#Kurukshetra War

[musingsonthemahabharata]

check out this stunning futuristic Mahābhārata art by Vamchi Vams!

the tendency with modern Mbh-inspired artwork is for it to still adhere to 'traditional' / historic conventions and for these to be seen as more 'accurate' renderings, but, especially with the war books (parvas), i'd maintain that one needs only to skim-read to see that the futuristic artwork most likely is a more 'accurate' representation of how the war is said to be fought. it would not be an exaggeration to claim that the astras (supranatural weapons imbued with mantras) used by warriors such as Arjuna, Karṇa & Aśvatthāmā functioned like nuclear weapons. i personally adore futuristic Mbh artwork because in my opinion it enlivens the epic & grounds it in our present as a timeless dynamic work and not as an ancient lifeless poem.

i do wonder if it is the inescapable archaic tone of 99% of the Mbh translations from sanskrit (which my dear friend Avi Sato pointed to me once & now i can't unsee!) that which contributes to this overall impression that traditional renditions * must * be more accurate. perhaps. i for one would love to see a truly futuristic translation and interpretation of the Mbh (both in literature & in film / TV) that also follows the narrative thread faithfully. might take it upon myself.

[alokastrology1]

Mahabharata War Aftermath: What happened?

Some people died in the great war of epic size that was fought to get rid of evil. In the battle for what is right, good, or evil, everyone has to deal with the results, which are their Karma. Mahabharata was a great story about how people feel, including greed, acceptance, sacrifice, and, in the end, death.

Know about the Kurukshetra War of Mahabharata. Get an online astrology consultation by the world-renowned Astrologer Mr. Alok Khandelwal.

Throughout the epic, the rules of Dharma and moral superiority are always changed to fit the purpose or need of the time. All men take advantage of, hurt, and use women to satisfy their egos. Men fight against their ambitions, talents, and birth. Even the pious Bhishma’s efforts to seek wives for his brother and nephew caused severe injustice to the women in question.

The Battle of Kurukshetra

Many people died in the Kurukshetra war, but the death of Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna and Subhadra, was the most heartbreaking. Drona made a Chakravyuha creation while Arjuna was sidetracked by Susharma and Bhagdataa. Only Arjuna knew how to get in and out of the formation, but Abhimanyu just knew how to get in. Once he was inside, Jayadratha made sure that nobody would follow him, and the killing started.

While Abhimanyu killed Brihadbala and hurt Duryodhana and Karna caught his bow from behind, Drona hit from the front. The Kauravas attacked at the same time, and Dushashana’s son hit the king with a mace to kill him. Abhimanyu was able to kill him with the same mace because he was so brave and stubborn.

As a form of revenge, Bhima cut off the head of an elephant called Ashwatthama and told Drona that his son had died. Drona dropped his arms, and Dhristadyumna killed him. When Ashwatthama heard that his father had been killed by a traitor, he, Kripacharya, and Kirtvarma killed all of the Pandavas’ sons while they were sleeping.

Ashwatthama let go of the Brahmashira just to kill the Pandavas and their only grandson, who was in Uttara’s womb. The others had died in the war. Lord Krishna went into Uttara’s womb to protect her unborn child from Brahmashira, who was sent by Ashwatthama to kill it. So, it was called Parikshit. The Sanskrit verb root – pari-ki means “around-possess” (or, less likely in this case, “around-destroy”). This is where Parikshit’s name came from.

Read Also:- What is the significance of Adhik Mass in Hinduism?

King Parikshit's family tree

After Parikshit was born, the chief priest Dhaumya told King Yudhishthira that he would be a great follower of the Supreme Lord Vishnu. Since Krishna saved him, he would be called Vishnurata, which means “one who is always shielded by the Lord.” Dhaumya Rishi says that Parikshit will always be dedicated to morality, religious fundamentals, and the truth. He will also be a wise king, just like Ikshvaku and Lord Rama. He would be a good example of a warrior like his grandfather Arjuna, and his family’s reputation would grow. He is called Parikshit because he would look for the Supreme Lord, whom he had seen as an unborn child, all over the world and in every person.

Hastinapur’s king After Krishna Avatar leaves the world and the Kali Yuga, the dark age of sin, begins, the five Pandavas brothers leave the world. Young Parikshit is made king, and Kripa is made his advisor. Under Kripa’s direction, he did three Aswamedha yajnas.

When King Parikshit was out searching in the woods, the demon Kali, who was the personification of the Kali Yuga, came up to him and asked to come into his kingdom. The king refused. Parikshit gave him five places to live after he kept asking: places with gambling, drinking, prostitution, killing animals, and gold. Kali sneaked into Parikshit’s golden crown and messed with his mind.

