There is atleast one instance, although not significant in whole scheme of things, where Mahabharat (the epic) and Sholay (hindi movie) have similarity. I am discussing the incident when Gabbar Singh killed Salim and asked the villagers to give Jai and Veeru to them. After a bit of discussion, a decision was taken when Rahim chacha pointed that when he is not turning his back on Jai (Amitabh Bacchan) and Veeru (Dharmendra) even when he has lost his young son.
Jai and Veeru are delivered to Gabbar Singh, at a place specified beforehand. When the robbers of Gabbar Singh’s gang pick them up, they find a note attached on the back of Veeru and Jai. It says – “Gabbar Singh. agar tum ek maroge, hum chaar maarenge”. Though this line is not as famous as other dialogues, but has the intensity. When dacoits turned the bodies of Jai and Veeru, they started firing and killed all dacoits, except one, to tell the happenings to Gabbar.
Jai and Veeru in Sholay – great hindi movie
I find this piece interesting as there is a similar story in the epic Mahabharat. in Ek chakra Nagri, Vakasur used to demand large amounts of grain. He also demanded a person should be sent to him daily to satiate his hunger. When Pandavas were travelling, they reached this place and found the happenings. They decided to do something about this and surely, Bheema was sent with the cart which was sent to Vakasur daily. Soon enough, Vakasur came out and killed by Bheema.
Bheema waiting for Bakasura
Bheema killing Bakasura
The last scene of this hindi movie Sholay is also important, where Jai dies. This scene can also be compared with the death of Abhimanyu, who died fighting with kauravas, when Arjuna was away. This is similar again as Arjuna was also away and Abhimanyu stepped in time to save the day for pandavas.
Sholay and Mahabharata – similarities
To take this further, parallels can be drawn between Thakur and Shri Krishna also. They did not fight the war themselves, but the war could not have won in absence of them. Their proteges, Pandavas and Jai-Veeru took care of the enemies. And lastly, their stance signified one thing, victory of good over evil.
Mahabharat has inspired bollywood. A number of hindi movies are based on this epic and rightly so, because no other epic provides the depth and variety as this does. There are a number of films and serials which have been made on Mahabharat story and in recent times, we see a modernised version of Mahabharat where the story line is inspired by Mahabharat.
Probably, the first movie based on Mahabharat was A Throw of Dice (Prapancha Pash 1929). This was based on myths and legends drawn from Indian epic Mahabharat. Charu roy and Sita devi were the characters of this film. This was directed by a german filmmaker Franz Osten. This same gentleman has directed the landmark hindi movie, Acchut kanya.
Kalyug – Many people perhaps struggle in remembering this hindi movie, but I reckon this was a commendable effort with actors related to art films. Victor Banerjee played the role of Duryodhana and Yudhisthir was played by Raj Babbar. Though the movie was based on modern times, one can easily relate to the characters. This was directed by Shyam Benegal.
Kalyug – Hindi movie based on Mahabharat
Rajneeti – This is quite recent and the story line appears to be inspired by Mahabharat and The Godfather, a famous novel by Mario Pujo. Ajay Devgan has played Suraj which is Karna in Mahabharat. Manoj Bajpai admirably plays Duryodhana. There is Nana Patekar as Brijgopal or Shri Krishna and Ranvir Kapoor plays the role of Arjuna and Michael Corleone. The story is inspired by The Godfather here, where the elder brother of Ranveer, Arjun Rampal dies in the movie. This is more like Sonny Corleone. Nevertheless, a good attempt, but the surprise factor was not there. To read more about Rajneeti, the hindi movie, visit here.
Mahabharat – This hindi movie was made in 1965 with the same name as of this epic. Dara Singh played the role of Bhima. Abhi bhattacharya as Krishna and most appropriately, Jeevan played Shakuni. We don’t know much about how did this movie fared, perhaps you can help by giving your feedback through comments.
Mahabharat – Hindi movie
Mahabharat, the serial: In 1988, BR Chopra, the famous director – producer of Waqt fame, did a fantastic job of telling this epic. So beautifully this serial was made, that people used to wait in anticipation. The streets were deserted when this serial was aired on sunday mornings. Dara Singh played a brief cameo of Hanuman. Shri Krishna’s character was made his own by Nitish. Mukesh Khanna is also remembered fondly for his role played as Bhishma Pitamah.
