The Indian Dharma

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the extension of the discussion on Yudishtra’s important point on the “Varnaashrama Dharma”. Yudishtra explains how all the four “Varnaashrama Dharmas” are equal without any distinction of high or low, and how it is important for all people to follow their respective aspects of “Dharma” as stipulated by our “Shaastras”. But the real question today is, are we following the “Dharma” that is stipulated to us, no matter whichever “Varnaashrama Dharma” we belong to! For instance, if we say that we are Brahmins, do we perform the basic duties of performing the “Sandhyavandanam” thrice a day? Many of us fail in this itself! If such is the case, as per Yudishtra’s words, how can we call ourselves Brahmins? Hence, the requirement here is very simple – If we’ve to call ourselves to be part of a particular “Varnaashrama Dharma”, we should atleast follow the basics of what is required, if not the higher order requirements. Of course, I’m not saying that we should stop going for jobs, and all people belonging to the “Kshatrya” class should go and join the army. Of course, if we are interested, we should definitely do that, however, given today’s everyday demands, it might not be possible to follow 100% of what is required. We should atleast take the bare minimal effort to fulfil our “Dharma”, is what my point here is. 

Moving on further thus, Snake Nahusha asks the next question. This is also quite similar to the previous question he had asked. Snake Nahusha asks thus, “Oh Yudishtra! You’ve mentioned just now that all the four “Varnaashrama Dharmas” are equal and are on the same plane. However, is the knowledge “Gnyaana” the same for all of them or is it different for different people?” For this, Yudishtra gives an even more beautiful answer here – “Oh Nahusha! You’ve asked an important question here. Now let me tell you – “Gnyaanam” is the same for everyone from all the four “Varnaashrama Dharmas”. Just as I had explained that all the four classes are equal, people from all the four classes of “Dharma” are equally accessible to the supreme knowledge or truth about Bhagawan. Moreover, let me tell you one thing – Even if the supreme knowledge rests with the fourth class (Shudra) person, a Brahmin should worship him and obtain the knowledge from him! Thus, especially when it comes to the knowledge part, I reiterate the point – All the “Varnaashrama Dharmas” are equal and have equal access to Bhagawan. There is no change in this at all! Even if the other class people have the knowledge, a Brahmin should bow down to them, sit beside them and obtain the knowledge from them. Thus, a Brahmin is no superior than anybody else in the society! This misconception from the society is to be removed!” 

We can see how clear Yudishtra is with this point. We should underline this and understand – If the knowledge of the supreme is known to anybody, there is no question of arguing that he / she is ineligible to know it! We have no business to say that they do not deserve to know about Bhagawan. This is utter nonsense! Anybody in this world is eligible totally to know about Bhagawan and try to attain Moksha. If we do not know it, it is better we learn it from them, rather than talking about “rules and regulations” about who should know what! This has been in practice in our Sanaatana Dharma right from early days. If we look at all the “Alwars” and the “Naayanmars”, they were all extremely devoted to Bhagawan Vishnu and Shiva respectively. In these sets of people (12 Alwars and 63 Nayanmars), how many of them were Brahmins? Very few of them! For instance, Thirumangai-Alwar was a thief, and many of us might be knowing his past background! However, it was Bhagawan Vishnu who had given him a new lease of life and with that, he became a great poet – A great contributor to the “Naalayira-Divya Prabhandham” text. Similarly, Arunagirinaathar, who is the author of the famous “Thiruppugazh” on Bhagawan Muruga has the same story – He was born in a very poor family with a poor background. With the divine “Anugraha” of Bhagawan Muruga, Arunagirinathar became a great poet and sung thousands of songs in praise of Bhagawan Muruga, isn’t it? 

Thus, the point here is very simple – Never ever underestimate anybody with regards to the knowledge acumen. If someone irrespective of the caste, has the supreme knowledge, we’ve to bow down to them by shunning all the differences, and learn from them! The point is as simple as that! So for today, let us understand this point very clearly and we shall wait till the next episode to witness this further! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of our discussion on Yudishtra’s important point on how the four “Varnaashrama Dharmas” are equal and there is nothing called “high class” or “low class” as wrongly being propagated by these contemporary “Dravidian Jokers” in Tamil Nadu. Such malicious propaganda is used by these Dravidian jokers to divide people on the basis of castes and to garner votes, to satisfy their political agenda. Hence, we should be aware of all these “divisive lines” and should not fall prey to their fictitious agenda. This discussion came to the forefront as Yudishtra is answering an important question to Snake Nahusha on what is that common aspect for all the four “Varnaashrama Dharmas” put together. Yudishtra replies that if anyone doesn’t follow the respective “Dharma” as per their respective “Varnaashrama Dharma”, he / she becomes unfit to be part of it anymore. This applies to all the four “Varnaashrama Dharmas” and we can clearly see from Yudishtra’s reply that all these four classes are equal. Hence, there is no question of creating any differences here, and readers should understand this point very clearly. 

