Dear Bhagavatas: Sri Tatachar has explained the points well. Further discussions, if any, may be taken up directly with the Bhagavata who raised the questions and NOT posted to Sri Ranga Sri. However, copy may be marked to my personal id Ramanbil@xxxxxxxxxxx for my information. Thank you Dasoham Anbil Ramaswamy ================================================================= There are several questions here which comes to our mind from time to time. Here is my humble attempt to answer them to the best of my ability. >>1. Krishna was asked by Yudhishtra to go to Dhuryodhan and seek only 5 villages for 5 Pandav brothers, which Krishna being God himself, could have accomplished with ease. Then why did Krishna allowed the situation to go out of control, that ultimately lead to war between brothers?<< Krishna did get the issue under control. Thus, at the end, everyone pretty much got what they exactly deserved. He gave ample opportunities for everyone to sort it out themselves. Negotiating for 5 villages is one such example. >>2. During the war also Krishna made Yudhishtra tell a half lie to `Dhronacharya' about the death of `Ashwathama', (Ashwathama was the name of Dhronacharya's son and also a name of an elephant which was killed by Bishma because of Krishna's strategy, so as to reduce Dhronacharya's morale in the war, specifically because Dhronacharya alone could have defeated the Pandavas?) Why did Krishna firstly allow the war to start and after it started made the truthful person like Yudhishtra tell a lie (or half-truth) to Dhoroacharya about Ashwathama's death? So is lying allowed for war?<< One correction. Elephant was killed by Bheema and not Bhishma. The war started out with many strict ground rules that eroded as the war progressed. Drona was among the pack of warriors that killed Abhimanyu when he was all alone and devoid of weapons. There goes Drona's greatness. He paid for this mistake when Yudhishtira's half-lie resulted in his premature death in the hands of a Drupada's son, who was out there to settle an old score! >>Why krishna chose Yudhishtira?<< Yudhishtira was among the most honest, thus, Krishna used him for this purpose. Drona trusted Yudhishtira words and did not bother to double check. Perhaps, if the same half-lie was uttered by anybody else, Drona would have probably double-checked it. >>3. What was the cause for Mahabharata when Yudhishtra with his wife and brothers renounced the same kingdom after they won the war. Yudhishtra completely disagreed with Krishna's teachings and reason for war and Krishna also could not stop Yudhishtra from renouncing the thrown at that point? Why? (Had Yudhishtra renounced the request for 5 villages as per the 2nd question. Could this war between brothers be prevented?)<< They ruled the kingdom for as long as they liked. It was their decision to quit and pass it onto their own grand progeny Parixit. I have not come across this COMPLETELY DISAGREED business. I hope you are not feeding words in your question. Yudhishtira is well known for pashchattapa (that is worrying over and over some past deed). Unlike Arjuna, who displayed poorva taapa (worrying before the deed). Even if Yudhishtira completely disagreed- the ultimate golden standard to follow is Krishna and not yudhishtira. >>(Had Yudhishtra renounced the request for 5 villages as per the 2nd question. Could this war between brothers be prevented?)<< I get the impression you have not understood Duryodhana. The amount of envy and hatredness he had for PaaNDavaas, would have made him to get them killed, even if they renounced everything short of life (because, Duryodhana would have felt insecure as long as any paaNDava lived). The only renounciation that would have worked is that the paaNDavaas together with their kith and kin renounce their life. >>4. Did Yudhishtra go to Heaven or Hell? (Because he had the chance to visit both because of Lord Indra). (The above stated books give different answers to the above situation)<< He went to heaven. He did get a brief taste of hell. >>5.Why did Krishna took Ghandhari (Dhuryodhan's mother) to the battlefield and >>make her see the dead bodies of all her 100 sons? Then, why did Krishna allow the extinction of himself and his whole clan (due to Ghandhari's Curse)? (I have learnt that hurting oneself is better than hurting others. So this question.)<< Looking at the dead body (charama darshanam), especially of dear ones is most sacred thing to do. Even to day, that is part of death ceremony, whether in Hindu tradition or other religious systems. People travel 10s of thousands of miles just for this. Seeing them getting killed is a different thing than seeing them after being killed. That is why Dritarashtra opted to listen the war happenings than see (Vyasa had offered to restore his vision, instead Sanjaya got teh power of television so that he could narrate the happenings). >>6.Arjuna asked the question to Krishna, as to `Under what authority is he giving advice to him on the battlefield'? So is my first question to u all, as to `Under what authority are you all going to base your answers?'<< I have never read anywhere in Bhagavadgita Arjuna asking Krishna for his qualifications to preach. Arjuna submitted himself as Krishnas desciple. >>>Krishna also could not stop Yudhishtra from renouncing the thrown at that >>>point>>Why?<< Krishna is not a dictator. He is an adviser of the ultimate truth. For instance, he taught the Gita to Arjuna, and yet concluded saying- do as you wish (ya-taa i-cchha-si ta-taa ku-ru). General: A basic problem with Hindus is that by and large, we did not progress beyond the first chapter of Gita. K. Sreekrishna To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: Srirangasri-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxx Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SriRangaSri/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: SriRangaSri-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
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