Shondhe Naamar Aage

I saw the movie last weekend. I had tried to look up the movie on the internet before watching and could not find much.

A NRI girl is convinced her father did not kill her mother, and feels her father was wrongfully hanged. So tries to find out who was the killer.

So much for a one line story which was interesting. When I checked out the cast it had Palash Sen, the singer doing his Bengali cinema debut and Rahul Bose as the main lead. The NRI girl was Nusrat, the Bengali actress. So anyway, I decided to watch it.

Bad Acting. Nusrat with a forced american accent. Rahul Bose who is supposedly dumb (and not deaf) was not good either. And the movie was a bad thriller. There was no suspense. Towards the end you did not really care who the killer was.

It is not easy making a thriller. It has to be tight. The editing crisp. Well, the story wasnt that great but it could have been built up in a better manner.

So If nothing better to do, watch it. Better than a time pass movie, but not a thriller.

Maid Woes

The Maid issues continue. She comes for two days. Then two days off. On the second day, she will turn up in the evening with a story of being very sick and say she will come from the next day.

Searching and getting new maids is also a pain. Have to do something for sure.

Story Telling in Epics

Mahabharata as we have grown up on, has been the story of the Pandavas and the Kauravas with Krishna playing a big role.
That is we read and saw on Television.
Mahabharata is much more than that.
For one there nested stories - stories within stories.
In a forest Saunaka asks Suta about the story. Suta starts from the begining. He mentions something, and Saunaka wants to know why and so another story within that.

While the Pandavas have the main role in the epic, they do not make an entry in the begining, but much later in the epic.

Ramayana is straight forward. It starts off with the main story and hardly deviates.

The Puranas follow the style of Mahabharata. Incidentally the main Puranas and the Mahabharata have all been attributed to Vyasa as the writer.

The Naimisha Forest or Naimisharanya play a role in both Mahabharata and the Puranas. This is the forest where Saunaka and the other rishis are performing sacrifices. This is where Sauti comes and starts telling stories.

Back to Work

Today back, after 4 days of break. Christmas Break. Where I was home sick all through out.

.... And Santa

How could I forget this old man? We never had anything about Santa at home, but used to read a lot about this big fat man, who could, with some magic , squeeze himself down chimneys and leave gifts for children.

Schools used to have some very ugly people dressed as Santa. I am not sure why they never had any rolly polly old men as Santa in the Cathedral. They would have these dark young men who would be the total opposite of the Santa, in the books.

Celebrating Christmas

Thinking of my Christmas celebrations. Since childhood, I used to celebrate Christmas. Not because this was Jesus Christ's birthday or anything like that. No, in Delhi, among friends, we used to have our tree decorations.
Not sure how it started. I was not in a missionary school initially and my friends were not Christian. Anyway, so we would go around collecting big dried branches of trees. Would put the branch in the ground, and then would start hanging things on the tree. It used to usually milk bottle caps (made of foil) which hang with trees and then there would be the cut-outs from the Amul Butter boxes of the smiling Amul girl.

When I was a bit older, schools changed, more because we moved around. This was a missionary school and here we had Christmas decorations. They would set-up a big tree in the Cathedral and decorate that. And Mass in the Cathedral, which my Christian friends would go and attend.

In US, I thought I would get to see celebration, but I was surprised. This was a time for people to spend with their families. So Christmas actually meant solitude and silence, empty malls and empty roads.

Poinsettia at home

Thursday morning I got a pot of Poinsettia. It wasn't intentional , but this is a gift that is given by people as gifts during Christmas/ New Year.

I got the red ones, which look very nice. Will post a picture later

Bad Long Weekend

This has not been good. Last evening I got fever. Body burning. And violent shivering. Took crocin and went to sleep. This morning also, been just lying around, sleeping the whole day

Nice to have a day off

I have a day off today  - a long weekend. Was wondering before the long weekend, that I will sleep late. As per habit I was up today and since then been up.
Will step out in the sun today - shopping.

Then may be some posts.

New posts

Posted in Ramayan and Mahabharat blogs

Mahabharata

Instead of putting parts of Mahabharata here, I will open up a separate blog.

http://kashidashimahabharat.blogspot.com/

On weekends I will write up here. Weekdays will be tough. I may be able to put something this week and next, as its a lean period at work, but from 2016, time will be scare.

And not taking the Vyasa's epic, I work on the Bengali version written by Kashiram Das.

Hanuman Jayanti

In North I was aware of Hanuman Jayanti being celebrated in the spring season, sometime in April.
What I saw is, here in South India, today is Hanuman Jayanti.

As per the Tamil Almanac, Hanuman was born on a new moon day in the months of December - January. As per the almanac in North India, he was born in the month of Chaitra (March - April) on a full moon day.

Reading, I was told this is only in Tamil Nadu. The rest of the South Indian states celebrate it between March and May (dates vary).

I will try and see if can find out more from the local people here.

Slaying of Sisupala

Bhishma started telling Bhima about Sisupala.  Sisupala was born as the son of the king of Chedi with three eyes and four hands. As soon as he was born, he screamed and brayed like an ass.His parents were scared. They resolved to abandon him but were stopped by a voice which said this child will grow up to be a great king. He will meet his death in the hands of one who has taken birth on this earth.
Hearing these words, the mother said she wished to know who would be this slayer of her son. The voice said,--'He , on whose lap this child will loose his extra hands and extra eye will be his slayer.

Soon a procession of people began coming to Chedi to see this son. Balarama and Krishna also came there. The queen placed her son on the lap of Krishna. As soon she did this, the extra arms fell down and the extra eye vanished. She asked Krishna to save her son. Krishna said he would pardon a hundred offences of Sisupala. Once he had crossed that, he will be slain.

Sisupala did not like this and kept on insulting Bhishma and Krishna.

While Sisupala was insulting the people, Krishna thought of the discus, Sudarshana. Addressing all he said, As asked by his mother, I have so far pardoned his hundred sins. The number has been crossed. Today, in the presence of all, I will slay him. Saying this he flung his discus, which cut off the head of Sisupala.

The last rites of Sisupala were performed with all respect. His son was declared the king of Chedi.

 Once the sacrifice was completed and Yudhistira was crowned, the invited guests all left. Duryodhana remained back, along with  Shakuni.

Duryodhana  with Sakuni explored the whole palace of Yudhistira. One day Duryodhana came across a crystal surface.Thinking it to be a pool of water, he drew up his clothes. Finding out his mistake he felt sad. Then mistaking a lake of crystal water adorned with lotuses of crystal petals for land, he fell into it with all his clothes on. Seeing Duryodhana fall,  Bhima laughed. The servants, at the command of the king, brought him dry  clothes. Beholding the plight of Duryodhana,the Pandavas could not control their laughter. Not used to be being insulted, Duryodhana could not bear that laugh. Concealing his emotions he left for Hastinapur.

He was dejected and told Sakuni about what he had seen and how he had been treated.

Sakuni said Duryodhana wanted Yudhistira's wealth and prosperity, it would have to be dealt with cunningly. In war, he would face defeat. A way out was to defeat Yudhistira in a game of dice.

Dhritarashtra tried to reason with Duryodhana and Sakuni, but they would not listen to him. Even though not happy, he gave permission for Yudhistira to be invited for a game of dice.

Along with Draupadi, the five brother set forth for Hastinapur.

Sacrifice starts

Yudhistira bowed down before  Bhishma ,Drona ,Kripa , Aswatthama and Duryyodhana and asked for their blessings.
 He appointed Dussasana to oversee the department of food . Aswatthama was asked to attend on the Brahmanas. Sanjaya was appointed to offer return gifts to  the invited kings. Bhishma and Drona looked over to see if everything going as per procedure. Duryyodhana was in charge of collecting the gifts brought by the invited kings. Krishna went about welcoming the Brahamans.

Bhishma asked Yudhistira to ensure that the invited guests was treated with respect and all were given offerings from the sacrifice. Yudhistira asked Bhishma who should be the first to receive the offerings. Bhishma said Krishna deserved this and he should be treated as the supreme and be worshipped.
As the sun is the most brilliant among all, so is Krishna, Bhishma said. The sacrifice is illuminated by his presence.
Thus commanded by Bhishma, Yudhistira and Bhisma both worshiped Krishna. The king of Chedi, Sisupala did not like this.

He said Krishna did not deserve this respect. Bhishma who was not even a king, had no right to suggest names of who deserved this respect. If some one had to respected, it should be Krishna's  O bull of the Kuru race, if thou regardest Krishna as the oldest in age, here is Vasudeva, and how can his son be said so in his presence? Or, if thou regardest Vasudeva father, Vasudeva, who was elder to Krishna in age and wisdom. There were other warriors like Drupada who could be respected. So, why Krishna? There were warriors like Drona and Kripa who deserved this and not Krishna.
Krishna was not a priest . By worshiping Krishna, the other mighty kings were being insulted.

Having said this, Sisupala walked out of the assembly hall. Yudhistira tried to get back Sisupala. He ran after him and said Bhisma knew Krishna better than others and there would be a reason why he had chosen him.
Sisupala then started asking the assembled kings to support him.  Approaching Bhisma, Yudhistira wanted to know how to tackle this situation. Bhishma asked him not to worry. The dogs would bark but they would be able to harm a lion.

Sisupala said Bhishma was old and did not know what he was saying. Krishna had slain all who were weak. He slew Kamsa who was his relative. He said Bhishma's celebacy was from ignorance and not for any virtue.
Continuing, he said there was once an old swan who always spoke of morality. Other birds would leave their eggs with him to watch over. This bird, seeing the other birds had gone, would eat up the eggs. When the other birds saw this, they attacked and killed the swan. Bhishma was like this swan.

Bhima was enraged to hear these words of Sisupala. Bhishma then tried to pacify Bhima.

Killing of Jarasandha and Start of the crowning

Krishna told Bhima to show the strength he had. Bhima lifting  Jarasandha, began to whirl him in the air. Bhima pressed his knee against Jarasandha's backbone and broke his body in twain. And having killed him , Bhima uttered a terrible roar. The citizens of Magadha became dumb with terror . Krishna then freed the kings that Jarasandha had imprisoned.