Moving on further thus, we’ve to understand one more point here – Are we following Yudishtra’s words today? Now what is Yudishtra saying here? If we’re not following the “Dharma” that is allocated to us, we lose the position of being either a Brahmin or Kshatrya or whoever it might be. Now the question here is, how many of us are meticulously following all the “Dharma” that is assigned to us? If we introspect within us, we might get alarming answers! For instance, if we’re Brahmins, how many of us are performing the “Sandhyavandanam” thrice a day? Even if we do not perform it once in a day and we miss it for some reason or the other, according to Yudishtra’s words, we would lose our position to be called as a Brahmin. I’m not talking about some of us who do not even know what “Sandhyavandanam” is! 🙂 I’m only talking about those who perform “Sandhyavandanam” atleast once or twice a day, and miss the third time! Even if that is the case, there is a “Praayaschitha” (Compensation) for this – The compensation is very simple – Perform the “Gayathri Japa” and chant the Gayathri Mantra for 1008 times! Now who has the time to sit everyday and chant 1008 Gayathri Mantras? If we’ve to do it, it will take around 4 hours to finish. Moreover, we should not change our body position as we do it. Now who has time and energy to do all this in today’s context? 

Moreover, as per the “Varnaashrama Dharma” rules, Brahmins should not earn money, do business, etc. Their only duty is to chant the Vedas and propagate it to the entire world for a noble cause. Now how many of us are sitting and doing this? Almost all of us are into working mode and earning money! As per the protocol, similarly, people who are born in the Kshatrya Dharma should dedicate themselves and fight for the country’s safety, and feed the Brahmins. Now how many of us are doing that? As per the rule, all the Kshatryas should join the Indian army and fight in Kashmir and Ladakh! How many of us are sending our children to the army? Not many, isn’t it? However, if there is one class that is executing their job perfectly atleast to an extent, it is the “Vaishyas”. They’re doing their farming and agricultural “Dharma” perfectly and this is why we’re getting food grains, fruits, vegetables, etc. to consume! Hence, Vaishyas are good in this way. However, the problem is with the other three classes, including the Brahmins and Kshatryas. If we’re not performing our duties properly, what right do we have to call ourselves “Brahmins” or whatever? Hence, this is something that we’ve to ponder about! 

Of course, we can ask a question here – If Brahmins are not going to work and earn money, who is going to protect them in today’s context? There’s literally nobody to take up the responsibility to nurture and feed Brahmins, isn’t it? Hence, how can we say that we’ve to stick on to the “Dharma” assigned here? This is why we emphasize on atleast performing the “Sandhyavandanam” thrice every day. This is the basic and the bare minimal thing that we can do, isn’t it? Atleast let us get this right first. Of course, it is completely understandable that all of us have to work elsewhere and earn money for our survival. However, the request here is that, let us not forgo our basic routines for something else! So for today, let us understand this point clearly, and we shall wait till the next episode to continue this discussion further! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Yudishtra’s extremely important reply for Snake Nahusha’s question wherein he emphasizes the understanding that all the four “Varnaashrama Dharmas” are equal and there is no superior / inferior narratives in this. In today’s context also this has extreme relevance wherein for the past 30-40 years, especially in the southern part of India, this narrative is becoming stronger. The most unfortunate thing is that, these kinds of narratives that Brahmins are trying to “suppress” others, and the fourth Varnashrama Dharma people shouldn’t enter temples, etc. are being circulated, and Brahmins are constantly under threat for their life. Some political parties who are extreme jokers otherwise, are coining such half-baked narratives without any knowledge or understanding about our Sanaatana Dharma, and people should not fall prey to such fake narratives. These so-called leaders in “Dravidian politics” pretend as if they’re atheists and are maligning Hinduism to the maximum extent possible, however, the reality is that, within the four walls of their house they believe in Bhagawan and they offer Pujas and Homas! So what are we understanding from this dual game that they’re playing? These listless jokers are trying to cash in on people’s lack of knowledge about our “Sanaatana Dharma” and are trying to induce false narratives without any backup to cheat and malign people slowly and steadily. Rather than uniting the people, these Dravidian jokers are only trying to widen the rift between all of us, so that they can garner votes and loot us! Hence, people should be extremely careful not to fall into their trap! 

Moreover, we’ve also witnessed yesterday that the classification of the “Varnaashrama Dharma” is purely based on occupation and lifestyle, and it has nothing to do with the devotion towards Bhagawan. For Bhagawan, all of us are the same, and all of us are His divine children! How can a father encourage divisions between his own sons? Will any father have the heart to do that? Bhagawan is our father, isn’t He? So why should Bhagawan encourage all these differences? Moreover, the classifications of the four “Varnaashrama Dharmas” is for the “Deham” and not for the “Atman”. We should understand one thing very clearly – Our Sanaathana Dharma focuses on the development and upliftment of our “Atman” and not the “Deham”. However, what all of us are talking about today, especially these listless “Dravidian jokers” is how to uplift and develop our “Deham”. I shall put up a separate special episode in the future very soon, to expose these “Dravidian jokers” of Tamil Nadu and how these people are so brainless! Moreover, there is a concerted effort going on by these Dravidian jokers” to foster illegal conversions of people by using these fake narratives to divide all of us! There is a huge funding externally for all these illegal activities, and all of us know how neck-deep corruption thrives amidst these “Dravidian jokers”! Hence, the point here is that, we should not get carried away by the listless and baseless narratives being set by these “Dravidian jokers” at any cost! 

