Are the Pandavas more dear to Krishna than the poor gopis and Radha?

 In the Bhagavad Gita, Bhagavan SriKrishna says:

समोऽहं सर्वभूतेषु न मे द्वेष्योऽस्ति न प्रिय: ।
ये भजन्ति तु मां भक्त्या मयि ते तेषु चाप्यहम् ॥ 29॥

I am equally disposed to all living beings; I am neither inimical nor partial to anyone. But the devotees who worship Me with love reside in Me, and I reside in them.
[BhagavadGita, Chapter 9, Shloka 29]

So, Krishna is equal to everyone. Nobody is a favorite to Him, and nobody is an enemy to Him. Krishna blesses His devotees as per their nature. For the people who devote themselves to Him, He blesses them, gives them the true knowledge, and grants them salvation. For the people who are more into the material world and forget Krishna, they suffer in the cycle of birth and death endlessly. And the people who hate Krishna are sent to Naraka, or even worse, Andha Tamas, named hell, which is the eternal hell.

Here, both the Gopikas and the Pandavas are Krishna Bhaktas and are noble by nature, and are devatas. So, you might be thinking: why did Krishna show partiality by leaving the Gopis and going to the Pandavas? Were the Pandavas so dear to Krishna that He left the Gopis who loved Him more than their own lives? So, let me tell you, there is no such thing. Krishna appeared on this earth for the reduction of the burden on the earth.

The Bhagavata says that Mother Earth was suffering from the burden. Which burden? The burden of people who hated Bhagavan Vishnu, Mother Earth’s husband. No Pativrataa wife can bear her husband’s insult. Plus, the demons had incarnated on the earth in the form of oppressive kings. For example, Kalanemi incarnated as Kamsa; Viprachitti, named Asura, incarnated as Jarasandha; this Jarasandha had his akshouhini sainya, which were demons. Narakasura was there; mainly, Kali Purusha had incarnated as Duryodhana; Indrajit had incarnated as Dushasana; the presiding demon of atheism named Dwapara incarnated as Shakuni. There were different asuras like Pootana, Shakatasura, Trunavarta, Vatsasura, Bakasura, another Bakasura (whom Bheemasena killed), Dhenukasura, Keshi, Vyomasura, Arishtasura, Aghasura, Hamsa and Dibhika, Shishipaala, Dantavakra, Saalva, and 98 Kauravas except Duryodhana and Dushasana, and many more.

So, all these were a burden on the earth. So, Mother Earth assumed the form of a cow and went to Lord Brahma. Lord Brahma and Bhudevi (Mother Earth), along with Lord Shiva and other devatas, went to the Kshirasaagara’s coast and sat there. There, Lord Brahma sat down and did penance and contemplated on Lord Vishnu. All devatas praised the Bhagavan with Vedic hymns like the Purusha Sukta, and so on.

Finally, Bhagavan was pleased by them, and His voice came, which was clearly audible only to Lord Brahma. Lord Vishnu assured the devatas that He would be incarnating to reduce the burden of the earth. So, He incarnated as the eighth son of Devaki and Vasudeva. So, the main objective of Krishna’s incarnation was to end the evil people and to protect and give happiness to the noble people.

Everyone had booked their seats to participate in the Krishna leela. Devaki and Vasudeva were Aditidevi and Sage Kashyapa, who had done penance to get Krishna as their son. So, Krishna appeared as their son. Yashoda and Nandagopa were Dharanidevi (the presiding deity for all tirtha kshetras), and Drona named Vasu. So, both of them had done penance to get Krishna as their child. And hence, Krishna came to Gokula to be the beloved child of Yashoda and Nandagopa.

The Gopikas were Apsara Strees who had done penance to get Krishna’s angasanga, even before His upanayana or thread ceremony. In that too, Neela, the daughter of Kumbhaka (brother of Yashoda), had done penance to marry Krishna and become His first wife even before His upanayana. So, as per their wishes, Krishna gave happiness and fulfilled their wishes by performing Raasakreeda, Jalakreeda, and Naukakreeda (boat riding) with them.

After their wishes were fulfilled, Krishna went to Mathura, killed Kamsa, and then started the further leela of reducing the burden of the earth. Already He had started that mission from the very beginning as a baby by killing Pootana, and then the other demons sent by Kamsa. And even the devatas like Yama Dharmaraja, Mukhyaprana Vayudeva, Indra, and Ashvini Devatas had incarnated as the Pandavas. Mukhyaprana’s wife Bharatidevi had incarnated as Draupadi, and Ramayana’s trijata had incarnated as Subhadra. Yama Dharmaraja had incarnated again as Vidura; the Yadavas were the devatas. Leave all these; Saakshaat Mahalakshmi Devi, the greatest devotee of Krishna, had incarnated in Vidarbha as Rukmini and as the daughter of King Satrajita as Devi Saatraajiti (Satyabhama). All these were also waiting for Krishna. So, Krishna also had to go there.