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The festival of Shravan or Kanwar festival is the most auspicious one for lord Shiva devotees. During this month, devotees from various parts of Bihar and Jharkhand observe strict rituals. They carry holy water of Ganges (Gangajal) from Sultanganj to Deoghar for Lord Shiva.
Pic. – Baidyanath Dham Mandir
This month normally falls in July – August according to english calendar and hindu devotees travel to Baidyanath Deoghar to worship Baba Baidyanath ( Lord Shiva).
How Lord Shiva came to Deoghar
There is an interesting story that Ravana once worshipped Lord Shiva so that he awarded him saying that I will stay with you in form of Shivlinga. This posed a problem for Devtas who thought that this would make him invincible. They used a ruse which forced Ravana to put the Shivlinga in Deoghar and it became Lord Shiva’s permanent abode. Since because of Ravana only Shiv has came to Deoghar, Ravana is treated with respect here.
Why Gangajal is offered to Baba Baidyanath
The custom of carrying holy water from Sultanganj on Kanwar and offering to it Shiva started in the Treta Yuga. This yuga was the silver age of Hindu mythology. Lord Rama had carried the holy ganges water from Sultanganj in a kanwar and offered to Lord Shiva at Babadham.
Another legend says that when the churning of oceans – Samudra Manthan – took place, this was in the month of Shravan. During manthan, fourteen different types of rubies came out. Thirteen of these were distributed amongst the deamons, except Halahal (poison). Lord Shiva drank the Halahal and stored it in his throat. Hence the name Neelkantha (meaning blue throat) is attributed to Shiva.
To reduce the strong effect of poison, Lord Shiva wore the crescent moon on his head. All the Gods, thereafter started offering the Ganges water to Lord Shiva to make lessen the effect of poison.
This happened in the month of Shravan. The Shiva devotees offer the Ganges water in this month and Shravan festival is observed. This festival and Baidyanath Deoghar is one of the holiest ones for Hindu devotees.
Baidyanath jyotirlinga temple
Importance of Gangajal from Sultanganj
In Sultanganj, the Ganges flows to the North. This is why, the devotees collect water in their kanwars and carry the holy Ganges water, with the kanwars on their shoulders. They walk 109 km up to Baba Baidyanath temple at Babadham reciting Bol Bam on the way.
Importance of Belpatra
Lord Shiva has three eyes – Mother Parvati, Lord Kartik and Ganesh. Lord Shiva is also called Mahadeva, the god of gods and his three eyes- Trinetra are his identification. Three eyes, three virtues, three truths, three swords of the Trident (Trishul) and three leaves (Belpatra) are very dear to Shiva. Lord Shiva becomes pleased if one offers Ganga water with Belpatra.
pic – Mandir at Night
Bol – Bam and its importance
The word Bam is a short name for Lords Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. The letters BA came from Brahma and Vishnu and M came from Mahesh.
It is a long efficacious mantra (a hymn). When it is chanted during the way, it generates energy and enthusiasm amongst the kanwarias and gives them the psychological strength to carry on walking and succeed in covering the long distance from Sultanganj to Babadham.
According to the Skand Purana, those who complete the holy journey by reciting Bam-Bam obtain the virtues of Ashwamedha Yajna. According to the Puranas, the demon king Ravana had brought the Ganges water from Haridwar and offered to Lord Shiva.
During their journey from Sultanganj to Deoghar, kanwariyas are supposed to observe strict vrata:
To maintain celibacy (Bramhacharya) To remember Lord Shiva by keeping mind, heart and speech pure To speak the truth To be inspired by charity and service To take bath before taking the kanwar To recite Bam – Bam Not to use oil and soap Not to wear shoes Not to take any article made of leather To avoid dogs. (dogs should not be touched)
Pilgrims to the temple later visit the Basukinath temple.
Where to stay and how to reach: Lot of hotels and dharamshalas are available in Deoghar. During the month of Jul-Aug, there is great rush, so this is advisable to book prior to your journey. Closest railway station is Jasidih, which is on howrah main line. Nearest airport is Ranchi/ Patna.
In Indian culture, teacher is given a higher position than father and mother.