In this context, we should also understand one more important thing that is being spoken about in the modern day – What is “Draavida” and what is its exact geography? “Dravida Desha” is something that encompasses the complete southern part of India – Covering four important states – Karnataka, Andra Pradesh (unified), Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Pondicherry also comes under this of course! The northern part of India starting from Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and upwards till Kashmir is collectively referred to as the “Aarya Desha”. However, today’s narrative of “Dravida Desha” is somehow restricted only within Tamil Nadu! The so-called “Dravida Model” that these “Dravidian jokers” are talking about, is a resultant of the “Dravidian Movement” that took place in Tamil Nadu in the 1970’s wherein the sole agenda behind this movement was to malign and insult Hinduism – Especially Brahmins. Because of these jokers’ narratives, Brahmins had to bear the brunt for no fault of theirs! This trend continues in Tamil Nadu wherein Brahmins are “soft targets” for these “Dravidian jokers”. As Yudishtra had mentioned earlier, a Brahmin should be patient and should be an embodiment of perseverance – Brahmins till today are doing this! However, the patience and perseverance of Brahmins had been taken for granted by these listless “Dravidian jokers” and were chased out of their own motherland to various places within India as well as abroad. This is quite similar to what happened with the Kashmiri Pandits in the 1990s! 

So, the reason why I’m saying all this at this juncture is that, we should be clear that our “Sanaatana Dharma” does not promote any sort of division amongst its followers. The word “Sanaatana” means “Ancient”, and “Dharma” means Righteousness. It only teaches the right path (Dharma) to attain Bhagawan. If such is the case, where is the question of divisiveness amongst Bhagawan’s followers? We should understand this point very clearly and this is exactly what Yudishtra is explaining to Snake Nahusha here. We shall continue this discussion between Yudishtra and Snake Nahusha in the next episode as well! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Yudishtra giving an important answer to Snake Nahusha on the aspect of “Bhoomaadhikaranam”. This is a hallmark characteristic of a Brahmin, wherein if one sees Brahman in any form, or listens to something pertaining to Brahman in any form, he / she would just not be interested in anything else in this world. This person’s thoughts would be automatically directed only towards the ultimate Brahman and nothing else. Hanuman was an epitome of this aspect and we had witnessed yesterday as to how Hanuman practised Bhoomaadhikaranam with none other than Bhagawan Rama Himself! With this answer from Yudishtra, Snake Nahusha is more and more getting impressed with Yudishtra’s scholarliness. He asks further questions, and we shall witness them in today’s episode. 

Moving on thus, Snake Nahusha is asking the next question – “Oh Yudishtra! Please tell me – What is the common “Dharma” that all the people from all the four “Varnaashrama Dharmas” have to perform?” Till now, Snake Nahusha was only asking about the “Dharma” of a Brahmin. Now the question is about the “Dharma” of all the four Varnaashrama Dharmas put together. As Snake Nahusha asks this question, Yudishtra is going to give yet another beautiful answer here thus, “Oh Nahusha! In this world, there is a lot of confusion that some belong to the first “Varnaashrama Dharma” and some belong the fourth one. I do not know when that confusion is going to end! All four “Varnaashrama Dharmas” came from one ultimate Brahman only. Moreover, the common aspect between all the four “Varnaashrama Dharmas” is that, those who are failing to follow their respective “Dharma”, would lose their eligibility to be part of that “Varnaashrama Dharmas” forever! Of course, there are separate “Dharmas” for each of the four classes. All of them who belong to the respective classes should execute their “Dharmas” properly without any blemish. If however one fails to do so, he / she would not be eligible to belong to that “Varnaashrama Dharma” ever! It might be a Brahmin or a Kshatrya or whoever it is!” 

This is an important answer that Yudishtra is giving here, and there’s an important point that needs to be highlighted too – All four “Varnaashrama Dharmas” are equal in nature. There is nothing like one class is higher and the other is lower! This is a wrong perception that has been unfortunately injected into our society for the past 40-50 years, especially in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. I do not see such clear demarcations in other Indian states, but the situation in Tamil Nadu is quite precarious to say the least! The point here is, this demarcation is not only made for garnering votes by these listless Dravidian political parties, but it is also being used as a tool to demean our “Sanaatana Dharma”! The half-baked atheists who belong to the “Dravidian Movement” propagate some listless stuff regarding Sanaatana Dharma that is completely based on casteism! This is entirely wrong! Sanaatana Dharma has casts, yes! Agreed! But it never says that Brahmins are higher and the others are lower. This is the way in which these listless so-called “Dravidians” are trying to create rifts between people to garner their political mileage. People should understand this very clearly. Moreover, we should also understand that these four “Varnaashrama Dharmas” are as per the echelons of the society, and does not have any relationship with Bhagawan. When it comes to Bhagawan, all of us are one. All of us are His children! There is no difference between a Brahmin and a Vaishya or a Kshatrya in Bhagawan’s eyes. We should clearly understand this. However, these Dravidian jokers are trying to propagate the fact that since Sanaatana Dharma is something that encourages differentiations like this, people should become atheists and God-hating! This is absolutely foolish isn’t it? Hence, people like us should understand this false and fake propaganda very clearly and flush out these jokers from our system! 