If Krishna wouldn’t go there, then their births would be wasted. They wouldn’t get the bhaagya of doing seva to the Supreme Bhagavan, who is worshipped by great Gods like Brahma and Shiva. The Pandavas contributed to Krishna’s mission in reducing the burden of earth. Out of these, Bheemasena and Arjuna contributed a lot to doing the Bhu Bhaara Harana (reducing the burden of the earth). Bheemasena killed a lot of demons like Bakasura in Ekachakranagara, Hidimbasura, Jarasandha, Kirmeera, Manimanta, and other Krodhavasha demons; Jatasura during the Vanavaasa; Keechaka in Agyaata vaasa; the 100 sons of Gandhari, along with Duryodhana and Dushasana. Arjuna also killed major demons like Nivatakavachas and the Kalakeyas. He killed Jayadratha, Karna, etc. So, all this was possible because of the shuddha neeti of Krishna and the power of Bheemasena and Arjuna.

So, all this was possible because of Krishna’s neeti. Already, Krishna had killed Pootana, Shakatasura, Trinavarta, Vatsasura, Bakasura, Dhenukasura, Keshi, Arishtasura, Aghasura, Vyomasura, Ugrasura, Shankhachooda, Pralambasura, Chanura, Mushtika, Kamsa, his 11 brothers, Kaalayavana, Jarasandhas, and Akshouhini sainya 18 times, Srugaala Vaasudeva, Shatadhanva, the 7 bulls of King Nagnajit, who were demons in the disguise of bulls. After that, He married Neela or Nagnajiti. After that, Murasura, Narakasura, defeated Banasura and his army, Shishupaala, Saalva, and all. So, He made the Pandavas contribute to the Bhu Bhaara Harana. It is as if He had left the rest as the prasaada for the Pandavas, so that they could contribute to the Bhu Bhaara Harana of Krishna. Plus, to contribute, they also required Krishna’s neeti. Plus, the Pandavas were in trouble and were His cousins. So, to help them, He had to go to them.

Talking about the Gopikas, their love for Krishna was immense. They used to do Bhakti in Krishna by singing about His pastimes, what He did, where He sat, and what He ate. Every second, they thought of Krishna. Indeed, these Gopikas were great personalities. During the Raasakreeda, Krishna does vihaara with the Gopikas. The Gopikas grew arrogant, thinking, ‘Nobody is as lucky as us to get Krishna besides us. We are the best women in the whole universe.’

And noticing this, Krishna disappeared. The Gopikas, in the viraha of Krishna, cried sweetly, and their cry seemed as if a cuckoo was cooing. They sang in praise of Krishna, and finally, responding to their desperate desire to see Krishna and their devotion, Krishna appeared in front of them. The Gopikas came near Him. Some Gopikas saw Him with love; some stared at Him. Some were very angry upon seeing Him, and some were overjoyed and cried in His love. The Gopikas asked Krishna, ‘Why did you disappear?’ Krishna smiled and said, “When you don’t have something which you want desperately, you then know the value of the thing. But when that thing comes near you, you don’t realize the value of it. I want you to increase your love and devotion for me even more.”

The main thing is, why did Krishna leave them in Vrindavan? Because their Bhakti kaarya wasn’t complete, even though their Bhakti was complete. He wanted them to do more Bhakti of His saakaara Krishna roopa, because the more you do Bhakti for Krishna, the more you come near Him. And when Krishna is away, we get to know the value of Krishna and would be more desperate and devoted to meet Krishna. And in this way, when their Bhakti was complete, Krishna granted them Moksha.

What Krishna needs from us is not material wealth or anything, because He has everything. Nothing is in the world that He doesn’t have. He just wants your devotion. Without devotion, if you even offer pancha bhakshya paramaanna to Krishna, like how Duryodhana did, Krishna won’t even look at it; tasting it is too far. And with devotion, even if you offer a glass of milk as Vidura did, Krishna would happily accept it and would grant you even Moksha.

Here, people also have a misconception that there are two Krishnas. One remained in the Vrindavana, and another went to Mathura. Nothing such happened, as per the Bhagavata Purana, and that misconception is wrong. Sri Madhvacharya also doesn’t mention it anywhere in the Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya or the Bhagavata Tatparya Nirnaya, and it is also not acceptable to Krishna. The same Krishna, who did Raasaleela with the Gopikas, went to Mathura and killed Kamsa, married Rukmini and Satyabhama, and helped the Pandavas in winning against the Kauravas.

Yeah, Krishna always has His sannidhana in Vrindavana. There is no need to posit two different Krishnas, one remaining in Vrindavana and another travelling to Mathura. The very same Supreme Krishna performed all these lilas. So, the Dwarakadheesha Rukmini-Satyabhama pati Krishna is the same as the Vrindavana Gopikavallabha Yashodanandana Krishna.