(Mahabharata serial showed Bhima trying to kill Jarasandha and failing till Krishna showed him how. Whenever Bhima would split Jarasandha's body, it would join itself. Krishna showed the way by taking a twig and throwing that apart in reverse directions. This is mentioned in the Bhagwad Purana, not in Vyasa's Mahabharat).

Krishna had Jarasandha' son , Sahadeva, crowned king of Magadha. Krishna  along with the Pandava princes returned to Yudhistira's kingdom, which now called Indraprastha.

 Accompanied by Bhima and Arjuna, Krishna arrived at Indraprastha, and gave Yudhishthira the news of the death of Jarasandha.
Krishna then departed for Dwaraka.

Arjuna then wished to go out and capture some land and increase the wealth in their treasury by obtaining the same from the defeated kings. Seeing this, all brothers set forth in different directions. If they were able to conquer enough kings, Yudhistira would be crowned emperor.

Yudhistira proved to be a great king. All were happy under his protection.  There were no droughts and floods. It was time for Yudhistira to be crowned emperor. Krishna came from Dwaraka bringing many gifts. Addressing Krishna, the Pandavas requested him to stay and requested him to be the cheif guest for the ceremony.
With Krishna's permission, gathering material for the sacrifice started.
Invitations were sent out to invite all.

The kauravas, Bhisma, Drona, Dhritarashtra, Vidura and other elders were invited to attend the ceremony.

Nakula went to invite the Kuru elders from Hastinapur. Dhritarashtra ,Bhishma ,Vidura , the Kaurava brothers with Duryyodhana, Suvala the king of Gandhara and Sakuni  and Karna came there with Nakula to attend the ceremony.

The ceremonies started with Yudhistira worshiping the brahamans present.

A Post in Ramayana and a thought

Just posted in Ramayana blog. Had some time so decided to write.
Gets tricky balancing work, and then writing.

Remembered Valmikir Pratibha by Rabindranath Tagore.

Ratnakar is a dacoit. He captures people and sacrifices them to Kali. A girl's cry awakens his consciousness and he changes.

Tagore was 20 when he composed this. A great play with some wonderful songs - I love the Kali Kali song.

Ekadashi today - 21 December 2015

Today 21 December is an Ekadashi. This is special because today is Mokshada Ekadashi. This is supposed to be the day when Krishna told Arjuna about Bhagwada Gita. As per Brahmanda Purana, Yudhistira was told by Krishna, about the greatness of this day.

Krishna is worshiped this day. All Vaishnava temples will have a big rush, with devotees queing up to get a glimpse of the Lord.

This is what Krishna told Yudhistira.

In the city of Champaka Nagara, Vaikhaanasa, ruled over his subjects as if they were his very own children. The brahmins in that capital city were all expert in Vedic knowledge. The king dreamt one night that his dead father was suffering in hell. He asked the brahmins what this meant.

The brahmins told the king to seek the guidance of the saint Parvata who would be able to correctly interpret the dream.

The distressed king immediately went there. The king offered his humble obeisances to the sage, bowing his head and then prostrating his entire body before him. He then told the sage about the dream.

The sage said - Your father is suffering the results of committing a great sin, and I have discovered what it is. In his previous life he quarrelled with his wife and forcibly enjoyed her sexually during her menstrual period. She tried to protest and resist his advances and even yelled out, but he did not stop or leave her alone. It is on account of this grievous sin that your father now has fallen into such a hellish condition of suffering.

The king then said, how can I liberate my father?

The sage said - During the light fortnight of the month of Margashirsha (Magha, December) there occurs an Ekadasi called Mokshadaa. If you observe this sacred Ekadasi strictly, with a full fast, and give directly to your suffering father the merit you thus attain/obtain, he will be freed from his pain and instantly liberated.

The king returned to his palace to perform his  rite.In the month of Margashirsha , the king faithfully waited for the Ekadasi tithi to arrive, and then  perfectly and with full faith observed the Ekadasi fast with his wife, children, and other relatives.
He dutifully gave the merit from this fast to his father, and as he made the offering, beautiful flower petals showered down from the Gods .
The king's father was then praised by the messengers of the Gods and escorted to the celestial region.
As he passed his son, as he traversed the lower to middle to higher planets, the father said to the king -  All auspiciousness unto you. Saying this , he reached the heavens.

Krishna thus concluding, told Yudhistira that who ever strictly observes the sacred Mokshadaa Ekadasi, following the established rules and regulations, achieves full and perfect liberation after death.
There is no better fasting day than this Ekadasi of the light fortnight of the month of Margashirsha,
Whoever faithfully observes this Ekadasi fast, obtains special merit.

==========

While this is not a common practice in North India, here in the south today, all temples have a big line.

New Ramayana post

Had some time, so posted in Ramayana.

Jarasandha chooses Bhima

As the child had been joined by Jara, the king named the child Jarasandha, one who is joined by Jara.. He began growing up, becoming stronger and mighty as days went. The sage, with whose blessing the child had been born, came to visit the king one day. The king went to see the sage with his two wives and son. The sage blessed the child with beauty and knowledge. He also said this will be the greatest of all kings known.

When the child grew up, Jarasandha was crowned king of Magadha. He then worked on expanding his kingdom, conquering other kings and winning over their kingdoms.

He was fine till Kamsa was killed by Krishna (Jarasandha's daughter was Kamsa's wife). He became an enemy of Krishna. In anger, he flung a huge mace towards Krishna which landed near Mathura (where Krishna was staying). Jarasandha had two followers - Hansa and Dimvaka. Hansa was killed in a fight with Balarama and Dimvaka committed suicide.

Telling the tale of Jarasandha to the Pandavas, Krishna said Jarasandha was evil and he needed to be killed. He was incapable of being destroyed by weapons, and the only way was to wrestle him to death. He thought Bhima was the most apt for this, nd if attacked by others, Arjuna would be able to defeat them.He suggested going in disguise to the kingdom of Magadha and then bring about the downfall of Jarasandha.

Yudhistira sent for Arjuna and Bhima and asked them to go with Krishna.

Taking the guise of Brahmanas Krishna, Arjuna and Bhima left for Magadha and after a long journey through picturesque locales they finally reached the kingdom of Magadha. They were welcomed by the people of Magadha, who were happy and cheerful.

Seeing brahmins in his land, the king came and welcomed them. He wanted to know who they really were. He said he saw that their physique was not like Brahmins and that they had scars on hands, from stringing bows.

Krishna said they would not disclose who they really were and he also said they had come into the enemy territory and had come for combat. Jarasandha said he did not recollect having ever hurt them in any way.

Krishna said they had come because a just king wanted to rule and had sent them to defeat the king. Krishna also told the king that he was not innocent as he was sacrificing the kings that he had defeated. Slaughter of humans was not acceptable and was a grave sin.

Disclosing their identities, he said he was  Krishna, and with him were two sons of Pandu and they had come to defeat Jarasandha.

Krishna asked the king whom among them did he choose for a combat. Jarasandha chose Bhima. Taking off his crown and tying his hair properly, Jarasandha stood up. Addressing Bhima, he said he wanted to fight with him.

In the arena, Jarasandha rushed towards Bhima, and a fight began among them with bare hands.

Seizing each other's arms and twining each other's legs, they slapped  and seizing each other's necks with their hands  they continued. They began to seize each other. Striking neck against neck and forehead against forehead, grasping each other by their arms, and kicking each other they struck at each other with clenched fists. They fought on dragging and pushing each other and fiercely looking at each other. Adept in wrestling, the two tried to throw each other down. A big crowd gathered to watch the match. It was the first day of the month of Kartika (October) when the fight began and for thirteen days this match continued. On the fourteenth day , Jarasandha felt tired. Seeing this an opportunity, Bhima with renewed strength attacked Jarasandha again, with an intent of killing him.

Added a Ramayana Post

Added a post in the Ramayana blog

Jarasandha

Yudhistira wanted know about Jarasandha. Krishna then started telling him.

There was a king called Vrihadratha, in the land of Magadha. He was a fierce warrior. He was also a good and kind king. He married the twin daughters of the king of Kashi. . He loved his wives equally did not many difference between any of them. The king was growing old and he had no child. He wanted a son who would carry his name forward. One he heard that the sage  Chanda was staying near his kingdom and had taken shelter under a mango tree. The king visited the sage with his wives and started serving him. Pleased the sage asked the king to ask for a boon. The king told the sage that he wished to have a son.
Hearing this the sage handed over to the king, a ripe mango that fell on to the sage's lap from the tree. Happy, the king took the fruit and went home. The sage had told the king, to give the mango to one of his queens who would give birth to a son.

He took the fruit to his queens, who divided the fruit equally among themselves and each had half a fruit. In due time, both the queens conceived and the king was very happy.

When time came, the queens gave birth and it was shocking to see that each queen had given birth to half a child. Consulting among themselves, they abandoned the fragments behind the palace.

A rakshasha woman by the name of Jara was passing by. Seeing the parts of the child, she joined them together so she could easily carry it away with her. As soon as she joined the parts, the child came to life and started roaring. Assuming a human form, she went to the king and said this is your son, born from your wives and protected by me, Jara.

Plan for Rajasuya Yagna

When Yudhistira was seated in his palace, there came Narada. Yudhistira got up and he and along with his brothers paid respect to the sage. Narada advised him to perform a Rajasuya yagna., to declare his supremacy and proclaim himself as emperor.

He called his brothers and counselors and wanted to know how to go about this. He was advised to consult Krishna and take his advise.
Krishna advised him to first defeat Jarasandha, the king of Magadha who had also captured and taken over Mathura, then Sisupala, Vaka,  the king of Karushas, Bhagadatta and the other might kings.

On Krishna's advise, Krishna accompanied by Bhima and Arjuna left for Magadha, to meet and defeat Jarasandha.

