The Role of Lord Sri Krishna in the Mahabharatam -11 : Swami Krishnananda.

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Monday,  19 Jun,  2023.  07:00.

The Role of Lord Sri Krishna in the Mahabharatam -11 :

(Spoken on Sri Krishna Janmasthami in 1972)

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There was a very powerful man called Bhagadatta. He was a very old man. He used to fight on a very powerful elephant which was said to be a descendent of Airavata of Indra. A very fierce elephant it was; it could simply dash down all the warriors. Hundreds started dying and running away at the very sight of the elephant of Bhagadatta. He was a very old man, past one hundred years, but he was fighting such a fierce battle.

Krishna said, “This man Bhagadatta will finish you if you do not meet him. Go and meet him yourself.”

Arjuna fought with Bhagadatta with all his might, maimed his elephant and killed it finally, but Bhagadatta would not be overcome. He sent a missile which came like a meteor, a comet. Immediately Sri Krishna raised his chest and withdrew the missile into himself.

Arjuna said, “You said you will not take part in the war. Now why are you interfering with me? I would have done something myself. I could have broken it into pieces. Why did you interfere?”

Sri Krishna said, “You do not know what it was. It was the Vaishnava Astra, and nobody can stand before it. You would have died just now. It was given to Bhagadatta through Narakasura once upon a time, from a divine source. It has come from me only, so I have taken it back. Otherwise, you would not have been left alive just now.”

Arjuna replied, “All right, whatever you say. Now let the war continue.”

Then we have a portion of the Drona Parva called the Jayadratha Vadha, a very beautiful section. Jayadratha killed the boy Abhimanyu with the help of many others who joined together to kill him, but Jayadratha was responsible for his death because he blocked the passage of the Chakravyuha. Arjuna vowed that before sunset the next evening he would finish Jayadratha; otherwise, he would enter into fire.

Krishna said, “Why did you take this foolish vow without consulting me? How do you know that you will be able to kill him tomorrow? Will you enter into fire tomorrow?”

“Whatever it is,” Arjuna replied, “let me try.”

That night Sri Krishna took him to Rudra in Kailasha in a mysterious manner, and Rudra blessed him with the Pasupata Astra. And then the battle took place just before sunset. Jayadratha was not killed. Sri Krishna cast his Sudarshana Chakra on the sun so that everything became dark. Then Jayadratha stood up, thinking it was night, because he wanted to see the funeral pyre of Arjuna, who would be falling into the fire. He was a very tall man, taller than others, and when he stood up immediately Sri Krishna withdrew his Sudarshana from the sun and told Arjuna, “Look at that man. Cut off his head.” Immediately an arrow was shot and he was hit. Then Krishna said, “Shoot another arrow.”

“No. I will not shoot at a dead man,” said Arjuna.

“You foolish man! Do it. There is a purpose behind it.”

Then Arjuna hit him with another arrow. This second arrow was shot because the father of Jayadratha was doing tapas on the shore of the ocean: “Whoever drops the head of my son, his head may be broken to pieces.” So if Arjuna dropped Jayadratha's head, what would happen? Arjuna's head would break to pieces. So another arrow was shot which brought the head of Jayadratha on the palm of the very same man who was doing this tapas; then the father dropped it not knowing what it was, and his head was broken. The father's head was broken to pieces because he did not know what was dropping on him. See the wonder! This is all described in the Drona Parva.

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To be continued

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