Post Mahabharath War & Krishna's Death

Krishna is one most loved and celebrated and debated God's of Indian mythology. His entire life had been a mystery to me and many others like me. The Bhagawad Geeta and the Mahabharath war have added complexities in understanding his life. But what about post Mahabharath war? What happened to Krishna? How did krishna die? Here's my answers to all these. Avva used to tell this story a million times. 

36 years after the war, the entire yadav dynasty came to an end and krishna and balaram were sad and went to a forest and relaxed under a tree, nearby a lake. He knew his end had come. A huge serpent came from the lake, paid salutations to the Lord and took balaram. It was adishesha, Vishnu's serpent who had taken avthar of balaram. And  meanwhile, a hunter, mistook His feather to be a bird aimed with an arrow and killed krishna. 

This is a simple story. But the explanation and "why" part of it is answered below: 

POST WAR:

After the war Ghandhari is broke and laments over the death of her 100 sons. She blames Krishna for this havoc and asks him why a supreme power like him couldn't stop this war. She curses krishna that his clan too well end in a similar way in 36 years from now. Krishna says her curse will take effect since she was  a great pathivratha, one who had served and stayed by her husband through all times.

END OF YADAVA DYNASTY :

Krishna prays to Shiva to bless him with a son like Shiva himself. As Shiva symbolizes destruction, Krishna wants this son to be the starting point of the destruction of their clan. Hence, his dynasty ends with his own son Samba who starts a fight with his siblings and they all end up killing each other.

KRISHNA DEATH:

The hunter feels extremely sorry for his act and asks the Lord for forgiveness. Krishna blesses him and explains that this was bound to happen. In Dwapara yuga, Krishna who was in Rama form killed Vali, a monkey king. Even though Vali doesn't harm Rama, he sided Sugreeva and killed him and hence proving that Karma doesn't spare anybody!

Ardhanaareshwara

Eshwara took this avthar to prove something to this world. This is a little intriguing as this can be interpreted differently based on stories on how this this avthar happened, as they belong to different periods of time. Here are 2 such stories relating to this :

• Bhringi was a great devotee of Shiva. He was such a devotee that he dedicated himself only to Lord Shiva. When he came to Kailasa once, Parvati makes it difficult for him to worship only Shiva by sitting on the Lord's lap. Bhringi takes the form of a snake and tries to worship the Lord alone. This infuriates Shiva and he takes the form of the Ardhanaareshwara which is half Shiva & half Parvathi. Bhringi shows dissatisfaction about this form and hence Parvathi curses him to be devoid of the prakrithi aspect of human being. He loses blood and flesh and becomes unable to even stand and thus realises how they both are important i.e Purush & Prakrithi i.e Shiva & Parvathi respectively. He realises his folly and was granted a third leg to help him survive.

• Another story tells about Parvathi' jealousy towards Ganga. She gets angry about ganga being on the top of Shiva's head always and hence shiva takes this form to appease her. 

This form has more meanings in todays world. It represents vivid dichotomies where profound knowledge is needed to comprehend this. 

• Male and female.
• Linga and Yoni.
• Father and mother. 
• Purush and prakrithi. 
• Passive and active force of nature
• Shaivism and shakthism. 
• Destruction and construction. 
• Sanity and materialism. 
• Fearsome and gentle.
• Superiority and inferiority. 

You can further dig into this philosophy. Enjoy!! 

Heart Skips a beat again!

Marriage has its own boundaries. but can we stop these eyes from wandering far or can we teach our minds to look into its own business. With a clean shaven face today He sparkled. With the black winter jacket He was no doubt extra-ordinary but when he took it off, He looked like God in bright orange.

He came to my isle, i was one among the 20 may be who caught a glimpse of him. I was blessed to be the one he looked back at. "Hi" He said. "hi, good morning" i said and bent my head down. It was an hour since i settled in todays schedule, and i dreamily wondered what His female fan following would be..! I had always noticed that these handsome men usually settle for less pretty girls. I really wondered why. This guy needs someone like me on his side, not herr of all. I caught Him giggling with a blonde female. Girls i thought! Another thing i have noticed is that all these ishmart boys/men are very narcissistic. God save them!

There is scarcity for great ideas in the advertising business and i personally need to tickle funny bones for these great ideas to be thrown out. He spoke spoke and spoke. Was He paid to speak. He was! Couple of us gathered when He was rehearsing His presentation. While i was admiring that baritone, Lori commented that the content was good. I blurted that a lil' bit of humor could be added. He smiled. The day went as-usual again. A lot of drama happened with an employee being fired. She yelled at her manager and left!! I personally don't like displaying affection or hatred in public. Not everyone thinks like me! Do they? I feel..I belong to a rare pedigree of girls but thats again something every girl feels so i pretty much need not talk about it.