The Palace

Taking leave of Arjuna, Maya proceeded towards Kailasha. On the banks of the lake Vindhu, some demons had accumulated lots of wealth and had kept that hidden. He planned to get that and use that for the construction of the palace. Along with the gems and jewels, there was also a giant mace that he planned to get for Bhima and a conch shell called Devadatta which he wanted to gift Arjuna.

Maya got back all that. He gave the mace to Bhima and the conch shell to Arjuna.

The palace that Maya built was wonderful to look at. The palace columns were made of Gold. It shone so brilliantly, that it seemed brighter than the sun.

A tank was built in the palace that had lotuses made of gems. Golden birds flew around and golden fishes swam in the tank. The banks of the tank were made with marble and a crystal stair case went from the tank to the upper quarters.

A sweet breeze always blew around.

After completing the construction, Maya went reported the same to Yudhistira.  

First Ramayana Post

Just added an introduction. Will add more over the weekend when I get time.

Krittibasi Ramayan

I am going to start this again. I did this once and all my posts were floating all over the internet. I don't mind it floating around , but give me credit please!!

Instead of putting it here , I will put that in a different place - http://babubanglaramayanretell.blogspot.com/
Plan to start from Sunday.

Any comments/ suggestions???

Partners in Crime - BBC - Secret Adversary

This weekend I saw Part one of the BBC series - Partners in Crime.

Based on the Agatha Christie books, this follows the adventures of the couple Tommy and Tuppence.

I had enjoyed reading the books and when I saw the series, I was disappointed.

One - characters have been changed. In Secret Adversary, the story follows a young man and a young woman who are seeking adventure. The novel shows them as a married couple (they got married later, much later).
Alfred, a boy who helps them, is a scientist in the series,

If I leave the memory of the book behind, it was not too bad a series.

Looking forward to the next one of the series - N or M.

Forest burns

Arjuna and Krishna, alighting on the chariots started their vigil. While the fire burnt, Arjuna and Kirshna tried to prevent the forest creatures from escaping. Seeing this Indra started rainfall. Heavy showers started pouring.

Invoking divine weapons, Arjuna prevented the rain from touching the ground. Takshaka was not in the forest at that time, but his son Aswasena was. He tried to escape but Arjuna's arrows followed him. Indra suddenly created a storm, which caused Arjuna to be temporarily blinded and taking that chance, Aswasena escaped. From the sky, Indra hurled thunderbolts, but Arjuna was able to combat all. Clouds created by Indra were dispelled by Arjuna's wind weapons. All celestial weapons were cut down by Arjuna and Kirshna. Indra, though deeply pleased with Arjuna's skills, started showering stones on the forest. Arjuna sent forth arrows that dispelled that. Trees hurled by Indra were cut down. A voice in the heaven was then heard that said the Khandava and its residents were destined to die. Indra blessed Arjuna and Krishna and left.

Krishna saw an asura trying to flee. The asura, trying to escape from Krishna, appealed to Arjuna for help. Arjuna saved him. In the end, Aswasena, Maya and four birds called  Sarngakas were only that escaped the forest.

There was once a rishi named Mandapala. When he died, he was given no place in heaven as he had no offspring. He was asked to go and have children in a short time. He took the form of a bird called Sarngaka had children with another bird. He had four sons. HE appealed to Agni to save his young children in the forest, which Agni did and these birds were saved.

Having been granted life, Maya, the asura wanted to know how he could help Arjuna. He said he wanted to do something; he also told Arjuna, that he was an architect, no less then the celestial architect, Vishwakarma. Krishna then told him to build a palace like that no one had seen before, with a hall that was so grand, that would be unequaled in grandeur.

Glad, he began building a palace having no equal. Having worshiped the gods, land of the site was formalized and work started.

Agni approaches Krishna and Arjuna

This incident takes place after Arjuna's wedding with Subhadra. This is the Khandava-daha Parva. This has an importance, as here Arjuna and Krishna get weapons, and also the magical palace of Indraprastha is built.

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One summer day, Arjuna and Krishna were sitting on the banks of Yamuna. In the pleasant shade of trees they were talking among themselves when a brahmana came there. He was tall, with a reddish complexion. He had a bright yellow beard. He had matted hair and was dressed in rags. He seems to be blazing, his body giving away light.

The brahmana said he was looking for them , the two greatest warriors on the planet. He said he was hungry and wanted food of his choice. He introduced himself. He was Agni, God of Fire. He said the forest of Khandava was protected by Indra. Whenever he tried to burn it, Indra would rain on it, and the fire would go off. Agni wanted to consume the forest and all its beings. In the forest lived the serpent Takshaka, who a friend of Indra. Indra tried to protect his friend and thus Agni was unsuccessful. Agni said he wanted the help of Arjuna and Krishna. He wanted their help to prevent the rain from reaching the forest, when it was burning.

Arjuna wanted to know why specifically this forest was to consumed by Agni. In the olden days, a king Swetaki performed five sacrifices in a row. The fires burnt continuously and the priests were also finding it difficult, the smoke bothering their eyes. The king sent for more priests to conduct the sacrifices. This went on for years. The priests went to the king and said they could do not do it anymore, which angered the king. The priests then told the king to approach Shiva for help.

The king went to Kailasha there he started worshiping Shiva. Long was his worship and finally Shiva appeared. When he asked the king wanted he wanted, the king said he wanted Shiva's help to complete the sacrifice. Shiva said he had a condition. The king needed to continuously pour butter in the fire for a long period. The king agreed. He asked the king to get the help of the sage Durvasa to help as the priest.

The king returned and got Durvasa to come for the sacrifice. For years this sacrifice happened and was finally completed. In the course of the sacrifice, Agni had consumed large quantities of clarified butter, he thus became pale. He wanted to consume a dry forest to get rid of the butter in him.

He went to Brahma for help. Brahma asked him to consume Khadava forest. Ready to burn, Agni went there but his efforts were ruined by Indra.
In despair he went back to Brahma. Brahma then asked him to approach Krishna and Arjuna who would be able to help him. Thus Agni had approached the two warriors.

Arjuna said they did not have the weapons to combat Indra. Agni then sent for Varuna, the god of water. From Varuna, Agni got for Arjuna the bow called Gandiva and two quivers which were full of arrows and would never be empty. He also gave Arjuna, a chariot on which was a flag, with Hanumana sitting on it.

Agni then gave Krishna, a discus with a iron pole, attached to its center. It was a fiery weapon with jagged edges, This was Sudarshana. He aslo gave Krishna a mace called Kaumodaki.

Bangalore Weather

Bangalore Weather - Not sure what to say. I think I can compare it with my maid strike. One never knows what it will turn out like.

The weekend was warm, Sunday afternoon was like summer. Yesterday was cool, and this morning its foggy and cool. Spray like drizzle is also there. Typical Bangalore winter. Feels like Bangalore now. Probably will have a few showers also.

Wedding

Drupada sent a messanger to the Pandavas. He had invited them and his daughter to his palace for a feast after the swayamvara. Pandavas left for the palace in the chariots that had been brought for them. Drupada to test the Pandavas kept in his house articles of agriculture, weapons and scriptures along with food and drink. He wanted the Pandavas to disclose their identifty to him. Kunti and Draupdi went into the inner part of the palace.  The ladies there bathed and decorrated both Kunti and Draupadi. The Pandavas sat on the provided seats like kings. The king then asked the Pandavas to tell who they really were.

Yudhistira then introduced all. Drupada then wanted to know how they had escaped the house of lac. Yudhistira was then told that Arjuna needed to get ready and wed Draupadi as per scriptures. Yudhistira said the princess needed to marry all five of them and walk around the fire with all five of them.

The sage Vyasa then came there and told Drupada not to worry. Draupdi was to marry and have husbands.

Yudhistira then said he had heard of a lady called Jatila who had married seven sages.

Vyasa then told Drupada that once Yama, God of death, let off killing humans. People started increasing on the planet. The Gods then went to Brahma and asked him to do something and maintain the balance. Yama, Brahma said, was busy in a sacrifice. Once that was over, he would resume his duties. The Gods then went to Yama. Indra sawa  golden lotus floating in the river. He wanted to know where it was going and followed it. He saw a woman washing herself in the river. She was glowing like fire, and was weeping. Her tears were falling in the water and becoming golden lotuses. Indra asked her who who she and why was crying. The woman told Indra to follow her. He soon saw a handsome young man and a young woman playing dice. They were engrossed in their game and did not care about Indra. Indra was angry at being ignored. The young man was actually Shiva. He cast a glance at Indra, and Indra froze. When the game was over, Shiva told the weeping woman to get Indra there. At a touch of the weeping woman, Indra fell on the earth. Indra was then told by Shiva, that he along with other Gods would be born on earth as Pandavas. The weeping woman, who was foutune, would also be born as the common wife of all. Indra then went to Vishnu who then told him that he would be born as sons of Devaki and Rohini.

Vyasa said it was told that Draupdi would be a common wife and that so one could deny that. Vyasa also told Drupada, how in a previuous birth, Draupdi had been given a boon of five husbands by Shiva.

Vyasa then addressed the Pandavas and said this was an auspicious day for marriage. Preparations started for the wedding. Draupdi was bathed and draped in beautiful clothes and jewels. People who came to see the wedding were dazzled by her beauty.

Drupada's palace was decorated with lights and flowers.

The pandavas were bathed and dressed in expensive robes. They, accompanied by their priest, Dhaumya, entered the wedding hall. Dhaumya lit the holy fire. Draupadi walked around the fire with each of the brothers. Drupada then gave great expensive gifts to the Pandavas. Krishna also sent them many gifts.

Vidura conveyed this message to Dhritarashtra, and the king after consultation his near ones, let Pandavas rule over the barren land of Khandavapratha.

Winning Draupadi

Drupada wanted Arjuna to wed his daughter. He thus setup a very stiff competition. He had a very stiff bow made that only Arjuna would be able to bend. The contest was to bend and string the bow, and shoot a mark with specfic heavy arrows and shoot a mark.
Many kings and princes were invited to participate in the contest. They all took their seats around the dias on which the feat was to be performed. Duryodhana and Karna were amongst those who came to participate.

