Dear Parents,
Last week, we started the class with prayers and we revised the previous sloka.
[Note: Please visit the older posts for the prayers and the sloka]
Story: We heard the story of Parikshit Maharaj.
Maharaj Parikshit was the son of Abhimanyu, who was the son of Arjuna. Arjuna was one of the five Pandavas and was the best friend of Krishna. During the battle of Kurukshetra, Parikshit was still in the womb of his mother, Uttara. At the end of the war, Asvatthama, the son of Dronacarya, tried to kill the child in the womb by throwing a weapon called brahmastra.
The Supreme Lord Krishna saved Parikshit by entering into the womb of his mother.
The rishi’s son Shringi came to know about this incident and angrily cursed the king. He cursed that on the seventh day from that day, a snake-bird would bite Parikshit Maharaj. When Shamika Rishi came to know about the curse, he chastised his son. When king Parikshit received the news of his death, he accepted this curse as good news.
Maharaj Parikshit was a great devotee of the Supreme Lord Krishna. He had full faith in the protection of the Lord. He did not try to make any arrangements to protect himself. Instead he immediately gave up his royal duties and went to the banks of the Ganges.
He knew that one who engages in hearing the transcendental pastimes of the Supreme Lord gets liberated from the cycle of birth and death. He desired to associate with great saintly devotees who could speak to him about Krishna. By the arrangement of the Lord, many great saintly devotees also came to the banks of the river Ganges. The great sage Sukhdev Goswami, the son of Vyasadev appeared on the scene. Maharaj Parikshit accepted him as his spiritual master and requested him to narrate the transcendental, glorious pastimes of the Lord.
Being very pleased by the submissive and devotional attitude of the king, Sukhdev Goswami then narrated the nectarean pastimes of the Lord and His various expansions. These are recalled in the book Srimad Bhagavatam.
Maharaj Parikshit was completely absorbed in hearing about the transcendental pastimes of the Lord. Anyone who regularly hears Hari Katha becomes eligible to get liberated from the cycle of birth and death. After hearing the katha for seven days and nights without sleeping, eating or drinking, Parikshit Maharaj fixed his mind on the Lord and meditated on Him. The snake-bird Takshaka bit the king. The body of the kind immediately burst into flames and burned to ashes due to the fire of the snake-bird’s poison.
Parikshit Maharaj went back home, back to Godhead by perfecting his life by hearing the transcendental glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Thus all of us can perfect our life by regularly hearing and reading about the beautiful and transcendental pastimes of Lord Krishna and His different avatars.
Looking forward to seeing all of you in the next class.
Haribol!!!
Gopala Class Teachers
Radhika Mataji
Amutha
After the Pandavas left this material world, Maharaj Parikshit became the ruler of the entire planet. He was a just king. There were no social problems, no crime, no poverty and no disease in his kingdom.
Once when Maharaj Parikshit went into the forest for hunting, he became very tired and thirsty. He entered the hermitage of sage Shamika Rishi who was meditating at that time. The king again and again requested for water but the rishi deep in meditation did not hear him. This enraged the king and he completely lost his intelligence. In his anger, the king picked up a dead snake and placed it on the shoulder of the sage. The rishi’s son Shringi came to know about this incident and angrily cursed the king. He cursed that on the seventh day from that day, a snake-bird would bite Parikshit Maharaj. When Shamika Rishi came to know about the curse, he chastised his son. When king Parikshit received the news of his death, he accepted this curse as good news.
Maharaj Parikshit was a great devotee of the Supreme Lord Krishna. He had full faith in the protection of the Lord. He did not try to make any arrangements to protect himself. Instead he immediately gave up his royal duties and went to the banks of the Ganges.
He knew that one who engages in hearing the transcendental pastimes of the Supreme Lord gets liberated from the cycle of birth and death. He desired to associate with great saintly devotees who could speak to him about Krishna. By the arrangement of the Lord, many great saintly devotees also came to the banks of the river Ganges. The great sage Sukhdev Goswami, the son of Vyasadev appeared on the scene. Maharaj Parikshit accepted him as his spiritual master and requested him to narrate the transcendental, glorious pastimes of the Lord.
Being very pleased by the submissive and devotional attitude of the king, Sukhdev Goswami then narrated the nectarean pastimes of the Lord and His various expansions. These are recalled in the book Srimad Bhagavatam.
Maharaj Parikshit was completely absorbed in hearing about the transcendental pastimes of the Lord. Anyone who regularly hears Hari Katha becomes eligible to get liberated from the cycle of birth and death. After hearing the katha for seven days and nights without sleeping, eating or drinking, Parikshit Maharaj fixed his mind on the Lord and meditated on Him. The snake-bird Takshaka bit the king. The body of the kind immediately burst into flames and burned to ashes due to the fire of the snake-bird’s poison.
Parikshit Maharaj went back home, back to Godhead by perfecting his life by hearing the transcendental glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Thus all of us can perfect our life by regularly hearing and reading about the beautiful and transcendental pastimes of Lord Krishna and His different avatars.
Looking forward to seeing all of you in the next class.
Haribol!!!
Gopala Class Teachers
Radhika Mataji
Amutha
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