For few months now everything is seeming so boring. Life should be a rock song with constant head banging rather than a lullaby.  But thats totally up to us. I climbed down the staircase wondering what I have to cook today. Cooking for oneself is a pain. Tara, my friend i stayed with was person with bad appetite as well so it was almost like cooking for one person. Jjjjjrrrrrk..... He came and pulled over in front of me. Ooo then i realized we all had decided to go for a Thai restuarant for dinner. It was a wonderful group to be with. All 5 of us reached Thai-Thai almost about the same time. I freshened up a lil' and was staring the one of the paintings. I knew what i wanted. It was the same every time a thai ice tea, a  veggie tempura and shrimp pad-thai, with spice level 5. Tara got up to attend a call and she called Him out. They came back and He hurried to me and whispered "Something spl for you today is on the way... watch out.. " I smiled. I felt very warm. Since Viren had been to India which was 9 months back, i hadn't heard anything much cute like this. He came and gave me a red rose and positioned himself behind me, cupped my eyes with his hands and said "Any guesses whats gonna happen now..? Close your eyes baby.." I was all fumbling and lost for words and was wondering what this maniac was up to. I actually wasn't comfortable. I was sensing something wrong. How the hell could Tara be a part of this insanity. She knew me .. very well! My feet wasn't feeling the ground now, I was moving against gravity.. Oh man .. He was lifting me.  I forcefully pushed His hand and i almost slipped and fell into Virens arms.! Bliss! 

**** My post  Misinterpretation at its Max, was fun and indeed a memorable experience. So continuing it as a story here. Writing stories which relate to real life is what i enjoy. Please do not mistake it as my story. Its a feel-good story. :)

Deceived by Truth ?

Mahabharath is one classic epic with all kinds of examples. I have personally liked Rama only because Krishna himself is a very confusing protagonist. Why was the necessity for him to steal butter.. making him a thief!! Why dance behind girls and marry so many... portraying him as a flirt and why cook plots to make the Pandavas win by devious means ?? I actually know most of the answers, but its not very easy to understand his intentions. At least i can't. All i can say is it was done for "Loka Kalyanam" meaning for the benefit of the world. Here's a small story, one picked from the war phase of Mahabharath. Its story time, please pick a pillow, hug it and stay tight...!!

Drona was one fierce warrior. He was blessed, knowledgeable and a great teacher for the Kauravas and Pandavas. He was on the side of Kauravas during the Kurukshetra. He had a son who he loved dearly, by name Ashwathamma who was a chiranjeevi, meaning one who would never die. Drona was a powerful warrior who slayed thousand of Pandava soldiers. He was not ready to put down his arms at any cost. It was almost two weeks since the war had begun and it was up to to Krishna now to devise a plan..... but how to stop such a deadly person on the battle ground and make him throw away all the ammunition's and give then time to kill him?? Krishna suggested that if Drona learns that his son is in danger then he would definitely stop the battle. But why would he believe if someone said Ashwathamma is in danger? So if Yudhistr, the truthful and most righteous Pandava said it then Drona would definitely fall for it. But true to his qualities, Yudhistr wouldn't lie.

For this plan to take action, Bhim went in search of and finally found an elephant by name Ashwathamma. They all agreed that, Bhim would kill the elephant and Yudhistr would shout out Ashwathamma's name loud and Drona would fall for this trickery. Yudhistr was however a little uncomfortable with this folly and the lord convinced him that all is was for world's benefit; for the war to come to an end such actions become inevitable. He suggests him to mention "the elephant" in a soft tone,  to which he agreed.

As per plan, Bhim killed the huge elephant and Yudhistr shouted loudly "Ashwathamma Hathah... " and softly said "Kunjarah". Drona, knowing the fact that his son was a chiranjeevi was mislead on hearing this from Yudhistr. He went into a state of shock and disbelief and sat down mourning his sons death. Seizing the right opportunity Arjuna  Dhristadhyumna aimed an arrow at Drona thus killing him.

P.S: "Ashwathamma hathah kunjarah" means "the elephant Ashwathamma is killed".

Find more mythological stories here!!

Case "Bee"

"The first 15 years, my father had never seen an honey bee. In his mid teenage this new interest sprung in him. The house he stayed in & currently the one he stays in are the same; the one at the end of this tree-lined dead end street. Neighbors here were very ignorant about beekeeping and protested at the beginning, but later realized how docile these creatures were. He was a very good apiarist. There was no doubt in that at all. " said Tom Dyre sobbing.

Jim Dyre's death had occurred today morning. There was no one to blame, no one suspicious. But yet it was a little strange. Jimmy was into apiculture since years and he used to directly feed them without any protective clothing. How could the bee's sting him to death only today? This could be dismissed of as an ordinary case of death by natural reasons, but Tom insisted on investigation. A local investigation officer offered to help him for a low fare on this. Molly was her name. She was pretty novice in experience but was smart. She had handled few cases with outstanding smartness, but had her share of miscalculations, wrong approaches too.

It was a warm welcome for Molly. Jane was a little sober but the fragrance of the house was enriching. Jane had a great taste in choosing potpourri. There was one in every corner of the house, and when all these flavors combined, the aroma felt great. Molly's senses were basking in this fragrant land when she noticed Tom's elder son Mike who stood at a distance. He rarely interacted with family and never spoke much to strangers. "Poor boy! He hasn't recovered from his grandfather's death yet.", said Jane. Molly expressed her views to talk with each member of the family. No one sulked upfront but they were not for this investigation. One by one proceeded to meet Molly!

Molly made her own notes.. she scribbled on for an entire evening.

The investigation revealed nothing. Only few of the facts collected seemed to matter. Money might have been the reason, thought Molly. Jim had won a $10000 lottery and had not yet told anyone how he was planning to use them. But $10000, was not a great sum to murder someone. Another one, 3 days before was his birthday and the small party organized by his wife and family was pleasant to everyone's eyes. Everyone showered him with gifts Nothing suspicious at all! Molly was on the verge of dismissing this case but then she decided to think over it again.

