Saturday, August 29, 2009

Krishna Leela


Hello everyone! Thanks for your support till date. Am feeling really elated after reading all the comments that appears on my Comments section. Those who read my blog from the very first post would have known that my posts will mostly contain

  • 55 Fictions (By this time people would have got bored with them..)
  • Some Tags
  • My musings!

So this time thought of writing something from the epic - MAHABHARATHA.

We know about the Pandavas and the story behind the the great 18 day Kurukshethra war! Among the 5 Brothers Dharma Alias Yudhishtra is the one who never told any lies under any circumstances. Its because of that reason, the chariot in which he travels doesn't touch the ground (Einstein is unanswerable for this one!!). Am not here to discuss about science or anything else. Just wanted to share a story or it can be considered as the ploy of Lord Krishna!

It was the 17th day of the the war Kurukshethra. Bheeshma was on the bed of arrows, still Dhronacharya was there. Seventeenth day could be the judgement day! Krishna was planning meticulously and was advising Arjuna about the pros and cons of the dharma behind war and relationship, which confused him. Aswathama and Dhronacharya came to the battlefield on behalf of Kauravas! Ashwathama is the son of Dhronacharya, the Guru of Pandavas and Kauravas. Ashwathama is a very good archer and the plot he devised for the battle bemused both Krishna and Arjuna. The battle saw the wonderful battling display of Dhronacharya and Ashwathama. Arjuna was visibly shaken as he has to fight with his guru! He approached Krishna for the solution.

Krishna: What Partha (another name of Arjuna)? How is your mind-set?

Arjuna: Krishna, Am afraid. I have to battle with my guru. Am panic-stricken! I don't have the belief.

Though Krishna advised Arjuna he knows the strengths of both Ashwathama and Dhronacharya. So he contrived a plan to win both of them in a tricky manner. He wanted to tell something to rock Dhronacharya. He wanted Dhronacharya to believe the plans he mused. In the battle field an elephant with the name Ashwathama died from attack. Krishna wanted to use that to make Dhronacharya tremble. Krishna wanted to relate the death of elephant to Archer Ashwathama.

Compared to Ashwathama, Dhronacharya was a better archer. So Krishna wanted him to fall for the arrows of Arjuna first. He approached Yudhishtra and told him the machinated plan. But Yudhishtra refused thinking that Krishna is making him to commit the biggest sin - Telling a Lie. According to Manu Dharma "He who is responsible for a death of any living being irrespective of his direct involvement, shall thy be considered as the biggest sin". Yudhishtra recollected this quote to Krishna. Dharama putra told, "O Krishna, even if I tell the truth about the death of the elephant it will result in the death of Dhronacharya. Please don't make me to commit the sin of my life". Krishna persuaded Dharma to tell those lines, the lines which is going to be dreaded for Kauravas. Yudhishtra told those lines in a higher voice. The lines were:

अस्वत्तामा हथम् कुण्जरः

अस्वत्तामा - Ashwathama

हथम् - is dead

कुण्जरः - Elephant

These lines convey the meaning, Ashwathama is dead, which is an elephant.

You may wonder what is the Krishna's leela here! When Yudhishtra was telling "अस्वत्तामा हथम् (Conveying the meaning - Ashwathama is dead)", Lord Krishna took his Conch, Pancha Janya, and blew it. Thus making it difficult for Dhronacharya to understand the last words of Yudhishtra, which had the exact meaning of the phrase. The words which Dhrona heard imparted the meaning "Ashwathama is dead". Dhrona was completely jolted after learning that his son died in the war against Pandavas. Before getting back to his senses Dhrishtadhyumna's (Brother of draupadi) arrows pierced his pectus. The moment Dhrona's last breath escaped, Yudhishtra's Chariot hit the ground with a thud.Arjuna was greatly saddened because he wanted to capture Dhrona alive. It is said that Drona's soul, by meditation had already left his body before Dhristadyumna could strike

Though Krishna didn't meant anything wrong for Dhronacharya, its the role played by the conch of Krishna that played a pivotal role in this Kurukshethra war. This was the only incident in the whole Mahabharatha where a life is lost because of the verity. Did the phrase "Truth alone triumphs" is true in this case?!

I don't know how many of them liked this. But still thought of sharing with you all. Do write all your opinions about this post in my Comments Section!

I am dedicating this post to the Greatest Blogger - Indian Pundit, who asked me, infact fought with me and made me to accept that 'people understands the religious value of gita!'. It provoked me and here I am with this post!!

With Love,







The Gita Verses present in this post have been translated by my friend Sripriya and without checking the meaning am publishing it! So please forgive if it has some errors

Image Courtesy : GOOGLE Images

74 comments:

  1. Quite a alarming tale and yes...that is the pinnacle point of the war...

    The war was against the strong and the mighty...while the pandavas had only the power of right...dharma with them...

    dis story indicates that you have to attain what is right...with any means possible...

