In the previous episode, we had witnessed Bheemasena killing Raakshasa Kirmeera, as part of the “Kirmeera-Vadha-Parva”. Kirmeera is none other than Bhakaasura’s brother. We’ve already witnessed earlier that Bhakaasura was killed by Bheemasena when the Paandavas were residing at “Eka-Chakra-Nagara” along with Kunthi Devi, before they got married to Draupati. As Kirmeera came to know of Bhakaasura’s and of Hidimba’s deaths, he decided to seek revenge from Bheemasena for the heinous crimes. Thus, Kirmeera came forward to attack Bheemasena and in turn, Bheemasena with his raw muscle power, made Kirumeera a mere object for him to punch upon! Thus, within no time, Kirmeera met death in the powerful hands of Bheemasena.
Thus, this is a very small “Parva” which states that Kirmeera is killed. Now we move on to the next one called “Arjuna-Abhigamana Parva”. This is an important “Parva” wherein Arjuna is going to gain a lot here. Arjuna is now going to transcend towards the “Svarga-Lokha”, “Kailaasa” (The Divine Abode of Bhagawan Shiva), and many other places from where he is going to obtain enormous “Asthras” and “Manthras”. This “Parva” assumes a lot of significance for these reasons. Now as we move into the details of it, the “Parva” starts with the entry of Bhagawan Krishna, who comes to see the Paandava brothers in the forest. Till now, for a long time, we never saw Bhagawan Krishna coming anywhere in the picture, except for the time when He helped Draupati with the saree. Even at that time, He did not come in person, but provided His “Anugraha” from wherever He was! Also, Bhagawan was never there in the picture when the gambling game happened, and when the Paandavas were ill-treated by Duryodhana. Bhagawan was never in the picture when the Paandavas were chased out of their kingdom by Duryodhana! But now after all these had happened, He is giving an entry.
So now let us witness what happened when Bhagawan Krishna comes in. As Bhagawan enters, Yudishtra and Arjuna run towards Him and receive Him with all the due respects. As Bhagawan settles down, He sees all the pale faces of the Paandavas and Draupati and enquires emotionally thus, “Oh Yudishtra! Oh Arjuna! I heard of all whatever happened to you when I was away. I had some other work and couldn’t attend to you during that time. I came to know that you had been chased out of Indraprastha and I heard that Duryodhana’s wrath brought you to such a pitiable state. But let me tell you one thing – Please do not worry! Duryodhana, Sahuni, Karna, Duchaasana, etc. who were responsible for this would certainly be destroyed. You would be the people who would destroy all of them. This would certainly happen. “Dharma” would never go down the drain! I’m there with you to protect all of you!”
As Bhagawan Krishna says thus, Arjuna immediately stood up with tears in his eyes. He replies to Bhagawan Krishna thus, “Oh Vaasudeva! I do not know how to thank you for all whatever you’ve done to us over the years! Whenever we were in any kind of suffering, you were the first one to come and save us, aren’t you? If we’re alive today, it is only because of your divine “Anugraha”! Even now when we are in deep distress, you’re the one who came and saw us! Ideally, we should have come and met you. But what happened is vice-versa! How can we even thank you for what you’ve done to us?” As Arjuna says thus, he cries out to Bhagawan Krishna! This is a very important point for all of us to understand – A beautiful illustration of how a devotee (Bhakta) should exhibit complete surrender to Bhagawan! In fact, there is an entire “Adhyaaya” wherein Arjuna is singing in praise of Bhagawan Krishna here!
So for today, let us understand up to this point. Bhagawan Krishna has arrived after a long time! So let us celebrate this momentous occasion by joining hands with the Paandava brothers and Draupati! We shall witness the continuation of this beautiful conversation in the next episode as well! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 