Krishna Janmashtami (birth day of Lord Sri Krishna) falls on next Wednesday,
Aug 28th, 2013. The story of birth of the Lord, a saint, a prophet
or a messenger of God is always very beautiful, completely absorbing and
spiritually elevating. Out of all the incarnations, the birth of Sri Krishna is
the most beautiful one. This is because He personifies Pure Love. Man has an
element of Love in him and it is easy to connect with the Lord who is pure,
unsullied Love. In the next seven days, with Baba's grace, I will narrate the
wonderful story of Sri Krishna's birth as told in Srimad Bhagavatam (This is not
Bhagavad Gita).
Bhagavatam narrates the experiences of those who have contacted God and the
devotee (Bhagavan + Bhakta). Reading Bhagavatm cures physical, mental and
spiritual illnesses. Listening to it promotes the realization of God.
Background and Setting the stage
Pandavas (five in number) go to war with Kauravas
(100 in number) after 14 years, to regain the kingdom they lost in a game of
dice. Out of the five Pandavas, Arjuna and Yudhistra (also known as
Dharma Raja) play a very important role in the story of Mahabharata. Lord Sri
Krishna becomes the Arjuna's charioteer.
On the Kaurava side, Dronacharya, the Guru
and the Master of Archery and his son Ashwatthama, play an important role.
Dronacharya is very much attached to his only son Ashwatthama, treats him as
his life breath and protects him as eyelids protect the eye.
During the war, it becomes impossible for the Pandavas to kill Dronacharya as
he is invincible due to his mastery of Archery. In the war, there was an
elephant by name Ashwatthama which gets killed. Krishna asks Yudhistra to say
loudly that "Ashwatthama is killed" and followed by "the
elephant". Just when Yudhistra completes saying "Ashwatthama is
killed", Krishna blows the conch loudly that the words "the
elephant" is not at all heard. Hearing that Ashwatthama is killed,
Dronacharya thinks that his son is killed in the war and he loses his hold on
the bow. The bow falls to the ground. At this time, Arjuna sends an arrow and
kills Dronacharya. Also, Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna, gets killed by Kauravas
when they cleverly surround him from all sides.
After the war was over, when Ashwatthama comes to know about the foul play by
which his father Dronacharya was killed, he decides to take revenge by killing
all the descendants of Pandavas. Abhimanyu's wife Uttara was pregnant at
that time. Ashwatthama goes to the house of Abhimanyu and shoots an arrow
at Uttara's womb. But, mysteriously, a spinning wheel comes and grinds the arrow
to pieces. Uttara with her fetus was saved. An interesting story begins to
develop from here. Please wait for the next installment!
Jai Sai Ram
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