Takshaka, Janamejaya, and Parikshit

Since Kali had gone into the gold, this made people want gold. Parikshit went into the forest to hunt. At one point, he stops and takes a bath in the lake. He takes off his crown and puts it on the river bank. Takshaka, the king of the snakes, sees the throne and wants it. He tries to steal the crown, but Parikshit’s guards catch him. Parikshit jails him. When he is finally free, Takshaka gets revenge on Parikshit and brutally kills him. When Parikshit’s son Janamejaya hears this, he swears to kill Takshaka in a week.

He commences the Sharpamedha Yajna, which makes every single snake in the universe fall into the hawankunda.  But a snake got tangled around God Sun’s Ratha, and due to the power of the Yajna, the Ratha also was pulled into the Hawankunda. This could have put the God Sun Ratha in the Hawankunda and ended God Sun’s rule in this universe. All the gods then asked that the Yajna be stopped. Astika Muni stopped this Yajna from happening when Takshaka came, which is why Takshaka is still alive.

Read Also:- Rare Mars-Moon conjunction brings luck or not?

[mplanetleaf]

అభిమన్యుడిని శ్రీకృష్ణుడు ఎందుకు కాపాడలేదు? | Why didn't Krishna save Abhimanyu in Mahabharata...

[thisisbjoeblog]

Religion 101: Mahabharata Part 3 - The Brutal & Decisive Kurukshetra War

The Kurukshetra War, central to the Hindu epic Mahabharata, was a colossal battle fought between the Kauravas and the Pandavas, two factions of a royal family vying for the throne of Hastinapura. The battle took place at Kurukshetra, Haryana, India, just over 100 km north of New Dehli, on the way to Chandigarh. This war also serves as the backdrop for the sacred Bhagavad Gita, where Lord Krishna…

[druidicentropy]

Abhimanyu

Arjuna and Subhadra were the parents of Abhimanyu. He belonged to the Kuru dynasty. He was Hastinapur's heir until his death at the age of sixteen on the thirteenth day of the Kurukshetra War. Parikshit, his son born after his death, succeeded him as heir and ultimately as king.

[h0bg0blin-meat]

"The Trojan War was started because of a woman"

"The Kurukshetra War happened because of a woman"-

How about you read those epics with your eyes open and put your single braincell actually to work for once?

[empty-dream]

Karna and Arjuna in FGO Memorial Movie 2023

[darabeatha]

/ What are the chances that a bat god would fall in love with (insert ur muses' name)-

[zeherili-ankhein]

#mahabharat podcast

Poor Uttar he was just not made for fighting.... He was a pookie who should have done something like dancing with his sister

[lanliingwang]

hmm...huang feihu and arjuna as friends (more thoughts on the matter in the tags)

[esmeraywrites]

OOH OOH I'LL TELL YOU THE BIGGEST SIMILARITY??I GREW UP LISTENING BOUT ABHIMANYU AND

THE BIGGEST SIMILARITY IS

HEARING ABOUT BOTH MAKES ME CRY MY HEART OUT IN ABSOLUTE RAW PAIN COZ NEITHER DESRVED IT AND M CRYING NOW FML BUT LIKE ITS SOOOOOO SAD!!

So anyone here who has an idea about the great Indian epic Mahabharata and knows about the battle of Kurukshetra and has also read Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller..... DID YOU ALL ALSO NOTICE THE HUGE HUGE HUGE SIMILARITY BETWEEN THE DEATHS OF ABHIMANYU AND PATROCLUS.... please don't tell me I am the only one.!!

(If you want I can explainnnn) *aggressively puts forward a similarity-comparison chart between the Indian and Greek mythology complete with diagrams and footnotes and highlighted key points*

[musingsonthemahabharata]

the formidable Bhīma! 🤍 impulsive, strong and quick-tempered as well as fiercely devoted to Draupadī, he avenges her by slaughtering the Kauravas. in certain versions, he drinks the blood of her principal offender, episode of great cosmological significance encapsulating the cyclicity of nature mirroring the motif of the menstrual blood shed by Draupadī in the royal hall. how i adore him so!

you can find my Mbh tidbits on IG here: @musingsonthemahabharata 🤍

artwork: Gita Press Mahābhārata, 1968 | Ravi Varma Press

[whimsiquix]

The irony of Ashwatthama of all people going “no warrior deserves to die like that” about Karna in Kalki, when he was involved in Abhimanyu’s death, slaughtered the Pandava army at night, Dhrishtadyumna, tried and failed to commit a genocide, almost murdered a foetus, and saw his own father’s head being chopped off in what was possibly one of the worst things that happened in the entire Kurukshetra is just-

To reinforce just how terrible this is, here is Arjun, AFTER Ashwatthama slaughtered his entire army and family countering his Brahmasira released to destroy his grandson, still praying for Ashwatthama’s welfare.