Thus, the “Varnaashrama Dharma”, as we should understand, is an important concept, not to differentiate people in the sense that who can go and visit temples and who cannot! The differentiation is based on the societal setup and the nature of jobs that people undertake. It does not have anything to do with Bhagawan! Moreover, we shall see this in another angle too – Our “Sanaatana Dharma” always focuses on the development and upliftment of our “Atman”. In this, where is the question of the “Varnaashrama Dharma” here? The entire concept of the four classes in the society is something that pertains to the “Deham”, and not the “Atman”. While we’re looking at the “Atman” aspect of living beings, all of us are the same, aren’t we? Hence, this is also one reason why we shouldn’t easily give away to these listless jokers who keep propagating some fakery or the other every passing day to make themselves stay relevant in the public domain! So for today, let us understand this point very clearly – All the four “Varnaashrama Dharma” people are the same in front of Bhagawan! All of us are “Jeevatmas” in front of the “Paramatma” who is Bhagawan! So let us take a pledge that we would not give in to these stupid divisive forces which try to wreak havoc in the society for their own personal and political relevance! We shall continue this in the next episode also to witness more! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Yudishtra beginning to answer Snake Nahusha’s questions one after the other. In these lines, we had witnessed Snake Nahusha asking Yudishtra about who is a real Brahmin in this world and what are the major roles that a Brahmin should fulfil, while living in this world. Yudishtra gives a beautiful response that a Brahmin is an embodiment of “Satyam” (Truth), “Dhaanam” (Donating things to the needy), “Kshama” (Patience), “Sheelam” (Not having the attitude that he is higher and others are lower in background), “Aanrusamshyam” (Having enormous compassion towards all living beings in this world), “Tapas” (Capability of performing deep penance by fasting for days and months together) and “Grinaa” (Having the equality attitude with all living beings). Furthermore, Yudishtra also explains how a Brahmin should not only qualify himself for attaining the highest “Brahman” (Moksha in the bigger context), but he should also handhold others to walk along this path as well. Thus, if a person fulfils all these criteria, he can be called a Brahmin. 

Continuing with this answer, Yudishtra further explains thus, “Oh Nahusha! A Brahmin while he makes the effort to walk the path of the highest Brahman, would not deviate into any kinds of worldly affairs. While he sees other people, he will see the Brahman in all of them. While he sees other animals and living beings, he will only see the “Atman” inside all of them, and not the mere physical body. While he listens to something said by some people, he will only listen to them in terms of seeing the Brahman in whatever they’re saying. A Brahmin will never insult anybody for anything. A Brahmin will never have any grudge for anybody within his heart. Whatever he thinks about somebody, will only be for their benefit, and not with an evil mindset! Thus, such exemplary qualities are supposed to be enriched in a Brahmin!” 

This is exactly what is being talked about in the “Upanishads” and “Shri-Bhaashyam” as “Bhoomaadhikaranam”. As Bhagawad Ramanuja authors the Shri-Bhaashyam, in the Brahmasutra, this is a very important portion – As he authors it on and on, at various instances there was a question – What is this “Bhooma”? The literal meaning of the Sanskrit phrase “Bhooma” is “Extremely significant” or “Something that is very exemplary”. Now in this context, Bhagawad Ramanuja explains clearly thus, “An aspect in this existence upon which one’s eyes get fixated and never wants to see anything else in this world; An aspect in this existence about which, if one’s ears listen about, and after that the ears feel that there’s nothing more worthy to listen about in this world; An aspect in this existence about which if one’s mind and heart thinks about, after which, there is nothing worthy to think about further in this world, is referred to as “Bhooma”!” 

This is exactly what Hanuman practised while he was living! Hanuman’s “Bhakti” towards Bhagawan Rama is an epitome illustration of this concept called “Bhoomaadhikaranam”. We’ve witnessed during our earlier Ramayana project and also at various other instances in subsequent projects that when Bhagawan Rama was preparing to transcend back to Vaikunta after His duties in this world got over, He wanted to take Hanuman along with Him. Hence, Bhagawan Rama asks Hanuman thus, “Are you willing to come along with me to the highest Vaikunta? I’m extremely impressed with your devotion towards me and I do not have the heart to leave you behind here!” As Bhagawan Rama says thus, Hanuman replies back with tears in his eyes, “Oh Bhagawan! I’m not interested in coming to Vaikunta with you! I know that there is no “Rama-Nama-Japa” happening there. It happens only in this Manushya Lokha. I’ll be here only, chanting your divine name every minute! The eyes of mine which have seen you all these years, will not want to see even Bhagawan Vishnu (Your own original form)! The lips that are constantly chanting your divine name will not be prepared to chant any other name in this birth of mine! The ears that are constantly listening about you and your divine “Leelas” will not listen to anything else in this world! My mind and heart which have been thinking and encapsulating you within, will not be able to give space even for Bhagawan Vishnu, which is your original form! Hence, I’m very happy being here!” 