No difference at all. Bhagavan Krishna is akhanda and is full of aishvarya and maadhurya every time, be it even if He is in Vraja, or He is in Dwaraka, or in Kurukshetra, holding the rope of the chariot. And Aishvarya doesn’t mean just opulence, but also knowledge, valor, strength, and beauty, also. And even as Lakshminarayana, He has maadhurya, because He is paripoorna of all the gunas every time and in every second. So, one must never do bheda in the avataras or roopas of Bhagavan, or else it is counted as one of the nine forms of hatred in Bhagavan, as stated by SriMadhvacharya.

Hope this helps!
Jay SriRam!
ShriKrishnarpanamastu!

Epics of India: At the end of Mahabharata, Kauravas went to heaven while Pandavas were sent to hell, isn't it unfair?

 This answer is as per the Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya of SriMadhvacharya. He read all the Mahabharata recensions found across India, which he writes about in the Tatparya Nirnaya, and clearly explains what constitutes an interpolation and which parts are authentic, along with the correct interpretation.

First of all, the Pandavas never went to hell. Because what Yudhishthira saw there was an illusory hell. So, let me briefly tell you the story. When the Pandavas were going to Svarga, the youngest one would first perform dehatyaga, and then the eldest. So, in the end, Yudhishthira was remaining. He, along with a dog, was going. Suddenly, a chariot came down for him and asked him to come in the chariot. The charioteer asked Yudhishthira not to bring the dog with him. But Yudhishthira said, “I won’t come to heaven without this dog.” And then, the dog turned into Yama Dharmaraja. That dog was actually Yama Dharmaraja. He, along with Yudhishthira, went to heaven. On going to heaven, Yudhishthira saw that Duryodhana was sitting on the throne.

Yudhishthira was astonished and asked the devatas, “Why is this evil Duryodhana in heaven? He hasn’t performed anything good in his life. So, why did he who didn’t listen to Krishna’s words reach heaven? Where are my brothers? Bheemasena, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva, Karna, Draupadi?” At this, the devatas sent a messenger with Yudhishthira, who took him to Naraka. That place was very ugly and unclean. It smelled very bad there. He went there with the messenger and heard familiar sounds: ‘I am Bheemasena!’ ‘I am Arjuna!’ and like this. Yudhishthira was shocked upon hearing this. He said, “If my brothers and my wife are in hell, how can I go to heaven? I won’t go to heaven. I accept hell if my brothers and wife are here.”

Then Yama and Indra came there and said, “What you saw now was an illusory hell. It is not real. It was shown to you because you had committed Adharma by not believing the words of Krishna Himself.” Actually, in the Mahabharata war, Krishna asked Yudhishthira to say, ‘Ashvatthama hatah’, because Dronacharya would put down his weapons only when his son died. So, Yudhishthira doubted Krishna’s words and thought it would be Adharma. So, that’s why he is shown the illusory hell. Yama and Indra further said, “Your brothers are in heaven. Duryodhana, due to his punya prarabdha, is present in heaven. After his punya prarabdha ends, we will push him to the eternal hell, where he will experience endless sorrow and will never come out of it.”

So, when Yudhishthira went to heaven, he saw his brothers sitting in their divine forms. Draupadi was sitting along with Bheemasena. Out of love for his wife, Yudhishthira went to touch Draupadi, but Indra came and stopped him. He said, “Draupadi is actually Bharati Devi, the consort of SriMukhyaprana Vayudeva, who is your brother, Bheemasena. Draupadi was your wife because she had Shyamala, the wife of Dharmaraja, within her. And that Dharmaraja is you. So, Shyamala within her was interacting with you, and the rest slept. Similarly, she had Shachi’s presence within her. So, Arjuna, being Indra, interacted with her, and the rest slept. Nakula and Sahadeva, being Ashvini devatas, interacted with their wife Ushadevi, who was present in Draupadi. So, Draupadi is mainly Bharati Devi.”

Note: This is the presence of 5 souls in Draupadi, namely Uma, Shyamala, Shachi, Ushadevi, and mainly Bharati Devi, who is even mentioned in the Garuda Purana.

Indra and Yama further said, “You four brothers have the presence of Mukhyaprana Vayudeva, because He is present as breath within you. Plus, He is even present in different forms within you. So, the level of presence of Vayudeva was there in you; the attraction of Draupadi towards you was also that much. Bheemasena was Vayudeva Himself. After Him, Arjuna had the greatest presence of Mukhyaprana Vayudeva in Him. Now, that presence of Vayudeva’s form in you is not there. Hence, you cannot touch Her now.” Yudhishthira realized it and then went to Yama. Yama hugged Yudhishthira, due to which the remaining human traces in Yudhishthira went away, and he became equal to Yama Dharmaraja in qualities and merged with him (his moolaroopa).

Similarly, Bheemasena, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva went in their moolaroopas, like Mukhyaprana Vayudeva, Indra, and Ashvini Devatas, respectively. Draupadi entered Her moolaroopa, which is Bhaarati Devi. So, the Pandavas weren’t sent to hell literally, but it was just an illusory hell shown to Yudhishthira for his Adharma of not believing in Krishna’s words. So, you can notice how subtle Dharma is.

