VIJAY TV BHAKTHI THIRUVIZHA SEASON 12, DAY 3 – DHARMAME VELLUM BY PROFESSOR ILLAMPIRAI MANIMARAN – Part 3

VIJAY TV BHAKTHI THIRUVIZHA SEASON 12, DAY 3 – DHARMAME VELLUM BY PROFESSOR ILLAMPIRAI MANIMARAN – Part 3

Another episode narrated during the discourse was about a happening during the Agnyathavaasam of the Pandavas. After 13 years of vanavasam, the Pandavas were spending a year in Agnyathavasam in hiding. The Pandavas had chosen Virada Desam for staying hidden. Yudhishtra had joined as the king’s advisor naming himself Gangubattar. Bheema became the royal cook, Arjuna, a eunuch while Nakula and Sahadeva took care of the horse stables. Draupadi took up the job as the queen’s companion.

When the queen’s brother Keechakan tried to misbehave with Draupadi, Bheema killed him. Hearing of Keechakan’s death, Duryodhana guessed that the Pandavas should be in Virada Desam as only a great warrior could defeat Keechakan. The Kauravas attacked Virada Desam and the prince went to the battlefield with Brigannalai (Arjuna, the eunuch) as his sarathi.

The Virada King was in his court playing the dice with Gangubattar. As they were wondering what could have happened in the battlefield, Gangubattar said that Brigannalai would have defeated the Kauravas.

Angry that Gangubattar suggested that Brigannalai could have defeated the opponents and not the prince, the king threw the dice at Gangubattar. Blood started flowing from the wound and Draupadi ran to stop the blood ensuring that not even a drop fell on the ground. This is because Yudhishtra is such a great person that if a drop of blood from his body fell on the ground, there will be no rain in that area for a number of years and the Pandavas did not want such a thing to happen to a country who helped them spend their Agnyathavasam period comfortably!

The Professor also narrated the episode of “Ashwathama hathaha kunjaraha”   he only place where one could say Dharmaputra’s dharma slipped a little, but that too was because of Krishna leelai.

It is the 15^th day of the Kurukshetra battle and the only way to defeat Drona was to tell him Ashwathama had been killed. Drona would not believe the news unless it was uttered by a Dharmavan such as Yudhishtra. Krishna suggests that Yudhishtra says it but the latter refuses to lie.

Krishna asks Yudhishtra to announce that an elephant name Ashwathama had been killed and when Yudhishtra announces “Ashwathama hathaha kunjaraha”, Krishna blows his conch just as Yudhishtra says “kunjaraha”. Drona believes his son Ashwathama is dead and drops all his weapons. In that weak moment, Dhristadhyumna kills Drona!

The moment Yudhishtra announces “Ashwhathama hathaha kunjaraha”, his chariot which was always a few inches above the ground declaring his Dharma, touched the ground.

Here is the you tube link

 

VIJAY TV BHAKTHI THIRUVIZHA SEASON 12, DAY 3 – DHARMAME VELLUM BY PROFESSOR ILLAMPIRAI MANIMARAN – Part 2

VIJAY TV BHAKTHI THIRUVIZHA SEASON 12, DAY 3 – DHARMAME VELLUM BY PROFESSOR ILLAMPIRAI MANIMARAN – Part 2

The next episode explained by the Professor Illampirai Manimaran to show the Dharmam of Yudhishtra brought tears to my eyes. In fact, the Professor herself was so involved and emotional while narrating the same that all of us were transported to the battleground of Kurukshetra.

It was the 13^th day of the Mahabharatha battle. A padmavyugam had been formed by the Kauravas. Abimanyu, who had learned how to enter the padmavyugam when he was in his mother Subhadra’s womb, entered all alone into the vyugam as his father and uncles were elsewhere in the battleground.  Bheema was the only one close by and he noticed Abhimanyu proceeding deep into the vyugam breaking down the formation by killing the soldiers.

Aware that Abhimanyu only knew how to enter the vyugam and not how to exit, Bheema tried to help him. Jayathrathan, Kaurava’s brother in law (married to the only sister of the 100 Kauravas) threw a kondrai flower garland across Bheema’s path. A great Shiva bhaktha, Bheema hesitated to cross the garland and in this momentary hesitation, the vyugam completely closed around Abhimanyu and never allowed him to come out.