From this, we can witness how Hanuman as a “Panditha” (Scholar) practised this concept of “Bhoomaadhikaranam” meticulously, and saw Bhagawan Rama as “Bhooma” (The most exemplary aspect in this world). So for today, let us understand this point clearly, and Yudishtra is trying to drive home the point that an ideal Brahmin ardently practises this Bhoomaadikaranam every single minute of his life! We shall wait till the next episode to continue this discussion further! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Bheemasena feeling helpless against the wrath of Snake Nahusha as he is being squeezed left, right and center! Even as Snake Nahusha is asking Bheemasena a question, he is unable to answer it, which only increases the snake’s grip on him. Sensing something going wrong, Yudishtra and Co. rush to the place where Bheemasena is entangled. As Yudishtra sees Bheemasena being squeezed almost to death, he requests Snake Nahusha to leave his brother alone, and an alternate arrangement for food can be made. However, Snake Nahusha is steadfast in his approach and is determined to kill Bheemasena and even Yudishtra and the others, if his questions aren’t duly answered. As Snake Nahusha says thus, Yudishtra understands the gravity of the situation. He has no other option but to accept Snake Nahusha’s proposal. He replies to Snake Nahusha thus, “Oh Nahusha! If that is your way of testing all of us, so be it! You may ask me whatever you want! I shall answer to my potential!” So now we shall witness what are the questions that Snake Nahusha is going to ask Yudishtra and how is Yudishtra going to respond to him. 

Moving on further thus, Snake Nahusha starts asking a series of questions to Yudishtra. The first question goes like this – “Oh Yudishtra! Who is a real Brahmana? Who in this world can be called Brahmanas? What are all the important aspects that a Brahmin should know in this world?” For this, Yudishtra is going to give an excellent answer here. Yudishtra replies thus, “Oh Snake Nahusha! A Brahmin in this world should be an embodiment of the following characteristics – “Satyam” (Truth), “Dhaanam” (Donating things to the needy), “Kshama” (Patience), “Sheelam” (Not having the attitude that he is higher and others are lower in background), “Aanrusamshyam” (Having enormous compassion towards all living beings in this world), “Tapas” (Capability of performing deep penance by fasting for days and months together) and “Grinaa” (Having the equality attitude with all living beings)! Thus, a person who possesses all these above characteristics is deemed to be a Brahmin in this world!” 

As Yudishtra gives a straightforward answer thus, Snake Nahusha is impressed! He replies to Yudishtra: “Oh Yudishtra! You’ve given the right answer! I’m very happy with the way you answered my question. Now here’s the next question – Oh Yudishtra! Now tell me, which is that place if we reach during our life, we would never desire to attain any other place forever? Which is that one thing if we listen to in life, post which we wouldn’t be prepared to listen to anything else in this world henceforth? Which in this world is beyond the “Sukham” (Pleasure) and “Dukham” (Sorrow)? And now tell me, what is the role of a Brahmin here?” Now this is an important question which all of us need to understand here. Yudishtra is going to give a very important answer here. He says thus, “Oh Nahusha! The answer is in your question itself! The main role of a Brahmin is to attain the ultimate Brahman! As you said in the question, the ultimate Brahman is the embodiment of neutrality – Without “Sukham” or “Dukham”! If one listens to something and if he / she feels that there’s nothing else to listen further in this world, it is the ultimate sound of Brahman! If someone wants to go to a place, and once reaching there, if he / she feels that this is the ultimate destination that this person has reached, it is the ultimate residing place of the Brahman! Hence, the role of a Brahmin in this world is to attain the ultimate Brahman and preach it for the entire world! He should be able to show everyone in this world to attain the path of “Dharma”! A Brahmin should not be selfish to himself after attaining the ultimate path! He should make sure that others also reach the ultimate Brahman! This is where compassion and patience is required in a Brahmin!” 

So for today, let us understand this important point and we shall ponder over this! We shall witness the continuation of this beautiful answer from Yudishtra in the next episode! Stay tuned for an interesting accord! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Bheemasena getting caught and entangled by Snake Nahusha amidst the forest. As Bheemasena tries to free himself, he couldn’t, due to the extraordinary powers of Nahusha. As this happens, Snake Nahusha talks to Bheemasena and introduces himself. He explains how he was ruling the Svarga Lokha happily, until Sage Agasthya cursed him to be born as a snake in this world. He is now steadfast to eat Bheemasena up, as he is a huge prey for him! However, Bheemasena pleads with Nahusha not to kill him, as Yudishtra and Co. would feel very bad about it. Paying heed to Bheemasena’s request, Snake Nahusha proposes a solution – If Bheemasena answers Snake Nahusha’s questions, he would let Bheemasena free, and also his curse of being a snake would also come to an end. Reluctantly accepting Snake Nahusha’s proposal without any other option, Bheemasena prepares himself to answer his questions, even though he is being crushed by Nahusha by the minute! Snake Nahusha asks the first question thus, “Oh Bheemasena! At critical junctures like these, should a person’s mind get disturbed or not?” Bheemasena has to now reply to Snake Nahusha and we shall move on from here in today’s episode. 

