Hari Om Parents,
We started our class with 3 OM and the following shlokas and prayers
- Sahana Vavatu
- Vakratunda Mahakaya
- Saraswathi Namastubhyam
- Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu
- Samastha Jana Kalyane
- Chanted Mahalakshmi Ashtakam - verses # 8 & 9 (Page 40 in My Prayers book)
Gita Chanting:
This year, we will be learning Chapters 15 and 12 of the Bhagavad Gita. This week, the class chanted Chapter 15's verses 13 & 14:
https://youtu.be/aR5vrrhjNmk?si=_LqQ5MR3j2D_0eZaThis year, we will be learning Chapters 15 and 12 of the Bhagavad Gita. This week, the class chanted Chapter 15's verses 13 & 14:
Mahabharata:
We chanted the following prayers before starting the Mahabharata:
- Narayanam namaskritya
- Vyasaya Vishnu roopaya
- Vasudevasutam devam
- While the Pandavas were in the forest, a Brahmin approached them, saying that a deer had taken away his Arani, which he uses to perform all his yagnas. All the Pandavas chased the deer in the forest, but were not able to catch it. Exhausted, they rest under a tree. All of them were thirsty, seeing a lake nearby. Initially, Yudhisthira asked Nakula to go and drink water and fetch water for others. When Nakula reaches the lake. He hears a voice of a Yakshya stating, "Do not drink the water in this lake; you can drink it only after you answer my questions". "If you drink water from this lake before answering my questions, you will die". Nakula did not heed those words, drank the water, and fell dead at the shore of the lake. Subsequently, Sahadeva, Arjuna, and Bheema came to the lake and did not heed the voice of Yakshya. They all ended up drinking water and fell dead at the shore of the lake. Finally, Yudhishthira comes to the lake, seeing all his four brothers lying dead, he is quite astonished. He doesn't see any sign of war or fight. He also approaches the lake to drink water, then he hears the voice of the Yakshya asking him to answer the questions before drinking. Yudhishthira agrees to the challenge. Yakshya asks more than 100 questions, which Yudhishthira patiently answers. Yakshya was pleased with Yudhishthira's answers and allowed him to drink the water. He gives Yudhishthira a boon that he would bring back the life of one of his brothers.
- Yudhishthira, without any hesitation, asked for Nakula to be brought back to life. To this, Dharmaraja was surprised, and he asked Yudhishthira why he did not choose Arjuna or Bheema, who might be of greater help to him in the future war. Yudhishthira replies that he wants one son of Madri to live, since he, son of Kunti, is already alive. Yakshya was extremely pleased with this answer. He revealed himself as Yama Dharmaraja, blessed Yudhishthira, and brought all the brothers back to life.
- Though Pandavas had to go through difficulties during their time in the forest, they utilized the time intelligently and emerged stronger than before. Arjuna got the blessings of Lord Shiva and Indra. Bheema got to meet Hanuman and became even stronger with his embrace. Yudhisthira's lustre shone even more with the blessings of Yama Dharmaraja.
- Virata Parvam - We started Virata Parvam today. At the end of 12 years Pandavas had spent one year incognito to fulfill the requirements that Duryodhana put forth. They decide to go to the Matsya Kingdom. Doumya, their minister, gives the Pandavas advice on how to live under a king and serve him, which they were not used to before. Pandavas and Draupadi go to the outskirts of the Matsya Kingdom, collect all their weapons and tie it up to resemble a corpse, and leave the weapons on a banyan tree. From there, everybody goes in different directions and comes to the Matsya Kingdom on different days.
- Yudhishthira comes to the courtyard of the king and introduces himself as Kanki battu, tells him that he can be in the King's court, give wise advice, and entertain him by playing games with him. He states that he had previously done a similar job in Hastinapur with the Pandavas.
- Bheema comes to the king and introduces himself as Vallava, a cook, and asks for a job in the King's kitchen. He promises him that he will cook very delicious food and make the king happy.
- Arjuna took the form of a eunuch, which was bestowed on him due to Urvashi's curse. He introduces himself as Brihannala, a dance teacher, and gets appointed as a dance master to the King's daughter, Uttara.
- Nakula introduces himself as Granthika and takes charge of the King's horses. Sahadeva comes in as Tantripala and takes charge of managing the King's cowherds.
- Draupadi, when she was walking in the streets of the Matsya Kingdom, was spotted by the queen Sudhesna, who was attracted by her form and beauty, brought her to her chamber, and enquired about her. Draupadi introduces herself as Sairandhri, who is married to five Gandharvas, and would like to stay in the palace for one year. She states that she can help the Queen in her chambers, be a companion, and an attendant for the Queen.
- All of them give their background that they previously worked in Hastinapur with the Pandavas. In this way, they were able to spend many months incognito. Almost 10 months passed by, Duryodhana meanwhile was frantically sending out spies to locate Pandavas. As a part of his scheme, a wrestler came to the Matsya Kingdom to challenge the local strongman. He defeats all of them. The king feels bad that there is nobody in his Kingdom who could defeat this wrestler who came from outside. With Yudhistira's permission, Bheema fights with the wrestler and kills him.
India, the Sacred Land: Guru!
In this section, we covered the following points with the help of this presentation:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1bVqPYzqcqQWDcQEtRbKwmAZaHpVTotvWPBMUQo7WENM/edit?usp=sharing
- Bharat / India 🇮🇳 Our Land
- Bharat's Facts
- Bharat's Borders
- Bharat's Geographic Regions
- Bharat's States and Union Territories
- Kashmir Territory controlled by India
- Bharat vs. USA Comparison
- Sacred Rivers of Bharat
- Mother Ganga
- Ten Scientific Reasons Why Mother Ganga is The Sacred River
- The Sacred Himalayas
- Pilgrim Places in the Himalayas
- Mountains of Bharat
- Islands of India
- What is Needed to Climb Mount Everest?
The children were fascinated to learn about the scientific studies and discoveries made by researchers about the River Ganga. We also discussed what Pangea was and how the Himalayas were formed. They were surprised to learn that the Himalayas are still growing every year.
We briefly touched upon the pilgrimage places in the Himalayas and will explore them in greater detail in upcoming lessons. To conclude the class, we did a fun activity where each student shared their thoughts on what is needed to climb Mount Everest. Every child contributed unique and thoughtful answers.
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Parents, please send your children to class on time to avoid disruptions to the class. Also, have them bring the decorated name tags to the classes. Please make sure children bring in My Prayers book, handbook, notebook, pencils, etc (to take notes, do activities in the class)
Hari Om,
Sachin Gaikwad & Devender Akula
Sachin Gaikwad & Devender Akula