    There were crores of problems against pandavas...and only one with them...dey were right..

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  2. @Sid
    thanks for your valuable comments. The war against the two mightier ones, but only for friendship karna lost his life.
    Karna know that Duriyodhana was wrong, but he is the one who gave identity to karna..
    Its the one point which made karna to be with duryodhana!!

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  3. I have a doubt, why do they have to use a prefix 'O' Krishna, 'O' Arjuna, 'O' Dharma. Its little bit funny isnt it. Jokes apart (yeah its a joke) I love Mahabharatha for its innumarable short stories like this. I know this story already.
    This is a good initiative to give variety to your blog. This post with out sanskrit slogas and explanation on chapters would have been more interesting.
    Keep writing more different posts like this.

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  4. @bharathi
    thanks and this is just my initiative!
    I am keeping my fingers crossed,cos i dunno how much comments i ll get!!But still i wanted this story to reach all people. So wrote

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  5. Hi Shruti.. :)

    I love the story of Mahabharata..
    quite inspiring and enlightening stories... :)

    The war of MahaBharata is termed as Dharm Yuddh , But this type of story really put me in doubt of its validity, and verifies how hard it to follow truth and war in one thread.

    well, very well narrated...:)

    cheers!!!

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  6. @amit
    thank you so much!! but its just the tricks of krishna!!
    But stil yudhishtra told the truth!
    Stil The Gita tells the truth and provokes our inner conscience

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  7. Well,at the outset..let me truthfully tell you that I have been thinking about using Ashwaththama is dead statement to convey something else in my blog.I guess you just did the idea the required justice.

    A thought provoking post once again.Sometimes,some truths are told such that they become half-truths..which in the end do no harm to the result,but do harm our conscience a bit...

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  8. @anu
    hehehehe :P
    Stole ur idea eh?! Thanks for ur comments...
    ""Sometimes,some truths are told such that they become half-truths""
    Exactly this is what happened here and it does hurt our conscience

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  9. interesting post shruthi :)
    i dunno wat made u to write this post bot was well worth reading coz of its moral :)

    "NEVER TRUST ANYONE" :D

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  10. @satish
    seriously after you asked me this question, am wondering! Whaty made me to write this blog?!
    I DONT KNOW!!

    Lolzzz u derived a moral out of this!!!

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  11. A most interesting blog to read.
    Very well written.......A real pleasure.


    Yvonne.

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  12. @yuovonne
    Am really glad that you liked this post of mine!
    Thank you so much!

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  13. Nice ..
    The Gita actually teaches us how to live... it has got so many such incidents which we can relate.. what he tried to reinforce here is I think that firstly all is fair in love and war and that to harm someone who is hurting you ( causing harm to you) is not wrong , so if u harm someone in your defeat its not a sin....
    Nice..

    Keep Writing and Smiling
    Arnav

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  14. ""Did the phrase "Truth alone triumphs" is true in this case?!""

    Truth Alone Triumphed in the end.
    Pandavas won.
    Dharma was re-established.

    I am so so glad that u FOLLOWED MY ADVICE about publishing religious stuff here.

    i am very happy that u are doing an excellent job.

    Cheers

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  15. Hey arnav,
    thanks for the visit!!
    ""to harm someone who is hurting you (causing harm to you) is not wrong , so if u harm someone in your defeat its not a sin""

    This is the point that is conveyed through this incident of Mahabharath!!

    keep smiling!

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  16. @IP
    I dedicate this article completely to you!
    Its because of those words which you told i wrote this post!!
    Am happy that you liked it!

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  17. You know I was impressed to see someone writing about Mahabharata. It is my favourite epic, I love it, but a lot of people do not know most of it.

    As for what you asked, this incident showed the price of lying. For this single sin, Yudhistira had to have a glimpse of hell. This lie cost the Pandavas their sons who were killed by Ashwatthama, who otherwise used to be Arjuna's best friend. It showed what one lie can do to destroy.

    And Dhrona was killed by Dhristadyamnuya, son of Panchala, draupadi's twin brother, as he was born to do, inspite of Arjuna's shout to capture Dhrona alive. I think.

    You write really well. And the explanation is also wonderful. Really enjoyed it! :)

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  18. @Guria
    Hi, welcome to my blog!
    Thank you so much!!
    Yes it was both dhrishtadhyumna and arjuna who killed Him

    But it was the formers arrows that hit Dhrona first!

    Great that you enjoyed this post!

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  19. Hey Shruti, I checked. Dhristadyumna killed Drona inspite of Arjuna's request to take him alive. Arjuna did not kill Drona. He was also angry with Dhristadyumna later for killing him.