The dias was grand to look at. Walls surrounded it and canopies hung over it. Pandavas came and took their seat among the brahmanas. Dhrishtadyumna came accompanied by his sister. Addressing all, he explained that kings had to shoot the mark, through gaps with the specifc bow and arrows and win the hand of his sister.

In the invited list of kings were Krishna and his Balarama. Krishna recognizing the Pandavas said to Balrama quietly that the Pandavas were there.

The contest started and most kings were have a very hard time bending the bow. Most could not bend it, those who could bend it, could not string it. Seeing this Karna stepped forward, but Draupadi stopped him saying she would not accept a son of a chariotter as her husband. Arjuna seeing this wanted to try his hand.

Arjuna rose from his seat. Some of the Brahmanas started saying this was not right - a brahmana should not compete in archery, others said a brahmana should. Not caring, Arjuna moved forward. He moved forward and approached the bow. Saluting the bow he lifted it and strung it easily. Taking five arrows, he struck the mark and it fell down. Gods showered flowers.

The Pandavas, along with Draupadi, quickly left the hall. Krishna, seeing this was happy. The invited kings were displeased and started attacking the Pandavas. Bhima uplifted a tree and flung it at the kings. Arjuna was ready with his bow. Krishna then pointed out each Pandava to Balarama.He said he thought they were the PAndavas but he was not too sure. He sadi, he had heard that the Pandavas had escaped from the house of lac, but had no clue where they were.

Arjuna asked the other brahmans to step back while he took out the bow he had got when he won Draupadi's hand. Bhima was ready also. Karna attacked Arjuna while the other kings tried to attack the others. Karna was amazed at Arjuna's archery skill and wanted to know who he really was. Arjuna said he was a mere brahmana who had mastered the weapons. Bhima on the other side defeated most of the kings. Everyone fled and the Pandavas.

Krishna was now convinced the fighting heroes were the Pandavas. He addressed everyone - Draupadi was been won fairly by the Brahmana. He asked all to stop the fight. The kings left for their kingdoms, dejected.

At home, Kunti was restless. Her sons were getting late. Then Arjuna entered the hut, along with others. He asked her to come and see what they had got. Thinking it was alms, Kunti without seeing, said divide among yourselves. Then she turned and saw Draupadi.

Kunti did not know what to say. She asked Yudhistira for advise. Approaching Arjuna, Yudhistira said, as he had won Draupadi, he should marry her. Arjuna said as the elder, he needed to marry first. Yudhistira then remembered Vyasa's words of Draupadi having five husbands. He then said that desity said that Draupadi would marry all five. Krishna came there. He had been following them trying to ascertain their identities. He introduced himself and Balarama and bowed before Kunti, their father's sister. Krishna knowing all was well, left along with Balarama.

While the Pandavas and Draupi were going towards their hut,  Dhrishtadyumna was slowly following them alone. Kunti asked Draupadi to give away some food to the Brahmanas. She then asked Draupdi to cook a meal and divide that into two. One half to be given to Bhima and the rest to be divided among themselves.  Then laying a bed of grass they lay down.  Dhristadyumna was said to see his sister in this state. He went backl rfeported to his father what he had seen and heard. Drupada was glad to hear the Pandavas had won Draupadi and also that his daughter was adjusting in the hut.

More on the Maid Strike

Finally the strike concluded Saturday night. From Sunday the maids began coming.

Here is what I could find out.

1. The maids have a very strong union here. Most of the maids are part of the union.
2. When a maid was caught stealing, she was handed over to the police and a FIR was filed. The union of the maids are against this.
3. The maid caught stealing was a Muslim woman and the union is citing intolerance as the excuse and not robbery.


So now the complex has issued some Dos and Do Nots.

1. Do not trust the maids blindly.
2. Do not leave valuables lying around the house.
3. Do not give notice to your maids right before Diwali when they want Bonus.

I am not sure I see a Do here. Just a list of Do Not.

And now my complex is telling everyone to go buy a vacuum cleaner and a dishwasher and get rid of the maids. That simple??

Maid Problems here

Maid Problem going on in my complex. Only my housing complex is affected.
Wednesday evening someone in my complex beat up their maid. Not sure of the reason. Some are saying the maid was caught stealing. Others saying, the guys has a very bad temper and when the maid said something this person lost his temper.

So all maids are on strike. Not sure what the demands of the strike are, but the maids are not working. And they are not let anyone come and work either.

So today had to clean up the house alone. Tomorrow also the same, probably.

Conclusion of the Gandharva's story

Parasara was angry that his father had been killed by a king and he wanted to take revenge on all Kshatriyas. Vashistha, to control him , started telling him a story.

There was a Kritavirya, who had the Brigus as his priests. He was devoted to them. When he dies his descendants found that they did not have much wealth left and also found that the Brigus were very rich. They went and insulted and killed many of the Brigu priests. Not satisfied, they began killing more of the clan, even keeping small children and pregnant women. One woman was bearing child, and the kings got to know of this. When they went to kill the woman, they saw the child tear itself out of its mother's thighs. It was so bright that the kings were blinded.They went to the woman and begged for forgiveness. They said that if their sight was restored they would not conduct sins and would give up their ways. The woman said it was she who was angry but her child who was angry at the deeds of the kings. This child, who had been born from his mother's thigh was called Aurva. The kings approached the child, who then granted the kings their sight.

Aurva was still not content and he wanted to destroy all. His dead ancestors told him to control his anger. Aurva said if he did not do something, his anger would eventually destroy him. The ancestors told him to throw the fire of anger in the ocean. The fire of anger was cast into the sea which took the shape of a head of a horse, called Vadavamukha.

Parasara hearing this from Vashistha, controlled his anger. He setup a sacrifice to consume all rakshashas. The great rishi, Atri, seeing the destruction, came to the site accompanied by other great rishis like Pulastya, Pulaha and Kratu, and asked Parasara to stop this mindless destruction of rakshashas. They told, that in the process, he was also destroying those who were innocent.

Parasara seeing reason cast his anger away.

Arjuna then asked the gandharva, who would be the ideal priest for the Pandavas. the gandharva asked Arjuna to approach Dhaumya, who was meditating in the forests.

Arjuna gave the knowledge of the fire weapons to the Gandharva. The Gandharva in turn presented horses that would never tire. Arjuna accepting the horses, said let teh horses remain with you until I feel a need for them. Thus the gandharva and Arjuna parted.

The Pandavas then approached Dhaumya, who accepted their offer and then they all set forth towards the land of Panchala. Hearing of the swayamvara of the princess of Panchala, the pandavas left for it.
The Pandavas had been told by Brahmans on the way, Drupada was hosting a grand swayamvara. They also got to know of the birth of Draupadi and  Dhrishtadyumna. The pandavas along withe brahmanas proceeded towards the palace of Drupada.

Tapati and Vashistha

The Gandharva king had addressed Arjuna as a descendant of Tapati. Aruna wanted to know more. The gandharva then told the story of Tapati.

The sun god is the one the provides light to all. Tapati was his daughter, younger to Savitri. There was no one who was equal to her in beauty. She was always engaged in meditation and tapasya, so she was known as Tapati in the triple world. seeing her , the sun thought that there was none in the three worlds who deserved to be her husband. This led him to sleepless nights.
On the earth, Samvarana, a kuru king was a great devotee of the sun. Seeing his devotion, the Sun God thought this was the ideal husband for his daughter.

One day Samvarana,the handsome and powerful king went hunting. On the way, exerted, his horse fell down and died. The king continued on foot till he came across a beautiful maiden. He was spellbound by her beauty. The sight of that maiden maddened the king. The king's heart and eyes were captivated by the damsel. The king wanted to know who she was. Without answering the king, the maiden just vanished. The king collapsed in grief.

The maiden reappeared and asked the king to rise. The maiden helped him to his feet. The king in turn kept praising her beauty and wanted to know all about her. She said she was Tapati, the daughter of the Sun, and if the king wished, he could could ask her hand in marriage, from her father.

Saying this, went back to the skies. Looking for the king, his courtiers found him lamenting in the forest. Thinking the king had collapsed with hunger, his ministers tried to offer him food, but the king had lost his senses.  The king then began worshiping the Sun God and then thought of his chief priest, Vasishtha. Vasishtha knoew what had happened. He assured the king, that he would do all he could to unite the king with Tapati. Vasishtha then met the Sun God and asked for his daughter's hand in marriage for the king. The Sun God agreed and let Tapati go with Vashishtha to the king. Thus the king got married to Tapati.

Arjuna then wanted to know more and the Gandahrva continued.

Vashishtha was the son of Brahma and the husband of Arundhati. He had great control over emotions. And it was obtaining a priest like Vashistha, the king was able to get Tapati as his wife. The Gandharva then said, it was always beneficial to have a priest with them, whereever they went. Arjuna still wanted to know about Vashistha.

When Samvarana got married to  Tapati, he proclaimed Vashistha, a ruling king, when he roamed around with his new wife. For twelve years there was no rain. On seeing this, Vashistha sent for the king. The moment the king back, it started raining and all was well.

It was this Samvarna in whose dynasty the Pandavas were born, thus they were called descendants of Tapati.

Arjuna then wanted to know about Vashistha and Vishwamitra. The gandharva continued.

Vishwamitra was a king. One day, while out hunting, he lost his way and reached the ashrama of Vashishtha. The sage welcomed the king and fed him fruits and offered clarified butter. Vashistha had a cow that could give all that was desired of her. She could yeild fruits, grains, juices and any other items that she was requested to give. She could also give robes and gems, if asked for.

The king coming to know of this cow, wanted it for himself. He was willing to exchange land in place of the cow.

When Vashishtha refused, Vishwamitra tried to take the cow by force. The cow called out for help. Vashistha then said , the cow needed to help itself. The cow then took an a terrible shape and attacked Viswamitra's troops . From her tail she began to rain showers of burning coals all around. Then she brougt forth an army that destroyed the king's army. Vishwamitra feld. He then thought, true power was in being a sage, being a king was worthless. He then gave up his kingdom and became a rishi.