At the end of the day, when Arjuna came to know that Abhimanyu was crushed inside the vyugam, he was inconsolable. When he learnt that Jayathrathan made sure Bheema could not help Abhimanyu, he vowed to kill Jayathrathan before sunset the next day or else kill himself.

That night, the great dharmavan, Yudhishtra called Gadothgajan and asked him to go and warn Duryodhana to hide Jayathrathan the whole of next day so that he does not get killed. Inspite of Arjuna’s vow that he will kill himself if he does not kill Jayathrathan by next evening, Yudhishtra did this as Duchalai, wife of Jayathrathan was the only sister for both Kauravas and Pandavas and Yudhishtra did not want her to be widowed.

That Krishna did a leelai the next evening by hiding the sun and then showing it later thereby helping Arjuna kill Jayathrathan is another story.

The above was narrated with great emotion by the Professor. Her description of the Pandavas sorrow for the loss of Abhimanyu made the audience feel the loss of Abhimanyu right there and then and not as if it happened eons ago!

Here is the you tube link of the programme

 

VIJAY TV BHAKTHI THIRUVIZHA SEASON 12, DAY 3 – DHARMAME VELLUM BY PROFESSOR ILLAMPIRAI MANIMARAN – Part 1

VIJAY TV BHAKTHI THIRUVIZHA SEASON 12, DAY 3 – DHARMAME VELLUM BY PROFESSOR ILLAMPIRAI MANIMARAN – Part 1

With weekend household chores I never expected to attend the Sunday programme but my description of Saturday’s programme got my sister Sundari, who happened to be in town, very much interested. We planned to leave home early, take an auto and reach Narada Gana Sabha by 4.30 pm. But as usual God had better plans for us. Ranga had been out for the day returned early and surprised me. With the result, we comfortably travelled the 10 km by car.

The three of us managed to reach the venue only by 5.45 pm and missed most of Suchitra’s performance. The second programme at 6 pm was discourse by Professor Ilampirai Manimaran. The topic was “Dharmame Vellum”.

Of course when the topic is Dharmam, it has to be about Dharmaputra – Yudhishtra. The Professor first narrated an episode that happened during the vanavasam of the Pandavas. A deer had taken the arani kattai (the wooden sticks used for lighting the fire of the yagna) of a Rishi and the Pandavas went after the deer to retrieve the sticks. They searched for the deer for a long time but could not find it. Yudhishtra was very thirsty and asked his brothers to find water. On climbing a tree, they saw a river at a distance.

Dharmaputra sent Sahadevan to get some water. When he did not return, he asked Nakulan to go in search of him. Like this, all the four brothers went and when none of them came back, Yudhishtra himself went. He reached the river and was shocked to find all his brothers lying dead. His throat parched, Yudhishtra tried to drink some water from the river before finding out about his brothers’ deaths. That’s when he heard a voice. A Yaksha came before him and wanted Yudhishtra to answer some questions before taking water from the river. He also said that he had so instructed Yudhishtra’s brothers but they did not listen to him. The ever patient Yudhishtra was ready to answer the Yaksha’s questions. Professor Ilampirai Manimaran detailed the Yakshaprasnam beautifully.

  

Very happy and satisfied with the answers given by Yudhishtra, the Yaksha reveals himself as Yamadharma and blesses Yudishtra, declaring that the latter is a Dharmavan.

Yamadharma further asks Yudhistra if Yama is ready to bring one of his brothers back to life, who will Yudhishtra choose. Yudhishtra once again establishes that he is a Dharmavan by asking Yamadharma to bring Nakulan back to life. When Yama asks him why he chose Nakulan and not Bheema or Arjuna, Yudhishtra beautifully explains that he, Kunti’s son is alive. If Nakulan comes back to life, then it will be one of Madhri’s sons who will live. Pleased with his explanation, Yamadharma brought all four of them back to life.

More about Professor Illampirai Manimaran’s talk on “Dharmame Vellum” on my next blog.

Here is the you tube link