Hari Om! Parents,
Reminder: Bala Vihar Houses Shlokathon and Bhajanotsav contest registrations are still open, please register soon
Week 16 Class
Children did this Likhita Japa 18 times at the start of class - " Sri Krishnaya Namaha ''. Please remind them to do likhita japa regularly., and do share this Likhita Japa link with them.
Shlokas
Om chanting 3 times, Sahana vavatu, Vakratunda mahakaya, Saraswati namastubhyam, Sarva Mangala Mangalye (ref. My Prayers book pg 39). We chanted the 1-7 verses of Mahishasura Mardini Stotram (ref. My Prayers book pg. 47). Each child will be designated one verse of this shloka and will lead the class chanting. Remind your child to practice regularly.
Mahabharata*
After a recap, we began with chapter 12 Shanti Parva of the Mahabharata story. A month has passed since the end of war. Coronation preparations begin and the entire kingdom joins in celebrating the happy occasion. Yudhistira sits on a carriage drawn by magnificent bulls entering the city. His brothers, Lord Krishna, Dhritarashtra, Yuyutsu and Satyaki accompany the procession. Lord Krishna places Yudhistira on the throne with pride and joy. Yudhistira falls at Lord Krishna's feet and thanks Him for His blessings and support. Yudhistira also asks the old king Dhritarashtra to stay in Hastinapura. Bhima is made yuvaraja and the Pandavas are finally content. Lord Krishna proposes a visit to Bhishma in Kurukshetra. The old sire is lying on his bed of arrows in great agony. He is very happy to see Lord Krishna and the Pandavas. Lord Krishna blesses Bhishma to rid him of all the pain. He then asks Bhishma to impart all the knowledge needed to rule the kingdom to Yudhistira. The Appadharma Upaparva has the entire conversation where Yudhistira asks Bhishma about being a worthy king. The Mokshadharma Upaparva is the conversation about how to be a good person and what actions lead to Moksha.
The13th chapter, Anushasana Parva, describes the end of Bhishma. After blessing the Pandavas, Bhishma turns his attention to Lord Krishna. Knowing full well that Lord Krishna is an avatar of Bhagawan Vishnu, Bhishma chants the Vishnu Sahasranama. Pleased with Bhishma's praise, the Lord then grants him the Viswarupa Darshana. Bhishma leaves his mortal body on Uttarayana and his funeral is performed. The ashes are immersed in the river Ganga. Mother Ganga emerges, deeply saddened by the death of her son and questions why this happened. Lord Krishna consoles her and reminds her that Bhishma is a Vasu cursed to be on earth. The Lord asks her not to mourn Bhishma since he has returned to his true form, Soon it is time for Lord Krishna to return to Dwaraka. The Pandavas do not want Him to leave, but He promises to come to them whenever they think of Him.
The14th chapter is Ashvamedhika Parva. With the coffers empty after war, Sage Vyasa asks Yudhistira to perform the Ashwamedha Yaga. He advises the Pandavas to go to the Himalayas. The Maruts had hidden a treasure there, and the Pandavas retrieved it. Meanwhile, Uttara has given birth to a stillborn baby because of Ashwattama's astra. Lord Krishna appears during the birth and grants the baby life. The baby is named Parikshit and brings great joy to the Pandavas. The Ashvamedha Yaga begins and the horse for the Ashvamedha passes through several kingdoms for a year. Arjuna along with his army follows it to fight anyone opposing the path of the horse. After gaining the support of all the surrounding kingdoms, Yudhistira performs the horse sacrifice and becomes the one great ruler.
The 15th chapter is the Ashramavasika Parva. It describes the first fifteen years of Yudhistira's rule. The people in the kingdom see peace, growth and prosperity. King Dhritarashtra decides to leave for the forest. Queen Gandhari, Kuntidevi, Sanjaya and Vidura accompany him. The elders live in sage Vyasa's ashram. Once the Pandavas go to visit them, Yudhistira looks for his favorite uncle. He finds Vidura has given up food and water, reduced to skin bones and is in deep meditation. Vidura as a brilliant glow, enters Yudhistira and after this Yudhistira becomes more wise and virtuous. The Pandavas get the elders' blessings and return to Hastinapura. Two years later, sage Narada visits them with sad news. All the elders had perished in a forest fire, and Sanjaya had left to do penance in the Himalayas. The Pandavas are shocked by the devastating news of the death of their mother. This brings us to the end of this Parva and we paused the story here.
Geeta Chanting
We learnt Verses 21 and 22 today from our Swamiji (ref. Bala Vihar Handbook pg 17). Here is Swamiji's Geeta chanting video link for your child to practice with the correct pronunciation. Geeta Chanting Yagna will be held in April. Grade 6 is in the Partha group, and is assigned verses 1-30 this year.
We spent a few minutes brainstorming for our grade performance, details will be posted on the Parents WhatsApp group. We assembled in the Prayer Hall for aarti and the pledge recitation.
- Rashmi Kuroodi and Venu Sadda
Supplies needed for every class:- Bala Vihar Handbook, My Prayers book, their special red notebook and pencils for likhita japa; everything in their Bala Vihar bag
*Reference books - Mahabharata by Rajagopalachari / Mahabharata by Kamala Subramaniam