But why did Krishna tell Yudhishthira to say Ashvatthama Hatah?
It was because Dronacharya, Bhishmacharya, Krupacharya, etc., are Krishna’s devotees. And the Pandavas too were devotees of Krishna. Dronacharya was a Brahmin and used to follow Silouncha Vritti (which means he wouldn’t ask anyone anything, even if he is in trouble, or whatever happens to him). Then also, he participated in the yuddha.

Plus, Dronacharya had sinned by being on the opposite side of Krishna’s devotees, thus opposing them. Secondly, he was also sinning by attacking the devotees of Bhagavan. So, Krishna was like, ‘You are my devotee. You must not be allowed to commit so many sins.’ Thus saying so, Krishna asked Dharmaraja to say, ‘Ashvatthama Hatah,’ but when Yudhishthira added, ‘Kunjaraha’, meaning elephant, after ‘Ashvatthama hatah, ’ Krishna blew the conch shell so loudly that the Kunjaraha was not audible to Dronacharya, and he thought his son died. And thus Dronacharya left his weapons, and Drishtadyumna beheaded Dronacharya.

Hope this helps!
Jay SriRam!
ShriKrishnarpanamastu!

Why was Lord Shiva not able to save Sati, Lord Ram not able to save Sita from abduction and Pandavas not able to save Draupadi's honor. Now where should they look for any help?

 Good Question. This answer is gonna be very long, so bear with me. But here, we need to know the reasons correctly as to why these incidents happened.

WHY WAS LORD SHIVA NOT ABLE TO SAVE SATIDEVI?

As per the Bhagavata Purana, Lord Brahma came from Lord Vishnu’s navel. Lord Brahma gave birth to mind-born sons known as the Brahma Maanasa Putras. He even gave birth to Daksha, named Devata. This Daksha was married to Prasooti, the daughter of Svaayambhuva Manu. Now, Daksha and Prasooti had 14 daughters, of whom 13 were married to Sage Kashyapa, and the 14th one was married to Lord Shiva. This wife of Lord Shiva was known as Satidevi.

Now, once Daksha Prajapati arranged a yagya. He invited everyone, along with Lord Brahma, Lord Shiva, etc. Lord Vishnu wasn’t present at that yagya. Now, what happened was that Daksha Prajapati came there, and everyone stood up to respect him. But then, Daksha saw Lord Shiva, who was sitting along with Lord Brahma, His father. Now, Lord Shiva was meditating on Lord Vaasudeva present within Him. Though Lord Shiva is far superior to Daksha Prajapati, since Daksha is the father-in-law of Lord Shiva, He bowed to Daksha in His mind only and didn’t show it externally.

Daksha didn’t know this and thought Lord Shiva was disrespecting him. Enraged by this, He cursed Lord Shiva that there wouldn’t be any oblation in the name of Lord Shiva in the yagya. At this, Nandishwara was very angry and cursed Daksha that he would not know the deeper spiritual meaning of the Vedas. At this, Sage Bhrigu too cursed Nandishwara and the Shiva ganas that they would become paashandas. Lord Shiva noticed this exchange of curses, and then left that place. Nandishwara and others also left that place along with Lord Shiva.

Now, Daksha again organized a yagya after some time. He invited everyone, but didn’t invite Lord Shiva and Satidevi. Satidevi came out and saw that everyone was going in the vimaana. Some asked Satidevi, “O Sati! Aren’t you coming for the great sacrifice that your father Daksha has organized?” Satidevi went to Lord Shiva and said, “O Lord! Let’s go and attend Daksha Prajapati’s yagya.”

Lord Shiva refused, saying that when someone hasn’t invited us, we shouldn’t forcibly go there. At this, Satidevi said, “But O Lord! Going to father or guru’s house without invitation is valid! Therefore, we must attend the sacrifice.” But Lord Shiva said, “Sati! I agree with you on this. But now the situation is different!” and Lord Shiva narrated the whole incident of how Daksha cursed Him and how the exchange of curses took place. Lord Shiva even warned Satidevi about the consequences of going to the yagya, but Satidevi didn’t agree and urged him to go there.

Lord Shiva, assuming it to be the will of Lord Srihari, allowed Her to go. He already knew what was about to happen. Lord Shiva didn’t come there, but Satidevi went to the yagya. As She went there, Prasooti, Her mother, Her sisters, and all welcomed and talked to Her. But Daksha Prajapati, didn’t even talk to Her. Satidevi came to know that there was no oblation in the name of Lord Shiva. She felt insulted and said, “O Daksha! What are you thinking of? Do you even know how great Lord Mahadeva is, and what is His position? Just by chanting the two syllables ‘Shi’ and ‘Va’ is enough to burn all our sins. In that case, you dare to insult Lord Shankara?”

