finally realised that Krishna was Rama’s reincarnation. Awestruck, Jambavan glorified Krishna and offered the Syamantaka, as well as his daughter, Jambavati, in marriage to the deity. Krishna accepted both of them and provided moksha to the bear king. He then summoned Satrajit to a royal assembly and narrated the tale of the recovery of the Syamantaka. He restored the jewel into the hands of the Yadav king Satrajit. Deeply ashamed of his accusation, Satrajit decided to offer Krishna the hand of his daughter, Satyabhama, regarded as a ‘jewel among women’, as well as the Syamantaka. Krishna married Satyabhama, but declined to receive the jewel, regarding it to be the property of Satrajit, as its donor had been Surya.

Written and posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

Author, Poet, & Columnist

*

https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

*

Like it and Share it

*

Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

***

Children’s Day: Celebrating the Joy and Rights of Children by Kamlesh Tripathi

article, column, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Copyright@shravancharitymission

    “Every child is a different kind of flower, and all together they make this world a beautiful garden.” This fascinating popular quote reminds us of the uniqueness of each child and the collective beauty they bring to our lives and the world. Let the world be free from the shadow of the Pied Piper, who led the children away from their village to the top of Koppelberg Hill, never to return. The street in Hamelin, called Bungelosenstrasse (street without drums), is believed to be the place where the children were last seen. Ever since, music and dancing is not allowed there. Children’s Day, however, is a celebration meant to overcome such dark associations. It is supposed to build on powerful child characters such as ‘The Famous Five,’ the hit novel of Enid Blyton, where children, while holidaying in an old dilapidated lighthouse, recover a lost treasure all by themselves. But the quintessential example of children’s day could be from the escapades of young bubbly Krishna in Mathura and Vrindavan. Did William Wordsworth think of child Krishna when he wrote, “Child is the father of the man”?

    It is a day dedicated to celebrating children. The idea dates back to the early 20th century. The first official communique of Children’s Day was made in 1925 at the World Conference on Child Welfare held in Geneva, Switzerland. Since then, many countries have designed their own versions of the celebration. The day aims to raise awareness about children’s rights, their needs, and their well-being. Although celebrated on different dates around the world, the underlying message is universal: every child deserves love, care, protection, and the opportunity to grow in a safe and nurturing environment. While the day is often filled with fun and joy, its true essence lies in recognising that children are the future of the world.

    In 1954, the United Nations declared November 20 as Universal Children’s Day. This was done to promote global togetherness, increase awareness among children worldwide, and improve their overall welfare.

    In India, Children’s Day is celebrated to highlight children’s rights, education, and welfare. It is observed on 14 November each year, marking the birthday of the first prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. Nehru was known for his fondness for children. On this day, many schools across the country organise educational and motivational programmes. Some schools declare a holiday, while others host fairs and cultural events for their students.

    The first Children’s Day was observed on November 5, 1948. It was referred to as the ‘Flower Day’. On July 30, 1949, “Children’s Day” received wider attention and was promoted through radio, print media, and cinema.

     In 1951, V. M. Kulkarni, a United Nations Social Welfare Fellow, was conducting a study on the rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents in the UK. He discovered that India lacked a systematic approach to support underprivileged children. Inspired by Flag Day in England, which raised funds for the ‘Save the Children Fund’ on the birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, he proposed that Pandit Nehru’s birthday be observed as Flag Day for raising funds for NGOs working for child welfare in India. Although initially embarrassed by the idea, Nehru eventually consented.

    Though Nehru’s birthday, on 14 November, was celebrated publicly for years, it was only in 1954 that the day was celebrated as Children’s Day for the first time. Thousands of school children attended the celebration held at the National Stadium in Delhi.

    In 1957, 14 November was officially declared as Children’s Day in India.     On November 14, 1957, during the celebration, white pigeons were released into the sky. That same year, the government issued a special notification, officially declaring 14th November as Children’s Day in India.   The Department of Posts and Telegraphs also released first-day covers and three commemorative stamps in honour of Bal Divas (Children’s Day).

Jawaharlal Nehru was fondly called Chacha Nehru (“Uncle Nehru”) by children. As Rabindranath Tagore once said, “Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man.”

Written and posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

Author, Poet, & Columnist

*

https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

*

Like it and Share it

*

Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

***

John Milton and Surdas Surmounted Their Blind Vision … by Kamlesh Tripathi

article, articles, autobiography, book corner, book talk,, literary corner, literature, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Copyright@shravancharitymission

    Though, John Milton and Surdas lived in a similar world of poetry, they were separated by continents, century, race and culture. Surdas lived between 1479-1586, while Milton lived between, 1608–1674. Both are remembered today not only for the brilliance of their poetry, but also for their profound inner vision, which becomes even more brilliant by the fact that they both composed their enduring works after losing their eyesight.

    Milton was an English Puritan poet and a political thinker, whereas the Indian Surdas was a devotional Hindi saint-poet who spearheaded the Bhakti movement. They both belonged to different religions — Christianity and Hinduism, respectively but with a fire for poetry.

    Surdas was either born blind or had lost his eyesight in early childhood. Milton, on the other hand, lost his eyesight in his forties, around 1652, most likely due to glaucoma.

    Despite limitations, Surdas is widely recognised as a major figure in the Bhakti movement, primarily devoted to Lord Krishna. His emotive and spiritual dohas (verses) are said to have been passed down orally and later compiled in the Sursagar, or ‘Ocean of melodies or Ocean of tunes.’ His compositions, which were mostly in Braj Bhasha, are a dialect of Hindi spoken in the region associated with Krishna’s early life.

    By the time Milton lost his eyesight, he was already an accomplished poet and an intellectual. Milton’s blindness, instead of stalling his creativity, seemed to refine it. He composed his greatest epics–Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, and Samson Agonistes through dictation, relying on aides to transcribe his verses. Like Surdas, Milton too did not see blindness as a handicap but as a pathway leading to a higher form of spiritual attainment.

    Both poets had a religious mind. Although stylistically different, both had infused their works with philosophical and devotional seriousness. Milton, a devout Christian, wrote with the spontaneous aim of interpreting and elevating spiritual truth. In Paradise Lost, he sets out “to justify the ways of God to men.” He addresses themes such as the Fall of Man, temptation, obedience, and redemption. He wrote in Paradise Lost, “Solitude sometimes is the best society,” which reminds you of Ernest Hemingway’s words in his 1954 Nobel Acceptance Speech, “Writing, at its best, is a lonely life.” Milton’s theological affinity, shaped by the rigorous study of scripture and classical texts, transforms into a poetic splendour. Meanwhile, Surdas’s creations are acts of loving surrender. Krishna appears in multiple forms in his dohas (verses): as a mischievous child, a divine lover, and also the supreme being. Lines such as “Ka mangu kachu thira na rahai” (What should I ask for, when nothing is permanent?) captures the essence of his Bhakti without expectation.

    Milton’s epics are not just stories but musings on justice, free will, human suffering, and divine grace. His works show outstanding intellectual discipline, theological depth, and poetic mastery.  Surdas, too, uses his poetic expressions to explore the soul’s belongingness, the relevance of humility, and the spiritual path to surrender before God. Their works are more than a literary endeavour. They become a vehicle for exploring human conditions and articulating metaphysical realities.

    Another uniting theme between Milton and Surdas was their poetic sense of duty. Neither viewed poetry as mere personal or artistic expression. For both, it was a sacred responsibility, a way to convey, inspire and elevate. Milton’s epic verse seeks to engage the intellect and the soul, guiding readers towards a better understanding of divine justice and human morality. Surdas’s dohas were intended for oral performance and collective singing. It invited listeners into a shared space of devotion and spiritual intimacy. The duo’s poetry continues to be read, sung, studied, and revered, not only for its beauty but also for its power to move the soul.

    Language, for both the poets, was of the essence. Milton promoted the English language to unprecedented heights at a time when Latin was still seen as the language of serious scholarship. Milton chose English and, through his use of blank verse, gave it towering dignity. His English stood along with the classical languages of Homer and Virgil. On the other hand, Surdas did something outstandingly transformative. He wrote in Braj Bhasha, a regional and vernacular dialect. Braj Bhasha is written in the Devanagari script. By using it to express the spiritual and emotional state of his mind, he not only made religious ideas accessible to the masses but also raised Braj to the level of a respected literary language. Through them, both English and Braj Bhasha became vessels of sacred expression.

    Finally, what makes Milton and Surdas an enduring duo is not just their literary genius, but their ability to transform personal blindness into a powerful metaphor for inner vision. Where physical sight failed, spiritual insight flourished. Through their works, both poets remind us that the deepest prayers are often seen not with the eyes but with the heart. Whether through the sonorous cadences of Milton’s blank verse or the lilting melodies of Surdas’s bhajans, they teach us that poetry can be a form of prayer, and vision a matter of the soul. Surely, where there is a will there is a way.

Written and posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

Author, Poet, & Columnist

*

https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

*

Like it and Share it

*

Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

***

POEM: DIWALI–THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS by Kamlesh Tripathi

poem, POETRY, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Copyright@shravancharitymission

Diwali—The Festival of Lights

**

–Kamlesh Tripathi—

**

Diwali is a Festival of Lights,
A victory of day over the night,
Of good over the evil’s might,
Of truth, of hope, and what is right.

*

Diwali fetches five days of vibrant cheer,
With sweets, lamps and love sincere.
With rangoli, hues and lanterns bright,
And fireworks swirling throughout the night sky.