As Snake Nahusha asks thus, Bheemasena is clearly caught in two minds – On one hand it is true that his mind is disturbed, owing to the fear factor of being killed. However, if he says that at critical junctures, one’s mind does get disturbed, his answer might be perceived wrongly by Snake Nahusha. Hence, what does Bheemasena reply? He is clearly caught here! Bheemasena doesn’t know the answer – We’ve to understand one point very clearly here – If Bheemasena has to say that his mind doesn’t get disturbed even at a time when the snake is enhancing its grip over him, it would mean that he is telling a lie. Or even otherwise, Snake Nahusha is going to even further enhance his grip on him, just because Bheemasena says that his mind is unperturbed! This is a real confusion here for Bheemasena, and he accepts that he doesn’t know the answer to this question! Hearing this from Bheemasena, Snake Nahusha replies thus, “Oh Bheemasena! Till today I thought you were a great scholar and this is why I wanted to ask these questions to you! However, you’ve proved otherwise to me! Hence, you do not qualify to be let off! I’m definitely going to swallow you today! There’s no escape route for you!” 

Saying thus, Snake Nahusha starts to crush Bheemasena even more! As this is happening, Yudishtra suddenly starts seeing some bad omens and finds out that Bheemasena is missing! Upon searching in the vicinity, Bheemasena is not to be found anywhere! Getting tensed thus, Yudishtra clearly understands that Bheemasena is in some sort of a trouble somewhere! As nobody had a clue where Bheemasena went, Yudishtra and Co. start following Bheemasena’s footsteps carefully and slowly reach the place where Snake Nahusha is crushing Bheemasena alive! As Yudishtra and Co. see this happening right in front of their eyes, all of them are stunned beyond words! How come a powerful person like Bheemasena is getting crushed by a snake? Who is this snake really? As these questions run in their mind, Yudishtra quickly talks to the snake thus, “Oh python! Why are you crushing my brother like this? You can feel free to tell me what you want! But leave my brother alone! If food is something that is very important for you, I shall give you an alternative food source and you can consume that. However, leave my brother alone!” 

As Yudishtra too starts pleading in this manner, Snake Nahusha replies back: “Oh Yudishtra! I’m none other than King Nahusha in the form of this huge python. I’m in this form due to a curse from Sage Agasthya! I shall free your brother if you answer my questions. Moreover, if you do so, my curse will also be cured and I shall become a normal human being again! If you’re not answering my questions properly, there is no chance that your brother can come back alive! Moreover, I shall also consume all of you standing here as well! Hence, answer my questions one by one and with it, you may escape scot free!” 

As Snake Nahusha says thus, Yudishtra understands the gravity of the situation. He has no other option but to accept Snake Nahusha’s proposal. He replies to Snake Nahusha thus, “Oh Nahusha! If that is your way of testing all of us, so be it! You may ask me whatever you want! I shall answer to my potential!” So for today, let us understand up to this point, and we shall wait till the next episode to witness what were the series of questions that Snake Nahusha is asking Yudishtra, and how Yudishtra answered them! Stay tuned for an interesting conversation! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Bheemasena encountering snake Nahusha deep inside the forest. As Bheemasena is roaming around the forest alone, he encounters a huge python sitting at a distance. Upon wondering what a python is doing in this place, Bheemasena comes closer to it. As Bheemasena comes closer, the python thinks that today it has got a huge prey and is getting ready to feast on Bheemasena. Unknowing of a python’s characteristics, Bheemasena comes closer and closer and finally gets into the python’s tangle. He tries to attack the python with all his strength, however, the python strengthens its grip over him. The python starts swirling around him and with every swirl, Bheemasena is getting crushed in between the python’s huge body! As Bheemasena tries to attack it further, the swirl becomes more intensified and at one stage, Bheemasena is about to be crushed to death! 

It is at this time, the python speaks to Bheemasena for the first time. The python says thus, “Oh Bheemasena! Did you think that I’m just an ordinary snake lying here simply? I’m none other than Nahusha, who was a great king earlier. However, due to a curse from Sage Agastya I’m lying here as a snake. I’m not just an ordinary snake as you think, which can be easily destroyed. My power is extremely immense and you will not be able to encounter it easily!” As Bheemasena listens to Nahusha’s accord, he is first amused and surprised! How can a snake talk like this? He has never seen a snake talking till this day and it is the first time he is seeing that. Even though his body is getting crushed by the minute, he is not really minding that. Thinking this way, Bheemasena replies to snake Nahusha thus, “Oh Nahusha! I understand that you’ve obtained a curse and you’re in the form of a python. However, why are you crushing me now? What wrong did I do to you? I never attacked you in the first place. It was you who started crushing me first. If I die of your strength, my four other brothers including the great Yudishtra would feel very sorry. Moreover, Arjuna has just now come back from the “Svarga Lokha” after a long time. If I’ve to fall prey to your hunger, Yudishtra and Co. will feel very bad about this. Hence, please leave me now!” 

