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Gandhari

We have a lot to learn from Gandhari’s life!

Ancient Gandhara Kingdom was located in parts of modern-day northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. Gandhara is mentioned in the Hindu epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, as a western kingdom.

Gandhara King Subala received an unexpected guest one day from Hastinapuri.  That was none other than Bhishma the invincible soldier from a very strong neighboring kingdom. King Subala and his son Shakuni received him with the highest honor of Gandhara. They were very happy to know that Bhishma had come with a marriage proposal for their daughter. King Subala and Sakuni thought that his daughter would be marrying King Pandu of Hastinapuri.  Bhishma explained to them that he intended the proposal for Dhrutharashtra, the elder brother of King Pandu. Shakuni was enraged that Bhishma was asking his sister to get married to a blind man who was never going to be a king.

King Subala was afraid to reject Bhishma. This incident can lead to a war between these two kingdoms and they were not in a position to wage a war against such a strong opponent.  Gandhari understood her father’s predicament and decided to protect her family and her kingdom through marriage to this blind man by sacrificing her future. She decided that she would not see a world that her husband could not. Everyone including Dhrutharashtra tried to change her mind and requested her to rethink. She stood by her decision and closed her eyes. That was the first mistake of her life. It may have been a silent protest against her fate.

Shakuni was very sad and upset about the same. He decided to go to Hastinapuri to protect Gandhari and her blind husband.  Loving brother wanted to retaliate against Bhishma’s selfishness who took advantage of a weak kingdom. Shakuni started devising strategies to make Dhrutharashtra the King which means his sister will be the Queen of Hastinapuri.  Even though this epic and the critics blame him as a crook or cunning man, most of us forget to see that he does it out of love for his sister’s wellbeing.

Shakuni and Dhrutharashtra were dreaming that their nephew/son could be the Crown Prince if only Gandhari would deliver a child before Kunti, wife of Pandu. That dream also remains a dream when Kunti delivered Yudhishtira first. Gandhari made a forceful delivery and premature children were born.

Loving brother continued to work hard to reverse the luck towards his sister. The entire Mahabharata epic, we see Shakuni was manipulating Gandhari’s oldest son Duryodhana.

If Gandhari would have opened her eyes, she could have brought her children up with higher morals and dharma. She could have given guidance and confidence to her blind husband.

 Gandhari and Dhritarashtra are a clear image of how a couple could lose their strength and unity solely because of the emotional decision of one. This story conveys that all mothers should keep their eyes peeled to ensure their kids are on the right path and restore a balance to the family.

Women are the backbone to the family.

Devi falls in Pokhara : Ganga falls.

  • Devi falls

I went to Nepal with my best friend right after the monsoon season last year. Further to our visit in Kathmandu we travelled to Pokhara the tourism capital of Nepal. Tour guide took us around the mountain city where we visited the Devi falls. This waterfall is a very fast-moving river in the narrow valley that passes through Pokhara which we might miss unless we go looking for it.

This thundering river is called Seti that goes underground through several series of caves after the falls. The water passes through a cave called Gupteshwor Mahadev as well. We were amazed to see that the water is milky white.

 At that moment, we remembered the story of King Bhagirath who prayed to River Ganga to come to earth and bless his ancestor’s soul. Goddess Ganga accepted his prayer and warned him that it will be very difficult for earth to sustain the force of her fall from the heavens. Bhagirath prayed to Lord Mahadev for his help to find a solution to his predicament.. Lord Mahadev granted him the boon and allowed Goddess Ganga to fall on his dreadlocks only to let her out in small streams. Pokhara is known as a popular trail in the Himalayas and Goddess Ganga fell from the Himalayas. The river passes through caves as well as all over the land to bless all living creatures.

 Many of us know the story of river goddess Ganga. We consider River Ganga as a holy river that purifies our sins. Devi is the Sanskrit word for goddess. I strongly believe this Devi falls is Devi Ganga Falls and that could be the reason the water is milky white.

Never seen or heard of any river water white in color!

  • River goddess blessing.