*

It highlights an all-time victory,
Where knowledge breaks through every blind,
Of ignorance and veils of gloom,
And radiant joy begins to bloom.

*

As per the holy Panchang,
Diwali recalls tales of yore.
When the month of Ashwin wanes and Kartik begins,
And Amavasya plays a significant innings.

*

It’s the darkest night,
With a lunar grace and swastik signs,

When the world looks prime,

At an opportune time.

*

It coincides with the harvest’s golden end,
Before the frost and chill descend.
Communities emerge in joy,
As golden diyas paint the skies.

*

As autumn breathes its cooler air,
October–November marks the affair.
The heart of fall, the soul of light,
Diwali shines in full delight.

*

Myths unravel, tales unfold,
Of Gods and demons, celestial and corporeal.
From Dhanteras to the climax day,
Lakshmi and Ganesh light the way.

*

Ayodhya celebrates and lights up,
On Rama’s arrival amidst the crowd.
With Sita, Laxman by his side,
And Hanuman’s attendance, sanctified.

*

With Shiva, Vishnu, and Krishna’s grace,
Durga’s might and Kali’s face,
And eventually, Narakasura’s fatal end,
As deities and demons come face-to-face.

*

From Ravana’s end to Rama’s victory,
From Dhanvantri’s healing touch,
The churning ocean’s mystic art,
Each finds a mention in Diwali’s heart.

*

Sparks erupt in the skies,
With sparklers, phuljhadis that rise high.
The demons flee, the gods descend,
And in that event, the miseries end.

*

In life’s struggle, in daily strife,
Diwali comes as a breath of life.
As does an oasis in a wide desert,
As a gentle pause, where peace can bide.

*

On Amavasya’s cold, dark night,
Beyond the stars and in the cosmos,
The lights of Diwali softly bloom,
Spreading hope, dissolving gloom.

*

The cosmos sports its finest robe,
Adorned in lights and loveliness.
And every heart, with joy infinite,
Sings together: Happy Diwali Night!

**

kamleshsujata@yahoo.com

***

Written and posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

Author, Poet, & Columnist

*

https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

*

Like it and Share it

*

Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

***

THE BOND OF PROTECTION: RAKSHA BANDHAN by Kamlesh Tripathi

article, festival, mythology, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Copyright@shravancharitymission

     Raksha Bandhan is observed on the last day of the Hindu lunar calendar month (Panchang) of Shravan. It normally falls in August. Raksha Bandhan is also known as Rakhi. It is also referred as Saluno. It is an affectionate festival that celebrates the unbreakable bond between brothers and sisters. It’s a day when sisters tie a sacred thread, called “rakhi,” on the wrists of their brothers, symbolising protection and love. In return, the brothers offer gifts and the promise to protect their sisters.

    It is an admired and traditional Hindu ritual and festival celebrated every year. Apart from India, it is also celebrated in other parts of the world influenced by the Hindu culture. On this day, sisters of all ages tie a talisman or lucky charm called ‘rakhi’ on the wrists of their brothers. The sisters symbolically protect the brothers by doing this. In return, they receive a gift. Its spiritual significance lies in the protection and interconnectedness of the relationship between the brother and the sister. The expression “Raksha Bandhan” comprehensively describes this ritual.

        It is traditionally rooted in the curriculum of territorial or village marriages. The bride is married out of her natal village or town, and her parents, by custom, do not visit her in her married home. In rural north India, village marriage is quite prevalent. Married women travel to their parents’ homes every year to celebrate Raksha Bandhan. Their brothers, who usually live with their parents or somewhere close by, at times, travel to their sisters’ married homes to escort them back. Some brides arrive a few weeks earlier at their natal homes and stay there till the ceremony is over. The brothers serve as lifelong intermediaries between their married sisters’ and parental homes, as well as their potential protectors.

    In modern India, where families have become increasingly nuclear, the festival has become more symbolic, yet it remains highly popular. The rituals of this festival have spread beyond their traditional regions. They have transformed owing to migration and technology. Factors influencing are movies, social media, and the religious bent of mind. We all remember the famous Bollywood song ‘Bhaiya mere Rakhi ke bandhan ko nibhana’. Even among females and males who are not blood relatives, tying of the rakhi has promoted the tradition of voluntary kin, crossing lines of caste, class, and religion.

    So much has been written about Raksha-Bandhan to establish its credentials. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the Hindi word Rakhi derives its origin from the Sanskrit word Rakshika, meaning a protector or guardian. The earliest mention of the word Rakhi in the English language dates back to 1829, in Lieutenant Colonel James Tod’s book, Annals & Antiquities of Rajasthan.

    Indian poet Nazeer Akbarabadi (1735–1830) wrote one of the first nazms in the Hindustani language on Rakhi. The august poet imagines that he, despite being a Muslim, would like to dress up as a “Bamhan” (Brahmin priest), with a sacred thread and a mark on the forehead, so that he can tie the threads on the wrists of all the beautiful people around him.

    Much has been captured about Rakhi in various treatises, dictionaries, and books. Notable examples include the Dictionary of Hindustani and English, authored by Duncan Forbes in 1857. Raksha Bandhan’s reference in the mythology comes out in chapter 137 of the Uttara Parva of the Bhavishya Purana. Here, Lord Krishna narrates to Yudhishthira the ritual of having a raksha thread tied to his right wrist by the royal priest (rajpurohit) on the day of purnima (full moon day) of the Hindu lunar month of Shravan.

    Though traditionally, Raksha-Bandhan is observed in northern India. It also encircles central and western India, Nepal, and some other parts of the country, as well as overseas Hindu communities such as Fiji. It is primarily a Hindu festival. Besides India and Nepal, other countries also celebrate Raksha Bandhan. Pakistan and Mauritius are two other countries where Hindus celebrate this festival. In addition wherever we have Hindu diaspora Raksha Bandhan is celebrated.

    Folklorist and American anthropologist Susan Snow Wadley writes: ‘In Savan, greenness abounds as the newly planted crops take root in the wet soil. It is a month of joy and gaiety, with swings hanging from tall trees. Girls and women swing high into the sky, singing their joy. The gaiety is even greater because women, especially the young ones, are expected to return to their natal homes for an annual visit during Savan.’

    The brothers serve as lifelong intermediaries between their married sisters’ and parental homes, as well as their potential protectors. That’s the bond of Raksha-Bandhan.

Written and posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

Author, Poet, & Columnist

*

https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

*

Like it and Share it

*

Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

***

MYTHOLOGY: THE STORY OF KING AMBARISHA

moral lesson, spiritual, story, storytelling, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Copyright@shravancharitymission

In the Hindu texts, Ambarisha is a mythological Ikshvaku (Suryavanshi) king, and the son of Mandhata. He is believed to have conquered the whole world in a week. He lived during the Treta Yuga.

    According to the Bhagavata Purana, the king was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu, and he adhered firmly to the truth. On being pleased with his devotion, Lord Vishnu gave his Sudarshana Chakra to Ambarisha, who worshipped the deity’s weapon with great devotion. Once, during the Vaikuntha Ekadashi, Ambarisha performed the Dvadashi Vrata at Vrindavana, which required that the king start a fast on Ekadashi and break it at the start of Dvadasi (the twelfth day), and then feed all his people. As the moment of breaking the fast was drawing near, the mighty sage Durvasa appeared out of nowhere. He was received with full honours by King Ambarisha. Durvasa Muni agreed to the king’s request to be his honoured guest and have a meal with him, but asked the king to wait until he finished his bath in the Yamuna River and returned. As the auspicious moment approached when the king had to break his fast to fulfil the vow of the vrata, Durvasa did not turn up. On the advice of his priests, the king broke his fast by consuming a little water and waited for the arrival of sage Durvasa to offer him food. Durvasa, who was well known for his short temper, could ascertain by his mystic power that King Ambarisha had violated the respect due to a guest by breaking his fast before the guest had taken his meal, and in his rage he created an asura to kill Ambarisha, out of a strand of his hair. But because Ambarisha was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu, the Sudarshana Chakra intervened to destroy the asura, and further started chasing Durvasa himself. Sage Durvasa became extremely frightened, and he ran for his life.

    The Sudarshan Chakra was soon inches away from Durvasa Muni’s back, as it chased him like a blazing forest fire. On the run and desperate to protect himself, Durvasa Muni went everywhere: through the sky, over the earth’s surface, into caves and under the ocean. He ran through all three planets, but could not escape the Lord’s weapon. Sudarshan Chakra followed him nonstop.

    Sage Durvasa felt the unbearable heat. Finally, he went to Satya-loka and asked Brahma for protection, saying, “O my Lord, kindly protect me.” Brahma said, “I cannot help you. I am under the control of Lord Narayana, the master of the Sudarshan Chakra.” Having been told that Brahma couldn’t protect him. Durvasa Muni went to Lord Shiva in Kailash and asked for his protection.

    “You should go to the Supreme Lord Narayana. This Sudarshan Chakra is unbearable even for me,” said Shiva. Durvasa Muni then proceeded to Vaikuntha, the celestial abode of Lord Vishnu. There, he fell at Lord Narayana’s lotus feet and begged for protection.

    “Oh, Durvasa, you should know that I am completely under the control of my devotees. So you should go to Maharaja Ambarisha. Only he can protect you from this Sudarshan Chakra.” Immediately upon being advised so by Lord Vishnu, Durvasa Muni realised his mistake and rushed back to Maharaja Ambarisha.