As Bheemasena pleads thus, snake Nahusha replies, “Oh Bheemasena! Usually if a prey comes to my fold in the evening, I never leave the opportunity to let it escape – be it a huge elephant or even a ferocious lion! All are equal in my eyes, including human beings. Nobody till today has escaped my strength and power. You’re afterall one small Bheemasena, who is just another prey for me for the day. Hence, I’m not going to leave you!” As Bheemasena listens to this, he feels helpless. He pleads again to the snake to leave him, as he has got some important assignments to fulfil in his life. Responding to Bheemasena’s repeated requests, Snake Nahusha replies thus, “Oh Bheemasena! Do one thing. There is a solution to this problem – If I’ve to get relieved of my curse, I shall ask a few questions to the person whom I’ve captured. If you give the right answers to my questions, my curse will be nullified and with this, I would regain my original form as a human being. In turn, you would also be relieved from my clutches. Maybe, try to answer my questions one by one, and let us see what happens!” 

As snake Nahusha says thus, Bheemasena replies back, “Oh Nahusha! Till date, I’ve never answered anybody’s questions. All I know is to use my physical strength and raw muscle power to fight and win over my enemies. On one hand you’re trying to crush me more and more by the minute, and on the other hand, you’re going to ask me questions! This is simply ridiculous! So what are your questions? I shall try and answer to the best of my knowledge!” Hearing thus, Snake Nahusha starts asking – “Oh Bheemasena! As I’m squeezing your body, your mind is getting disturbed, isn’t it? So here’s my first question – At critical junctures like these, should a person’s mind get disturbed or not?” 

As Snake Nahusha asks this question, Bheemasena has to give a reply here – If he says “Yes! My mind is getting disturbed!”, it would be a wrong answer and the grip on Bheemasena is only going to increase further! However, if he says “No! My mind is not getting disturbed!”, it would be like he is going to tell a lie! Now what is Bheemasena going to reply here? Let us witness this interesting accord in the next episode! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the commencement of a very important incident as part of the “Ajaagara Parva”. As mentioned yesterday, this is an “Upa-Parva” under the main “Vana Parva”. So all what we’re seeing till now, including the “Teertha Yatra Parva” are enclosed into the “Vana Parva” only, and readers should remember this very carefully. Moving forward thus, in the beginning of the “Ajaagara Parva”, Sage Vyaasa explains how King Nahusha transformed into a snake (Python) and is roaming around in this world. King Nahusha had a short stint as a ruler of the “Svarga Lokha”, only for his arrogance to increase! One day, as King Nahusha was travelling somewhere in his carriage being carried by great Maharishis including Sage Agasthya, King Nahusha insulted all of them with his atrocious commands and words. Irked by this, Sage Agasthya cursed him that he would go and be born as a snake in the world! Accordingly, King Nahusha had no other option but to relinquish the Svarga Lokha stint and take birth in the world as a huge python. 

As the “Nahusha snake” is thus roaming around in the forest area, Bheemasena happens to pass by him. One day, Bheemasena decided that he would go all alone into the forest and spend some time for himself! He takes his powerful “Gadha” in his hand, along with the bow and arrows and starts walking amidst the dense beautiful forest. He goes for a long time inside, and on his way, all the shrubs, plants, etc. are being crushed under his feet, due to his mere strength and power! Bheemasena is Vaayu Bhagawan’s son, and all of us know how much strength he would possess. Thus, Bheemasena proudly walks his way through, with a loud thud sound of all these plants and trees being crushed! After walking for a long distance thus, Bheemasena spots a huge python lying on the ground. Upon seeing it, Bheemasena wondered for a moment as to what this python was doing here! To see how it is, Bheemasena goes near it. As a large human comes close to it, the python thinks that today it has got a nice prey and a meal! One important feature of a python that all of us should understand is that, unlike other animals, it would not go anywhere in search of food. The food will come in proximity to it, and it would make sure that the prey doesn’t escape from its fold! Also, a python can live for a long time without food, and if it gets something huge, it can eat the whole prey completely! 

Thus, as Bheemasena comes closer and closer, the python thinks that today it has got a perfect meal that can satisfy its hunger completely for the next few days! However, Bheemasena starts to think as to how to hunt down this huge snake! With this intention, Bheemasena comes closer to the python and starts thinking of ways to attack it. In the meanwhile, the python is quick enough to grab Bheemasena and starts to swirl around him with its huge body! As the snake continues to swirl around him, the grip that the python has over Bheemasena is increasing manifold! As this is happening, sounds of Bheemasena’s bones getting crushed are erupting, however, Bheemasena is unperturbed! Hr thinks within himself thus, “Oh wow! This snake is trying a bit too much to kill me! It doesn’t know who I am and what my greatness is! I’ve killed powerful Raakshasas like Bhakaasura, Kirmeera, etc. single handedly. If such things are possible, what is this snake afterall? It’s merely nothing for me!” 

Thinking thus, Bheemasena tries to put up an intense fight with the snake. However, the snake is not going to give up! Its grip over Bheemasena is only increasing by the minute, no matter how much ever he tries to free himself from its clutches! The fight intensifies and Bheemasena tries all the tricks in his trade to break open the clutches. However, everytime the snake proves to be more powerful than Bheemasena! Slowly as time progresses, Bheemasena is losing his strength! At one point of time, as Bheemasena is becoming helpless, the snake talks to him thus, “Oh Bheemasena! Please do not conclude that I’m just an ordinary snake. I’m none other than King Nahusha who is in the form of a snake!” 