But Daksha didn’t pay any heed to Her. Now, She thought, “In case anyone insults a high-personality, then one should do either of these: 1. Cut down the tongue of the person. 2. Refute him, if possible. 3. Leave that place. I cannot cut Daksha’s tongue because he is my father. I cannot also refute him, because he is my father, and I cannot talk against him. If I leave and go back to Kailasa, Lord Shiva will say, ‘O Daakshaayani! You came back!’ I cannot hear the word Daakshaayani from His mouth! I don’t want to be called the daughter of a man who insulted Lord Shiva!” and, thinking so, Satidevi decided to do deha tyaaga.

She summoned the yogic fire, remembered Lord Shiva and Lord Narasimha within Lord Shiva, and burnt Herself in the yogic fire. After this, Her deha was reduced to ashes. This Satidevi was afterwards born as Aparna, the daughter of Himavan raja and Mena devi, and married Lord Shiva again. So, this is why Satidevi did dehatyaaga, and it was destined to happen. After that, when Lord Shiva learnt that Satidevi did dehatyaga, He took out a strand of hair from His jataa and threw it on the ground. From this, Veerabhadra came out. He went to the yagya and destroyed the yagya, removed Sage Bhrigu’s beard, broke Pusha’s teeth for laughing at Lord Shiva, and finally, when He caught Daksha, He couldn’t behead Daksha.

Afterwards, Lord Shiva Himself appeared there and beheaded Daksha, considering it an oblation to Lord Srihari. Then, on the prayers of the devatas, Lord Shiva granted the head of a goat to Daksha and made him alive, and Daksha repented for his mistake. Then Lord Vishnu appeared there, and everyone bowed to Him, and thus the yagya ended.

Plus, Satidevi had tested Lord Rama. When Sita apaharana happened, Lord Rama was weeping a lot. Satidevi saw this and said, “O Lord! You say Rama is your Bhagavan! You chant His name, then why is He, the Parabrahman, crying like this on losing His wife? How can He be Parabrahman? Let me test Him!” At this, Satidevi assumed the form of Sitadevi and went to Rama. She said, “O Lord! Your Sita is here. Why are you crying?” At this, Lord Rama's crying only increased. Rama said, “I am crying because my Ramaa is in Lanka, and here, Satidevi Herself came here to test me!” Realising that Rama was not an ordinary human but Bhagavan Himself, Satidevi bowed to Her. So, since Satidevi did the chintana of the viyoga of Sita-Ramachandra, She had to suffer separation from Lord Shiva.

WHY COULDN’T LORD RAMA SAVE SITADEVI FROM GETTING ABDUCTED BY RAAVANA?
Actually, Lord Rama wanted Ravana to try to kidnap Sita Devi. And Sitadevi was never abducted in real. It was Chhaya Sita who was abducted by Ravana. When Lakshmana refused to go to help Rama, Sitadevi said, “O Lakshmana! You have your evil eye on me? You want to rule Ayodhya? Fine. Go to Ayodhya today itself and stay there only! Here, my husband is in trouble, and you don’t even want to go to help Him?” And then Lakshmana prayed to the vanadevatas and left to help Rama. Now, here, Ravana came in the form of a sage. Sitadevi welcomed him and introduced him to Her, Rama, and Lakshmana.

On hearing this, Ravana revealed his real form. Sitadevi said, “O wicked demon! If my Rama comes and sees you hurting me, He will surely kill you! Nobody can harm my Rama!” But Ravana grabbed Sitadevi by Her hair, and lifted Her by Her legs and took Her to Lanka in the Pushpaka Vimaana. Here, notice the weird behaviour Sitadevi shows. Where was this confidence when She was scolding Lakshmana? Why didn’t She say Rama was unharmed at that time? And why, in front of Ravana, did She say all this about Rama being unharmed by anything or anyone? So, here the Puranas, like the Kurma Purana, clarify that Sitadevi already knew that Ravana would come to abduct Her. So, it was a plan of Sitadevi and Lord Rama. So, according to that plan, Sitadevi acted with Lakshmana as if scolding him, and actually didn’t possess any such intention toward Lakshmana.

Then, when Rama and Lakshmana went away, Sitadevi disappeared. She invoked Agni and asked Her to make an aakruti of Sitadevi, which looked like Her only. And Vedavati entered this Sitaakruti. She was an amsha of Mahalakshmi only. Now, Sitadevi kept some portion (a dx portion of Herself), in that aakruti so that the behavior should match like of Hers, and instructed Indra to enter the aakruti for bodily movements, talking, walking, etc. So, as per that, this aakruti was known as Chhaya Sita, or Sitaakruti. This Sitaakruti was kept in the Parna Kuteera, and it was this Sitaakruti who introduced Herself to Ravana, and Ravana kidnapped Her.

Why did Rama do all this? Could He have simply killed Ravana there itself? No. Because, firstly, Rama had to prove how wicked this Ravana was and wanted to make it world-famous. Second, if He killed Ravana there, it would have been a serious problem. Because, as per the orders of Lord Brahma, the devatas had incarnated as vaanaras to serve Lord Rama. If Rama killed Ravana there itself, then the birth of all these 60 crore vaanaras would have gone to waste. So, that’s why Lord Rama did all this leela. And at last, after killing Raavana, the Agnipravesha was just to exchange this Chhaya Sita with the real Sitadevi, who was in Kailasa, being worshipped by Lord Shiva and Umadevi.