5th september is celebrated as the Teachers day in India, in rememberance of Late Indian president, Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan. He was a teacher, who later held the president’s post in India
All over the world, a teacher holds an exalted place. It is the teacher who is responsible for the pupil’s welfare and education. So, teacher or guru is given a special place all over the world from ancient times to today. It has been seen that teachers have played a pivotal role for the welfare of their pupil. There are numerous examples available where a teacher has done everything for their pupil and pupils have attained greatness because of their teacher. In the following paragraphs, we will discuss about the teacher and pupil relationship across various cultures.
Teacher’s relevance in Japanese Culture
Teacher and pupil relationship exist in different forms, such as mentor and protege. In Japanese culture, we have heard about Sempai and Kohai. These terms have been made popular by the movie, “The Rising Sun”.
In Chinese culture, Mandarins were the teachers, who imparted education by travelling throughout the country. This was a tough job, but tells in volumes about the significance of teachers.
In Indian mythology and context, some important teacher student relationships are detailed as following:
Chanakya and Chandragupt
This is probably the best example of mentor and protege relationship in Indian history. Chanakya, the teacher of Chandragupt, has planned for his disciple’s ascendancy. He executed the plan well. Chandragupt went on to rule all over India. Later on, he was supported by Chanakya in governance as well. This is worth mentioning that both of these have humble beginnings, but their desire to overcome obstacles was so powerful, that they became the supreme powers.
Chanakya – The teacher of Chandragupt
Ekalavya and Drona
Another great example of Guru Shishya relationship from the times of Mahabharat. Drona did not teach Ekalavya. But he did not hesitate once when he was asked for his thumb by his Guru, Dronacharya. Drona has done this to ensure that his pupil, the great archer remains the best in the business. Drona has gone out of the way to ensure that Arjuna gets his due.
Perhaps you would wonder that this alliance is not written in terms of teacher and pupil alliance, as they were friends, Nar and Narayana. But think of it, this was Shri Krishna’s preachings, which made Arjuna to fight the war of Mahabharat. Shri Krishna was his supreme teacher. He guided him to victory. While other given him the knowledge, Shri Krishna ensured that Arjuna won his war. This is why we can treat him as the Supreme Guru.
Krishna and Arjuna – Nar and Narayan
Parshurama and Karna
This example isbjust opposite of Drona and Arjuna, here the teacher cursed his pupil. Where as Drona ensured that his pupil gets benefited. Anyway, Karna’s quest for knowledge cannot be faulted. When he was denied by Parshurama, he arranged somehow that he becomes his teacher. Here the fate did the trick. Karna was born as a Kshatriya, but he did not knew this. In absence of this knowledge, he has to bear the brunt of something he was not responsible for.
Sage Vasistha and Lord Rama
Vasishtha , one of the Saptarshi’s was the teahcer of Lord Rama and his brother Laxman. Rama helped his teacher later, as he killed demons. These demons were creating problems for Sage Vasistha. This is how, Ram paid gurudakshina to him.
Ramakant Achrekar and Sachin Tendulkar
Another very good example of this relationship is Sachin and Ramakant. People say that what Sachin is today is because of the training given to him by his teacher Ramakant Achrekar. For his contribution, Sir Achrekar has also won the Dronacharya award.
Ramakant Achrekar and Sachin Tendulkar
Shane Warne and Terry Jenner
Lot of people know about the genius of Shane Warne, but few know that this legend has been trained by the Terry Zenner, himself a leg spin bowler. He played nine test for Australia and revived the art of leg spin, which is increasingly becoming a rarity in Cricket.
Tery Jenner – the teacher
Terry Jenner and Shane Warne
Bhishma – Brihaspati and Parshurama
Bhishma was the son of Shantanu and Ganga, and he had two teachers. Thus Parshurama was the teacher of Bhishma and Karna both, but yet, Bhishma did not like Karna. This was the reason Karna did not fight the war of Mahabharat under the commandership of Bhishma.
Prahlad’s – In Indian mythology, Prahlad was the disciple of Vishnu. His father, Hirankashyap did not like this and tried to kill his own son. Such was the devotion of Prahlad, Vishnu took the Narsimha avatar to save his disciple. Again, an example of teacher saving his disciple.
