WHEN MIND MEETS WISDOM

Chapter 1: Understanding the Epic of Mahabharata

1.1 Overview of Key Characters and Events

Mahabharata was written by sage Veda Vyasa .The war of Mahabharata was a swaying event in Indian history. The war lasted for 18 days between the pandavas and kauravas. It was the battle of dharma and righteousness. Due to an increased decline in dharma in the society, Lord Krishna had to take out this war to again establish dharma in humankind. Kauravas fought the battle out of rage, Arrogance, Greed and non judiciously while the Pandavas brawled because of dharma, justice, wisdom and judiciously. Undoubtingly mahabharat could have been called off if the wise had not supported injustice events occurring before the very eyes of themselves. Here are some of the important characters of the epic mahabharata.

Shri Krishna

Role: He was the Divine incarnation of Lord Vishnu, advisor to the Pandavas and beloved friend of Arjuna.

Significance: Bhagavad Gita is the direct life teachings from the mouth of Shri Krishna, he provides spiritual guidance to Arjuna and plays a crucial role in various events throughout the epic.

After all, who is Shri Krishna about whom we are talking for so long? The bottom line is that it is important to understand that understanding Krishna is not so easy and Shri Krishna does not come in everyone's Heart. One can only love Shri Krishna, Krishna is the universe. Krishna is present and he is the past. Krishna is present in everything in this world. Till here, We all are part of Shri Krishna. He is none other than the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Shri Krishna says that they can only be achieved through love and devotion.

The Five Brothers - Pandavas

Yudhishthira:

Eldest of the Pandavas, known for his righteousness and adherence to dharma (duty and morality).Yudhishthira was a great warrior. He had saved his brothers from death not once but twice because of his intelligence, presence of mind, kindness, and just approach. He was humble and Practical along with a Great follower of Dharma.He had all the qualities of being a loved and successful king.

Bhima:

The second brother, known for his immense strength and loyalty.He has always been portrayed as an extremely strong, impulsive, emotional, big-hearted person. He is self-confident and self-appointed. He is known to be a passionate, enthusiastic leader and a fearsome warrior.

Arjuna:

The third brother, an unparalleled skillful archer, mighty warrior and mesial character of the Bhagavad Gita.He is extremely famous for the archery of a bird where he was told to target a bird. This test showed his concentration and focus as his eyes were only focused on the head of the bird.There was another incident where Dhronarchaya asked his students to kill the crocodile who was going to harm him. Within seconds while everyone else were making themselves ready, Arjuna took out his Arrows and killed the crocodile under the river which shows his swiftness

Apart from all these tests the most difficult test was when Arjuna and Duryodhana both reached Dwarka , asking for help from Shri Krishna. Krishna decided to offer two choices to both of them where he says to either choose between his Narayani Sena that is the strongest army of that time or Krishna himself who will be weaponless. While Duryodhana chooses the Narayani Sena, Arjuna Opt to choose Krishna as his mentor and charioteer. Now one needs to understand why Arjuna chose shri krishna over the huge Narayani Sena.

Section Forty-Nine Udyoga Parva, The Mahabharata translated by Bibek DebroyArjuna not only chose his best friend, he chose the most famous man in the world so that he could seek guidance from him to become famous like him.