So, this was the reason why Lord Rama let Sita's haran happen.

WHY COULDN’T THE PAANDAVAS PROTECT DRAUPADI’S HONOR?
After the Raajasuya Yagya, Lord Vedavyasa came and said, “O Dharmaraja! After 13 years, a great battle is going to happen. In this battle, all the Kauravas, including Bhishma Pitamaha and all, are going to die. And for all this, you will be the sole reason!” At this, Dharmaraja was very much scared, and thus vowed, “No matter who calls me anywhere, I won’t say ‘no’. No matter who scolds me or insults me, I won’t speak even a word against him/her.”

After this, Duryodhana, Dushasana, Karna, and Shakuni gathered and planned the gambling game to be played in the sabha, and to snatch everything that the Pandavas had. Dhritarashtra invited the Pandavas to this game. Everyone- Bheemasena, Arjuna, Nakula, Sahadevi, Kunti, Draupadi, and all- explained to him not to go. Even Vidura, who was sent by Dhritarashtra to invite Dharmaraja to the gambling, told him not to go. But Dharmaraja had already vowed that he wouldn’t refuse anyone. That’s why he came to play the game of gambling.

Now, Dharmaraja and the other Pandava brothers had come to attend the gambling game. Dharmaraja kept losing his stakes. He kept all his treasury, a divine chariot given by Bahlikaraja, and even his brothers, and then Draupadi, and then himself. But he lost everything, and after that, Dushasana went to Draupadi’s room and dragged Her by Her hair. She was menstruating at that time and was in 1 garment only. Dushasana was teasing Draupadi and was telling Her to leave all Her shyness and go to Duryodhana’s room and climb onto his bed. He also teased Her, “Where is your Krishna? Call Him! Let’s see how your ‘dear Vaasudeva’ helps you?” and brought Her to the sabha.

But as he went to do the vastraharana of Draupadi, She remembered Krishna. Krishna immediately gave the Akshaya vastra to Her. As Dushasana was pulling Her garment, another garment was there on Her body. She didn’t rotate as shown in the serials. Like this, Dushasana pulled infinite sarees and finally fell. Here, why didn’t the Pandavas react? They did react, especially Bheemasena. Bheemasena criticizes Dharmaraja by asking Sahadeva to bring fire so that He could burn Dharmaraja’s hands for putting Draupadi on the stake. Arjuna then calms Him down. Bheemasena said to Arjuna, in his ear, “I told this because we must criticize the wrongdoing, and shouldn’t keep silent. I won’t do it literally.”

Duryodhana said, “Now, agree that everything happened due to Dharmaraja, then I will leave all of you!” and teased the Pandavas. At this, Bheemasena said, “My Dharmaraja is my elder brother and is always right. Plus, I am the elder brother to all of you. If you have guts, come on and fight me.” The Pandavas remained silent because of their respect for Dharmaraja. They were about to kill the Kauravas if they wanted, but Dharmaraja, with his eye coordination, asked them to sit down and not to say anything. But the question here is: why didn’t Krishna say anything about this? Why didn’t He stop Dharmaraja from going there?

To this, there is another strategic move by Krishna. SriMadhvacharya tells this in the Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya. He says that Krishna did this for a few reasons: 1. To expose the evil and deceitful nature of Duryodhana and the Kauravas to the whole world. Why was this necessary? 2. Because in the Mahayuddha that was to happen after 13 years, nobody should question why Krishna made everyone die by cheating. 3. He did let it happen because Dharmaraja did the Raajasuya Yagya, but He didn’t have the capacity to sustain all that much Punya himself. So, that punya was to be distributed among the Pandavas, with maximum Punya coming in Bheemasena and Draupadi’s account.

That’s why it was Bheemasena who actively criticized the act of disrobing Draupadi and rightly vowed to break Duryodhana’s thigh. SriMadhvacharya says that Duryodhana even asked Dharmaraja to put Krishna on the stake too. At this, Bheemasena vowed that He would kick Duryodhana’s face mercilessly for this, and it was completely rightly done by Bheemasena. Plus, all these people in the Dyuta Sabha, including Bhishma Pitamaha, Dronacharya, Krupacharya, Dhritarashtra’s Punya, should be transferred to the Pandavas, since they kept silent during this deceitful gambling game unfolding.

Another thing was to increase the sins of Duryodhana and the Kauravas, so that they could be killed outright. And what Krishna did in the Mahabharata yuddha was completely correct and just. So, this was all Krishna's plan. But they had to lose everything in the second round of gambling and go to the forest. Was this also Krishna’s plan? The answer is yes. This was also Krishna’s plan. The whole world runs on His plan; what is this? The reason was that Krishna had incarnated to reduce the burden of the earth.