In Greek Mythology too, there is a story on teacher and student, but it is quite similar to Karna and parshurama story, where the teacher has cursed her pupil, archane.
Sounds strange, but this is true. Frogs are married in some part of india, according to a mythological ritual. There is a purpose behind this. In extreme summer, when there is no sign of rain, a yagna is performed to please Lord Indra. In Hindu Mythology, Indra is the person responsible for rains.
This yagya is nothing, but wedding of frogs are per the hindu rituals. Vermilion is applied on the forehead of female frog to mark her as the life partner of the male frog. This is an age-old tradition that if frogs are wedded, then Indra Dev will be pleased and monsoon will come. People attend the wedding in large numbers.
Wedding of frogs – for rain
This wedding is performed with artifical frogs as well as with real frogs. The rationale behind this tradition is that during rainy season, frogs came out and croak to please Lord Indra. The wedding is performed for the same reason and this is thought that frogs will be pleased and welcome rain gods.
This is not limited to India. The same ritual, wedding of frogs has also taken place in Bangladesh. The objective is the same, to bring rain on earth.The “bride” and “groom” came from two neighbouring villages 110 kilometres (68 miles) north of the capital Dhaka, according to the Bengali paper Jugantor. Villagers organised the wedding ceremony because the region was suffering a water shortage as it waited for monsoon rains to arrive, according to school teacher Noor Mohammad Kalon, who was a guest on behalf of the “groom.” More than 250 men, women and children came to the wedding. We all danced and sang,” the teacher, 42, told AFP by telephone, adding that the guests were served a traditional wedding feast of rice, lentils, fish, beef and sweets.
“The bride and groom were in special wedding dress. We blessed them in the ceremony and released them in a nearby pond afterwards.
Dear readers, Can you answer these questions on Mahabharata?
Following are the few facts presented to you in form of questionnaire. You may reply using the comment section or comment form available at the end of the article.
Hint: This blog contains the answers in various posts.
1. Three people saw Shri Krishna in his Vishwaroopa form. Arjuna and Sanjay were two of them. Name the third person?
2. Kurukshetra or Mahabharat war lasted for how many days?
3. How many brothers of Kaurava’s did Arjuna kill in Mahabharat war?
4. Who killed Ashwaththama in Mahabharat war?
Abhimanyu fought valiantly
5. Abhimanyu was son of Arjuna and ___________.
6. Drona was the son of sage _____________.
7. Arjuna became eunuch for one year due to a curse from ____________.
8. What was the Yudhishthir name when he was in hiding for one year?
9. Kavach and Kundal made this warrior invincible until he was tricked by a god. Who was he?
10. Who was Ghatotkacha’s mother?
11. Pandava hid their weapons on a tree of _________ during their Agyatvaas.
12. What was Arjuna’s name during agyaatvaas?
13. Who was Draupadi’s brother?
14. He was the brother in law of Kauravas who became the cause of death of Arjuna’s son, Abhimanyu. Name him.
15. Karn’a son who survived the war of Mahabharata. Name him.
16. Parikshit, who succeeded Yudhishthira, was the son of Abhimanyu and ___________.
Krishna said to Arjuna in Mahabharat war : Whenever Dharma, or the situation of law and order, is endangered on this world, I incarnate onto this world to re establish Dharma, law and order, and to protect the Sadhus or saints and to destroy the evil elements of the society. – Bhagavat Gita
This article is in continuation to earlier article where we published the pictures of 1-5 avatars of Vishnu. Details of next 6 avatars are found as following.
Parshurama Avatar
Parshuram avatar of Lord Vishnu
Parshurama was the son of sage Jamdagni and Renuka. He has killed evil doers kings of the earth. A great archer, was the teacher (guru) of Bhishma, Drona and Karna. He is one of the seven immortal ones (saptachiranjiva).
Rama avatar
Shri Rama avatar of Lord Vishnu
Rama was born as a son of Dashrath and Kaushalya. He slayed the demon king Ravana of Lanka. Assisted by Hanuman and Lakshman ( Sheshnaag’s avatar).