    Sorry for pestering but I have this bad habit of getting my epics right. Don't think too badly of me for being a pain in the err.. neck! :P

    :D

    And thanks for the welcome! :)

    Love, Sreya

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  20. @sreya
    ""pain in the err.. neck!""
    lolzz
    i changed it long back maam!! I too have the habit of checking out my mistakes when someone points to that!!

    So no problems. So Accept my apologies for that!!

    Keep smiling!

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  21. Aww, come on... this is your blog and you'll write whatever you want, right or wrong. I do not accept your apologies because they weren't required in the first place but you are very sweet. Instead I should be apologizing for disturbing you late in the night and for hogging your comments! :P

    Love, Sreya ^_^

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  22. I've already known about this incident, Krishna must have had some explanation for this act, may be you should throw some light on that too. I mean the convincing Yudhistra, thats the most important one.

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  23. Hey nice post.. I just love Mahabharat so much.. Btw, Drona deserved what he got.. Have you read Abhimanyu's (son of Arjuna) story? He was mercilessly killed by Drona and the other Kavaravas and they tricked him and killed.. it was not that they were truthful so there is nothing wrong with what Krishna did.. Drona could have acted wisely and not trapped Abhimanyu..After all, Abhimanyu was a small boy..

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  24. Shruti!
    In the war, everything is justified and nothing is justified; this contradiction is a main feature of any war. I've read few stories about Mahabharata. Here Yudhistra has not lied; Krishna has blown the conch, which is normal in the war. Hence, Dhrona should have been careful with his listenings.

    Good post Shruti :)

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  25. Handling EPIC tales is sensitive and risky as well as it calls attention of a lot of people, special communities! Good work, you have taken the true context and got the right idea out. :)

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  26. lovely verse of gita...! i always like readin gita and this excerpts are real gooood and value added!:) as usual well narrated!..suuuper

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  27. on a lighter note this is the first recorded instance of the famous word "all is fair in love and war" ;)

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  28. Interesting story.

    The whole Mahabharat rests on Krishna's shoulders. He could have avoided the war if he wanted to-thats a different tale all together.
    Reading mahabharat gives me one feelign always-krishna knows eveyrthing. Its said that he also knew of Duryodhan's ploy to capture Dharma with his chakravyum war formation(which can be broken only by Arjuna) and yet he didnt tell Arjuna because its already prewritten that Abhimanyu should die onj that day. Very interesting. proves once again how Mahabharat war was solely conducted by krishna :)

    Great writing. :)

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  29. Well the..collateral damage done by the Lord Krishna and those involved in it embodied the quote from gita "vibhaga yog"..well...truly said..faith comes from perception of mind...
    1.Krishna believed to win the plot dhronachary mst be disgruntled
    2. Yudishthir even in this situation never lied.
    So..everything goes by rulebook here...thats Gita.. :-)

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  30. Hi...

    I wont consider it as a lie... Its a trick played by Krishna.... And a very clever one... I love Krishna because of his Leela only..

    But my favorite character is Karna and abhimanyu... Karna even though on the wrong side...I like him very much... Abhimanyu..Young and brave.......These two are two great and best characters according to me...

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  31. Only a seasoned writer could have written something like this.Mahabharat story must have been read about most of us and but it surely has a lot to teach the world.

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  32. Thoughtful and very interesting. This is one tricky question, whether truth alone triumphs or not. I say that, truth hidden in a planned way can do wonders as in this case of Krishna blowing his conch. Tell the truth, but mask it with Masala, that is my motto!

    A very insightful post. Hope to see more of this kind from you!

    Cheers!

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  33. @sreya
    hey,c'mon girl!!
    U r brilliant i must say! U corrected me infact!!
    ""you are very sweet""
    Thank you!

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  34. @venky
    even i thought about writing that incident, but it will become really big!! May be i can writ that later :)

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  35. "marvelous" is what comes my mind after reading this narration...

    but I am be a little bit revolting when I say that I have always questioned the ways used by Krishna in Mahabharata.... but, they say, he was on 'right' side so no contempt here!!

    btw a very nice blog, on the whole...I am new here but will stay longer..do visit mine and see if you can find anything interesting...

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  36. @ashwini
    hey thanks re!!
    even i love abhimanyu!!
    The youngest fellow in Kurukshetra war!

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  37. @musings
    ""everything is justified and nothing is justified""

    whatta words that is?! Its exactly true! Yudhishtra told the truth, but still it made his chariot to come down!!

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  38. @shashank
    ""Handling EPIC tales is sensitive""

    I understood after writing this post!
    Thanks :)

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  39. @hary
    am glad that you liked my post!!
    U like Gita!!
    appo same pinch!!

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  40. @Mr.R
    ""all is fair in love and war""
    Very well said!!
    though you said in a lighter note, it has a very serious meaning lying inside!