Now, He had already killed the majority of demons like Pootana, Shakatasura, Trunavarta, Vatsasura, Bakasura, Dhenukasura, Arishthasura, Aghasura, Pralambasura, Keshi, Vyomasura, Kuvalayapeeda, Chaanura, Mushtika, Kamsa, and Kamsa's 11 brothers, Shankhachooda, the akshouhini army of Jarasandha 18 times, Kaalayavana, Shatadhanva, Shishupaala, Saalva, etc. But now, some demons were left, like Kirmeera, Jatasura, Krodhavasha raakshasas, Maniman, etc., who were living in the teertha kshetras and destroying their piety. So, He enabled the Pandavas too to contribute to His mission of reducing the burden of earth, thus serving Krishna.

NOW WHERE SHOULD THEY LOOK FOR ANY HELP?
For Satidevi, it was destined for Her to do dehatyaaga and be born as Aparna, and to remarry Mahadeva. For Sitadevi, She was already safe. But for the Pandavas, it was Krishna only who could help them in any way.

Thank you for reading, and bearing with me!😊🙏

Hope this helps!
Jay SriRam!
ShriKrishnarpanamastu!

Who gave the Pandavas the Akshaya Patra?

 The Akshay Parta was given to Pandavas by Surya Dev.

When Pandavas went into exile, many Brahmins and priests followed them into the forest. Also, many guests came to meet them in the forest.

Pandavas managed to feed themselves, the Brahmins and the guests through the Akshay Patra given to them by Surya Dev. It provided them unlimited food and will stop only when Draupadi has have her food who usually ate last after feeding everyone else.

It was Lord Krishna who helped Pandavas by eating the last grain of rice from the Akshay Parta when Duryodhan cunningly sent Rishi Durvasa along with his many pupils to Pandavas at finish of lunch time.

Was Karna trained by Drona as Pandavas & Kauravas?

Radheya Karna was a student of Dronacharya and he used to study with Kauravas, Pandavas, Princes of Vrishnis and Andhakas in his Gurukula. He was extremely jealous of Arjuna and did friendship with Duryodhana and used to mock Pandavas. When he saw Arjuna getting appreciation and becoming better than him, he went to Drona to teach him Brahmastra which he taught only to Ashwathama and Arjuna. Seeing his bad intentions for Arjuna he rejected to teach him Brahmastra. Then he left the school of Dronacharya and went to Parshuram where he lied about his identity so whatever he was taught was wasted as Parshuram cursed him for lying and said he would forget his knowledge when he would need it the most.

Karna was indeed trained with Kauravas and Pandavas in Gurukula of Dronacharya. In TV serials, all the mocking and bad behaviour done by Karna in Gurukula towards Arjuna is given to Ashwathama when he never mocked anyone.

Why didn't Krishna save other sons of Pandavas but only Parikshit, the son of Prince Abhimanyu?

 Well, there are multiple reasons for the same. Let me list them all. However, before we do that it is important for us to understand who is Parikshit.

Parikshit is the posthumous son of Abhimanyu, the legendary Pandava Prince who died fighting in the war. Parikshit was one of the greatest kings of India who helped rebuild the country after the Kurukshetra war. It is said that until he was alive, Kalyuga did not even think about entering Hastinapur.

Yet there are multiple questions that arise related to this man. Firstly, why was he made the king despite the fact that Yudhistra had a son from his first wife Devika named Yaudheya who survived the war? If Shree Krishna could revive Parikshit then why couldn't he revive the Upapandavas? Why was Parikshit preferred over Vrishketu son of Karna? Let's answer these questions one by one.

Why didn't Shree Krishna save the five sons of Draupadi?

King Harishchandra lived in the Satya Yuga. He was an honest, noble, and just king. His subjects enjoyed prosperity and peace. He had a queen named Shaivya (also called Taramati) and a son named Rohitashva. Once, while on a hunting expedition, he heard the cries of a woman asking for help. Armed with a bow and arrow, he went in the direction of the sound. The sound was an illusion created by Vighnaraja, the lord of the obstacles. Vighnaraja was trying to disturb the Tapasya (meditation) of the sage Vishvamitra. When he saw Harishchandra, he entered the king's body and started abusing Vishwamitra. This disturbed Vishwamitra's Tapasya and destroyed all the knowledge that the sage had acquired during this Tapasya.

When Harishchandra came to his senses, he realized that the sage was extremely angry with him, and apologized. He promised to fulfill any of the sage's desires to get rid of his guilt. Vishwamitra demanded Dakshina (donation) for the Rajasuya Yagya The king asked him what he wanted in payment. In response, Vishwamitra said "Give me all that you have except yourself, your wife and your child." Harishchandra agreed to the demand. He let go of all his possessions – even his clothes. As he readied to leave his palace with his family, Vishwamitra demanded another donation. Harishchandra said that he did not have any possession left, but promised to make another donation within a month.