    The sage begged the devoted king Ambarisha for forgiveness. The king then politely requested the Sudarshan Chakra not to harm the sage Durvasa. At the king’s request, the Sudarshan Chakra became peaceful and returned to Lord Narayana.

    Maharaja Ambarisha then offered delicious prasad to the sage. The sage said, “My dear King, please have your meal first. In the beginning, I thought you were an ordinary person, but now I understand that you are the most exalted devotee of the Lord.”

Written by Kamlesh Tripathi

Author, Poet, & Columnist

*

https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

*

Like it and Share it

*

Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

***

READER’S REWIND: UTOPIA NOT DYSTOPIA

article, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Copyright@shravancharitymission

    The world has become colourful. But the ‘Happy Prince’ is no more alive to see it. So is the swallow, who carried out his last orders, but died in the frost, at his feet, before escaping to Egypt. The lead metal statue of the ‘Happy Prince’ cracks in agony but his leaden heart still beats for his kingdom and his junta. But are there any such rulers left, anymore? Well, they are practically extinct. Perhaps, you might know the author who wrote the story ‘Happy Prince.’ I’m forgetting his name. Oh! I remember now it was Oscar Wilde, par naam me kya rakha hai, Oscar can rewrite the story in the context of the present-day while residing in heaven. And is there a ‘happy man’ without a shirt, anymore, as told in the Italian tale, or like the half-naked fakir—Mahatma Gandhi in India, the father of the nation without a shirt who was given the abrasive title by the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. I’m sure there isn’t a happy man without a shirt anymore because the man now wears not only shirts but also colourful shirts, yet he remains unhappy.

    The Utopia is now seized of radiant colours, such as red—blue, green and saffron, and some adamant tenets, and philosophies, required to rule, and the so-called isms, the right wing and the left wing in the central hall of democracy. Have we gone back in time? Are we proving Hesiod’s Theogony to be right, that propagated initially, the theory that said, the dense darkness covered everything, until the earth was born out of chaos? With earth came the mountains, the sea, the sky and the Uranus. Uranus and Earth came together and gave birth to the Titans. Later the Titans and Gods both from the same lineage and class fought for supremacy and the Greek God Zeus won just like Lord Krishna.

    But halt there. Take time off to think because the world leaders of today suffer from the same fear as Uranus, Cronus and the Kansa Mama of Mathura, who killed their would-be adversaries. Even Nigas tried swallowing Lord Vishnu but that was in a different context. Ajatashatru killed his father Bimbisara to take the throne of Magadha and in return, his son too killed him for the throne. The Robinhoods are extinct now. The two biggest democracies are always in the news but at times for the wrong reasons. The world is full of Brutus in today’s times which may put the original Brutus to shame and the Bard into a wonder—to be or not to be.

    It appears as if goodness has become a ghost which is rarely seen and experienced. Much has evolved, but more is yet to come. So wait and watch. Be on the lookout for that happy man without a shirt, and the happy prince, with a lead heart that beats for the public even now. Hopefully, I dreamt, Utopia will remain Utopia and not become a Dystopia.

Posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

*

https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

*

Like it and Share it

*

Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

*

Publications of Kamlesh Tripathi

BOOK TITLE: GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

(The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in eight prestigious libraries of the US which include Harvard College Library; Harvard University Library; Library of Congress; University of Washington, Seattle; University of Minnesota, Minneapolis; Yale University, New Haven; University of Chicago; University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill University Libraries. It can also be accessed at MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in the libraries and archives of Canada; the Open Library; Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai; Jaipuria Institute of Management, Noida, India; Shoolini University, Yogananda Knowledge Center, Himachal Pradesh and Azim Premzi University, Bangalore and the Library of Cancer Aid and Research Foundation, Mumbai. The title also finds a mention in a book titled ‘Enduring Cancer: Life, Death and Diagnosis in Delhi,’ by Dwaipayan Banerjee published by the Duke University Press).

BOOK TITLE: ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(It is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi; It is also available for reading in the Indian National Bibliography, March 2016, in the literature section, in Central Reference Library, Ministry of Culture, India, Belvedere, Kolkata-700022)

BOOK TITLE: AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

(This is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity, which is the undying characteristic of Lucknow. The book was launched at the Lucknow International Literary Festival in 2014. It is catalogued and included for reading in Askews and Holts Library Services, Lancashire, U.K; Herrick District Library, Holland; Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, USA; Black Gold Cooperative Library Administration, Arroyo Grande, California; Berkeley Library, University of California; The Peshastin Public Library and The George Public Library near Washington, a Northern Central Washington Libraries branch; the Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library in Arizona in the US and the Salina Public Library, Kansas, USA.

BOOK TITLE: REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

(Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched at the Lucknow International Literary Festival in 2016).

BOOK TITLE: TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

(Is a story of an Indian salesman who is, humbly qualified. Yet he fights his way through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read not only for salesmen but for any reader. The book was launched on 10th February 2018 at Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available on Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

BOOK TITLE: RHYTHM … IN POEMS

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems are about our day-to-day life. Poems from this book have been published in Shillong Times, Bandra Times, Bhavan’s Journal and Arunachal Times and Goan Net. The book is available on Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

BOOK TITLE: MIRAGE

(Published in February 2020. The book is a collection of eight short stories available on Amazon, Flipkart and Notion Press)

BOOK TITLE: AWADH ASSAM AND DALAI LAMA … The Kalachakra

(It is the story of the man who received His Holiness The Dalai Lama and his retinue in 1959 as a GOI representative when he fled Tibet in 1959. The book was launched on 21st November 2022 by His Holiness The Dalai Lama at Dharmshala. The title is archived in the library of the Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR) Government of Tibet, Tibet Policy Institute (TPI) and the personal library of His Holiness The Dalai Lama. The title is also archived in The Ohio Digital Library, USA. It was recently included in the digital library of the world-renowned company APPLE. Included in the library of Friends of Tibet and Maharashtra Mitra Mandal Library in Bandra, Mumbai.

(POEMS, SHORT STORIES AND ARTICLES OF KAMLESH TRIPATHI PUBLISHED IN JOURNALS AND MAGAZINES)

BHAVANS JOURNAL

Short stories, Book reviews and Articles published in Bhavan’s Journal: 1. Reality and Perception, 15.10.19; 2. Sending the Wrong Message, 31.5.20; 3. Eagle versus Scholars, June, 15 & 20, 2020; 4. Indica, 15.8.20; 5. The Story of King Chitraketu, August 31 2020; 6. Breaking Through the Chakravyuh, September 30 2020. 7. The Questioning Spouse, October 31, 2020; 8. Happy Days, November 15, 2020; 9. The Karma Cycle of Paddy and Wheat, December 15, 2020; 10. Power Vs Influence, January 31, 2021; 11. Three Refugees, March 15, 2021; 12. Rise and Fall of Ajatashatru, March 31, 2021; 13. Reformed Ruler, May 15, 2021; 14. A Lasting Name, May 31, 2021; 15. Are Animals Better Teachers? June 16, 2021; 16. Book Review: The Gram Swaraj, 1.7.21; 17. Right Age for Achievements, 15.7.21; 18. Big Things Have Small Beginnings, 15.8.21; 19. Where is Gangaridai?, 15.9.21; 20. Confront the Donkey Within You 30.9.21; 21. Know Your Strengths 15.10.21; 22. Poverty 15.11.21; 23. Top View 30.11.21; 24. The Bansuriwala 15.1.22; 25. Sale of Alaska 15.2.22; 26. The Dimasa Kingdom 28.2.22;27. Buried Treasure 15.4.22; 28. The Kingdom of Pragjyotisha 30.4.22; 29. Who is more useful? 15.5.22; 30. The White Swan from Lake Mansarovar 30.6.22; 31. Bhool Bhulayya 15.9.22; 32. Good Karma 30.9.22; 33. Good Name vs Bad Name 15.10.22; 34. Uttarapath—The Grand Trunk Road 1.12.22; 35. When Gods Get Angry 1.1.23; 36. Holinshed’s Chronicles 15.1.23; 37. Theogony 15.2.23; 38. Poem: Mother 14.5.23; 39. The Nag Mandir 30.6.23; 40. The Story of Garuda 30.7.23; 41. Janmabhoomi vs Karmabhoomi 31.8.23; 42. The Ghost Town of Kuldhara 15.9.23; 43. The Tale of Genji 15.10.23; 44. The Soul Connection 1.12.23; 45.Book review: Jungle Nama … a story of the Sundarban 16.3.24; 46. Book review: A Forgotten Chapter 16.5.24; 47. Exploring Ancient Egypt, 1.8.24; 48. The Story of Dhruva, 16.8.24; 49. Two Hundred Years of Tea in Assam 16.9.24; 50. The Cosmic Messenger 16.10.24; 51. Biblioburro: The Four-Legged Library 16.11.24