There was once a king called Kalmashapada of the Ikshvaku race. Vishwamitra wanted to make this king his disciple.The king not knowing this, approached Saktri who was coming from the opposite way. This was a son of Vashistha. The king asked the rishi to step aside so he could pass. The rishi saying, kings needed to bow down before rishis and give them right of way. The king struck the rishi, who cursed him saying he would be born as a Rakshasha. Vishwamitra saw this happening. His defeat in hands of Vashistha was not forgotten.

The sage had a rakshasha enter the body of the king. Once a rishi came to the king for food. The king told the rishi to wait. Then when he remembered, he asked his cook to send some food to the rishi, but he was not found. Angered, he told his cook to feed the rishi, human flesh.

Angry, the rishis in the kingdom cursed the king to become a flesh eating rakshasha. The king then sought out Saktri, and said as he had been cursed to eat human flesh, he would start by eating this son of Vashistha. After he had eaten him, Vishwamitra told him to go and eat up all the sons of Vashishtha. Learning that all his sons had been killed because of Vishwamitra, Vashistha remained calm.


He left his ashrama and began roaming around. He tried to kill himself but he found it was not possible. Coming back, he heard someone reciting the vedas. He then found this was the unborn son of Saktri, speaking from his mother's womb.

One day he saw Kalmashapada possessed by the rakshasha. Sprinkling holy water, he released the king from the curse.

The king bowed down before the sage and begged for forgiveness. The king being childless asked the sage how he could get a son. The king entered his kingdom, called Ayodhya along with Vashishtha. He then had a son whom he named Asmaka.


In Vashishtha's ashram, his daughter in law gave birth to a son called Parasara. 

Birth of Draupadi

There was once a rishi named Bharadwaja. He saw an apsara called Gritachi having a bath. A child was born from the two, in a pot. As the child was in a pot, he was called Drona. Bharadwaja had a friend called Prishata who was the king of Panchala. At the time when Drona was born, Prishata also had a son called Drupada. Both Drupana and Drona grew up together. They studied together and learned use of weapons together. Once Drona heard that Parasurama was giving away all he had. Drona asked Parasurama for wealth. Parasurama said he had given all away but he had his weapons left, and those he could take.

Drona, gifted with the knowledge of weapons, went to Drupada who was then the king of Panchala. The proud king refused to acknolwdge Drona as his friend. Drona went away thinking of a way to humiliate Drupada. He went to Hastinapur and started teaching the princes there. As guru dakshina, Drona asked for Drupada to be brought to him alive. The Pandavas defeated him and brought him. He took half of Drupada's kingdom thus became an equal of the king. The king went away but the defeat in the hands of Drona constantly haunted him.

The king then approached two sages, Yaja and Upayaja who agreed to help the king. The king wanted a son who could slay Drona. As he had no children, he wanted the sages to help him.


A sacrifice was started and Yaja, after having poured  clarified butter into the sacrificial fire and asked Drupada's queen to come. She was bathing then and could not come. Not waiting, Yaja poured some more butter and utter some mantras and from the fire, rose a child. He had a crown on his head, body clad in armour and a bow and arrow in his hand. A voice from the skies said this was the prince, that was born to kill Drona. Then arose a daughter, Panchali, who was very beautiful and dark in complexion. A voice from the skies said this maiden will cause the destruction of many kshatriyas. The sone was called Dhrishtadyumna, because of his excessive audacity and because of his being born with natural armor and the daughter was called Krishna as she was dark.

Hearing these words of the Brahmana, the Pandavas decided to go to Panchala to see these fire born prince and princess. The sage Vyasa told the Pandavas that as part of her past life she was born unfortunate. Though beautiful, she had no husband. She prayed to Shiva to get a husband. When Shiva appeared, she said she wanted a husband and repeated that five times. Shiva said she would have five husbands. The maiden wanted only one, and Shiva said in this life she would have one, but in her next life she would have five husbands. Vyasa said the Pandavas would have Draupadi as their wife and asked them to go to Panchala.

Starting towards Panchala where they met the King of Gandharvas, Angaraparna, on the Ganga banks. The king was not happy with Pandavas trespassing into his territory. Arjuna challenged the king to a duel. The king started shooting arrows at Arjuna who skillfully dodged them. Arjuna then hurled a fire weapon and destroyed the king's chariot. Then he began dragging the king by his hair, towards his brothers. Seeing this, the king's wife, Kumbhinasi, begged Arjuna to release her husband, which he did. The Gandharva then said from this day he would give up his name, Angaraparna which meant a blazing vehicle. He exchanged with Arjuna, the science of commanding animals, in exchange for an arrow of Arjuna. He asked the Pandavas to appoint a priest and have that priest be with them constantly. 

Killing of Vaka

The Pandavas presented as a Brahmanas and then found a king Brahmana who was kind enough to host them. They started living with the family,going for alms in the morning and coming back and sharing their alms with all, in the evening.
One day Bhima was at home with his mother when he heard someone crying in the Brahmana house. Kunti also heard the same and she asked Bhima to find out what was the matter. Hearing continuous noises of weeping, Kunti herself went inside to see what was the matter. She saw the Brahmana planning to move away from the town. He was saying he would not be able to abandon his family, so this was the step he was taking. If this was not possible, the family would, all together, kill themselves.
Kunti wanted to know what was causing this grief.

The Brahmana then told her about Vaka. Not far from the town, there lived a rakshasha called Vaka who lived on human flesh. The town people had an agreement with him. In a certain interval, each family of the town, had to send, in turn, a cart full of rice, two buffaloes and a human. All this would be devoured by the rakshasha. Now was the turn of his family and he would now have to go and surrender himself to the demon.

Kunti asked the brahman not to worry. She said she knew of a way to avoid this. She said she had a son whom she would send. She also told the brahman that she was not worried, as her son would go, and return victorious. Finally convinced, the Brahmana agreed. Kunti spoke to Bhima, who also readily agreed.

After consulting the rest of the brothers, Bhima decided to set forth and meet Vaka.
Bhima went the food of the Rakshasha to the place where the Rakshasha lived. He then began eating the food himself, also asking Vaka to come and have a share. The angry rakshasha came running.

Bhima fought with the Rakshasha and in the duel that followed, he killed him. Vaka's family was frightened to see this and started fearing their own lives. Bhima assured them saying if they promised not to attack and kill humans, they would not be harmed. They promised, and Bhima returned back to Ekachakra.

The town people thought that the Brahmana had gone to Vaka, and were pleasantly surprised to see the brahmana alive and Vaka dead. They wanted to know how this was possible, to which the Brahmana said he had some divine help.

The Pandavas,  after slaying Vaka, continued to live in the house of the Brahmana. One day a brahmana came visiting. In his wanderings, the brahmana had been to Panchala and had been witness to the divine birth of Dhrishtadyumna and Draupadi.

Hidimva and Ghatotkacha

Seeing his sister getting delayed, Hidimva set forth to the place where the Pandavas were sleeping. When the sister saw her brother coming, she asked Bhima to place them all on her back. She would be able to carry them away from her bother.
Bhima addressing Hidimva asked her not to panic. He said he would slay her brother and free the forest of him.

The brother having heard all this was angry at his sister and started cursing her for having betraying him. He said he would now kill her along with the humans.

Seeing the Rakshasha rush towards his sister, Bhima stepped in between. He addressed the Rakshasha saying he needed to first defeat Bhima and then touch the others. It was not of good conduct to strike a woman, especially someone who has been helpful. Bhima also acknowledged the fact that the Rakshashi had fallen in love with him and in that course she had not harmed anyone.

Hearing this, the rakshasha rushed towards Bhima. Bhima grasped him by his hands and flung him into the ground. It was like a fight between two wild bulls in the forest. Hearing the sounds, the Pandavas and Kunti woke up. They saw a frightened maiden before them. Kunti asked her who she was. The girl said that in the forest was a rakshasa, Hidimva. She unfortunately was his sister. Having seen Bhima, she had lost her heart to him. Now Bhima and Hidimva were battling each other.

Seeing Bhima fight, Arjuna said he would the Rakshasha with an arrow, but Bhima asked them to stay back and watch.

Bhima, feeling energetic after hearing his brothers killed the rakshasha.
Anxious that Duryodhana should not find them out, the Pandavas and Kunti decided to leave the spot. Hidimva, the rakshashi also decided to go along with them.

Bhima seeing Hidimva asked her to go away and be free. Hidimva then begged Kunti to let her stay. She said she had left her family and had decided to be with Bhima. If Bhima rejected her, she would have to kill herself.

Hearing her, Kunti and Yudhistira agreed. They told her they she was fine to have Bhima with her in the day, but she would have to bring Bhima back to them in the night. Bhima said he was fine and he would stay with Hidimva till a child was born. Once a child was born, she would then raise the child and Bhima would come back to the Pandavas.

Taking Bhima with her, Hidimva moved around. One day she discovered she was with child. Though the child was born from a human father, he looked terrible. The child, the moment he was born became big in shape. As his head was bald, looked like a pot (Ghata) they called him Ghatotkacha (pot headed).

Despite his looks, the child was very good at heart and soon became loved by the Pandavas.

Hidimva soon relaized it was time for her to leave. Promising that they would come whenever they were thought of of, they took the blessings of all and left.

The Pandavas then kept moving around. They moved from forest to forest, hunting for food when needed. They met many great sages in their wanderings and learnt as much as they could, from them.

Soon they reached the town of Ekachakra. Making sure that they were not recognizable, the Pandavas then entered the town.

Escape into the forests - Hidimva

Vidura had sent a trusted aide in the forests to guide the Pandavas. This person guided the Pandavas on to the Ganges and helped them cross the river. He then said that Vidura had told the Pandavas to be careful.
In Varnavrata, when the people came and walked into the smoldering house of lac, they saw the bodies of Purochana, Nishada woman andher sons and thinking that the Pandavas were dead, started lamenting.
In Hastinapur, Dhritarashtra and his sons performed the last rites for the Pandavas

Meanwhile, the Pandavas in a group of six. Bhima lifted Kunti and the younger brothers, and they all walked in carefully , deep into the forest.