"Something's fishy. No story can be so perfect. Some one is definitely up to something." she thought. "May be not!" she sighed!!  She introduced herself as Maria's friend and spoke to few friends of Jim. A few cribbed about the monsters humming around and stinging their guests and few mentioned about the  delicious honey Jim used to share with them.

"Could you give me the best book on bee's?" "Sure ma'am, right away.. you want to try apiculture? my books will definitely help you.  Can you sign here..." Bee's were the ones left to be investigated here and now they weren't spared too. Interesting creatures... she began to enjoy the book.. how they behave.. what they feed on and most importantly why they attack on people.  Few possibilities showed up..  few instances sprung up.. and she suddenly felt everything pointing to one person. But WHY ?

"Hey Tom, Case solved.  The cause of death is Perfume. Jim used the new perfume Jane gifted him for his birthday. The bee's didn't seem comfortable with that and stung him. Well now, If this was intentional or not... is none of my business...!!"

The mighty mace champ!

The mace champion, elephant rider, best cook, Draupadi's favorite who else can it be apart from Bhima.

It is said that Bheema, Duryodhana, Keechaka, Jarasandha and Hidimbasura were born in the same cosmic phase. It was also said that one among these five will kill the rest of them too. Bhima was the first to kill Himdimbasura and eventually slays everyone else. His encounter with Dhuryodhana is known by all, the epic Mahabharath is all about it, but those with the others is less known. The thigh of Dhuryodhana became his weak point and hence he was killed. That was a lovely plot. The other stories too have really interesting plots. Perhaps, many of them don't even know about it. A small attempt to fill in those stories.. again of course told by grandma. Hmm.. some day may be my kid might google these and read them and appreciate me for taking this effort.(',') I don't exactly remember the cause for the fight between Bhima and Jarasandha. But I do know the details of the fight, from a movie i watched :)

Encounter with Hidimbasura:

In their exile, Pandavas lived in many villages . One night, when Bhima was on guard, 2 demon siblings named Hidimba and Hidimbi came in search of food. They smelt human flesh and saw all these brothers with their mother Kunthi sleeping. The hungry Hidimba asked his sister to bring loads of fresh human meat to satisfy his hunger. Hidimbi proceeded to the camp site and while deciding whom to kill first, her eyes fell on Bhima. His gigantic personality attracted her towards him. She came back and told her brother that she would not kill him as she loved him and wanted to marry him. Then Hidimba, disregarding her words, came there to kill them and eat them, but the mighty Bhima fought him and killed him. By then the other Pandavas and Kunti also woke up and were surprised to see a demon killed and lying there. Hidimbi requested Kunti to accept her for Bhima. Kunti accepted her on Bhima's consent.

Encounter with Keechaka :

During their 13th year of exile, a period which they had to pass unrecognized, they chose to stay disguised in the kingdom of Virata. Yudhistra, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakul and Sahadev were disguised as Royal Adviser, a cook, a eunuch dance teacher, the shepherd and cattle-caretaker respectively in this kingdom. Draupadi was called Sairandhri/Malini, the care taker of the Queen. Keechaka was the Queen's brother, who was also the commander in chief of the army. He surpassed the king Virata in all qualities and hence was dominant and bullying as well. His eyes one day fell on Malini and lusted for her. He expressed his desire for Malini to the Queen, but she denied saying that she was a Pathivrata and such a thought also would be considered a sin. But he vowed to destroy her husband's kingdom and hence she sent Malini to his chamber without telling her his intention.

While Malini was serving the wine, Keechaka embraced Malini and tried to kiss her. Malini cried and pushed him and escaped from him. The next day in the throne room, she was once again humiliated amidst an assembly full of courtiers, the King including her disguised husband Yudhishtira, neither of whom could bring themselves to react because Keechaka wielded so much power within the kingdom. Seething from the public insult, Draupadi confronted all her husbands who hung their head in shame and yet showed no signs of help. They resented to reveal their identities, which if they did, they had to go on exile for another 13 years. It was Bhima, who consoled her and agreed to solve her problem. He told her to invite Keechaka to her chamber room and leave the rest to him. When Keechaka arrived in the room, he saw, much to his pleasure, what he thought was a sleeping Malini. As Keechaka advanced forward, however, the person who he thought to be Malini revealed himself as Bhima, who proceeded to brutally kill Keechaka. This was indication to the Kauravas that Bhima and the other Pandavas were in this very kingdom and hence Dhuryodhana attacked the Virata's after this to search for all the five brothers.


Encounter with Jarasandha :

Bhima and  Jarasandha fought for many days, may be almost a month, but still Jarasandha was undefeatable. His name meant "joined by Jara". Apparently in the past, a king gave half fruit, given and blessed by a holy sage to have a son, to each of his two wives, . Each wife gave birth to only half of a human body. A demon named Jara, happened to unite them to eat it and unknowingly the child got its life and came into existence.

Bhima did not know how to defeat Jarasandha. Every time he killed Jarasandha and threw the bodies, they would merge and come back to life. Every attempt to kill him was futile. Bhima was on the verge of quitting when he resorted to Lord Krishna. Krishna, from distance made a signal to catch Bhima's attention. He then, took a stick, broke it into two and threw the left piece on right side and the right piece on the left side. Bhima precisely followed the same. Now, when he killed Jarasandha's body into two, he threw them in opposite directions. The two pieces of the body could no more unite and thus was the end to Jarasandha.