THE SHILLONG TIMES

Articles & Poems: 1. Poem: Happy New Year 8.1.23; 2.Poem: Spring 12.3.23; 3.Poem: Right and Wrong 20.3.23; 4. The Gush of Emotion—Writing, 26.3.23; 5. The Nag Mandir, 7.5.23; 6. Poem: Mother 7.5.23; 7. Poem: Rain Rain 9.7.23; 8. Poem: You Come Alone You Go Alone 6.8.23; 9. Poem: Rain Rain (Second Time) 10.8.23; 10. Poem: Guru Teacher 1.10.23; 11. Poem: Autumn … The Interim Heaven 15.10.23; 12. Poem: Happy Diwali 12.11.23; 13. Overcoming Blindness: Learn it the John Milton Way 10.12.23; 14. The Happy Prince and The Happy Man’s Shirt 31.12.23; 15. Annus Mirabilis -2024 7.1.24; 16. Gandhi to Mahatma Gandhi- Incidents that Shaped Gandhi in South Africa 28.1.24; 17. Poem: Together But Not Made For Each Other, 11.2.24; 18. The Birds Bees and The Spiders of Nicholas Guildford and Jonathan Swift 25.2.24; 19. The Overcoats of Nikolai Gogol and Ruskin Bond 10.3.24; 20. The Ethnic Colours of Holi 24.3.24; 21. A Lesson from Dalai Lama, 21.4.24; 22. Poem: Morning Walk 28.4.24; 23. Trip to Rhine Falls, Switzerland, 19.5.24; 24. Poem: Hurt 2.6.24; 25. Poem: Your Conscience Was My Sign On 16.6.24; 26.Poem: The Eerie Ways of Time 7.7.24; 27.Poem: Celebrating the T20 World Champions 14.7.24;28. Read to Rise above mediocrity, 4.8.24; 29. Poem: Desire vs Reality 11.8.24; 30. Jack Ma’s Pristine Advice to Employers, Employees and the Youth 22.9.24; 31. Tagore and Kipling 3.11.24;

THE ASSAM TRIBUNE

Article: 1. The Magic of Reading 11.12.23; 2. Gandhi to Mahatma 29.1.24; 3. Geography of Solitude 8.4.24; 4. A Lesson From Dalai Lama, 22.4.24; 5. A Source of Inspiration, 29.4.24; 6. The Four-Legged Library, 12.5.24; 7. Age and Achievement, 10.6.24; 8. Read … To Rise Above Mediocrity, 1.7.24; 9. Crusade for a College, 25.8.24; 10. Hemingway’s Iceberg Theory (Panorama) 27.9.24; 11. Short story: Love in the Air, 20.10.24;

THE ARUNACHAL TIMES

Poem: 1. Hope—In The Arc of Twilight, 13.8.23; 2.Poem: Spring 3.3.24; 3.Poem: The Morning Walk 10.3.24;

BANDRA TIMES, MUMBAI

Articles & Poems: 1. Poem: SPRING, 1.4.23; 2. Poem: Mother, 1.6.23; 3. Poem: Rain Rain, 1.8.23; 4. A Lesson From Dalai Lama, 1.6.24; 5. Read to rise above Mediocrity 1.8.24

THE GOAN NET EVERYDAY

Poem: 1. Autumn – The Interim Heaven, 6.10.24; 2. Reader’s Rewind 17.11.84; 3. Reader’s Rewind: The Irony of Tash Moustache and Mooch 5.12.24;

ARTICLES IN THE DIGITAL MAGAZINE ESAMSKRITI

Aritcles: 29.12.2020: Indica by Megasthenes; 14.3.22: About The Dimasa Kingdom Assam; 10.12.22: Grand Trunk Road–Uttarapath; 5.10.23: The Ghost Town of Kuldhara Near Jaisalmer;

(ALL THE ABOVE BOOK TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE ON AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

*****

THE BOON AND BANE OF ASHWATTHAMA

article, mythology, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Copyright@shravancharitymission

    Maharathi Ashwatthama was cursed by Lord Krishna during the holy war of Mahabharat for the horrendous infanticide that he had already committed and intended to commit and also for all the other crimes committed by him during the course of the war in the Dvapar-Yug. It was unbecoming for a Maharathi in any yug to have behaved like Ashwatthama.

    Ashwatthama was the son of Dronacharya, the royal preceptor of the Kauravas and the Pandavas. His mother was Kripi. As per the scripts of Mahabharat, Ashwatthama means “the sacred voice which relates to that of a horse”. It is believed that he was named so because when he was born he cried like a horse. He was trained in warfare along with the Kauravas and the Pandavas by his father, Dronacharya. Ashwatthama had acquired knowledge of various divine weapons, namely Narayanastra, Brahmastra, Brahmashirastra, and many others.

    He was born in a cave amid a forest in present-day Uttarakhand. Dronacharya performed rigorous tapasya for many years to please Lord Shiva in order to obtain a son who after birth possessed the same valiance as Shiva.

    He was born with a divine gem on his forehead which gave him power over, all living beings, lower than human beings. It also protected him from hunger, thirst, fatigue, old age, disease, weapons, and deities. The gem made him almost invincible and immortal.

    He was a friend of evil Duryodhan and fought the devastating War of Mahabharat from his side. He fought against the upstanding Pandavas, who with the blessings of Lord Krishna, won the battle of Mahabharat, fought in Kurukshetra. While Arjun killed several warriors, Bhima killed the ninety-nine brothers of Duryodhan and also defeated him in a mace (gada) fight in which he was mortally wounded by Bhima on the thigh on account of which he too died.

    Ashwatthama, in order to avenge his father’s death caused by mendacious means, as well as the deceitful killing of other Kuru (Kaurav) warriors by the Pandavas, attacked their camp at night along with Kripacharya and Kritavarma. Ashwatthama killed Dhrishtadyumma (the twin brother of Draupadi), Shikhandi, Upapandavas (the five sons of Draupadi), the remaining Pandavas and the remaining members of the Panchal army. Even though many warriors tried to fight back, but Ashwatthama remained unharmed due to his body being possessed by Lord Shiva. Those who tried to flee from Ashwatthama’s wrath were hacked by Kripacharya and Kritavarma at the camp’s entrance.

    After the carnage, Ashwatthama, Kripacharya and Kritavarma went to Duryodhan. They told him about the killing of all the Panchalas and the Upapandavas. Duryodhana congratulated Ashwatthama for achieving what Bhishma, Dronacharya, and Karna could not before breathing his last breath.

    The Pandavas and Krishna, were away that night. When they returned to the camp they got the gory news. Upon hearing the news, Yudhishthir fainted, and the Pandavas turned inconsolable. Bhima angrily rushed to kill Ashwatthama and others followed. They found him in Sage Vyasa’s ashram near the bank of the Ganges.

            Ashwatthama, believing that his time had come, invoked the Brahmastra to attack Pandavas from a tiny blade of grass to fulfil the oath of killing them. Krishna advised Arjun to fire his Brahmastra as an anti-weapon against Ashwatthama to defend themselves. Sage Vyasa intervened and prevented the destructive weapons from clashing against each other. He asked both Arjun and Ashwatthama to take their weapons back. Arjun, knowing how to do so, took it back.

    But Ashwatthama, not knowing how to retract it, despite his early education on Brahmastra, redirected the Brahmastra toward the womb of the pregnant Uttara in an attempt to end the lineage of the Pandavas. But Krishna shielded the Pandavas’ only heir with his Sudarshana Chakra. Krishna also saved Uttara’s unborn child from the ill effects of the Brahmastra. Ashwatthama was then made to surrender the gem on his forehead that carved a permanent wound there and was cursed by Lord Krishna, for his immortality, and that he would roam in the forests till the end of Kali-Yug with blood and pus oozing out of his wound, and with no one to talk to him. Thereafter Ashwatthama went to the forest never to be seen again. Though Ashwatthama was a Maharathi of Dwapar-Yug his act of infanticide turned him into a demon not fit even for Kali-Yug. The search for Ashwatthama is still on in Kali-Yug but he is nowhere to be seen because of the curse.   

Posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

*

https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

*

Like it and Share it

*

Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

*

Publications of Kamlesh Tripathi

BOOK TITLE: GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

(The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in eight prestigious libraries of the US which include Harvard College Library; Harvard University Library; Library of Congress; University of Washington, Seattle; University of Minnesota, Minneapolis; Yale University, New Haven; University of Chicago; University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill University Libraries. It can also be accessed at MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in the libraries and archives of Canada; the Open Library; Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai; Jaipuria Institute of Management, Noida, India; Shoolini University, Yogananda Knowledge Center, Himachal Pradesh and Azim Premzi University, Bangalore and the Library of Cancer Aid and Research Foundation, Mumbai. The title also finds a mention in a book titled ‘Enduring Cancer: Life, Death and Diagnosis in Delhi’ by Dwaipayan Banerjee published by the Duke University Press).

BOOK TITLE: ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(It is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi; It is also available for reading in the Indian National Bibliography, March 2016, in the literature section, in Central Reference Library, Ministry of Culture, India, Belvedere, Kolkata-700022)

BOOK TITLE: AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

(This is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity, which is the undying characteristic of Lucknow. The book was launched at the Lucknow International Literary Festival in 2014. It is catalogued and included for reading in Askews and Holts Library Services, Lancashire, U.K; Herrick District Library, Holland; Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, USA; Black Gold Cooperative Library Administration, Arroyo Grande, California; Berkeley Library, University of California; The Peshastin Public Library and The George Public Library near Washington, a Northern Central Washington Libraries branch; the Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library in Arizona in the US and the Salina Public Library, Kansas, USA.

BOOK TITLE: REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

(Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched at the Lucknow International Literary Festival in 2016).

