In the previous episode, we had witnessed the Paandavas preparing themselves to leave the “Eka-Chakra-Nagara” after Bheemasena killed Bhakaasura. The next place where they were about to enter was none other than the “Paanchaala Desha” or the “Drupada Desha”, which was being ruled by King Drupada, who’s grudge with Guru Dhronaachaarya was still burning like a wildfire. As per the advice of the Brahmin family with which they were staying at the “Eka-Chakra-Nagara”, the Paandavas were about to proceed to the “Paanchaala Desha” wherein, King Drupada had arranged for a grand “Svayamvara” event for his daughter’s marriage. It would be a landmark event wherein many kings from many nearby territories would be in attendance, and the Paandavas would get an opportunity to meet them and seek refuge in any of their kingdoms. Moreover, King Drupada himself is an epitome of hospitality and upon seeing them, the Brahmin family felt that King Drupada would give them an excellent place with all the requisite facilities to let them stay there. Paying heed to the advice thus, the Paandavas were about to start, and at this time, an Upanyaasaka who gives a lot of spiritual discourses arrives at their place. With this accord, we move into the “Chaitra-Rasa Parva” wherein, as I had mentioned earlier, Chitra-Rasa, who is a “Gandharva” by birth is defeated by Arjuna, who in turn gets enormous amounts of gifts from Chitra-Rasa.
Moving on thus, the Paandavas bid farewell to the Brahmin family with which they were staying, and start walking towards the river banks. They had to cross over the river again so as to reach “Paanchaala Desha”. As the Paandavas were trying to cross over the river, Chitra-Rasa was involved in “Jala-Kreeda” in the river. As the Paandavas were crossing the river, it was already midnight. The Paandavas chose the wee hours of the night to cross over because they wouldn’t be sighted by anybody around. However, when they were crossing the river, Chitra-Rasa saw them and stopped them. Chitra-Rasa engaged himself in a conversation with the Paandavas thus, “Oh people! Why are you roaming around during these wee hours of the night? Human beings like you aren’t supposed to move around during this time. These wee hours are meant for Gandharvas, Yakshas, Raakshasas etc. for moving around. Are you part of any of these three categories?”
Here we’re seeing Chitra-Rasa clearly explaining for whom “nightlife” is meant to be! In today’s world, all of us start our day at night only! Everything in this world starts functioning only after 9 PM in the night. Nowadays, we even go to the extent of building a narrative that only if we’re allowed to roam around in the night, we would be having “freedom”. However, if we do so, we would only start developing the characteristics of “Raakshasas” and this is why our mind is not stable in today’s scenario. If our minds are roaming here and there without any control, it means that we’re slowly imbibing “Raakshasa” characteristics. Thus, without going here, if we’ve to imbibe “Saathvic” characteristics, we should ensure that we refrain from doing anything during the wee hours of the night. As the proverb goes, “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise”, we should make sure that we’re up during the “Brahma-Muhurtham” time (4 to 6 AM in the morning). This “Brahma-Muhurtham” time is when the “Ozone” layer above our earth’s surface transcends down to the ground. As Ozone is extremely rich in oxygen content, it is very good for our brain and body functioning as a whole. Since oxygen is a vital element that stimulates our brain’s functioning in a big way, our productivity increases manifold. This has been proved scientifically in the modern day as well. This is exactly why our great Maharishis and ancestors have time and again emphasized that if we’re performing any of our tasks like studying, praying, etc. during this “Brahma-Muhurtham” time, our productivity multiplies to a different level altogether. We would become extremely intelligent and highly productive if we’re performing our tasks during this early morning time.
Moreover, we should always remember one very important thing here – Wherever we are in this world, we should never lose our individuality. We have so many good things within us in our Bhaarata Desha. There is no necessity that we leave all this behind and go behind something “fancy” in the western world. Of course, I’ve also lived in the west and there are good things to imbibe from the western culture too. I’m not denying that. However, there is no necessity that we sacrifice our good things and go behind what is good in the west, isn’t it? Moreover, what is so special that is available in the western culture than in ours? We do not have any disparity at all! We should also remember one thing here – All the MNC’s that are headquartered in western countries understand that Indians are super-intelligent and productive, isn’t it? It is only for this reason that all those companies are employing Indians in all their higher positions, isn’t it? We know this very well, isn’t it? How did this intelligence come into us? It is only because our forefathers and ancestors have practiced their routines during this “Brahma-Muhurtha” time, isn’t it?
Hence, we shouldn’t forget our basics and fundamentals. Just because we’ve achieved something in life, and just because we’re in the “Western world” and “Westernization” has taken over in a big way, it doesn’t mean that we sacrifice our “Indian way” of doing things. We should always remember that our “Indian Dharma” is something that is time-tested for thousands and thousands of years. Hence, as citizens of our Bhaarata Desha”, we should be proud of what we have in us. So for today, let us understand this important point and let us continue the discussion on the confrontation between the Paandavas and Chitra-Rasa in the next episode! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 