P.S :No wonder "Chota Bhim"'s TRP is amazingly high. My nephew has all cd's of it!! :)

A small truth about Ramayan

I had heard this version of Ramayana but had shooed the thought away because the Ramayan soaps/serials that were aired didn't have this story. My grandmother too, for the fact didn't tell me this. I think someone is my school/ my mom told me this story. 

One more thing, I like Lord Raam very much but have always wondered, why on earth did he suspect Sita and doubt her? Isn't this proving him to be like any other man? This story shows that too happened for a reason. Here it goes...  

--------------------------------

Ravan's  eyes fall on this beautiful lady Vedavathi, who is an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi. He tries to molest her and own her. She struggles to escape from his clutches and is finally saved by Lord Agni. She curses Ravan, & vows that she will be the reason for his death. Agni helps and protects her in his home under the care of his wife Swaha. 

When Ravan again desires another woman who is now Sita and kidnaps her, Sita tries to escape from his clutches and seeks help from all Gods. Again Agni comes to her rescue. He replaces Sita with Vedavathi.  [Both being incarnations of Lakshmi, its said they have very similar appearance as well and hence Ravan lusts for Sita too.]

It was Vedavathi who went through all the torture Ravan bestowed her in Lanka while Sita was with Swaha devi. Finally after the war, after the death of the demon, Lord Raam knows that this cannot be his wife Sita and summons for Agnipariksha to test her purity. Here she will be set ablaze and if she returns alive, then she is a true Pativratha, else she's not. Sita agrees for this test where Lord Agni takes in Vedavathi and returns real Sita sound and safe.

Thus proving Sita's loyalty/purity/devotion to husband and also fulfilling Vedavathi's desire leading to "Loka Kalyanam".

Jaya & Vijaya

What would you answer if someone asked you, if you'd like to be born as a good human being for 7 lives or a baddie for 3 lives. Depends on person to person right?? This question was asked by Lord Vishnu to his door-keepers (dwara-palakas). Lets get to know the true story behind this and the answer they gave.

Jaya and Vijaya were the dwara-palakas for Lord Vishnu.They are known to be guarding at the last door to Vishnu's abode. On a particular day, the Lord instructed them to not allow anyone inside. They were very sincere and obedient. Narada came along singing and  requested to meet the Lord, but they objected from opening the door for him. In this fashion, they restricted everyone and anyone who came. A few of them returned angry while few didn't bother.

Meanwhile, the 4 brothers (sons of Brahma) called the Sanath Kumaras came to pay their respects and  requested for entry. Sanath Kumaras were 4 young men but with a child-like appearance (They looked like 10 year olds). They were a symbol of knowledge and were known to be supreme beings. They urged them to open the door. The keepers denied and also teased them for their appearance. They couldn't withstand continuous denial and mockery and they cursed the door-keepers, to be born as humans for 3 births who were against Lord Vishnu himself and would resort to insulting and killing Lord's devotees.

Jaya and Vijay fell to their feet to take the curse back. Curses were very powerful and once cursed they could not be taken back but effects could be minimized. In the meanwhile Lord comes and the door keepers fall to his feet explaining what happened. They also add saying that, they can never imagine themselves against Vishnu and would never want to be born like that. Since Lord had ordered them to do this and he was partially responsible for this curse, he gives them an option of being born 7 times as devotees or 3 times as dians. The door keepers were in a fix  now. They couldn't imagine even being 1 minute away from his holy abode and now 7 lives was too much to think about. More over if they are born as enemies then its the Lord who himself will kill and conquer over them. Keeping all these in mind they chose to be born as enemies for 3 lives.

They were none other than:

1. Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu who were by Vishnu in the Varaha and Narasimha avatar respectively.
2. Ravana and Kumbhakarana who were killed by Lord Rama an incarnation of Vishnu.
3. Sishupala and Danthavakra who were killed by the Lord in Krishna avatar.

P.S: How Shishupala was killed is also nice story will post it sometime.

Battle of Wits!

Keen observation and quick reaction to a situation is what i call "Wit". I don't know how i remembered this story suddenly. I am sure you will love it too.

All the sages and munis were living peacefully until the two demons Ilawala and Vatapi started troubling them. The demons ruthlessly ruined their houses, disrupted the homas and yagnas. The sages warned them saying that definitely Lord will be come to their rescue. Fear arose in Ilawala and Vatapi. They had always been hearing how Lord Shiva, Vishnu had been killing all the demons/asuras one after the other. They didn't want to be the victims too.

For a few days, they stopped troubling, but their hunger and thirst for destruction was not satisfied. After all demons are supposed to do that.:P They being magical as well came up with a plan. A plan to satiate their hunger, physical and materialistic.

They disguised themselves as sages. They began befriending few sages and invited them  home for lunch. Vatapi, took the form of food i.e various delicacies and Ilawala used to serve this on a banana leaf to the invited sage with all due respects. After the heavy lunch, Ilawala would call Vatapi out, who would rip the sage's stomach and come out thus killing the sage. Days passed and few sages started disappearing.in this manner. No one knew where they were nor they knew anything much about these new sages.

The great sage Agastya once came to perform a yagna/sacrifice in this village. After the yagna, the other sages told him their troubles with Ilawala and Vatapi and about the mystical disappearances of few sages and requested him to sort this out. He promised to help them out and hence stayed there for a few days, noticed how the sages were disappearing.