BOOK TITLE: TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

(Is a story of an Indian salesman who is, humbly qualified. Yet he fights his way through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read not only for salesmen but for any reader. The book was launched on 10th February 2018 at Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available on Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

BOOK TITLE: RHYTHM … IN POEMS

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems are about our day-to-day life. Poems from this book have been published in Shillong Times, Bandra Times, Bhavan’s Journal and Arunachal Times. The book is available on Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

BOOK TITLE: MIRAGE

(Published in February 2020. The book is a collection of eight short stories available on Amazon, Flipkart and Notion Press)

BOOK TITLE: AWADH ASSAM AND DALAI LAMA … The Kalachakra

(It is the story of the man who received His Holiness The Dalai Lama and his retinue in 1959 as a GOI representative when he fled Tibet in 1959. The book was launched on 21st November 2022 by His Holiness The Dalai Lama at Dharmshala. The title is archived in the library of the Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR) Government of Tibet, Tibet Policy Institute (TPI) and the personal library of His Holiness The Dalai Lama. The title is also archived in The Ohio Digital Library, USA. It was recently included in the digital library of the world-renowned company APPLE). Included in the library of Friends of Tibet.

(POEMS, SHORT STORIES AND ARTICLES OF KAMLESH TRIPATHI PUBLISHED IN JOURNALS AND MAGAZINES)

BHAVANS JOURNAL

Short stories, Book reviews and Articles published in Bhavan’s Journal: 1. Reality and Perception, 15.10.19; 2. Sending the Wrong Message, 31.5.20; 3. Eagle versus Scholars, June, 15 & 20, 2020; 4. Indica, 15.8.20; 5. The Story of King Chitraketu, August 31 2020; 6. Breaking Through the Chakravyuh, September 30 2020. 7. The Questioning Spouse, October 31, 2020; 8. Happy Days, November 15, 2020; 9. The Karma Cycle of Paddy and Wheat, December 15, 2020; 10. Power Vs Influence, January 31, 2021; 11. Three Refugees, March 15, 2021; 12. Rise and Fall of Ajatashatru, March 31, 2021; 13. Reformed Ruler, May 15, 2021; 14. A Lasting Name, May 31, 2021; 15. Are Animals Better Teachers? June 16, 2021; 16. Book Review: The Gram Swaraj, 1.7.21; 17. Right Age for Achievements, 15.7.21; 18. Big Things Have Small Beginnings, 15.8.21; 19. Where is Gangaridai?, 15.9.21; 20. Confront the Donkey Within You 30.9.21; 21. Know Your Strengths 15.10.21; 22. Poverty 15.11.21; 23. Top View 30.11.21; 24. The Bansuriwala 15.1.22; 25. Sale of Alaska 15.2.22; 26. The Dimasa Kingdom 28.2.22;27. Buried Treasure 15.4.22; 28. The Kingdom of Pragjyotisha 30.4.22; 29. Who is more useful? 15.5.22; 30. The White Swan from Lake Mansarovar 30.6.22; 31. Bhool Bhulayya 15.9.22; 32. Good Karma 30.9.22; 33. Good Name vs Bad Name 15.10.22; 34. Uttarapath—The Grand Trunk Road 1.12.22; 35. When Gods Get Angry 1.1.23; 36. Holinshed’s Chronicles 15.1.23; 37. Theogony 15.2.23; 38. Poem: Mother 14.5.23; 39. The Nag Mandir 30.6.23; 40. The Story of Garuda 30.7.23; 41. Janmabhoomi vs Karmabhoomi 31.8.23; 42. The Ghost Town of Kuldhara 15.9.23; 43. The Tale of Genji 15.10.23; 44. The Soul Connection 1.12.23; 45.Book review: Jungle Nama … a story of the Sundarban 16.3.24; 46. Book review: A Forgotten Chapter 16.5.24; 47. Exploring Ancient Egypt, 1.8.24; 48. The Story of Dhruva, 16.8.24; 49. Two Hundred Years of Tea in Assam 16.9.24; 50. The Cosmic Messenger 16.10.24;

THE SHILLONG TIMES

Articles & Poems: 1. Poem: Happy New Year 8.1.23; 2.Poem: Spring 12.3.23; 3.Poem: Right and Wrong 20.3.23; 4. The Gush of Emotion—Writing, 26.3.23; 5. The Nag Mandir, 7.5.23; 6. Poem: Mother 7.5.23; 7. Poem: Rain Rain 9.7.23; 8. Poem: You Come Alone You Go Alone 6.8.23; 9. Poem: Rain Rain (Second Time) 10.8.23; 10. Poem: Guru Teacher 1.10.23; 11. Poem: Autumn … The Interim Heaven 15.10.23; 12. Poem: Happy Diwali 12.11.23; 13. Overcoming Blindness: Learn it the John Milton Way 10.12.23; 14. The Happy Prince and The Happy Man’s Shirt 31.12.23; 15. Annus Mirabilis -2024 7.1.24; 16. Gandhi to Mahatma Gandhi- Incidents that Shaped Gandhi in South Africa 28.1.24; 17. Poem: Together But Not Made For Each Other, 11.2.24; 18. The Birds Bees and The Spiders of Nicholas Guildford and Jonathan Swift 25.2.24; 19. The Overcoats of Nikolai Gogol and Ruskin Bond 10.3.24; 20. The Ethnic Colours of Holi 24.3.24; 21. A Lesson from Dalai Lama, 21.4.24; 22. Poem: Morning Walk 28.4.24; 23. Trip to Rhine Falls, Switzerland, 19.5.24; 24. Poem: Hurt 2.6.24; 25. Poem: Your Conscience Was My Sign On 16.6.24; 26.Poem: The Eerie Ways of Time 7.7.24; 27.Poem: Celebrating the T20 World Champions 14.7.24;28. Read to Rise above mediocrity, 4.8.24; 29. Poem: Desire vs Reality 11.8.24; 30. Jack Ma’s Pristine Advice to Employers, Employees and the Youth 22.9.24;

THE ASSAM TRIBUNE

Article: 1. The Magic of Reading 11.12.23; 2. Gandhi to Mahatma 29.1.24; 3. Geography of Solitude 8.4.24; 4. A Lesson From Dalai Lama, 22.4.24; 5. A Source of Inspiration, 29.4.24; 6. The Four-Legged Library, 12.5.24; 7. Age and Achievement, 10.6.24; 8. Read … To Rise Above Mediocrity, 1.7.24; 9. Crusade for a College, 25.8.24; 10. Hemingway’s Iceberg Theory (Panorama) 27.9.24; 11. Short story: Love in the Air, 20.10.24;

THE ARUNACHAL TIMES

Poem: 1. Hope—In The Arc of Twilight, 13.8.23; 2.Poem: Spring 3.3.24; 3.Poem: The Morning Walk 10.3.24;

BANDRA TIMES, MUMBAI

Articles & Poems: 1. Poem: SPRING, 1.4.23; 2. Poem: Mother, 1.6.23; 3. Poem: Rain Rain, 1.8.23; 4. A Lesson From Dalai Lama, 1.6.24; 5. Read to rise above Mediocrity 1.8.24

THE GOAN

Poem: Autumn – The Interim Heaven, 6.10.24

ARTICLES IN THE DIGITAL MAGAZINE ESAMSKRITI

Aritcles: 29.12.2020: Indica by Megasthenes; 14.3.22: About The Dimasa Kingdom Assam; 10.12.22: Grand Trunk Road–Uttarapath; 5.10.23: The Ghost Town of Kuldhara Near Jaisalmer;

(ALL THE ABOVE BOOK TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE ON AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

*****

 

THE STORY OF NARAD MUNI-THE COSMIC MESSENGER

mythology, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Copyright@shravancharitymission

    Narad Muni is a divine sage, popular in Hindu mythology as a travelling musician and storyteller, who carries news and enlightening wisdom. He is a mind-created (manasputras) child of Lord Brahma, the creator. Narad appears in several Hindu texts, notably the Mahabharat, telling Yudhishthir the story of Prahalad. He also appears in Ramayan and Purans.  He is also referred to as Rishiraja, meaning the king of all sages and is gifted with the knowledge of the past, present, and future.

    In the Indian scriptures, Narad travels to distant worlds and Lokas. He is depicted carrying a khartal (a musical instrument) and the veena and is regarded as one of the great masters of the ancient musical instrument. He is depicted as wise, mischievous and even humorous in mythological tales. He is noted for being meddlesome and provoking conflict between the gods and the demons.  Texts named after Narad include the Narad Puran and the Naradsmriti.  

    Long ago, there lived a Gandharva known by the name Upabarhana. Gandharvas are musical beings, a category of Devatas who live in Gandharvaloka in heaven. Upabarhana was a handsome person. Once the residents of heaven organised a spiritual gathering to glorify Lord Narayan (Vishnu). All the Devatas, including Gandharvas and Apsaras, were invited to participate in this gathering. Upabarhana too, went for this spiritual event but unfortunately, instead of glorifying Lord Narayan, he started singing songs for the demigods which was inappropriate for the occasion. Thus the members of the festival got upset with this behaviour of his.

    The Prajapatis, who supervised the affairs of the universe felt he needed to be punished for his misdemeanour. So they cursed him to become an ugly low-class person. As a result, Upabarhana fell on planet Earth from the heaven. He was now deprived of his exalted position as a Gandharva and took birth as the only son of a maidservant on earth. In the process, he lost the grace and beauty of which he was so proud.

    The maid-servant was poor and uneducated. But she was fortunate enough to get an opportunity to serve the noble-hearted Brahmins. She did menial services for the maintenance of herself and her child. The boy was dependent on his mother and had no experience of another Loka. He believed that she would never leave him and they lived in a Gurukul.

