Sanskar Gurukul Weekly Update Class Name: Bhrigu Week# 29: April 26, 2015 General Assembly Hari Om Everybody: Here is the GA Update for today's session. Vagdevi aunty started the GA with three Omkars followed by the Shanti Mantra. We chanted Nama Ramayana - Bala Kanda verses. Then we learn two new verses of Ayodhya Kanda. We chanted new verses few times. Aparna Aunti told us about the Kulfest and Chanting questions. 1) Student will be given starting of a verse line and student has to complete the verse from prayer book. Example: Gurur Brahma, Gurur Vishuhu ... (complete the verse). 2) Hanuman Chlisa, there will be questions. Example - "What is in the hand of Hanumanji?" 3) Student will be given starting of a verse line and student has to complete the verse from Bala-Kanda of Nama Ramayana. We ended session with a short meditation. Next Sunday, May 3rd is Field Day. All children should report to Green Hope Elementary School by 9:30 AM. All children will be divided into teams and each team will play two games - Dodge Ball and Satodiyu/Lagori/Pitthu. Some children demonstrated how to play these games on the stage on April 19th. Please DO NOT bring your Gurukul bag and wear shoes as you will be running around the field as well comfortable cloths. Lunch will be provided and you can be picked up by your parents at 12:15 PM. Class We started class with three Omkars followed by the Shanti Mantra and before studies prayers. We covered Chapters 25 and 26 which talked about Jarasandha Vadh and Rajasuya Ceremony respectively. For reference, original story of Jarasandha birth and Shishupala birth is also presented. Sanskar Academy 1 Sanskar Gurukul Weekly Update Jarasandh Vadha: In Bhagavatam II, we have encountered Jarasandha multiple times. Just to recap….. Jarasandha, the king of Magadha, resided in the Capital, Girivraja. His two daughters were married to Kamsa. Lord Krishna and Jarasandha had long history. Jarasandha wanted to kill Lord Krishna in his revenge for his son-in-law, Kamsa’s death. He attacked Mathura, 17 times, every time with a huge army. Lord Krishna and Balarama defeated the army every time but let Jarasandha go free so that he can gather more evil in his army for Lord to destroy next time. On his 18 th attempt, he received help from brave mlenchha king, Kalayavana who was lured to the cave by Lord Krishna and was destroyed by King Muchkunda’s boone who was sleeping for thousands of years after helping devas in devas-asuras war in Satya-Yuga. In anticipation of powerful attack from Jarasandha + Kalayavana, Lord Krishna built Dwaraka in the middle of the ocean with the help of Vishwakarma and moved everyone in Mathura overnight to Dwaraka. Following Kalayavana’s death, Jarasandha chased Lord Krishna and Balarama to mountain but they evaded him and went to Dwaraka via ocean on the other side of mountain. Jarasandha set fire to the mountain and went back thinking he had killed Lord Krishna in fire. Jarasandha, a powerful King of Magadh, wanted to offer heads of kings to Lord Siva in worship. For this purpose, he defeated several kings and held them captive in his mountain fort. There were as many as 20,000 kings waiting for this horrible fate in his imprisonment who were devotees of Lord Krishna. One day, they sent a priest messenger to Shri Krishna to free them from Jarasandha. At that same time Naradji came to Shri Krishna with a message from Yudhishtra, the eldest of the Pandavas, the son of Kunti, who wanted to perform the Rajasuya ceremony and he wanted to invite Shri Krishna. Now both initiatives were important for Shri Krishna. He was keen to release the captured kings and he did not want to disappoint Yudhishtira by not accepting his invitation. He asked his Chief Counselor and friend Uddhava for advice who said that the Rajasuya Yaga can be performed only by the king who challenges all the kings of the world and defeats them all. Therefore, Lord Krishna should go to Hastinapur and advice Yudhishtira to kill Jarasandha by challenging him for a fight and release of kings thereby serving both the purposes. Jarasandha had the strength of ten thousand elephants and he couldn’t be killed that easily. The only way he could be killed was by fighting a duel with strong wrestler like Bhimasena or Bhima, the second Pandava, brother of Yudhishtira. Jarasandha would not refuse to fight since he is a Kshatriya.’ Hearing this , SriKrishna was relieved. He sent back the messenger assuring the captured kings that they will be released soon. According to the plan suggested by Uddhava, Bhima, Krishna and Arjuna disguised themselves as Brahmanas and approached Jarasandha right after he finished his Puja of Lord Sanskar Academy 2 Sanskar Gurukul Weekly Update Siva and was distributing presents and granting wishes to all who gathered in the assembly. The trio said to him, ‘Sir, we have come from a great distance. Bestow on us what we desire.” Jarasandha was a little surprised on seeing them. Hearing their voice and observing their deportment and palms with the scars made by bow-string, he could guess that they were really Kshatriyas and that he must have seen them sometime somewhere. He thought,”they are certainly men of the royal class in disguise of Brahmanas. Still I shall give them whatever they want , be it life itself.” Musing thus, he said to them , “O Brahmanas!Tell me what you want. I shall give even my head to you.” Krishna said,”O King, if you have decided so, grant us the favor of a duel. We are not Brahmanas but Kshatriyas come here for battle and not for food. This is Bhimasena, the son of Kunti and the other is his brother Arjuna. And know me to be their uncle’s son Krishna, who is your traditional enemy.” Jarasandha, hearing Krishna’s words, laughed loudly and said, ”You fool! Certainly I shall give a fight. I do not fight with you because , you are a coward. You left your city Mathura and built another city on an island in the sea and ever since you are living there in fear of me. And this Arjuna is junior in age to me and his body is too young and slender. He is no match for me. Bhima, however, looks more fit and a good match for me. He might offer me some good fight.” Jarasandha then ordered for two maces to be brought. One he gave to Bhima and the other he took in his hands. They came out in to the open and began their fight. Both were equally matched and enjoyed the fighting. Neither was inferior to the other and it looked as though the fight would never end. Thus twenty-seven days passed. The relationship between the two ,however was strange. During daytime they would fight and in the night they would sit together like friends and dine. On the twenty-eight day Bhima said to Krishna that it is difficult for him to overcome Jarasandha. He seem to be equal with Bhimasena in everyway. But Krishna gave him confidence and said that it would be his last day with Jarasandha . The fight began once again. Once Bhima pushed Jarasandha to the ground and Krishna made a sign to Bhima. Krishna took a leaf in his hand and split the leaf into two. Mighty Bhima took the hint and holding Jarasandha by his legs, pulled him to the ground. Pressing one of the enemy’s legs with his, Bhima tore him in 2 halves and threw 2 parts on opposite sides so they couldn’t come back together to rejoin him back. Jarasandha, the mighty king , lay on the ground dead. Krishna and Arjuna embraced Bhimasena.K rishna installed Jarasandha’s son as the king of Magadha. Then he immediately set free all those kings whom Jarasandha had kept in prison. Story Of Jarasandha’s Birth: Jarasandha was a brave and powerful warrior and a staunch devotee of Lord Mahadeva. His father was a King of Magadha, by the name of Brihadratha who had no children for a long time. Sanskar Academy 3 Sanskar Gurukul Weekly Update The king was very sad and did many tapas and yagnas for a very long time in anticipation that he will have son one day. In the due course of time, the King met a sage in the forest. Hearing his tale of woe, the sage gave him a fruit and asked him to give it to his queen. He said that by eating that fruit the queen would get a son who would be famed throughtout the world for his strength and for his devotion to Mahadeva(Lord Siva). The king had two wives. He cut the fruit into two and gave one half to each of them. In time both of them gave birth to a child .But a shocking news awaited the king. Each queen had given birth only to a lifeless ‘half a child body’. With horror ad disgust the king threw away both the halves. There lived a rakshasi by the name of Jara who would enter the city by night and rummage through whatever she could find. On this particular night, she found two pieces of a new born child’s body. She was a little bit surprised .She placed the two halves together and to her amazement, life came into the new child’s body and he started crying at once.