Hari Om!
Stotram: We chanted the Mahalakshmi Ashtakam in class.
Mahabharata: On Day 16, Karna, the new commander in chief, valorous and eager to prove his capabilities, wreaks havoc on the Pandava army. Due to his promise to Kunti that he will not kill any Pandavas but for Arjuna, he causes severe injuries to the other Pandavas in battle, but does not kill any of them. Major battles happen between Ashwattama and Arjuna, Yudhishtra and Duryodhana. Most of the kaurava brothers are dead. Sakuni's son Ulluka is also seen fighting with the pandava army. Samasaptakas keep challenging Arjuna. Bhima and Dushasana get into a battle. Dushasana's improper behavior flashes in Bhima's mind every second. He is in extreme anger. He breaks every weapon of Dushasana until he stands with no weapon on the ground after his chariot was also broken by Bhima. In the terrible face-off with Dushasana, Bhima jumps on him, hits with the mace, wrestles with him and fulfills his promise by ripping his arms, breaking his chest and drinking the blood again and again. It was indeed a gruesome scene in the battle field. Aswaththaama pleads to Duryodhana to stop the war but Duryodhana is still in the fighting mode until he wants every Pandava to be killed. The 16th day thus gets over . Karna requests Shalya, the Madra king to be his charioteer to prepare for his battle with Arjuna as Shalya is equal to Krishna in his knowledge of steeds and navigating the battlefield. Initially Shalya hesitates and shows his disinterest in being a charioteer to a non kshatriya. Duryodhana explains the equivalence with Krishna and the importance of the role and Shalya agrees.
On the 17th Day, Karna enters the battlefield determined to kill Arjuna. His mind is filled with foreboding, as he remembers his guru Parashurama's curse. He knows that it will be his crucial war with his sworn enemy and the inevitable curse by his own guru - Bhargava Rama. His horses stumble right as they start out and other bad omens foretell his own defeat, but despite all that Karna proceeds. Shalya, keeps praising Arjuna and his might and how Karna is inferior to him in every way. He makes sure that he unsettles Karna's mental balance by praising Arjuna again and again : that was the promise he had given to Yudhistra after he accidentally accepts Duryodhana's hospitality for Yudhistra's and promises to give his best to the one who gave him the best welcome and hospitality. But Karna never looks back, keeps fighting and giving all his strength and putting full focus on the war. Karna faces Yudhistra and they both fight. He severely injures Yudhistra who is returned to his camp for first aid and rest. Arjuna also is creating havoc in the Kaurava forces. Krishna advises Arjuna to just check on Yudhistra, in order to give Arjuna a brief respite before facing Karna. He turns the chariot towards Yudhistra's camp. Yudhistra thinks the battle with Karna is over and he is dead and Arjuna has come to give him the good news. Yudhistra loses his temper and berates Arjuna for leaving the battlefield, telling him to give his Gandiva to whoever can kill Karna. Arjuna has a vow to kill anyone who insults the Gandiva and therefore goes to kill Yudhistra. Krishna counsels Arjuna that insulting an elder is the equivalent of killing them and Arjuna then speaks insultingly of Yudhishtra. Having said those harsh words, he feels distraught and goes to kill himself. Krishna again prevails upon and tells him that singing one's own praises is the equivalent of suicide. Arjuna then sings his own praises! He also explains Arjuna's strange behavior to a confused Yudhishtra. Arjuna gets Yudhistra's blessings and leaves back to the warfront.
Arjuna goes back to the battle field, where Samasaptakas are again ready to fight with Arjuna, but Bhima takes them on. Karna's son Vrisasena comes to fight with Arjuna and is subsequently killed by Arjuna. Karna is shattered and is even more angry and wants to kill Arjuna. Though Lord Surya's blessings are with Karna, he has more curses than blessings, mother earth's curse, Brahmin's curse, guru's curse and some limitations in relation to certain promises made. Arjuna on the other hand, has the blessings of Indira, Devas and Gandharvas and the Supreme Lord as his Mentor. Karna aims the Nagastra for Arjuna's head. Salya advises to aim at his chest, but Karna would not listen to Salya. Aswasena, the offspring of the pregnant snake which was burned by Arjuna in the process of transitioning Khandavprastha to Indraprastha, gets into the astra and is ready to kill/take revenge on Arjuna. The Lord makes the chariot to get into the ground a good few inches, the astra along with Aswasena, hits Arjuna's crown and he is unharmed. The snake pleads with Karna to release the nagastra one more time but Karna refuses as it is not in the warrior's code of conduct to reuse the same astra or to take another's secret help. As fate would also play a part against Karna, his chariot gets stuck into the mud and he has no help to release the wheels. Salya leaves the place as he can't help in this situation and he is just acting as a charioteer. Karna gets down and tries to pull the wheels out of the muddy ground. Arjuna keeps talking about all Karna's bad acts. Krishna asked Arjuna to shoot the arrow and Arjuna aimed the Anjalika astra on Karna and killed him. After Karna's death, Kunti declares that he is her oldest son and asks Yudhisthira to do the last rites. He gets shocked and mad with mother for not telling him earlier. He says he always felt when looking at Karna's feet that reminded him of his mother's feet. He curses the womanhood that they cannot keep up any secret, anytime. Thus the Karna parva ends.
India the sacred land - We learned about some traditional games of India.