Harishchandra started living in penury with his wife and his family. His loyal subjects followed him. When Vishwamitra saw the king with his subjects, he started cursing Harishchandra for taking along his subjects (who were a part of the kingdom donated to the sage). The king then decided to leave the kingdom with his family. To make them go away sooner, Vishwamitra started beating the queen with a stick. When the five guardians of the directions saw this, they condemned Vishwamitra. The sage cursed them to take birth as human beings. These guardian deities were born as the sons of the Pandavas and Draupadi.

Everyone knows the story of how Harishchandra regained his kingdom, but that is not our focus today. As noted above, since the Upapandavas were cursed celestial beings, they could not stay on Earth for a long time. Hence they were not saved by Shree Krishna.

Why was Parikshit preferred over Yudhistra’s children?

An interesting thing aspect of the Kuru tribe often missing from the popular narrative is their regard for capability above primogeniture. There are various instances in the epic where Abhimanyu is considered the heir to Yudhistra during his lifetime ( the most notable instance being Satyaki’s proposal to install Abhimanyu on the throne and lead an army of Yadavas to destroy the Kaurvas right after the dyut sabha). There is no doubt that Abhimanyu was the most towering prince of his generation.

He is described as having the qualities of all 5 Pandavas ( equal to Yudhistra in firmness, Bhima in fearlessness, Arjuna in skill and prowess, Nakula and Sahadeva in humility), and thus he had a claim to the throne by virtue of capability. Besides, there are multiple instances in the epic where we see Abhimanyu displaying a commanding personality. All these factors put together sealed Abhimayu’s status as heir apparent to the throne

So Parikshit already had the advantage of being the son of the previous heir to the throne. Yes he would have been liable to lose this status if he wasn’t the most capable person to hold the throne, but this was not the case. Parikshit was a worthy heir too Yudhistra in pretty much all regards.

The secret behind Abhimanyu’s boon

We all know about the story of this great warrior but not everyone knows that he was an incarnation of Varchasa the son of Chandra. During the Mahabharat period, most Devtas were asked to either incarnate themselves or have their sons incarnate. It wasn't practically possible for the moon to leave its abode and hence, his son had to incarnate. However, Chandra Dev was really attached to his son and was reluctant to let him go. After much persuasion from the other Devas, he allowed Varchasa to incarnate under the following conditions:

• He would only live for 16 years.
• His bravery on his last day on Earth would give him eternal glory.
• After Varchasa , his son would succeed to the throne of Hastinapura.

So Parikshit was literally destined to be king! It was a precondition of the entire Mahabharata

To add on top of all of this he was related to Shree Krishna and was accepted by most of the subjects. Hence Shree Krishna saved Parikshit and not the Upapandavas. Parikshit would be the most accepted and also most capable among all the descendants of the Pandavas. Parikshit along with his son Janmejaya together rebuilt the country after the Kurukshetra war.

Jai Shree Krishna

Har Har Mahadev.

At which instances did Surya help Pandavas in the epic Mahabharata?

 

The Prashnopanishad reveals that at the beginning of creation, God created two things: the sky (inert matter) and the Sun (life force).

Sun is the life force for all beings.

" Sipivishtaḥa " is a powerful nama in Vishnu Sahasranamam. ' Si " refers to water. ' SyAtyat " implies coolness. ' pi ' stands for pibati (drinking); ' Sipi ' refers to rays—which drink up the water.

Sun takes water from seas, mainly, through his rays and provide water to rivers for crops/food.

Sun provides food to all beings.

After loosing the dice game, Pandavas went to forest for 12 years exile.

As the number of guests increased day by day, it became difficult for the Pandavas to arrange meals for them. Krishna then advised Dharmaraja to pray to the Sun God (Surya Narayana). When Dharmaraja offered his prayers, the Sun God bestowed upon him an Akshaya Patra (an inexhaustible vessel).

This vessel would provide whatever food was requested.

The Sun God is the provider of food.

Subhamastu

​Why did Karna refuse to join the Pandavas even after Krishna revealed he was the eldest brother?

 The Krishna-karna conversation in Udyoga parva might be interpolated. Therefore let's look at Karna's conversation with Kunti to see his reasoning.

Karna says that people will think that he switched sides because he is afraid of Arjuna

Who does not suffer when Dhananjaya is aided by Krsna? If I now go over to the Parthas, who will not think that I am frightened?

• 144, Karna Upanivada parva, Mahabharata.

Karna says that he can't abandon the Kauravas suddenly after they have given everything to him and after he had given them hopes of victory

The sons of Dhritarashtra have given me a share in every object of desire. They have honoured me and given me every kind of happiness. How can I act counter to that now?They have always served me and have always bowed down before me, like the Vasus before Vasava. They now confront a feud with an enemy. They think that with my life, they can withstand the enemies. How can I act against the desire that is there in their minds?

• 144, Karna Upanivada parva, Mahabharata.

So his two reasons were -

A. Fear of being called a coward.

B. Wanting to repay the Kauravas for their helps.