One fine day after he took his holy bath, the 2 sages invited him to their house for lunch. He noticed how plump and well-built these sages were and also their behavior was not sage-like. He guessed they must be Illawala and Vatapi. Moreover their hermitage was a little far away. All these made him more suspicious and more careful.

As promised he went to their hermitage. After the heavy but a delicious lunch, Agastya immediately said   "Vatapi jeernapi". This time when Ilawala called Vatapi out, there was no one to come out. He was digested.

That was the end to Vatapi and Illawala later apologized resorted to Sadharma.

P.S: Vatapa jeernapi is sanskrit for "Digest Vatapi".

The phone call

"Damn the server!"

Kevin was exhausted. He looked around with his droopy eyes. He rolled up the window shutter next to him. He hung his car keys from a hook that dangled from the rafters. All the cubicles were empty and looked depressing. Everyone had left for the day. This is the thing about being a part of a small firm; you get to learn, people you interact with know you well, but for the world, you are no one.  It was a colourless week, for he was aware of only eating, sleeping and "the script". It was Friday today, the last day of the never ending work-week and luckily it ran without errors. He raised a brow; he was proud. He knew his client would appraise him. All that was left was to deliver it to the client. But the damn server was down. This was a pretty common scenario here. Servers restart at 11p.m and things slow down at this hour. However, it would be back by few minutes and he could peacefully go home and enjoy the weekend.

He kicked the coffee maker in the pantry with some might as it failed to work at this hour and made hot green tea for himself. The door creaked. “Who could be here at 11 in the night?? May be it is the wind or a cat” he wondered. He went back to his cubicle and stood by the window thinking about all the promises he had made for this weekend. He had to take his mother to the dentist. That was first on the humongous list. Then he had promised to take Lily out. Such a stubborn but a lovely daughter she was. He had to help his wife with her shopping. He grinned.

"Hands Up!!" he heard.

"What on earth is going on here? Who are you...?"

A muscular man, dark in complexion appeared with a revolver in hand. His face was draped in black cloth. He had a navy blue bandana. He was quite shabbily dressed but seemed to handle the gun with expertise.

"Where's the cash young man?"

"I don't know" he answered. "I am just an employee here."

"Just answer to what i ask. Else today will be your last day on earth...”

"No please don't..!" "I...."

"Where is the cash?" he demanded.

"really don't know......"

Million thoughts were running in his mind. His heartbeat paced. He was scared; he felt suffocated. His spine stiffened. He had to do something now to save his life. His work, love, marriage, life, and future everything was at gun point now. He hated this eeriness.

The phone rang.

Both of them jerked a little. Both their eyes were fixed on the phone. It took him a few seconds to recover from all this chaos and he managed to speak up.

"I need to answer the call. It is my manager...."

"Dare not touch the phone..." he yelled.

He moved his finger to click the trigger. This alone was deafening to his ear.

"Trust me, else they will suspect something’s wrong..."

"Ok boy, you answer it. But one word from your mouth regarding this, you will be dead forever."

He answered the call.

"Is the script running now? I think you said it was almost over...." his manager spoke gruffly on phone.

He was quiet, but his brain was working up. Real intelligence is not in books, not even in the degree you hold. It is when you practically put it to use to come out of a situation. He needed to act quickly. He eyed on the telephone box. He held the receiver tight in his hand. He spoke.

"I thought of calling you for help. The script is ready, but i am not able to gunzip it. Don’t yell at me. Server is down right now. Trust me i will handle this emergency here. Be patient please"

He ended the call.

"Show me the way to the safe now. Get me the keys as well... "

Kevin faltered. He took a huge bunch of keys and started fiddling with it, trying one after the other. All the water he drank in his entire life was oozing out as sweat. He tried to keep his calm and kept mumbling prayers. The sound of wind combined with the false efforts to open the safe made his nerves tingle.

With a loud thud the main door banged again and this time it was the cops who stormed in. One cop whacked the burglar on his neck with one arm which made him feeble and he fell on the floor. Meanwhile another cop handcuffed him from back. One tall officer slapped him hard and bombarded a few questions and made a report of this attack. All of them admired Kevin’s courage and asked how he managed this. “I used the mute button.” he said.

P.S: Read it now again

"I thought of calling you for help. The script is ready, but i am not able to gunzip it. Dont yell at me. Server is down right now. Trust me i will handle this emergency here. Be patient  please"

My first story to my  favorite genre of novels "Mystery." Let me know if you liked it!!

Amba, Ambika, Ambalika!!!

When it comes to will power, no one can beat Bhishma! Thats why its said "Bhishm Prathigyna" when someone strongly makes a vow. Lets read a little story on that.

Amba, Ambika and Ambalika were three sisters who were taken by force by Bhishma to Hastinapura to be married to Vichtraveerya, his brother. Amba however was sent back as she was in love with another king (I guess Salva), who later refused to marry her doubting on her character. Since Bhishma was responsible for the tragedy in Amba's life she swore to kill him. She intensely prayed for Lord Shiva, who granted her this wish, but it was in her next life.

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Vichtraveerya was thus the husband of Ambika & Ambalika.  He died at a young age, and there was no heir to this dynasty now. His mother Satyavati pleaded Bhishma to continue their dynasty. But he vowed to remain celibate for his life and so refused her wish. Though fearing she decided approach her elder son Vyasa for this problem.