    Once, some sages came there. They were learned Vedic scholars and devotees of Lord Narayan (Vishnu). They decided to stay there during the four months of the rainy season. This allowed the maid-servant and the son to offer their services.

    Whenever the scholars talked about Lord Narayan, the boy would attentively hear them. Thus, his love for Lord Narayan started unfolding. In the company of the scholars, the boy slowly became an ardent follower of the Lord. The sages were impressed by the demeanour of the boy and he gradually engaged himself in the service of the Lord. When the sages were about to depart, they taught him Srimad Bhagavatam and supported him in the path of bhakti leading to Lord Vishnu & Lord Krishna. After the departure of the great sages, the boy continued to live with his mother. He was overwhelmed by the inspiration he had received from the sages in their wonderful company.

    One day when the mother of the boy went out to milk a cow in the evening. While walking along the path, she stamped a snake, retaliating, the snake too bit her foot and she died on the spot. In this tragic incident, the boy saw the hand of God. Since he was now left alone he decided to travel to places in search of knowledge and enlightenment. He passed through many cities, towns, villages, valleys, gardens, forests, hills, and mountains and he kept remembering his Narayan while travelling.

    After days of travelling, the boy (Narad) reached a tranquil forest location. He was thirsty and hungry. He came across a river, where he bathed and quenched his thirst in the nearby stream. Relieved he sat under the shade of a big banyan tree and began his meditation thinking of Narayan (Vishnu) as he had been taught by the priests that he had served. After a while, Narad experienced a vision wherein Lord Vishnu appeared before him and said, ‘My dear Narad, despite my blessings because of which you can see me at this moment, you would not be able to see my divine form again till you’re dead.’ Vishnu then explained the reason why Narad had been given a chance to see his divine form. It was because Vishnu’s beauty and love would be a source of inspiration and would fuel Narad’s dormant desire to be with the Lord again. After apprising Narad in this manner, Vishnu disappeared from his sight. The boy awoke from his meditation, both thrilled and disappointed.

    Thereafter, the boy started chanting the Lord’s name. He travelled across the world. In due course of time, he was accepted by Lord Narayan and he became detached from all material taints and passed away. After leaving his mortal body, he entered a spiritual body as the son of Lord Brahma who was creating the universe, and as a befitting associate of the Lord, he became the great sage Narad Muni. Narad Muni is a great teacher and the guru of several devoted kings like Dhruva, Prahlada, Mrigari, Priyavrata, and others.

            In the Mahabharat, Narad is portrayed as being conversant with the Vedas and the Upanishads and acquainted with Purans. He has a mastery over the six Angas (limbs of knowledge): pronunciation, grammar, prosody, terms, religious rites and astronomy. All celestial beings worship him for his knowledge – he is supposed to be well-versed in all that occurred in the ancient Kalpas (time cycles). He is eloquent, resolute, intelligent and a possessor of powerful memory. He knows the science of morals and politics. He is skilled in drawing inferences from evidence and very proficient in distinguishing inferior things from superior ones. He is a master of the Sankhya and Yoga systems of philosophy, conversant with the sciences of war and treaties and proficient in drawing conclusions by judging things, not within direct knowledge. He knows about the six sciences of a treaty, war, military campaigns, maintenance of posts against the enemy and strategies of ambushes and reserves. He is a thorough master of every branch of learning. He is fond of war and music and incapable of being repulsed by any science or any course of action.

    Narad temples are few, the most prominent being the Sri Narad Muni Temple at Chigateri Karnataka.

    The famous chant of Narad Muni is Narayan—Narayan.

Posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

*

https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

*

Like it and Share it

*

Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause of cancer? The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

*

Publications of Kamlesh Tripathi

BOOK TITLE: GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

(The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in eight prestigious libraries of the US which include Harvard College Library; Harvard University Library; Library of Congress; University of Washington, Seattle; University of Minnesota, Minneapolis; Yale University, New Haven; University of Chicago; University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill University Libraries. It can also be accessed at MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in the libraries and archives of Canada; the Open Library; Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai; Jaipuria Institute of Management, Noida, India; Shoolini University, Yogananda Knowledge Center, Himachal Pradesh and Azim Premzi University, Bangalore and the Library of Cancer Aid and Research Foundation, Mumbai. The title also finds a mention in a book titled ‘Enduring Cancer: Life, Death and Diagnosis in Delhi’ by Dwaipayan Banerjee published by the Duke University Press).

BOOK TITLE: ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(It is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi; It is also available for reading in the Indian National Bibliography, March 2016, in the literature section, in Central Reference Library, Ministry of Culture, India, Belvedere, Kolkata-700022)

BOOK TITLE: AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

(This is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity, which is the undying characteristic of Lucknow. The book was launched at the Lucknow International Literary Festival in 2014. It is catalogued and included for reading in Askews and Holts Library Services, Lancashire, U.K; Herrick District Library, Holland; Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, USA; Black Gold Cooperative Library Administration, Arroyo Grande, California; Berkeley Library, University of California; The Peshastin Public Library and The George Public Library near Washington, a Northern Central Washington Libraries branch; the Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library in Arizona in the US and the Salina Public Library, Kansas, USA.

BOOK TITLE: REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

(Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched at the Lucknow International Literary Festival in 2016).

BOOK TITLE: TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

(Is a story of an Indian salesman who is, humbly qualified. Yet he fights his way through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read not only for salesmen but for any reader. The book was launched on 10th February 2018 at Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available on Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

BOOK TITLE: RHYTHM … IN POEMS

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems are about our day-to-day life. Poems from this book have been published in Shillong Times, Bandra Times, Bhavan’s Journal and Arunachal Times. The book is available on Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

BOOK TITLE: MIRAGE

(Published in February 2020. The book is a collection of eight short stories available on Amazon, Flipkart and Notion Press)

BOOK TITLE: AWADH ASSAM AND DALAI LAMA … The Kalachakra

(It is the story of the man who received His Holiness The Dalai Lama and his retinue in 1959 as a GOI representative when he fled Tibet in 1959. The book was launched on 21st November 2022 by His Holiness The Dalai Lama at Dharmshala. The title is archived in the library of the Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR) Government of Tibet, Tibet Policy Institute (TPI) and the personal library of His Holiness The Dalai Lama. The title is also archived in The Ohio Digital Library, USA. It was recently included in the digital library of the world-renowned company APPLE). Included in the library of Friends of Tibet.

(POEMS AND ARTICLES OF KAMLESH TRIPATHI PUBLISHED IN JOURNALS AND MAGAZINES)

BHAVANS JOURNAL

Short stories, Book reviews and Articles published in Bhavan’s Journal: 1. Reality and Perception, 15.10.19; 2. Sending the Wrong Message, 31.5.20; 3. Eagle versus Scholars, June, 15 & 20, 2020; 4. Indica, 15.8.20; 5. The Story of King Chitraketu, August 31 2020; 6. Breaking Through the Chakravyuh, September 30 2020. 7. The Questioning Spouse, October 31, 2020; 8. Happy Days, November 15, 2020; 9. The Karma Cycle of Paddy and Wheat, December 15, 2020; 10. Power Vs Influence, January 31, 2021; 11. Three Refugees, March 15, 2021; 12. Rise and Fall of Ajatashatru, March 31, 2021; 13. Reformed Ruler, May 15, 2021; 14. A Lasting Name, May 31, 2021; 15. Are Animals Better Teachers? June 16, 2021; 16. Book Review: The Gram Swaraj, 1.7.21; 17. Right Age for Achievements, 15.7.21; 18. Big Things Have Small Beginnings, 15.8.21; 19. Where is Gangaridai?, 15.9.21; 20. Confront the Donkey Within You 30.9.21; 21. Know Your Strengths 15.10.21; 22. Poverty 15.11.21; 23. Top View 30.11.21; 24. The Bansuriwala 15.1.22; 25. Sale of Alaska 15.2.22; 26. The Dimasa Kingdom 28.2.22;27. Buried Treasure 15.4.22; 28. The Kingdom of Pragjyotisha 30.4.22; 29. Who is more useful? 15.5.22; 30. The White Swan from Lake Mansarovar 30.6.22; 31. Bhool Bhulayya 15.9.22; 32. Good Karma 30.9.22; 33. Good Name vs Bad Name 15.10.22; 34. Uttarapath—The Grand Trunk Road 1.12.22; 35. When Gods Get Angry 1.1.23; 36. Holinshed’s Chronicles 15.1.23; 37. Theogony 15.2.23; 38. Poem: Mother 14.5.23; 39. The Nag Mandir 30.6.23; 40. The Story of Garuda 30.7.23; 41. Janmabhoomi vs Karmabhoomi 31.8.23; 42. The Ghost Town of Kuldhara 15.9.23; 43. The Tale of Genji 15.10.23; 44. The Soul Connection 1.12.23; 45.Book review: Jungle Nama … a story of the Sundarban 16.3.24; 46. Book review: A Forgotten Chapter 16.5.24; 47. Exploring Ancient Egypt, 1.8.24; 48. The Story of Dhruva, 16.8.24;