The huge and mighty Bhima walked, crushing trees and making way for the others. He was passing through like a herd of wild elephants in the forests. Crossing streams and small rivers, the Pandavas disguised themselves in the forest. They then reached a deep part of the forest where fruit trees were few and not much water was around. All they could hear was the sounds made by birds and animals of the forest. Tired, the Pandavas decided to rest there for sometime. Kunti was very thirsty and seeing her in a sad condition, Bhima decided to go and get some water. Wandering around, he came across a lake where he freshened himself and then wetting his garments he came and started giving them water by wringing his clothes. He was sad to see this condition of Kunti and the Pandavas. Kings and Queens who were used to soft beds were now having to spend their days in the hard forest ground. He decided to stay awake and guard his brothers and mother while they slept.

Not far from the place where the Pandavas were asleep, lived a Rakshasha Hidimva. Roaming around in the forest looking for food, he saw the Pandavas. He was hungry and human flesh would suit him well. His sister was with him. He asked his sister to go, kill the people and bring them to him, so that the two could have a hearty meal. The sister, also called Hidimva, went to the forest and there she saw Bhima guarding the brothers. It was love at first sight for her. She was in love with Bhima. She wanted to marry Bhima and for the first time in her life, she went against her brother's wishes. She decked her self with ornaments and walking modestly approached Bhima and wanted to know what he was doing in this forest. She also said that there was a wicked Rakshasha in the forest who wanted to kill them and so they needed to be careful and should escape. She said the Rakshasha was her brother and she wanted to help Bhima escape, as she was in love with him.
Bhima addressed her said he could not abandon his mother and brothers for her. The Rakshashi asked him to then awaken all, so that she could help all escape from there.
Bhima said he was not afraid of her brother and he would not move like a coward. He said his brothers and mother were tired and he would not awaken them.

Jatugriha - Part 2 - from Mahabharata

Meanwhile the Pandavas took leave of the Kuru elders and left for Varnavrata.  People of Hastinapur were sad to see the Pandavas go. They were loudly cursing the Kaurava saying maybe it was a ruse. Yudhistira addressed the people, asking them to respect the wishes of the Kuru elders

After the people had left, Vidura addressed Yudhistira in a language only the two could understand. He said Act in a way to avoid all suspicion but be aware of danger. Weapons are there that can cut through bodies not made of metal. Know that fire cannot destroy those in a tunnel. Use weapons not made of metal, against your enemies.Wander and gain knowledge.

Vidura indirectly told Yudhistira about the inflammable house, to escape through a tunnel after setting it on fire and roam around.

Vidura then left. Yudhistirta then told his brothers that Vidura had told him that the house they would be living in, was made of combustible material. He also told them not to worry and not let around know that about this knowledge.

People of Varnavrata, seeing the Pandavas greeted them. Then Purocahana, Duryodhana's aide came, and he guided the Pandavas into the palace. The pandavas could smell the butter and oils that had been mixed to build this combustible house. They all the house had been built with resins, bamboo, straw, little mud - all mixed with butter and lac. Bhima wanted to kill Purochana, but Yudhistira told him to be patient. If Purochana suspected their knowing, it would be their end. They needed to act innocent.

A friend of Vidura then came to meet the Pandavas. This person was an expert in mining. He said he had been sent by Vidura and he was to dig a tunnel for the Pandavas. Purochana had plans to set alight the palace on the night of Amavasya. Work began in the nights. In the day, it was covered with planks. In the day, the Pandavas would go hunting and in the evening they guarded the mining work.

Seeing the Pandavas living there cheerfully and without suspicion for a full year, Purochana was happy. Seeing this, Yudhistira said it was time to set the house on fire and escape, killing Purochana. Kunti approached Purochana and said she wanted to arrange a feast for the Brahmanas. Many people came for the feast. Along with the others, came a Nishada woman with her five children. Having had a lot to drink, Purochana and the Nishada woman and her children lay down and went to sleep, after the feast.
It suddenly became very windy. Taking this is a sign, Bhima set the house on fire, starting with the main doors. Satisfied that the house was burning, the Pandavas and Kunti entered the tunnel.

The people of Varnavrata noticing this started cursing Dhritarashtra, Duryodhana and Purochana. Pandavas came out on the other end of the tunnel and fled into the nearby forest.

Jatugriha - Mahabharata

What does does Jatugriha actually mean? The closest literal meaning is house made from lac, which is highly combustible. Jatu literally means lac or gum, and Griha means house.

Pandavas had to live there for sometime. This incident takes place in Adi Parva of Mahabharata, much before the Pandavas got married to Draupadi.

Why the Jatugriha here? The serials based on Mahabharata, show different versions of the same. I just wanted to share what Mahabharata has.

In consultation with Dhritarashtra, Duryodhana and the other Kaurava princes decided to burn the Pandavas alive. Vidura coming to know of this, approached Kunti and told her to flee the Kuru land with her sons, as no good would come if she stayed on. Hearing this, Kunti and her sons climbed on to a boat that had been prepared, and left Varnavrata.

A Nishada woman, who happened to be the house of lac, along with her children, got burnt to death.

The citizens of Varnavrata, thinking the Pandavas were dead, were saddened.

On the other hand, Dhritarashtra along with the other Kuru elders performed the last rites of the Pandavas.

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As the Mahabharata is being recited to Janmajeya, the king wanted to know what had happened in Varnavrata. He was then told what had happened there.

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Duryodhana was disturbed to see Bhima grow stronger by the day and Arjuna become skilled in the archery. Karna, Sakuni and Duryodhana then tried to hatch plans to get rid of the Pandavas. Every attempt failed. The people of Hastinapura also wanted Yudhistira to be crowned king.

Duryodhana approached Dhritarshtra and asked to him send the Pandavas to Varnavrata. Blined by the love for his son, the king agreed. Duryodhana then told the king that Bhisma and Drona would be loyal to the throne, Vidura alone would not be able to do any harm even if sided with the Pandavas.

The festival of Shiva was to start in Varnavrata, and the Pandavas were asked to stay there for sometime. Pandavas agreed to go there. Hearing this, Duryodhana asked Purochana, one his aides, to go to Varnavrata and construct a palace using all combustible material. The mud that was to be used would be mixed with oil and fat, to aid burning. It was to be built in such a manner that the Pandavas should not suspect this.

Krittivasa Ramayan - Opening Shloka / Vaishnava Influence

रामं लक्ष्मण-पूर्वजं रघुवरं सीतापतिं सुंदरम् ।
काकुत्स्थं करुणार्णवं गुणनिधिं विप्रप्रियं धार्मिकम् ।
राजेन्द्रं सत्यसंधं दशरथनयं श्यामलं शान्तमूर्तिम् ।
वन्दे लोकभिरामं रघुकुलतिलकं राघवं रावणारिम् ॥

रामाय रामभद्राय रामचंद्राय वेधसे ।
रघुनाथाय नाथाय सीताया: पतये नम:

Rama, the elder brother of Lakshmana, best of the scions of the Raghu, the husbandof Sita,
handsome Ocean of compassion, treasure of virtues, the most beloved of the religious people
 Lord emperor of kings, follower of truth, son of Dasharath, dark-complexioned, idol tranquillity
Salute to that which pleases the eyes of all people, the crown jewel of the Raghu dynasty and the enemy of Ravana

I salute to Ram, beloved Ram, moon like peaceful Ram
To Lord of Raghu Scion, Lord (of all), husband of Sita, I salute

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The above two shlokas are from the Rama Raksha Stotra attributed to a Rishi called Buddha Kaushika. Who this person was, is still a mystery. It is said, this Rishi was recited the entire Rama Raksha Stotra by Lord Shiva, in a dream.

The above two also form the opening lines for the Kriitibasi Ramayana, the Bengali Ramayan written by Krittivasa.

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There are references to the Kalpataru tree (the tree that fulfils all wishes) and Goloka in the opening stanzas of the Bengali version of the epic. Both these, as per the Puranas are assciated with Krishna and not Narayana or Vishnu.

This also shows the influence of Vaishnava teachings in Bengal in that period.

Both Kriitivasa (or Krittibasa) and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu were from a similar period in Bengal. Krittivasa was born earlier. During the reign of the Pala kings in Bengal, Vaishnava influence was evident in the writings.

The love of Radha and Krishna became immortalized in Vaishnava Padabali.

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Vaishnava influence of love is evident in the Bengali Ramayana in places. Rama and Lakshmana have tears in their eyes when beg for forgiveness.

What we have today as the Krittibasi Ramayana may not be  100% of his work. He had written his work in the 14th / 15th century. In the last 3 - 4 centuries, people discovered his work, added some of their own shlokas and interpretations

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Irrespective of this, the 600 pages of the Bengali composition is a joy to read. In simple verse, it has many Bengali interpretations of customs (Rama's wedding is one such example, with Sita being offered Sankha and Pala as wedding bangles) and slight deviations from the Valmiki Ramayana (Mahiravana and Ahiravana is one, and Rama's Akal Bodhan).


=============================

Reading this gives that joy. It also reminds one that when this was being composed, Bhakti movement had started in Bengal.

Arjuna's Exile - Subhadra

Going Southwards, Arjuna came across five rivers but he was surprised to see people refusing into these rivers. He learnt five fierce crocodiles were living in thr ivers, who attacked and killed all who dared enter the waters.

Arjuna entered the waters. As soon he did so, a large crocodile came and seized him by his leg. Arjuna dragged it forcibly to the shore.It then transformed itself into a beautiful maiden. Surprised, Arjuna asked her who she was.

She said her name was Varga. She was p;laying along with her companions when in a playful mood she decided to disturb a meditating sage.  The sage getting angry, cursed the apsaras to become crocodiles. The sage also told them they would be freed once they met Arjuna. With their curse lifted, the apsaras left for heaven.

Arjuna then, continuing his journey, went again to Manipur. In the time Arjun was away, a son, Vabrhruvahana had been born to Chitrangada, who was the crown prince of Manipur. Greeting him Arjuna left.