As Bheemasena hears this, he is stunned! First of all he couldn’t believe that snakes could talk! And here is a snake, which talks and proclaims that it is a king! Now what does Bheemasena do? What is his strategy going to be? Let us wait till the next episode to find out! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Arjuna’s return from the “Svarga Lokha” after spending almost five years there. In the meanwhile, we had also witnessed Arjuna learning music, dance, and other art forms from Indra, and subsequently killing a few Raakshasas who were long-standing enemies of Indra as well. Thus, as Arjuna fulfils Indra’s “Guru Dakshina”, Indra provides him with his divine “Anugraha” and as Maathali drives his chariot, Arjuna returns back to the forest where Yudishtra and Co. are residing after their successful “Teertha Yatra”. As Arjuna comes back, he narrates all his anecdotes to Yudishtra and Co. and in return, Yudishtra too narrates what all happened during Arjuna’s absence in these five years. 

Moving on thus, we now enter into the next “Parva” by name “Aajagara Parva”. The word “Ajagaram” in Sanskrit means a python or a mountainous snake. A python is going to pose a few questions to Yudishtra and in return, Yudishtra is going to give important and interesting answers to these questions. We might wonder what made the python test Yudishtra with its questions. This is what we’re going to witness here. This Aajagara Parva is one of the most important “Upa-Parvas” under the main “Vana Parva”. In fact, the “Vana Parva” is extremely big – It covers the entire set of incidents that took place when the Paandavas were in the forest. It contains 21 “Upa-Parvas” within it and each “Upa Parva” has various Adhyaayas inside, which makes it massive! Till now we’ve been discussing this “Vana Parva” for so many episodes, but we’ve to understand here that we’ve only crossed half of it! We shall take another 100 episodes or more to complete the full “Vana Parva” and then we shall move on further! 

Now let us look at the content of this “Aajagara Parva”. There was once a king by name Aayu. King Aayu had a son by name “Nahusha”. King Aayu is part of the “Chandra-Vamsa” and subsequently Nausha is the son of King Aayu. Nahusha had a son by name “Yayaati”. Yayaati had two wives, and the first son was Yadhu and the last son was Puru. We’ve witnessed all these stories earlier itself in our previous episodes. Readers should try and chart out a small map with all these family lineages, so that we can remember them easily. This is because there would be so many characters in the Mahabharata story, and as we progress further and further, there is a possibility that we might forget key characters. This might make it difficult to connect who is whom and where this person is! Hence, readers have to take notes very carefully here. 

Now coming back to the story, we shall witness an important accord about King Nahusha. King Nahusha once performed a deep penance to attain Indra’s Svarga Lokha and also to attain a position equal to Indra’s! I’m just explaining this because we’ve to understand why King Nahusha transformed into a python and after this, we shall come back to why Bheemasena got into a tiff with this Nahusha snake. Thus, King Nahusha had a long-pending wish that he should rule the “Svarga Lokha” somehow. He had the desire to sit on Indra’s grand throne and rule the “Svarga Lokha”. Accordingly he obtained it as well, as a result of severe penance! Thus, King Nahusha ascended Indra’s throne and wherever he went, he was carried in a small carriage by a group of great Maharishis. One among these Maharishis was Sage Agasthya, and as we know, Sage Agasthya was very short and stout. As the Maharishis carried King Nahusha in the carriage, Sage Agasthya used to be there at the front. Once upon a time, as the sages were carrying King Nahusha, he wanted to go a bit faster. He first requested the sages to carry him faster, but since Sage Agasthya was short and stout, he wasn’t able to go in the speed at which King Nahusha wanted to! However, King Nahusha did not understand Sage Agasthya’s problem, and since he wanted speed, he started kicking Sage Agasthya with all his arrogance. Upon looking at this, all the sages felt bad and humiliated. How can an ordinary king ill-treat sages like this? 

Thus, as King Nahusha was instructing the sages to travel faster, he used the Sanskrit Shabdha called “Sarpa”. This word “Sarpa” obviously means “Snake”, but it has another connotation here called “Speed”. Thus, in a bit to fasten their movement, King Nahusha was repeating the phrase “Sarpa” “Sarpa” many times. Upon hearing this for a while, Sage Agasthya lost his patience and decided to give it back to King Nahusha! Sage Agasthya says thus, “Oh Nahusha! How dare you instruct sages like us to carry you fast? You’ve just come to the Indra Lokha only for a few days, and within this short period itself you’ve gained so much arrogance! This is not good on your part. How did you get that atrocity to insult the “Brahma-Dhanda” that we carry? How dare you insult and humiliate Maharishis in the way you’re doing? Hence, I hereby curse you thus – You would immediately go down to the Manushya Lokha and be born as a python! You would have a tough time and suffer for food and water, for all that you’ve done to all of us!” 

Saying thus, Sage Agasthya curses King Nahusha and this is why Nahusha is in the form of a snake! So for today, let us understand up to this point, and in the next episode, we shall witness how Nahusha came in contact with Bheemansena and what happened further! Stay tuned! 🙂