THE SHILLONG TIMES

Articles & Poems: 1. Poem: Happy New Year 8.1.23; 2.Poem: Spring 12.3.23; 3.Poem: Right and Wrong 20.3.23; 4. The Gush of Emotion—Writing, 26.3.23; 5. The Nag Mandir, 7.5.23; 6. Poem: Mother 7.5.23; 7. Poem: Rain Rain 9.7.23; 8. Poem: You Come Alone You Go Alone 6.8.23; 9. Poem: Rain Rain (Second Time) 10.8.23; 10. Poem: Guru Teacher 1.10.23; 11. Poem: Autumn … The Interim Heaven 15.10.23; 12. Poem: Happy Diwali 12.11.23; 13. Overcoming Blindness: Learn it the John Milton Way 10.12.23; 14. The Happy Prince and The Happy Man’s Shirt 31.12.23; 15. Annus Mirabilis -2024 7.1.24; 16. Gandhi to Mahatma Gandhi- Incidents that Shaped Gandhi in South Africa 28.1.24; 17. Poem: Together But Not Made For Each Other, 11.2.24; 18. The Birds Bees and The Spiders of Nicholas Guildford and Jonathan Swift 25.2.24; 19. The Overcoats of Nikolai Gogol and Ruskin Bond 10.3.24; 20. The Ethnic Colours of Holi 24.3.24; 21. A Lesson from Dalai Lama, 21.4.24; 22. Poem: Morning Walk 28.4.24; 23. Trip to Rhine Falls, Switzerland, 19.5.24; 24. Poem: Hurt 2.6.24; 25. Poem: Your Conscience Was My Sign On 16.6.24; 26.Poem: The Eerie Ways of Time 7.7.24; 27.Poem: Celebrating the T20 World Champions 14.7.24;28. Read to Rise above mediocrity, 4.8.24; 29. Poem: Desire vs Reality 11.8.24;

THE ASSAM TRIBUNE

Article: 1. The Magic of Reading 11.12.23; 2. Gandhi to Mahatma 29.1.24; 3. Geography of Solitude 8.4.24; 4. A Lesson From Dalai Lama, 22.4.24; 5. A Source of Inspiration, 29.4.24; 6. The Four-Legged Library, 12.5.24; 7. Age and Achievement, 10.6.24; 8. Read … To Rise Above Mediocrity, 1.7.24; 9. Crusade for a College, 25.8.24;

THE ARUNACHAL TIMES

Poem: 1. Hope—In The Arc of Twilight, 13.8.23; 2.Poem: Spring 3.3.24; 3.Poem: The Morning Walk 10.3.24;

BANDRA TIMES, MUMBAI

Articles & Poems: 1. Poem: SPRING, 1.4.23; 2. Poem: Mother, 1.6.23; 3. Poem: Rain Rain, 1.8.23; 4. A Lesson From Dalai Lama, 1.6.24; 5. Read to rise above Mediocrity 1.8.24

ARTICLES IN THE DIGITAL MAGAZINE ESAMSKRITI

29.12.2020: Indica by Megasthenes; 14.3.22: About The Dimasa Kingdom Assam; 10.12.22: Grand Trunk Road–Uttarapath; 5.10.23: The Ghost Town of Kuldhara Near Jaisalmer;

(ALL THE ABOVE BOOK TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE ON AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

*****

THE STORY OF BHISHMA PITAMAH

ARTICLE SPIRITUAL, moral lesson, mythology, parables, short story, shravan charity mission, spiritual, spiritual article, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Copyright@shravancharitymission

        Long ago, the capital city of Hastinapur was ruled by the great King Shantanu. Once, while he was walking along the banks of the Ganges River, he met a beautiful maiden. Shantanu asked if she would like to marry him. She agreed, provided Shantanu was ready to fulfil certain conditions: ‘She desired that he should not interfere with what she does whether he likes it or not and he should address her respectfully. The moment these conditions are broken she would leave him forever.’ Shantanu agreed and married the maiden and started living with her happily.

    Each time a child was born, the maiden would go and throw the child into the river. This disturbed the king. But he didn’t dare to ask her why because he was bound by his promise and feared she would leave. But when their eighth child was born, King Shantanu couldn’t hold himself. He advised her to desist from the cruel act of throwing the infant into the Ganges.’ The maiden replied, ‘You have broken your promise.’

    She spared the child but revealed her identity, ‘I am Goddess Ganga and the children born to us are the eight ‘Vasus’ cursed to suffer human birth. Your reproachful words freed us from the curse. My time has come. I will leave now.’ And she disappeared with the child.

    Years passed … Once while chasing a deer on the banks of River Ganga, Shantanu noticed the river was abnormally shallow. He began to look for the cause. He saw a boy checking the river’s flow. He looked Godlike. The boy knew that the king was his father, but Shantanu failed to recognise him. The boy clouded the king’s mind with his mystic power and disappeared. Shantanu realised the boy was his son. He pleaded with Ganga, ‘Please be merciful and give me back my son so that my dynasty lives.’

    Ganga appeared with her son. She said, ‘He is Gangeya, our eighth child. He has mastered the Vedic Knowledge and knows the duties of a king. Hereafter, he will be known as Devavrata. Take care of him, for he will perform wonders.

    King Shantanu returned with Devavrata. Devavrata was declared the heir apparent to the royal throne. Once while riding along the banks of the River Yamuna, Shantanu saw a young woman. He enquired about her identity.

    ‘I’m Satyavati, the daughter of the chief fisherman.’ Enchanted by her beauty, the king desired to marry Satyavati. He approached her father for consent. The father said, ‘Maharaj! I can never find a more suitable husband than you for my daughter but the son born to her should only be the successor to the royal throne of Hastinapur.’

    The intense desire for Satyavati wanted King Shantanu to accept, the condition of the chief fisherman but his deep love for his son Devavrata stopped him from doing so. This depressed Shantanu very much. He returned to Hastinapur and started suffering in silence. Seeing his father in this condition, Devavrata enquired about the reason.

    The King replied, ‘Devavrata you’re my only son. But what if you’re slain in a war, the great Bharat Dynasty will come to an end’. Devavrata understood this wasn’t the real reason for his father’s sorrow. From the king’s charioteer, he came to know about the inner story and the king’s desire to marry Satyavati. Devavrata approached the chief fishermen and begged on behalf of King Shantanu. He even promised he would never accept the royal throne.

    ‘But what about your sons? They might claim the throne despite your refusal.’ Pointed the fisherman. Devavrata knew where this was heading, so he took another oath.

    ‘I vow to observe Brahmacharya (celibacy) all my life.’

    Happy, the demigods showered flowers on Devavrata and exclaimed, “Devavrata is worthy of the title ‘Bhishma’ (mighty) for taking such a vow for the sake of his father.”    Delighted, Satyavati’s father agreed to marry his daughter to Shantanu and Bhishma escorted her to Hastinapur.

    Pleased, King Shantanu granted Bhishma a vardan (blessing) of not dying against his own will. Shantanu married Satyavati and had two sons, Chitrangada and Vichitravirya. Chitrangada died in a duel with the king of Gandharvas, leaving Vichitravirya as the successor to the throne.

    When the King of Kashi held a Svayamvara (self-choice marriage) for his three daughters- Amba, Ambika and Ambalika, intending to marry them to his step-brother Vichitravirya, Bhishma abducted them by force and challenged the other kings in combat. He defeated them all. After that, he set out for Hastinapur with all the three princesses in his chariot. On his way back, Salva the king of Saubala, who was in love with Amba, fought with Bhishma but he was defeated. At the request of the princesses, Bhishma spared his life.

    After reaching Hastinapur, Amba pleaded with Bhishma, not to force her to marry Vichitravirya, as she had chosen Salva as her husband. Bhishma pondered and then let her go.

    Vichitravirya was married to Ambika and Ambalika. Amba went to Salva and told him what had happened but Salva wasn’t happy. He decided not to accept Amba. Helpless she returned to Hastinapur and explained the situation to Bhishma.

    Bhishma tried to convince Vichitravirya to marry Amba but he declined. Nowhere to go, Amba asked Bhishma to marry her. But since the oath of Brahmacharya bound him, he refused Amba. Enraged, Amba approached sage Parashurama and implored him to slay Bhishma and avenge her. Parashurama directed Bhishma to marry Amba.

    Parashurama was Bhishma’s guru. But Bhishma desisted from heeding him because of the oath he had taken for his father’s sake. Parashurama challenged Bhishma. They fought for several days, but neither could defeat the other.

    Amba held Bhishma responsible for her misfortune. She undertook penance by jumping into a funeral pyre and was granted a boon by Lord Shiva—that in her next life, she would be born as Shikhandi, the eunuch child of King Drupada.

    Meanwhile, Dhritarashtra and Pandu were born to Ambika and Ambalika. Their sons were the hundred Kauravas and the five Pandavas respectively, whom Bhishma looked after as his own. From childhood only Kauravas and Pandavas were rivals. The enmity thus continued.

    Bhishma advised the cousins to distribute the kingdom amicably amongst themselves to avoid conflict but the Kauravas were not happy with the idea and the great war of Mahabharat broke out for eighteen days. Bhishma was constrained to fight from the Kauravas’ side.

    Though the two armies fought furiously the Pandavas were one up. They struck terror in the heart of Duryodhana. He spoke harshly to Bhishma that he was not fighting to his full potential and that he was letting the Pandavas win. The accusation pricked Bhishma’s heart like a dagger. Infuriated, he took a wow that he would kill Arjuna the next day. The third day of the battle between Arjuna and Bhishma was very fierce.