Vyasa was an old sage with lot of yogic powers. He was wild in appearance and tempered too. When Ambika walked in, she was very frightful and closed her eyes and touched his feet. Thus Dhrithrashtra was born blind. Satyavati aghast by seeing the blind child, instructed Ambalika to be bold and open her eyes. Yet when Ambalika touched his feet to take blessings, she was shivering and pale. Thus Pandu was born, who was pale and sensitive. Satyavati could'nt stand this and sent the house maid. The maid being used to such appearances, prayed boldly and had a son by name Vidura who became the care taker of the royal princes.

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Bhishma was a strong opponent in the kurukshetra war.  He would never fight with anyone lower to him or anyone who is unarmed. Krishna and Arjuna were wondering how to kill Bhishma, when they came up with a plot and took the help of a eunuch by name Shikandi. When Bhishma saw Shikandi infront of him, he immediately released all the weapons in his hand. This was the right time for Arjuna to aim an arrow and kill Bhishma.

However Shikandi was none other than Amba who was reborn.

P.S : Bhishma didn't die immediately, Krishna advised him that it was not a good time for him to leave the world now. He is the one man in past and present in Hindu mythology who delayed his death by 56 days and lay on a bed of arrows till then.

Hiranyakashipu's Death!!

This is one of the strangest requests for death anyone must have ever made. But still Lord Vishnu outsmarted Hiranyakashipu's wish. No wonder all the demons loathed Vishnu, even though Shiva was known to be "The Destroyer".

Brahma pleased with Hiranyakashipu's devotion, appeared in front of him after a long penance. After Lord Vishnu killed his brother Hiranyaksha, he trusted only Brahma and no one else. He was still wild with anger on Vishnu. He requested Brahma, for a boon to remain and rule this Earth for ever. He didn't want death to face him. However the Lord did not agree as everyone born, should die. The demon now still wanting to escape the clutches of death requested that he should die such that :

1. He shouldn't be killed by a human nor a beast
2. He shouldn't die during the day nor the night
3. He shouldn't be killed by either a metal or wood or stone
4. He shouldn't be killed inside nor outside the house 

Brahma couldn't say anything and thus granted him the wish making him the invincible ruler of the Earth. He became famous and resort to devastating homes and killing the holy sages who were devotees of Vishnu. There was no one to stop him. This troubled all the gods and goddess. They approached Vishnu again for the solution to this problem. He promised to kill him when he turned most atrocious and attempts to kill his own son in the Lord's name. 

As planned, Kayadhu gave birth to Prahalad who was ardent devotee of Vishnu. Hiranyakashipu tried many ways to kill his son through his soldiers, but finally when he himself tried to kill him, Lord vishnu 

1. took the Narasimha Avatar :  half human, half beast (lion)
2. killed him at the midnight twilight, which was neither day nor night
3. with his nails which was not made of either metal wood or stone
4. on the door step on the entrance to the house which was neither in nor out.

God is smart!!

Some Humor on April 1st!!

God was in the process of creating the universe.
And he was explaining to his subordinates "Look everything should be in balance. For example, after every 10 deer there should be a lion.
Look here my fellow angels, here is the country of the United States.
I have blessed them with prosperity and money.
But at the same time I have given them insecurity and tension....
And here is Africa. I have given them beautiful nature.
But at the same time, I have given them climatic extremes.

And here is South America. I have given them lots of forests.
But at the same time, I have given them lesser land so that they would have to cut off the forests...
So you see fellows, everything should be in balance.

One of the angels asked...
"God, what is this extremely beautiful country here?"

God said....... "Ahah...that is the crown piece of all. "INDIA",
My most precious creation.
It has understanding and friendly People.
Sparkling streams and serene mountains.
A culture which speaks of the great tradition that they live.
Technologically brilliant and with a heart of gold.....

The angel was quite surprised:
"But god you said everything should be in balance."

God replied -- "Look at the neighbours I gave them."

3 curses of Karna..!!

 I have always liked Karna's character the most. Great disciple, Skilled archer, most reliable friend. What more..!! But yet, I pity him too. Firstly his mother abandoned him for a mistake committed by her. Secondly for being rejected by Draupadi during her swayamvar saying that, she didn't want to marry a charioteer's son. Thirdly his fate. Still, he faced all with dignity and won the admiration of many but for these 3 curses which led to his downfall in the battle field of Kurukshetra.

One

Karna admired Dhrona and asked his permission to make him his disciple. But Dhrona refused, giving caste as the reason. He then approached Parashuram, the guru of great sages like Dhrona himself and Bhishm. Parashuram accepted him inspite of his low status. Karna was a great disciple and was mastering the skills of archery when Indra realised that these skills might hinder the progress of his son Arjuna. One day while the sage was resting on Karna's lap, Indra took the form of a bee and stung karna. He bored into his knee deeper and deeper. He tried his best to withstand the pain so that his guru wouldn't be disturbed. When the sage woke up he was astonished to see blood flowing and cursed  him saying "Such tolerance is present only in a true Kshatriya. You have lied to me to learn archery from me. May you forget the holy incantation's when you need to use them. "

 Two

While Karna was traveling on a chariot, he sees a lion near a calf in the fence of a house  Fearing that lion might eat the calf, he aims and kills the lion. This was another wicked trick of Indra who made the mother cow look like a lion to put Karna into trouble. The owner of the cow, a brahmin curses Karna "This cow was every thing to me and my family and you have made me helpless now.  In the very same way, you will be killed when you are defenseless."