Rama avatar
Shri Krishna
This incarnation was the central character of Mahabharat. Mahabharat was the conflict of kuru brothers, Kauravas and Pandavas. He did not fight the war himself. He was the charioteer of great archer, Arjuna in the Mahabharat war. In his early life, he killed Kansa. His brother was Balrama and he is also believed to be a avatar of Lord Vishnu by some texts.
Krishna avatar of Lord Vishnu
Balarama avatar
balarama-krishna-subhadra
Buddha Avatar
Buddha avatar of Lord Vishnu (image)
In the Puranic texts, he is mentioned as one of the ten avatars of Vishnu, usually as the ninth one. Siddhartha was born in a royal Hindu Kshatriya family. Gautama was famously seated under a pipal tree—now known as the Bodhi tree—in Bodh Gaya, India, when he vowed never to arise until he had found the truth. His companions believed that he had abandoned his search and become undisciplined, left. After a reputed 49 days of meditation, at the age of 35, he is said to have attained enlightenment.
Kalki Avatar
Kalki avatar of Lord Vishnu
The tenth and last avatar, Kalki avatar, is supposed to happen in future, in Kaliyug. This will be the tenth and final Maha Avatar (great incarnation) of Vishnu who will bring to an end the present age of darkness and destruction known as Kali Yuga. He will establish a new era based on truth, righteousness, humanism and goodness, called Satya Yuga.
Pictures of Lord Vishnu in various avatars (Dashavatar)
Lord Vishnu
Matasya avatar of Lord Vishnu\
Matasya avatar
Vishnu took the form of a big fish. There is a story about this in Hindu scriptures. The Asuras or the demons snatched the Vedas, the holy books of the Hindus, and went deep inside the sea. At this point, Vishnu changed his form. He became a matsya, that is, a fish. He entered the sea and brought back the Vedas. There is another story of recreation of human kind after the pralaya, where the sage Manu put all the vedas and other important things in a boat and Vishnu took that to safety.
Here Vishnu took the form of a Turtle (kurma) and then goes the story of the samudra manthan or the churning of the ocean. He provided the base which helped in churning of the ocean. There is another story that when Demons got hold of Amrit, Vishnu helped the gods again in form of Mohini. One Demon had drank some Amrit, Whom Vishnu has cut into two. Thus Rahu and Ketu have been born.
Here the lord takes the form of half man and half beast. He assumes the form of lion headed man and proves how the little boy Prahlad was a true devotee.
Vamana avatar of Lord Vishnu
Here the lord incarnates himself as a dwarf priest to restore Indra’s authority over the heavens, which was taken away by force by the demon king Bali and liberates the Asura king Bali.
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Long before the nuclear weapons came along, we heard it many times in Indian mythology and ancient texts that not only powerful weapons existed, but they were also used by various people. Some of these weapons had the power to annihilate the whole universe. This provides us with some fascinating reading, as we can related to these weapons with modern warfare.
Lord Rama and his weapons
Probably the most written and popular is the Brahmastra, which is has found mention in Mahabharat and The Ramayana. This was the most potent and could be used once in the lieftime. Lord Ram earlier intended to use this against Sagar (Sea god),as he wanted to ocean to give way to Lanka. Sagar was not yielding when Rama requested him, so as the last measure, he resorted to use the Brahmastra. Sagar promplty complied. By this time, the Brahmastra was invoked, so Rama has directed it towards a place, where it could do minimal harm.
When Rama invoked Brahmastra on Sagar (Sea God)
Ravana’s killing: Lord Rama used prasvapna as the means to evaporate the amrita (nectar) from Ravana, which was the reason Ravana was not dying. This important advice was given by Vibheeshana to him.
Rama using Prasavapan on Ravana
In the war, he used Gandharvastra to kill 14000 asurs, as this weapon compelled asuras to think that the next person fighting to them is Rama. Thus they fought with each other and killed themselves. Only two people knew to use this weapon, Rama and Ravana, though Ram only had the knowledge to neutralize this.
Earlier, in his student days, Lord Rama used Manava upon Maricha.
Ravana killing by Lord Rama – The Ramayana
Lakshman and his weapons
Lakshman used various weapons in this war. He has killed Ravana’s son Meghnad. He used Varunaastra which Meghnaad failed. He used Sauryaastra to neutralize Meghnaad’s Aagneyastra . Then Lakshman had to use powerful weapon named Maheshwar to stop Meghnad’s asur weapon. Meghnad was killed when Lakshman used Indrastra. Prior to that Meghnaad used his powerful weapon Shakti, due to which Laskhman was unconscious on battle field. Hanuman brought Sanjeevani to revive him.
