All wars are the same. They are seeded by the egos, jealousies and insecurities of individuals. Neither the ancient Kurukshetra war nor the ongoing Ukraine war is an exception.
Listen in to the story of how vendetta between two individuals, who were once friends, set off an uncontrollable chain of events that proved to be catastrophic to all of humanity.
The river Sarasvati finds wide mention in the Rig Veda. The Mahabharata is not far behind as it dedicates an entire sub-parvan to the tirthas or pilgrimages on the banks of the river.
But was the river Sarasvati a real river that flowed in the Indian sub-continent?
Or, was it a river reconstructed from a much more ancient past?
What does the Mahabharata say about the Sarasvati?
And more importantly, how did the river become the Goddess of Speech?
The questions are endless….the answers, a mere click away!
Why did Drona refuse to teach Ekalavya?
Was it because Ekalavya was not a Kshatriya? Because Ekalavya was supposedly a low-born compared to his other students?
Why did he extract a bloody sacrifice from Ekalavya?
Check the video on one of the most debated issues from the Mahabharata!
The stories of discrimination that characters like Karna and Ekalavya faced in the Mahabahrata are well known.
But equally well known are the birth stories of Vyasa and Vidura who were born to mothers from a lower social strata of the society, but were nevertheless revered and respected for their ability.
So, what was the epic’s stance on the questions of ability vs. birth and purity of birth?
Do watch the video to find out!
Duryodhana hated the Pandavas, especially Bhima for his brute strength and bullying nature.
Over time, the hostility of the Kauravas towards the Pandavas reached a point of no return. The rest, as they say, is history.
This video tells the story about how every attempt of Duryodhana to kill Bhima not only backfired but actually turned counter-productive.
The Mahabharata tells us that on Pandu’s death, his wife Madri entered his funeral pyre and left for the nether world with him.
Or, does it?
Why did Madri actually choose to end her life?
Or, did she?
Click the link to explore some interesting possibilities!
Pandu, the father of the Pandavas dies as a result of a curse on his head. On closer observation, one finds that Pandu’s life, bears some similarities with Bhishma’s life.
Both of them are forced to give up the throne or their claim to sovereignty when young. While Bhishma is forced to abdicate his kingship to fulfil his father Shantanu’s desire to marry Satyavati, Pandu is forced to relinquish his throne because the deer’s curse would never allow him to become a father and bear a successor for the throne.
Again, both Pandu and Bhishma are forced to give up their sex life. Bhishma after he swears to a strict vow of celibacy as part of his promise to Satyavati’s father, and Pandu, because of the dying deer’s curse. Both men are thus forced to lose their social status as well as their manhood and the right to have their basic human needs satisfied.
This is just one of the many recurring patterns in the epic. Explore what they are, and why events tend to repeat in the greatest story ever told.
Mahabharata the epic has captured and held the imagination of Indians for over two millennia.
The epic has inspired scores of literary works over the years. So, it’s hardly surprising that the epic also inspired several sculptors to tell its story in stone.
Proud to present some stories from the epic that found expression in the temples of Belur and Halebidu.
Vyasa’s Draupadi, despite being bold and beautiful, is often a victim of her circumstances.
But for a few people living deep down the south of India, Draupadi is the supreme goddess, untouched by any ugly episodes in her life.
For them, she is both a war goddess who blesses her devotees with victory in war and a guardian deity who bestows on them a peaceful domestic life.
Watch the video for a complete story on the worship of Goddess Draupadi Amman!
Yuyutsu was the second son of Dhritarashtra. Yet, he was rarely acknowledged as one of the Kaurava siblings by his own family.
The epic says he was a Maharatha, capable of single-handedly taking on10,000 warriors. Yet, like Karna, Yuyutsu chose to fight his own brothers in the Kurukshetra war.
Why?
Watch the video to find out the story of Yuyutsu from his initial years of oblivion to his final moment of glory at the end of the epic.
Kulture Katha 