 Three

Once Karna's horses make a loud noise and small girl holding ghee in a vessel spills it out of fear. He offers to buy her new ghee but the little girl is stubborn and wants the same old ghee which is now mixed with mud/earth. He however takes a fistful of earth and squeezes it till he gets some ghee out of it. Mother Earth unable to bear the pain, punishes him saying "For a little girl, you have caused so much pain to me. When you are about to kill your enemy your chariot will sink into earth".

Thus bound by these curses he was killed by Arjuna, but still remains one of the most celebrated persons of Hindu mythology.

Devastated!!

"Can i see you shaving your beard today??" Neena had asked in the morning. He remembered these words while he was washing his hands after lunch at office. He chuckled to himself. For his serious, grave persona, Neena was such a relaxation. He could never know how she could have so many thoughts at once. He returned to his cubicle and on the way he grabbed a cappuccino. He sat and smiled again..!! Now he remembered, how his lady love had cream on the tip of her nose, trying to make a heart shape by blowing air over his coffee two days before. He was missing her now. He called home.

"Hello Neena"

"Neena isn't at home Beta. She has gone out with Ruchi."

"They both have no better work is it?"

"You want me to tell her anythin?"

"Nahi, had to ask somethin.. so called.."

He had seen and heard of so many girls go crazy over sandals, clothes, hair, make-up stuff... but he was blessed with a wife who was crazy about antics. Now, after 8 months of marriage he wished she were normal. He was tired of taking her to museums and historical places. Even on their honeymoon, she had dragged him into a nearby house where the interiors were decorated with elephant's tusk and sandalwood statues with embroidered silk cloth on them. He knew where exactly she was now, he remembered her talking about some street play, enacted by great artists {whom only she knew}to revive the lost Culture & Tradition in India.

He decided to surprise her. It was 5pm when he left the office. He made his way through the traffic which seemed unusually high today. He took a left when a cop stopped him "Sorry Saab, Tagore Mahal  caught fire and no vehicles are allowed inside." "Waaat? How..??" "One of the performers, blew fire in an act and the nearby curtains caught fire." He was panicking. What should he do now. "What about the people there?" "They are being rescued Saab, but few are injured and 2 are dead. A women tried to save a kid and she was struck inside." He so wished its not Neena. He held the cops collar tight "I want to see my wife right now. I want to go in. I know she is safe but I WANT TO SEE HER!" he yelled. Even before the cop coud stop him he ran towards the building. He cried for the first time. His eyes were looking out everywhere for a short, fair, long haired angel.

He returned home stressed out, crying. He couldn't imagine a world without her now. She was everything to him. He fell in front of Neena's photograph...

"I will return from work early.... Please come back!!"

"I will help with cooking... Please come back!!"

"I will respond to every word you say.. please come back...!!" he cried

"I will change.. I will talk more.. Tell everything to you... love you like how you want me to.. Our house will be painted pink only.. We will have two kids only.. You can even manicure and pedicure my arms and legs... Neena.... Please come back......"

"Raj..." she says. The joy of his life had returned!!

5 Husbands... - The Reason

Grandma says everything in life happens because of a reason, an act we committed. I always have thought it was something to do with this life (I still believe so) but she used to say its the past life. Here are reasons for Draupadi to be called Panchali.

PAST:

Draupadi was wife of a hermit in her past life. She was not very happy with her marital life so decided to do a long penance (tapasya). Lord Shiva was impressed by her devotion and tolerance asked her to wish for a boon. She requests him to present her a husband who was a complete man, one who was very Wise, Powerful, Skilled, Handsome and True to her, in her next birth. Shiva declines this wish, saying it is not very common to find all these qualities to the best in one single person. He however grants her a boon to marry 5 husbands who excel in these qualities.

PRESENT:

Arjuna after winning the hand of Draupadi, in the swayamvar organized by Drupada and Dhrishtadhyumna takes her to his mother Kunti. While she is busy inside the house, she doesn't notice them. Arjuna to see the surprise on his mother's face yells out and says "Dear Mother, I have brought something special home.." Kunti, without realizing says "Is it so son, like always please share it with your brothers."

Thus Draupadi becomes the wife of Yudhistra, Bhim, Arjun, Nakul and Sahadeva.

P.S: Draupadi once confronts Krishna and asks why she has Five Husbands? Krishna says that there was actually one man with all the qualities she wanted. But when he sent him  to her, she rejected him because of his caste.& That man was Karna. Actually  there's a small story involving Karna in Draupadi's life. Will post it sometime when free!!

Love at First Sight - - - 3

PART - 2  can be read here.

 

The India trip was all fun. The boat houses, the beaches, flower gardens were so exciting.  In Kashi, Rhea saw hooded woman bend pray and apply something on their forehead.  She tried doing that with her scarf. She felt so good.  She saw dad see her but she didn't react.  She remembered a friend saying "You look like an Indian with that... "   The entire India trip dad was actually silent.  She had seen him this silent, but today she saw some pain in his eyes. Rhea had never seen him like this before.

2 more days and they would be heading back to their nation when dad called Rhea. "I want to show you something today. You got no option but come with me..."  They traveled almost 45 minutes.  It seemed like some country-side.  They stopped in front of a pale yellow building.  May be it was an antic museum,  Rhea thought.  She silently followed dad and he asked the receptionist " I want to talk to Mother! Tell her, I am here to give a donation.  She will understand "  The receptionist took some time to understand his accent and she went to call Mother.