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  41. @aditya
    welcome to my space :)
    Read your comments!
    ""He could have avoided the war if he wanted to""
    yes! He could have avoided, but he wanted to prove the mankind, the pain of war,nature of friendship(karna)..Without the war we could not have got BHAGWAD GITA!

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  42. //but he wanted to prove the mankind, the pain of war,nature of friendship(karna)//

    Ah shruti , cant agree with this line :(. A war should be avoided if it could be avoided-think of the casualities of the soldiers and others. Just to prove someone(including the world) the difference of good and evil, you cant have blood on our hands.

    Agreed with your later part, it gave us BHAGWAD GITA. I love it very much. Krishna rules :D

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  43. @vasanth
    Hi buddy!!
    welcome to my space!!

    ""Yudishthir even in this situation never lied""
    Thats exactly the point! He never lied. But cos of the truth he revealed a life is lost! So he knocked the doors of hell!!

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  44. @shankz
    hi da!!
    Long time no see!!!
    thanks and same pich...even i like abhimanyu!! Cos of his learning skills when he was in the womb!

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  45. @chowla ji
    Hello and a hearty welcome to you!!

    ""it surely has a lot to teach the world""
    yes and off late people understand the reality that is behind the Gita!!

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  46. @pawan
    thanks for the visit!
    am really glad that you liked my post!!

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  47. @RS
    Welcome to my post!!

    """marvelous" is what comes my mind after reading this narration...""
    Thank you so much for this appreciation!

    Krishna's ways right or wrong?!?
    Right but wrong in some cases and wrong but right in some cases!!
    Am i right or wrong?! :P

    ""will stay longer""
    Thank you! You will never regret for being in my blog!!

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  48. @aditya
    hmmm... you are right on one part!
    ""you cant have blood on our hands""
    very true!

    But Dharma is understood in the end only when the evil is defeated!

    narasimha-hiranya kasibu
    rama-ravana
    pandavas-kauravas!!


    Am i true?!

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  49. Thanks a lot for your lovely comment.
    I appreciate for your beautiful presentation and I am able to much more about Mahabharata. Though I have read about it and also watched in television still I feel there are lots of things to know. Very nice and informative post.

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  50. Wow girl that is a long post and an interesting account there...the Mahabharata is fascinating..Nice narration :)

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  51. @kasabian girl

    ""the Mahabharata is fascinating""
    Yes it is!! It is awesome! Thank you for your comments!

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  52. @Shruti

    Very true. Our literature is full of such stories-good over evil.
    :)

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  53. @aditya
    another aditya in my blog... welcome!!

    thanks!!

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  54. lol maam, I am the same Aditya :P

    Kabhi profile open karke dekho ;)

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  55. @aditya
    :P :D

    same aditya!!
    anyways u r always welcome!!

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  56. Epics specially Mahbharata teach us lot right but the biggest lesson they teach is in a war the side which wins is always right... its true for Ramayana or any story so basically no point in thinking whether Pandavas were right or Kauravas... it was a mega-war Pandavas stood at the end alive & victorious so they were "good" thats it its simple....
    OMG this is blasphemy ...Lord & VHP pls. forgive ;)

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  57. @dmanji
    Hey, hi!!
    Lolzz!!
    Lord & VHP had forgiven you!

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  58. @dmanji

    Thats not blasphemy. History is always written by winners. ;)

    @shruti

    Check out my latest post :) but you wont find anything religious in that :P hehe

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  59. @aditya
    right now i ll be there

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  60. nothing..Not in a mood to read and write.... thats why didnt turn up... will get back soon....

    Very lazy to write now a days... Havent recharged my mobile..so couldnt message u....

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  61. @shankz
    yenna aachu!!??
    online la yum aala kaanum eh! Enna aachu! Yeppo recharge panna pora da!

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  62. Nice ...conch story....
    good idea to share with us...

    Regards,
    Prasee


    My mom tooo liked this /.....

    sooner u will hear her comments..

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  63. @prasee
    am glad to hear that!!

    Thank you so much!

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  64. nicely put .. reminiscent of Mahabharat days!!!

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  65. @vinay
    welcome to my space!!

    Thank you!!

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  66. Good one shruthi. Very nicely written and the bhagvat gita verses are really informative and eye opening. We can even have debate in this topic whether krishna did is right or wrong :)

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  67. @ram
    Thanks!!
    Already people debated this.. U can see adity's comment!! :)

    Thanks for the visit!

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  68. Well, that is a great story! First time here as well, I look forward to reading more.

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  69. @kay
    a great welcome to you to my blog!!

    Great that you liked this one!

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  70. In Mahabharata,, its the clever play of Krishna many times let the Pandavas to place feet of victory over Gauravas...

    And most of the times. those clever plays doesnt obey the manu tharma.. but obeys the Yuthha dhayma...

    Guess I'm saying right...

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  71. @Bala
    hey, here, than the dharma, the trick by the trickster played a vital role!!

    ReplyDelete

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