    Krishna observed how Bhishma was strategizing his moves on that day. Arjuna was unable to stop him. Just then Bhishma’s arrow hit Arjuna’s chariot and he fell. This angered Lord Krishna. Despite his vow not to wield a weapon in the war, he took out his divine disc to attack Bhishma. But before Krishna could make a move, Arjuna clasped Krishna’s legs and begged him not to do so. He vowed he would kill Bhishma very soon. As a result, Krishna retracted the disc.

    On the tenth day of the battle, Arjuna rained arrows on Bhishma, while taking cover behind Shikhandi. Bhishma realized Shikhandi was none other than Amba in her previous life. So he allowed himself to be attacked by them knowing fully well of the consequences. Soon he fell from his chariot. On seeing Bhishma the commander of the Kaurava army fall, both sides halted the war as a mark of respect and circled him.

    Bhishma, the descendant of King Bharat, lay on a bed of arrows, now preparing to leave his body. With tearful eyes, the family members gathered around Bhishma Pitamah. Bhishma was a great devotee of Lord Krishna. Thus Krishna bowed down before Bhishma and everyone followed.

    By the skill of his archery, Arjuna gave support to Bhishma’s head and also created a water fountain to quench his thirst. Bhishma had promised his father King Shantanu that he would live until Hastinapur was secure from all directions. To keep his promise Bhishma used the boon of Ichcha Mrityu (self-wished death) granted to him by his father. After the war ended, and when Hastinapur had become safe from all sides and after giving lessons on politics and occupational duties to Yudhishthir (eldest Pandav sibling), Bhishma died on the first day of Uttarayana. He was finally relieved of his oath of perpetually serving the Kuru King.

    Bhishma meditated and chanted the thousand names of the Lord Krishna, now known to us as Vishnu Sahasranama and stopped breathing.

***

Posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

*

https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

*

Like it and Share it

*

Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life-threatening diseases, especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers, including children and adults, and have a huge variety in content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate to the cause? The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

*

Kamlesh Tripathi’s Publications

GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

(The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in 8 prestigious libraries of the US which include Harvard College Library; Harvard University Library; Library of Congress; University of Washington, Seattle; University of Minnesota, Minneapolis; Yale University, New Haven; University of Chicago; University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill University Libraries. It can also be accessed at MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in libraries and archives of Canada; Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai; Jaipuria Institute of Management, Noida, India; Shoolini University, Yogananda Knowledge Center, Himachal Pradesh and Azim Premzi University, Bangalore).

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi; It is also available for reading in the Indian National Bibliography, March 2016, in the literature section, in Central Reference Library, Ministry of Culture, India, Belvedere, Kolkata-700022)

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

(Is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity, which is the undying characteristic of Lucknow. The book was launched at the Lucknow International Literary Festival in 2014. It is included for reading in Askews and Holts Library Services, Lancashire, U.K; Herrick District Library, Holland and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library, Mecklenburg County in North Carolina, USA; Black Gold Cooperative Library Administration, Arroyo Grande, California; Berkeley Library, University of California).

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

(Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched at the Lucknow International Literary Festival in 2016).

TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

(Is a story of an Indian salesman who is, humbly qualified. Yet he fights his way through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read not only for salesmen. The book was launched on 10th February 2018 at Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available on Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

RHYTHM … in poems

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day-to-day life. A few poems from the book have been published in Shillong Times, Bandra Times and Bhavan’s Journal. The book is available on Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

MIRAGE

(Published in February 2020. The book is a collection of eight short stories available on Amazon, Flipkart and Notion Press)

AWADH ASSAM AND DALAI LAMA … The Kalachakra

(The story of the man who received His Holiness The Dalai Lama and his retinue in 1959 as a GOI representative when he fled Tibet in 1959. The book was launched on 21st November 2022 by His Holiness The Dalai Lama at Dharmshala. The title is archived in the library of the Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR) Government of Tibet, Tibet Policy Institute (TPI) and the personal library of His Holiness The Dalai Lama. The title is also archived in The Ohio Digital Library, USA. It was recently included in the digital library of the world-renowned company APPLE).

BHAVANS JOURNAL

Short stories, Book reviews and Articles published in Bhavan’s Journal: 1. Reality and Perception, 15.10.19; 2. Sending the Wrong Message, 31.5.20; 3. Eagle versus Scholars June, 15 & 20, 2020; 4. Indica, 15.8.20; 5. The Story of King Chitraketu, August 31 2020; 6. Breaking Through the Chakravyuh, September 30 2020. 7. The Questioning Spouse, October 31, 2020; 8. Happy Days, November 15, 2020; 9. The Karma Cycle of Paddy and Wheat, December 15, 2020; 10. Power Vs Influence, January 31, 2021; 11. Three Refugees, March 15, 2021; 12. Rise and Fall of Ajatashatru, March 31, 2021; 13. Reformed Ruler, May 15, 2021; 14. A Lasting Name, May 31, 2021; 15. Are Animals Better Teachers? June 16, 2021; 16. Book Review: The Gram Swaraj, 1.7.21; 17. Right Age for Achievements, 15.7.21; 18. Big Things Have Small Beginnings, 15.8.21; 19. Where is Gangaridai?, 15.9.21; 20. Confront the Donkey Within You 30.9.21; 21. Know Your Strengths 15.10.21; 22. Poverty 15.11.21; 23. Top View 30.11.21; 24. The Bansuriwala 15.1.22; 25. Sale of Alaska 15.2.22; 26. The Dimasa Kingdom 28.2.22;27. Buried Treasure 15.4.22; 28. The Kingdom of Pragjyotisha 30.4.22; 29. Who is more useful? 15.5.22; 30. The White Swan from Lake Mansarovar 30.6.22; 31. Bhool Bhulayya 15.9.22; 32. Good Karma 30.9.22; 33. Good Name vs Bad Name 15.10.22; 34. Uttarapath—The Grand Trunk Road 1.12.22; 35. When Gods Get Angry 1.1.23; 36. Holinshed’s Chronicles 15.1.23; 37. Theogony 15.2.23; 38. Poem: Mother 14.5.23; 39. THE NAG MANDIR 30.6.23; 40. The Story of Garuda 30.7.23; 41. Janmabhoomi vs Karmabhoomi 31.8.23; 42. The Ghost Town of Kuldhara 15.9.23; 43. The Tale of Genji 15.10.23; 44. The Soul Connection 1.12.23; 45.Book review: Jungle Nama … a story of the Sundarban 16.3.24; 46. Book review: A Forgotten Chapter 16.5.24;

THE SHILLONG TIMES

ARTICLES & POEMS: 1. POEM: HAPPY NEW YEAR 8.1.23; 2. POEM: SPRING 12.3.23; 3. POEM: RIGHT AND WRONG 20.3.23; 4. THE GUSH OF EMOTION—WRITING, 26.3.23; 5. THE NAG MANDIR, 7.5.23; 6. POEM: MOTHER 7.5.23; 7. POEM: RAIN RAIN 9.7.23; 8. POEM: YOU COME ALONE YOU GO ALONE 6.8.23; 9. RAIN RAIN (SECOND TIME) 10.8.23; 10. POEM: GURU TEACHER 10.8.23; 11. POEM: AUTUMN … THE INTERIM HEAVEN 15.10.23; 12. POEM: HAPPY DIWALI 12.11.23; 13. OVERCOMING BLINDNESS: LEARN IT THE JOHN MILTON WAY 10.12.23; 14. THE HAPPY PRINCE AND THE HAPPY MAN’S SHIRT 31.12.23; 15. ANNUS MIRABILIS 2024 7.1.24; 16. GANDHI TO MAHATMA GANDHI- Incidents that Shaped Gandhi in South Africa 28.1.24; 17. POEM: TOGETHER BUT NOT MADE FOR EACH OTHER, 11.2.24; 18. THE BIRDS BEES AND THE SPIDERS OF NICHOLAS GUILDFORD AND JONATHAN SWIFT 25.2.24; 19. THE OVERCOATS OF NIKOLAI GOGOL AND RUSKIN BOND 10.3.24; 20. THE ETHNIC COLOURS OF HOLI 24.3.24; 21. A LESSON FROM DALAI LAMA, 21.4.24; 22. POEM: MORNING WALK 28.4.24; 23. TRIP TO RHINE FALLS, SWITZERLAND, 19.5.24; 24. POEM: HURT 2.6.24;

THE ASSAM TRIBUNE

ARTICLE: 1. THE MAGIC OF READING 11.12.23; 2. GANDHI TO MAHATMA 29.1.24; 3. GEOGRAPHY OF SOLITUDE 8.4.24; 4. A LESSON FROM DALAI LAMA, 22.4.24; 5. A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION, 29.4.24; 6. THE FOUR-LEGGED LIBRARY, 12.5.24; 7. AGE AND ACHIEVEMENT, 10.6.24;

BANDRA TIMES, MUMBAI

ARTICLES & POEMS: 1. POEM: SPRING, 1.4.23; 2. POEM: MOTHER, 1.6.23; 3. POEM: RAIN RAIN, 1.8.23;

ARTICLES IN THE DIGITAL MAGAZINE ESAMSKRITI

29.12.2020: INDICA BY MEGASTHENES; 14.3.22: ABOUT THE DIMASA KINGDOM ASSAM; 10.12.22: GRAND TRUNK ROAD-UTTARAPATH; 5.10.23: THE GHOST TOWN OF KULDHARA NEAR JAISALMER;

(ALL THE ABOVE BOOK TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE ON AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

*****