The mighty-armed one spoke to Arjuna. "O Arjuna! O Pandava! O Arjuna! In your mind, you have the knowledge of the divine weapon that was instructed to you by Drona. The time to use it has arrived. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! It is needed to save yourself and your brothers. You should release it, since it is capable of countering all weapons."

Having been thus addressed by Keshava, Pandava, the destroyer of enemy heroes, swiftly descended from the chariot and grasped his bow and an arrow. The scorcher of enemies spoke words of welfare, addressed to his preceptor's son, then to himself and all his brothers. He bowed to the gods and all his pre-ceptors. Meditating and pronouncing auspicious words, he released that weapon, so as to pacify the other weapon.

- BORI CE

Arjun who is so kind, who is so empathetic, who is the only one in all the world who understands just how much it hurts Ashwatthama to have lost Drona, who is so quick and easy to forgive crimes against himself, Arjun who couldn’t bring himself to kill Ashwatthama even on Day Fourteen, Ashwatthama who knew even in the end that if he had told Arjun to desist from war, that he would have because of how much they loved each other, that Arjun and Ashwatthama.

They deserve better than this.

[stxrrynxghts]

Ik this sounds stupid, but someone pls tell me, like in the Kurukshetra war, the day began with sunrise and ended with sunset. How did they drink water? Ok, maybe they had water bottles or smth, but ahem, what if they got hungry? Felt the need to use the washroom? How did these things get sorted?

Pls, I'm genuinely confused because I dont really recall the details of the war rn, and I def dont mean this in an insulting manner but these are very valid questions, I swear-

[orgasming-caterpillar]

My Sun, My Dear

According to traditions, the period of a solar eclipse is considered most unfortunate. It is said that no good can be done in a time deprived of the Sun. Until the rays of the Suryadeva reach the Earth for the second time that day, no dharmika deed should be done.

But what if the Sun is sure to never return?

What if, just what if, there will be no second time for the rays to strike the Earth.

Such an eclipse had shadowed the life of the eldest Kaurav prince, Duryodhana. It was close to dusk on the 17th day of the War of Kurukshetra. Duryodhana had lost his brothers —his ninety nine brothers— to a fruitless war. He had lost his family, his relatives and in the end, his teacher too. Grief sagged his heart every time he lifted a weapon.

But warriors do not wait to grieve. Grief can stop a man, not an army. Not the enemy.

Karna took Drona's place as the Commander in Chief of Duryodhana's army. So for as long as Suryen-dhanya Karna, blessed by the Sun itself, was beside him, who could defeat the Kuru prince?

Or so he thought.

The last rays of the sun were disappearing from the battlefield. As tradition wills it, every warrior had put away his weapons. Except Gandivdhari Arjuna.

For as long as he stayed alive, Duryodhana never forgot the sound of the bow string let loose. The arrow cutting through the air in the direction of Karna. The last ray of the sun glinting off of the tip of the arrow and briefly blinding everyone.

A moment later, when Duryodhana opened his eyes, the sun was no longer.

A blue sheet of dusk had settled over the battlefield as far as the eye could see. He searched the periphery of his vision for his beloved mitra. What could an arrow do to the man who wears the armor of Suryadeva himself.

He remembered the next few moments in pieces. Karna falling from his chariot. The charioteer speeding off without him. Karna in the dirt. Karna with Arjuna's arrow.

Karna with Arjuna's arrow lodged in his throat.

Karna lying still in the dirt.

Karna.

A scream ripped itself out of Duryodhana's throat, thunderous and raw as an impeding storm. The entire battlefield turned to stare as the Kuru prince mounted the nearest horse and galloped to the fallen body.

The Pandavas surrounded Karna, shocked to see their own mother weeping with his head in her lap. Arjuna's charioteer, Krishna, explained to them what adharma they had just committed, and why not to blame themselves for it. They did not weep. Even after killing their own blood, they did not weep.

Arjuna lowered his head in shame. Duryodhana wanted to cut it off.

By the time he reached Karna, the Pandavas had blocked him from his view. Yudhisthir had seen him approaching and was now standing in his way.

"Step aside, Yudhisthir," Duryodhana rasped, mounting off his horse.

"No."

He turned his full glare on him; furious, bloodshot eyes, stinging with tears. "I need to see him."