Hanuman bringing sanjeevani booti to revive Laxman
Meghnaad managed to imprison Rama and Laxmana in Naagpaash. Hanuman sought the help of Garud to free Rama and Lakshman. This is a very interesting and important incident, where the gods have been rendered helpless and had to seek help of mortals. Thus this mythology story is a teacher which teaches us to be humble, as help is needed by gods too.
Meghnaad used naga astra against Ram and Laxman
Ram and Laxman in nagpaash – revived by Garuda
Meghnaad’s boon and his death – Meghnaad had this boon that he could not be killed after performing a yagya. After completing the yagya, he would have received a rath (chariot) and while sitting on this, he could not be killed. Rama was told by Vibheeshan of this fact and Rama ordered him, Lakshman and Hanuman to go and stop this yagya. There was a precondition that he could not touch any weapon when performing this yagya.
There they disturbed his yagya and did not allow him to complete the yagya. So he had to get up in the middle of the yagya and fought with Lakshman and Hanumaan only with Yagya utensils. He was very angry with Vibheeshan, his uncle. He had saved a Divine Astra, Yamastra, to kill him, so he used it to kill him, but Kuber had already warned Lakshman about it, so Lakshman countered it and saved himself. Meghnaad used his three most fierce Astra (Brahmastra, Pashupatastra and Vaishnavastra) at Lakshman but to his surprise none of them even touched him; rather Vaishnavaastra circumambulated Lakshman before disappearing.
Meghnaad realized that Lakshman was no ordinary man, so he briefly disappeared from the battle ground and came to his father, told him everything and requested to make peace with Rama. But Ravana rebuked him for being coward, so Meghnaad again came to the battle after bidding good bye to his parents and wife. He fought with Lakshman fiercely and then was killed by Indrastra.
Japanese wedding can be either a traditional or a western one. It can be either arranged or love. But first of all the couple should be legally married by filing for the marriage at local government office. Actually the documents are required for further ceremonies to be held.
In a traditional shinto ceremony an elaborate ceremony is held at shinto shrine.
Traditional Sinto Japanese wedding at the shrine, with bride
wearing Japanese wedding Kimono (Uchikake)
Whereas in a western one the ceremonies are held in a chapel, it can either be a simple or an elaborate one. Before the ceremony there is a rehearsal in which bride’s mother lowers her daughter veil, signifying the last act which she can do before giving her. Then bride’s father walks the bride down the aisle to her groom. This is followed by a procession in which the wedding celebrant wear a wedding cross, or a cana which symbolises a couple’s commitment to share life together. They give brief welcome and speech before announcing bride’s entrance. This ends with bowing of groom to bride’s father who does the same in return. Now starts the service, after the reading of Bible there is prayer and short message, explaining the sanctity of wedding vows. Bride and groom share their vows, exchange rings and at last sign register and then are declared a new couple.
Nowadays, both traditional and western style ceremonies are merged and marriage is conducted in a way, which is called contemporary style wedding. In this on the wedding day all the participants get ready in their formal Japanese attire. Bride attire consist of an extravagant kimono, heavy makeup, a wig and head covering. Photographs of bride groom and their relatives are taken which is considered as an essential part of wedding day. After this lengthy photo shoot they go to shinto shrine, where priest conduct ceremonies. Firstly the bride and groom are purified, then they exchange nuptial cups of sake. Due to western influence instead of shinto shrine they may go to a hotel where all activities takes place. The couple often exchange wedding rings and take vows. After all the wedding ceremonies are over there is a reception. This include dramatic entrance by bride and groom, speeches and other performances. Bride has to change her dress for 2-3 times. After speech session, cake is cut and then it’s time to eat and drink. During this both bride and groom again change their outfit and at the end they wear a western style of attire. After the last costume they perform a candle service, in which they light candles on the table where their parents are sitting then all the candles placed on guest tables. Then reception ends with a flower presentation ceremony, where newly wed couple present flower to their parents.
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