In his journey, Arjuna then went to where Krishna stayed, and greeted him. He told Krishna about all that had happened with him so far. There, Arjuan saw Subhadra, Krishna's sister and fell in love with her. He confided in Krishna. Krishna said before taking any step they needed to find out what Subhadra thought. Krishna also told Arjuna, that as per Kshatriya laws, it was allowed to forcibly abduct a bride and take her away.

Informed that Subhadra had gone to a temple, Arjuna got a chariot ready. With the time of his exile, Arjuna planned to abduct Subhadra, and take her away with him.

Meanwhile Subhadra had finished her prayers. When she was coming back towards her home, she was suddenly abducted forcibly.

Krishna managed to make his family understand that what Arjuna had done was not wrong. Arjuna was asked to come back to Dwaraka and get formally married to Subhadra.

After the marriage Arjuna went to Khandavaprastha with his new bride. All greeted Arjuna except Draupadi. Knowing why Draupadi was sad, Arjuna told Subhadra to wear the robes of a maid and approach Draupadi. She went to Draupadi and she she was her maid. Ashamed at her behaviour, Draupadi embraced Subhadra.

After sometime Subhadra gave birth to a son who was named Abhimanyu.

Arjuna's exile - Ulupi and Chitrangada

Arjun set off on his exile, roaming the forests. He would meet the sages in the forests and learn from them. Roaming thus, one day he approached the banks of the river Ganga, at Gangotri.Finding it to be peaceful, he decided to spend the days of his exile there.

One day Arjuna was taking a bath in the waters of the river when he felt he was being dragged into the water. He had stepped into the water to have a bath and then prepare a fire, and perform his worship to the Gods. He was perplexed when he saw he could not come out. Ulupi, the daughter of the king of Nagas, was pulling him. Having seen Arjuna before, she had lost her heart to him, and wanted him for herself.

Arjuna found himself dragged into the kingdom of Nagas. There Arjuna saw a sacrificial fire. He sat before the fire and performed his worship. He then started exploring his surroundings when he saw Ulupi.


Ulupi said she was the daughter of the Naga king Kauravya. She said she was unmarried and wanted to marry Arjuna. Arjuna said he was in the forest, in exile and would be leading the life of a monk.

Ulupi said she knew all about Arjuna. She also knew he was married to Draupadi. She said if marriage would not be possible, if he could spend a night with her, he would remain blameless and Ulupi would be satisfied. If still, Arjuna refused, Ulupi said she would kill herself.

Arjuna spent a night with her and the next day, she left Arjuna from where she had brought him. She also gave Arjuna a boon saying he would be invincible in water and all water creatures would be at his command.

Arjuna, back on land, began roaming in the mountains of the Himalayas.

Travelling eastward, Arjuna reached the kingdom of Manipur, where a king named Chitravahana ruled.

Chitravahana, the king of Manipur had a beautiful daughter, Chitrangada. In his travels, Arjuna saw her wanted her. He approached the king and asked for his permission to marry his daughter. The king, knowing who Arjuna was, told him about Prabhanjana.

King Prabhanjana  was childless. To get a child, he prayed to Shiva. He was given a boon that his dynasty would have only one child each. In consequence, Chitravahana had only Chitrangada.
The king agreed for Arjuna to marry his daughter only if after marriage Chitrangada would remain with her father, and her child would rule Manipur. Arjuna agreed.

Arjuna's exile

The Pandavas established the rule, and were content. Once some robbers stole the cattle of a poor brahmin. The Brahmin came to the Pandavas for help. Arjuna happened to hear the pleas of the brahmin. He decided to help him.
Now it so happened that the room where Arjuna had kept his weapons was also the room where Yudhistira was with Draupadi.
Saddened by the pleas of the brahmin, Arjuna decided he would rather take the exile rather than see the brahmin saddened by the loss of his wealth.
He took permission of Yudhistira, went into the room, took the weapons and helped the brahmin.

Returning back, Arjuna bowed before all and decided to move out into his exile. Taking permission of all, Arjuna left Khandavaprastha for his twelve years exile.

Tilottama

"The kurus are victorious". Hearing this from Vidura, Dhritarashtra was elated. Dhritarashtra's sons had gone to Draupadi's swayamvar, to win her hand in marriage. He thought one of his sons was victorious. He asked for Duryodhana to be brought before him along with Draupadi.

It was then that Vidura corrected him, saying Draupadi had been won by Arjuna, and she was now a Pandava wife, and thus part of the Kuru clan. Vidura also told the king that the Pandavas now had the support of Drupada and his clan. Hearing this, Dhiratarashtra agreed to welcome the Pandavas home.

The village of Khandavaprastha was given to the Pandavas, and they set up their kingdom there.

With Krishna on their sides, they were happy and content. One day they were visited by the sage, Narada. He asked them not to go the way of Sunda and Upasunda. Curious, the Pandavas wanted to know more.

In olden days,a demon Nikumbha had two sons called Sunda and Upasunda.  When they grew up, they went to the Vindhya mountains to meditate, please the Gods and get boons. Such severe was their penance that the heavens trembled. Brahma then appeared before them and asked the asuras to ask for a boon. The asuras wanted to be immortal, but Brahma did not agree. They then said let us not die from any one's hands, unless we try to kill each other. Brahma granted this, and the asuras went back to their kingdom.

Desirous of sovereignty over all the worlds, the asuras attacked all, leaving no God or demon till they had conquered all. They did leave the Rishis and spoiled their sacrifices.

The Rishis then prayed to Brahma and try to do something to end the onslaught of the asuras. Brahma called Vishwakarma and asked him to build a maiden who was capable was captivating all hearts. Vishwakarma went about collecting all things that were beautiful. Then using these he started the process of his creation. The result was a maiden whose beauty was unparalleled. Created part by part, with all things beautiful and supreme, she was called Tilottama.

She wanted to know the purpose of her creation and she was told to bring about the downfall of the asuras Sunda and Upasunda. When the damsels moved about, Mahadeva looked around, and in each direction they sprung a head each, to see her.



Meanwhile the Asura brothers having been in constant battle, were tired and were resting, when Tilottama appeared before them. Filled with desire for her, Sunda wanted her for himself. Upasunda also wanted her, they began quarreling among themselves for her. They then began fighting and eventually killed each other.

Ending the tale Narada told the Pandavas to make agreements among themselves to ensure that when one was with Draupadi, he was undisturbed. Also they should be careful and should not fight among themselves over Draupadi.

The Pandavas then made a rule that whenever one of the brothers was with Draupadi, no one disturb them. If any of the brothers did so, he would have to face exile for twelve years.

Dogs in Mahabharata

Dogs have an important role to play in Mahabharata. The first parva in Mahabharata is the Pausya Parva.

This starts with with Sarama, the celestial dog, who comes to Janamajeya and rebukes him for striking her son.

janamejayaḥ pārikṣitaḥ saha bhrātṛbhiḥ kurukṣetre dīrghasattram upāste tasya bhrātaras trayaḥ śrutasenograseno bhīmasena iti
teṣu tat satram upāsīneṣu tatra śvābhyāgacchat sārameyaḥ sajanamejayasya bhrātṛbhir abhihato rorūyamāṇo mātuḥ samīpam upāgacchat

(Janamejaya, the son of Parikshit, was, with his brothers, attending his long sacrifice on the plains of Kurukshetra. His brothers were three, Srutasena, Ugrasena, and Bhimasena. And as they were sitting at the sacrifice, there arrived at the spot an offspring of Sarama, the celestial dog).


In the end of Mahabharata, when the Pandavas hear of the death of Krishna and their mother, they decide to leave all to Parikshit, Arjuna's grandson and leave on a journey towards heaven. There also Yudhistira is accompanied by dog, who eventually turns out to be Dharma, in the guise of a dog.

Pandava Clan

This occurs in the Book 1 of Mahabharata, in the Sambhava Parva.

Santanu married Ganga, and had a son called Devavrata who was later known as Bhishma. Santanu again got married to Satyavati. Satyavati already had a son called Dwaipayana, before her marriage to Santanu. With Santanu she had 2 sons,  Chitrangada and Vichitravirya. Chitrangada died in a battle with the Gandharvas. Vichitravirya became king after Santanu and married Ambika and Ambalika. Satyavati then asked her son, Dwaipayana to have children through Ambika and Ambalika. Three sons were born -Dhritarashtra,  Pandu, and Vidura. Dhritarashtra had a hundred sons by his wife, Gandhari. Pandu had two wives,Kunti, also called Pritha, and Madri. One day Pandu, while hunting, saw a deer making love to its mate. That was really a Rishi in the form of a deer. Pandu, unknowingly killed the deer. Pierced with the king's arrow, the deer quickly changed its form and became a Rishi, and cursed Pandu, saying he ever tried to make love to any of his wives, he would die.

Kunti through a boon she had received earlier, had from Dharma, Yudhishthira; from Pawana, Bhima; from Indra, Arjuna. Kunti also taught the mantra to Madri who then had twins Nakula and Sahadeva through Aswini Kumars. One day, enticed by Madri, Pandu touched her and fell dead. Madri also died and Kunti brought all the five children.

In Hastinapura, Kunti raised her sons who were always despised by Duryodhana, son of Dhritarashtra.Trying to burn them to death, the Pandavas were sent to Varnavrata, but they escaped from the house of fire. Escaping to the town of Ekachakra, Bhima slew a rakshasha called Vaka. Bhima also slew a Rakshasha called Hidimb and married his sister Hidimba, through whom he had a son, Ghatotkacha.  Later, In Panchala, the Pandavas married Draupadi. Through Draupadi, the Pandavas had five sons. Yudhishthira had Prativindhya; Bhima, Sutasoma; Arjuna, Srutakriti; Nakula, Satanika; and Sahadeva, Srutakarman.