 My previous posts:

Jatayu

Gandhari

Kaikeyi

Jatayu

Jatayu , son of Arunan and brother of Sampathi. They are the ancestor of vulture. Jatayu is an embodiment of valor and chivalry. Jatayu witnesses Sita being kidnapped by Ravana and tried his best to save Sita by risking his life. Eventually Ravana chopped one of his wings using his powerful sword Chandrahasa and fled with Sita. The injured Jatayu fell on the top of the rock at Kollam District of Kerala. Therefore, the rock called Jatayu para (which literally translates to Jatayu’s Rock) and the village came to be known as Jatayumangalam. However, the name has been changed in colloquial language of the native place as Chadayamangalam.

Jagadguru Swami Satyananda Saraswathy used to say that these stories from our epics give us an indication that everyone including animals and birds used to care for each other to lead a peaceful life in the ancient era. Jatayu sacrificed his life to ensure a woman’s safety and honor.

It is very much relevant to the current social scenario as the crimes against women are on the rise. This gives a heads-up to remind everyone of our responsibilities.

The Jatayu sculpture is a towering tribute to Jatayu.

Jatayu Earth’s Center, also known as Jatayu Nature Park or Jatayu Rock, is a park and tourism centre at Chadayamangalam in Kollam district of Kerala. It stands at an altitude of 350m (1200ft) above mean sea level. Jatayu Nature Park is holding the distinction of having the world’s largest bird sculpture (200 feet (61 m) long, 150 feet (46 m) broad, 70 feet (21 m) in height and having 15,000 square feet (1,400 m2) of floor area) of the great bird Jatayu.  With the bird-sculpture being sculpted by Rajiv Anchal (a state award winner) himself, this rock-theme nature park is the first public-private partnership tourism initiative in the state of Kerala.

Cable car ride is another attraction and the amazing view through the glass covered cabin of the gigantic hills, valleys and the beautiful landscape is a visual treat to the travelers. 

The Jatayu sculpture
Jatayu’s foot steps
Pond at the rock roof

Yes it is at gods own country!

Swamiji Satyananda Saraswathy’s dream came true.

“No religion or dogma should impede the freedom and growth of the innate HUMANISM in man”.:-Jagadguru Swami Sathyananda Saraswathy.

Silent misery of Kaikeyi

Queen Kaikeyi, the most misunderstood character in Ramayana. Conventional readings of the epic portray her as ‘an evil queen’ or ‘a jealous wife’ or even the ‘quintessential stepmother’ but there is more to King Dasaratha’s favorite queen, aspects that defy simple stereotyping. No one keep her name to their children as most hatred person.

The typical portrayal of Kaikeyi ‘s character by the majority of writers and story tellers is that of woman whose ambitions led to the ordeals and miseries of others such as the death of  King Dasarath and the exile of Ram. However, deep view of Valmiki Ramayana displays enough details of positivity in her character. We ignore her positive traits such as her generosity, loving nature, bravery and her repentance. Once she accompanied King Dasaratha in the battle against Samhasura an enemy of both Lord Indra and King Dasaratha. During the fierce battle, King Dasaratha was wounded and lost his consciousness. Kaikeyi, who was acting as his charioteer, quickly repaired the broken wheel and drove the chariot away from the battle field which saved his life. Kaikeyi was bold and brave. Touched by her courage, King Dasaratha promised her two boons.

We conveniently ignore the promise that Dasaratha gave to King Kekaya that his grand child will be the future king prior to his marriage with Kaikeyi. If Dasaratha had discussed it with Kaikeyi before making the decision, she may have agreed with him to give the throne to Ram. We are able to observe similar incidents in most of our family life due to decisions taken without prior discussion leading toe quarrels at home. 

As we all know mothers take the extra effort to teach their kids about good morals and culture, to be a good human being. Prince Bharath was the most adorable brother, son, and caring ruler. Kaikeyi was such a mother, who brought him up to be a refined gentleman, with high moral standards and a strong follower of Dharma. Every mother would think of their own children more than anyone else. During the fourteen years under the rule of Bharath,  Ayodhya had reached its height in prosperity. Even so Kaikeyi has been blamed for Dasaratha’s mistake. 

We missed out on her positive traits and human qualities such as her loving nature, bravery, compassion, simple heartedness. Most of the time, we see powerful assertive woman misinterpreted as villainous, domineering and wicked, whether in history or mythology, no matter what is her motive.

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