"You may not, bhrata Suyodhana. It is dusk, you should return with your army."

For one last time, Duryodhana tightened his grip over his gadaa. If they wouldn't give him Karna's body, he would fight for it. He was Duryodhana's before he was ever a brother to these sorry sobs.

"Keep your arms down, maharathi," Krishna's voice echoed off the air itself. "It is adharma to raise a weapon, for the Sun is no longer."

The Sun is no longer.

This was the exact moment Duryodhana remembered that his heart shattered. The gadaa slipped from his fingers.

He could see a sliver of Karna's body hidden in the crowd of the Pandavas' sena. Such a small army had never before seemed to infinitely vast to Duryodhana. He, raised with hundred brothers himself and not once feeling crowded, saw the bodies hiding Karna's from him and saw for the first time in his life a crowd so vast he couldn't see his path.

Hundred brothers, one by one each lost to these Pandavas. And Duryodhana never looked back to see who burned their pyre. But this, this he couldn't allow. He would sooner let them take his life than Karna.

Slowly, with the image of Karna's corpse burned into his eyelids, Duryodhana fell to his knees.

All across the ranbhoomi, not a single man dared to draw a breath. Their eyes stayed fixated on their King as he lowered his head and...

Joined his hands.

When he spoke, the ache in his voice rang through the battlefield. "Brother, they call you dharmaraja because you are said to value dharma before anything else. But I am a fool, I- I never cared for what is dharma and adharma. For my entire life I have looked for ways to make you inferior to me, but it was always I who was inferior."

The Pandavas looked at each other in shock. They had not expected him to kneel, let alone plead.

"Be the righteous King you were always meant to be, Dharmaraja, but grant me this one thing. Give me my mi-tra. That is- That is all I ask of you. If not your brother, then as a supplicant." Even the breaks in his voice echoed. His tears wet the Earth below him.

"Let him have it, Dharmaraja."

Yudhisthir looked at Krishna, as if expecting him to come to his senses. "But he is our brother, Vasudeva. We are the ones who shall perform his last rites by dharma."

Duryodhana opened his mouth to speak, but Krishna spoke before him. "What kind of brother, Dharmaraja? The one you didn't even know about this morning? The one you were preparing to kill for days? The one you called sutaputra?"

If he wasn't wrecked inside with misery, Duryodhana might have enjoyed the shame on Yudhisthir's face. But all he felt was hope.

"Let him have Angaraja's body. It is he who deserves to perform his last rites, for they loved each other over karma and dharma. It is hard to see the one who hates you as someone capable of love, but is it fair to deny him his love, Dharmaraja?"

Yudhisthir only looked at his pleading brother.

A funeral pyre was to be prepared for Karna after the Pandavas left. Duryodhana's army gathered wood and oil, someone stitched a shroud out of the dead warriors' clothes, nobody dared to disturb the grieving prince.

Karna. Karna. Karna. He chanted till it was not a name but the sound of his tears falling on his armor. It was not a word but aching devotion.

He lifted a bloody hand to cup Karna's cheek. The warmth should have gone out of it long ago, but he was Suryaputra. He burned until there was nothing left to burn but his body.

He still couldn't wrap his head around the truth in his grief. Karna －brilliant, quick-witted, unyielding Karna－ was dead.

He clutched the body in his arms. The body that no longer belonged to his lover. A shadow. A torture.

Karna. Karna. Karna.

His Radheya. His Angaraja. His Karna. His Priye. His Sun.

Duryodhana felt as though all the light had gone out of his life. He carries the embers of it to the pyre, lays him down as gently as one would to a newborn instead of a corpse.

With shaking hands, Duryodhana carried the fire and lit the funeral pyre. He couldn't bear to watch as flames engulfed his beloved and turned his head to the sky. The scream that followed was a living thing, clawing its way out of his throat.

For the last time in forever, his lover burned as bright as the Sun.

And the smoke swirled in the night sky, carrying the prince to a land of eternal eclipse.

[talonabraxas]

Vishvarupa "Universal-form" Vishvarupa ("Universal form", "Omni-form") also known popularly as  Vishvarupa Darshan, Vishwaroopa and Virata rupa, is an iconographical  form and theophany of the Hindu god Maha Vishnu or his avatar Krishna.  Though there are multiple Vishvarupa theophanies, the most celebrated is  in the Bhagavad Gita, "the Song of God", given by Krishna in the epic  Mahabharata, which was told to Pandava Prince Arjuna on the battlefield  of Kurukshetra in the war in the Mahabharata between the Pandavas and  Kauravas. Vishvarupa is considered the supreme form of Vishnu, where the  whole universe is described as contained in him.