Mangal Mandir Jagrati Class Lesson 1 January 6, 2012 Gita Jayanti, the birthday of Bhagavad Gita, is being celebrated this year on December 23rd 2012. Dhritarashtra and Pandu were princes. Dhritarashtra was elder but as he was born blind, he could not inherit the throne. His younger brother Pandu became the king of Hastinapur. Pandu had five sons: Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. They were called Pandavas. Dhritarashtra had a hundred sons: Duryodhana, Dushasana and others. They were called Kauravas. When King Pandu died, Yudhishtira, being the eldest, became the heir to the throne. Duryodhana did not like this and he invited Yudhishtira to a game of dice. Yudhishtira lost the game and the Pandavas had to go into exile with their wife for twelve years and had to live hidden for the thirteenth year. When the period of exile was over, the Pandavas asked for their share in the kingdom but Duryodhana refused to give them their share. Shri Krishna went to the court of Duryodhana and requested for him to give only five villages to the Pandavas. Duryodhana refused to give even that much and declared that he would not give the Pandavas any land without fighting. Now, the only course open was war. Both the parties started to prepare for war. Dhritarashtra was anxious to know the news from the battlefield. Sage Vyas blessed Sanjaya, one of the attendants of Dhritarashtra, to be able to see and hear the happenings and thus be able to report them to Dhritarashtra. Sanjaya described to Dhritarashtra that Arjuna was seated in a great chariot, yoked to white horses, with Krishna as his charioteer and Hanuman on his flag. As the divine conches were blown to signal the start of the war, Arjuna requested that Krishna draw the chariot between the two army lines. As Arjuna drew closer to the enemy line, he saw his family and friends lined up to fight him. Arjuna got disheartened that he had to fight his own brothers, uncles, nephews, grandfather, teachers and friends. At this time when Arjuna was confused, Shri Krishna, his charioteer, guide and friend enlightened him with the knowledge of Bhagavad Gita. Arjuna after hearing the Gita Upadesh realizes that it is his divine duty to fight the Kauravas for his kingdom and to restore the balance between good and evil. This knowledge has been passed to us through many generations and continues to guide us on the right and wrong ways of living. Jagrati Class learnt two shlokas in class. Please practice these two shlokas at home and help the children learn the shlokas with the meaning. aham sarvasya prabhavo mattah sarvam pravartate iti matva bhajante mam budha bhava-samanvitah I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who know this perfectly engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts. (Chapter 10, verse 8) yuktahara-viharasya yukta-cestasya karmasu yukta-svapnavabodhasya yogo bhavati duhkha-ha He who is temperate in his habits of eating, sleeping, working and recreation can mitigate all material pains by practicing the yoga system. (Chapter 6, verse 17) .