Apart from this, Yudhishthira, married Devika, the daughter of Govasana and had a son named Yaudheya. Bhima married Valandhara, the daughter of the king of Kasi, and had a son named Sarvaga. Arjuna married Ulupi and had Iravan; married Chitrangada and had Babruvahana and married Subhadra and had Abhimanyu. Nakula married Karenumati, the princess of Chedi, and a son named Niramitra. Sahadeva married Vijaya, the daughter of Dyutimat, the king of Madra, and had a son named Suhotra.
Of all the sons, Abhimanyu married Uttara, the daughter of Virata, who had a son, Parikshit. Parikshit married Madravati and had a son, Janamejaya. He married Vapushtama, and had two sons, Satanika and Sankukarna. And Satanika had one son named Aswamedhadatta.

The incidents of Mahabharata are being narrated to Janmajeya, and based on questions being asked. Which is why the genealogy stops with Janmajeya. 

Chennai Effect

The Chennai Effect is here. Not heavy rains, but light drizzle all through the day. Cloudy, and its starting to get a bit chilly.

Rishyasringa - The Deer horned One

There are stories of Rishyasringa in the versions of Ramayana I have read, but the version in the Mahabharata attracts more.

The basic story is the story, except while Rishyasringa does not have a big role in Ramayana, post Rama's birth, his story continues for a bit more in the Mahabharata.

This is in Book 3 of the Mahabharata - Vana Prava.

A bit of the background - Yudhistira had lost his kingdom in the game of dice. Roaming in the forests with his brothers, they were wondering what to do. Arjuna had then said he will go for meditation and try to get divine weapons, which would help them in the war.


While Arjuna was away, Yudhistira had met the sage Lomasa on the Risava mountain. The mountain was so divine that only the pure heart-ed ones could see it. That is where Vishwamitra had performed his penances. That is also where a rishi, Vibhandaka had performed his meditation and had a child, born from a doe.

Curious, Yudhistira wanted to know more and Lomasa had then narrated the story.

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In the clan of rsihi Kashyapa, was born Vibhandaka, who at a young age, having proceeded towards the banks of a lake and devoted himself to penances. He lived there for years, meditating.
Once while cleaning himself in the lake, he saw the celestial nymph Urvashi. (Ramayana says Indra had sent the nymph to distract the sage, who in the form of a doe had snuggled up to the sage). Seeing the nymph, the sage was filled with passion, discharged his semen in the lake of the water. A doe that happened to be there, drank up the water, and became pregnant with child.
The doe was a cursed nymph. She had been cursed by Brahma saying she would roam around like a doe and would be freed once she gave birth to a great saint.
The child born of the doe was Rishyasringa. The doe had left her mark on the child's forehead, and there was a horn on his head.
Rishyasringa, devoted to penances,  passed his days in the forest.Barring his father, he had not seen any other human and had lived his life in peace.
In the land of Anga, Lompada had once angered a rishi, who cursed the king that his kingdom would suffer from severe drought.
His priests told him to send for Rishyasringa. If he came, the rains would follow.
The king then  convened a meeting of his ministers,asking for a plan for getting a visit from Rishyasringa.  The ministers decided to send for the courtesans of the kingdom. Their job was to entice the saint and get him to come to the kingdom of Anga.
While all declined, fearing being cursed, an old woman in the group agreed to do the task. Taking many beautiful women, jewels, wealth, food and drink, the woman set forth towards the forest where the saint lived.

She built a floating hermitage, full of artificial trees and flowers. The trees were laden with sweets, and the artificial river was made from honey. She then had this hermitage steered towards the place where the saint lived and waited patiently.
One day she saw the saint along. She then sent her daughter to entice the saint.

Never having seen a woman before, the saint welcomed the woman. Acting as a saint herself, the woman enticed the saint to visit her hermitage. She also gave him sweets to eat, telling him these were fruits from her hermitage. She then left the saint alone.

When his father returned home, he saw his son sitting lonely. Hearing from his son what had happened, he tried to warn his son.
The next day when Vibhandaka left his ashrama, the woman came and this time she was successfully able to get the saint to leave with her.

The floating hermitage then went off to Anga in swift speed. As soon as it touched the shores of Anga, it started raining there.

The king then built roads leading to where Vibhandaka lived and welcomed the sage to Anga. In the meanwhile, he gave his daughter, Shanta to Rishyasringa as his wife. Vibhandaka was pleased to see his son happy. He blessed him and told him to leave and come back to his old ashrama, as soon as a  son was born to him.

Rama's sister

As per Ramayana, Rama did have a sister. She was the eldest child of Dasharatha and Kaushalya. When she was a child, the king of Anga, Lompada had visited Ayodhya. Lompada was Dashratha's brother in law, having married Vershini, sister of Kaushalya.

Lompada was also Dashratha's childhood friend.

Lompada was childless and had asked for Dasharatha's child, to be raised as the princess of Anga.

Dasharatha had agreed and Lompada had then formally adopted the child.

Valmiki Ramayana and the bengali version, Krittivasi Ramayana, both refer to this.

Shanta had married the sage Rishyasringa.

Depicting Mythology in serial

There are many serials which are mythological, on television. If you switch channels, somewhere Karna and Krishna are conversing, somewhere Rama is growing up, Hanuman is flying around, Durga is killing demons or Lakshmi and ALkashmi are fighting. While the Hindi channels are showering mythology on the viewers, the Bengali channels are not behind with Durga, Lakshmi and Byamakhema (which is not really mythological).

When it comes to the serials, many of them deviate from the stories that we have grown up hearing. So, initially, it is disbelief - what is the director trying to show? How could the person deviate?

Then comes the realization, that maybe there are some versions of the stories in different regions, which do have these stories. Who knows? At the end of the day, it is about depicting greatness of the hero, and if this is not a historical character, the serial maker can easily hide behind the curtain of folk tales and regional versions and provide a world of magic, divinity, evil, and how hero is good and always wins.

Happy Serial Watching.

Looking for Bengali DVDs

Looking for 2 specific DVD. Both are Bengali films. One is Gogoler Kirti (the sequel to Goyenda Gogol) and the second one is Chaya Manush. Both are 2014 movies and I do not see any indications if these movies ever released on DVD.

Save Whitefield Day - 30th November 2015

Yesterday was a protest day. For people who stay in and around Whitefield, or work in Whitefield this was an important day.
From 10:30 AM to 1 PM people came on the roads, peacefully standing on the roads with posters.
Whitefield is the largest tax generating area of Bangalore and it has the worst roads.

People were told to dress in Black and stand around. I had given my support by signing up for the online campaign. Due to work pressures, I was not on the road.

The posters had slogans like SAVE WHITEFIELD and ROADS ARE OUR LIFELINE, SAVE THEM.

About 3000 people joined the protest yesterday.

The rains in Bangalore played havoc with the roads. It showed the kind of roads that had been constructed by BBMC.

Everyday when I go home, its like a drive on a backward village road. Broken roads, potholes, dust, mud and to add to that, traffic.

Save Whitefield Day

Nice movie - Awakening

Saw this movie this weekend. The Awakening.

Loved the movie.

It is a spooky movie and it built the atmosphere well. The kind of spooky movie, where they do not have gory faces - the kind that I like.

Loved everything except the last 20 minutes which I think became a bit predictable.

Overall - Enjoyable.

Clouds are back

We had a few days of sun. Yesterday morning was sunny.
From evening it was cloudy and in the night it rained a bit.

Back to the wet weather again.

Avatars of Vishnu - as per Devi Bhadwad Purana

Vishnu took the incarnation of Dharma; and had two sons , Nara and Narayana. Then, Vishnu was born as Dattatreya, son of Atri Risi. He was then born as Narasimha to kill Hiranyakashipu, as Vamama to defeat Bali. He was then born as Parasurama, then as Rama. Later Vishnu incarnated as Krishna and Arjuna who were Narayana and Nara born again. 

Vishwamitra - as per Devi Bhagwad Purana

There was king called Vishwamitra, who one day, while roaming around came across his kingdo, accidentally ended up at the hermitage of rishi Vasistha. The king bowed before the rishi, who invited the king and his followers for a meal. The sage had a cow, Nandini, from whose milk the sage prepared all the food for the king. The king wanted the cow, but the rishi refused to give it away. THe king offered a thousand cows in exchange, even that was refused. He even offered a million cows which was also refused. The king said he would carry the cow over by force.
The king tied a rope around the cow's neck and tried pulling it away. The cows bellowed loudly and two demons were born who attacked and destroyed the king's followers.
Humiliated and dejected, the king went off to the forests where he spent his days in meditation and later became a rishi.

Yesterday - 27th Nov

Got very late yesterday. A few mins before midnight.

Had been to an exhibition and then to a wedding. A Kannada Brahim Wedding Reception of a colleague - to be precise.

Exhibition was nice. It took me 2 hours to reach there and then an hour there, reached the reception around 8PM.

We started dining after greeting the newly wed couple.

Sitting on a table, after having had some paani puri, we were served very little quantities of some vegetables, one roti, one dosa and some rice. There were some sweets. Overall a different experience but very less food for any food gougers. 

American Baisakhi - Thanksgiving

Americans started Thanksgiving to thank the lord the harvest.
We do that many times in India - Pongal, Baisakhi, Posuh Parbon, Nabanna etc

Isnt it time we started having nation wide holidays for these?

Happy American 'Baisakhi' to all (Belated)

Last evening - 25 November

When I got home yesterday evening, I saw houses with the led lights on their balconies.
First I thought these Diwali lights, then I saw some houses which did not have lights during Diwali now had lights.
Ok, the lights must be for Guru Nanak - i thought.

I have a Sikh family staying near my house, so I wanted to see if they had lights on. No, their house was like any other day.

Then I figured out, yesterday was Tripuri Purnima.

It said that gods goes to sleep for four months,this is the day when they wake. This is why the Autumn Durga Puja is a akal (untimely) puja.

This is also the day when the Gods celebrate Diwali, as this day Shiva had destroyed Tripura with one single arrow. That is another story.

Some say this is the day Kartikeya killed Tarakasura.

In the south here, people will visit Shiva temples, light up their houses and read the Skanda Purana, which the people here called Kathika Puranam.

Nice sight

After 17-18 days , sun is shining. Nice, warm sun.
After so many days of rain, this is a very welcome change.