An old lady, in mid fifties, who was the owner of this Children Home, was fondly called Mother by everyone.  She sent a call for Siri as well to join them. Mother and Siri walked towards them and greeted Dad.  Siri came in, removed her spectacles placed them on a table and she eyed the girl standing next to the man.

They ran and hugged each other.  They embraced tightly.  This was indeed Love at First Sight.  They have never met before, they didn't even know the existence of each other but yet they couldn't stop smiling at each other.  Their bond was mysterious.  They cried in happiness.

"I never knew I had twin sister" sobbed Rhea.

Dad later explained how he had taken Rhea away from Siri in this Children Home 18 years ago.  Siri now understood her dream and hugged Rhea all the more tightly!

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The End...!! Hope you liked my First story! If yes... do drop a comment!! :)

Love at First Sight - - - 2

PART-1 can be read here!

"She was trying her best to catch those tiny fingers.  She crawled, she whined, she pushed herself up, she stretched her hands to the maximum...   She could just touch the tips of the fingers.. she tried to hold the entire palm... it was slipping away.   Please don't take her away from me...."

Siri woke up with a cry.  "The same stupid recurring blurred dream.. I never get to see who the kid is. !!"  She saw through the frosted glass window pane...  It seemed like a nice day!!  Today was submission for the drawing assignment she had given, with the topic "Love".  She was eagerly waiting for what each one had come up with.  She dressed up and glanced at the street end through the door.  Ram was already there.  She hurried and joined him.  She had never gone to the school without him. 

"A huge donation to be expected from an American family this December.. Did you know that??"

"Aww.. lovely news..!!  I need to buy so many things for my children..!!"

"Actually Mother told me you are gonna handle it!  Mother said, she didn't even talk much but they were ready to contribute a whole-sum amount.."

"I can handle this.. I will assure them this is the best thing they are doing in their life..!!  But why THIS interest suddenly??  Surprises me!"

"Darling.. not because you can handle it.  They wanted to talk to you.."

Siri was stunned for a minute.  She had too many things to worry about, so she didn't bother to add this to the queue.   They hugged and parted to their respective classrooms.  Piyush had come up with a drawing where a mother and father were kissing their child.  Aparna brought a picture of a family out for picnic flying kites.  Kavita drew Jesus and many kids beside him. How much these kids missed a home, a family.. Siri thought.

Part - 3 can be read here!

Love at First Sight - - - 1

On a wonderful November day Rhea sat up, straightened herself "Calm down...!!  Else this will leave its marks on the cheeks."  She was crying.   She repented for picking up this strange pen kinda thing and trying it out on the Thanksgiving day.  She looked into the mirror.  She looked so beautiful.  Just one black pencil had done its magic on her.  She touched her face on the mirror and stared at it.  "Ahh.. Admiring yourself huh sweetie...Whose gonna do the table...???" came in her mom. "uhhh... no  mom.... coming... " she said.

She arranged the dinner and desserts on the table.  The turkey was as usual too huge to handle.  She chose to keep the champagne near her.  She knew dad liked to pop it off.  She was all set to meet Ami and receive compliments.  Ami was her best friend.

She wore a pink gown with three maroon frills, which was a little too flowery for her age but she carried it off well.  The three families greeted each other and Ami was gaping at her. 

"I bet there is something different today..!!"

"Come along, will show you what it is..." she took her to the room. 

"Presenting Kajal, a small color pencil which can enhance your beauty..!!"

"Uhh... I see... But the only No-make-up-girl in this world using this..??"

" I don't even know why i brought it... "  She was looking into the mirror again... 

"Why do you get that frozen look when you see yourselves in the mirror??"

 "I always feel strange when i look at myself.....!! It gets reminded of someone when i see myself . I hate to say this but i don't know who it is... That's what prompted me to buy this eye-color. " Rhea said..!!

The dinner went usual... except for the ending applause; when dad told everyone about their winter trip to India!  Everyone was so excited. Rhea was happy.  She was going to a country where her father was born. She was all keen to see the dancing peacocks, which were a part of every story dad told about his childhood!

Part 2... can be read here!

Arjuna vrs Karna

One more mythological one!! 

We all know Arjuna to be a great skillful warrior. Karna has always been known for generosity. This fact intrigued Arjuna too. He thought "We are the Pandavas and we are very righteous and helpful.. But still when needy why do everyone approach Karna..??" He finally approached Lord Krishna for the answer. Like known to us, Krishna will never explain he just demonstrates it practically teaching a lesson.

Krishna calls Arjuna and says "I have created 2 mountains. One made of gold and one made of silver. Do anything you want with them..!" Arjuna is puzzled. Krishna then calls Karna and tells the same thing.

While Arjuna is still wondering about this new task given by the Lord, he is confronted by a father and daughter who seem to be poor and needy. They explain him their situation and that they are in dire need of money. Arjuna remembers the mountains at once at tells them not to worry. He starts cutting the mountains with his own axe and finally after a hard day's work he gives them huge lumps of gold and silver. The father and daughter are very happy. They thank him and take permission to leave. 

While leaving, Arjuna intentionally asks them to go and explain their troubles to karna as well as they can get more money. He is very curious to know how the great Karna would help them.

Like said, the father and daughter approach Karna and explain him all the troubles they are going through and how much they are suffering. Karna listens patiently and without any hesitation and delay gives the entire mountain of gold and silver to each of them. 

Arjuna seeing this act, realizes why he is called "Daan veer Shur Karna ". - My favorite mythological hero...!!