Canto 1 Chapter 10 Flashcards
- Why could Yudhiñöhira Mahäräja not enjoy the results of his victory? (1)
He could not enjoy the results of his victory because his cousins were all killed in the fight. He therefore ruled over the kingdom as a matter of duty, assisted by his younger brothers.
- Why was the Battle of Kurukñetra fought? (2)
The Battle of Kurukṣetra was fought according to the plan of the Lord so that undesirable persons could get out of the world and a peaceful kingdom under His devotee could be established. The Lord was therefore fully satisfied when King Yudhiṣṭhira was on the throne and the seedling of the dynasty of Kuru, in the person of Mahārāja Parīkṣit, was saved.
- How did Mahäräja Yudhiñöhira’s reign favorably influence the world situation? (3-6)
The world was happy in those days
The clouds showered all the water that people needed, and the earth produced all the necessities of man in profusion. Due to its fatty milk bag and cheerful attitude, the cow used to moisten the grazing ground with milk.
The rivers, oceans, hills, mountains, forests, creepers and active drugs, in every season, paid their tax quota to the King in profusion.
Because of the King’s having no enemy, the living beings were not at any time disturbed by mental agonies, diseases, or excessive heat or cold.
- Why is there always the strain of hot and cold war between men? (6)
In this age there is enmity toward poor animals, and therefore the poor creatures are always anxious. The reaction of the poor animals is being forced on human society, and therefore there is always the strain of cold or hot war between men, individually, collectively or nationally.
- Why did the Lord decide to stay in Hastinäpura for a few months more? (7)
The Lord decided to stay especially to pacify the aggrieved King as well as to please Subhadrā, sister of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Subhadrā was especially to be pacified because she lost her only son, Abhimanyu, who was just married. The boy left his wife, Uttarā, mother of Mahārāja Parīkṣit. The Lord is always pleased to satisfy His devotees in any capacity.
- Identify the “extra-natural beauty” of the fair sex as well as its crucial role (16)
Shyness is a particular extra-natural beauty of the fair sex, and it commands respect from the opposite sex.
- Explain why the talk of the ladies on the roofs of all the houses in Hastinäpura was more attractive than the hymns of the Vedas (20)
The Vedic hymns in the Upaniṣads are sometimes indirectly directed to the Supreme Lord. But the talks of the ladies were directly spoken of the Lord, and thus they were more pleasing to the heart.
- List some of the superhuman acts the Lord performs to prove His supreme might (25)
For example, the Lord, when He appeared as Rāma, bridged the Indian Ocean. When He appeared as Kṛṣṇa, from His very childhood He showed superhuman activities by killing Pūtanā, Aghāsura, Śakaṭāsura, Kāliya, etc., and then His maternal uncle Kaṁsa. When He was at Dvārakā He married 16,108 queens, and all of them were blessed with a sufficient number of children. The sum total of His personal family members amounted to about 100,000, popularly known as the Yadu-vaṁśa. And again, during His lifetime, He managed to vanquish them all. He is famous as the Govardhana-dhārī Hari because He lifted at the age of only seven the hill known as Govardhana. The Lord killed many undesirable kings in His time, and as a kṣatriya He fought chivalrously. He is famous as asamordhva, unparalleled. No one is equal to or greater than Him.
- Explain how Dvärakä is more important than the heavenly planets (27)
Dvārakā is certainly more important than the heavenly planets because whoever has been favored with the smiling glance of the Lord shall never come back again to this rotten earth, which is certified by the Lord Himself as a place of misery.
- Why is a person engaged in the devotional service of the Lord recommended to live in Dvärakä, Mathurä, or Våndävana? (27)
Because devotional service in these three places is magnified, those who go there to follow the principles in terms of instructions imparted in the revealed scriptures surely achieve the same result as obtained during the presence of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
- Describe the two classes of devotees of the Lord in the stage of conjugal love (28)
One is svakīya, and the other is parakīya. Both of them are in conjugal love with the Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. The queens at Dvārakā were svakīya, or duly married wives, but the damsels of Vraja were young friends of the Lord while He was unmarried. The Lord stayed at Vṛndāvana till the age of sixteen, and His friendly relations with the neighboring girls were in terms of parakīya.
- Why did the Lord accept the girls fallen into Bhaumasura’s clutches as His Wives
The fallen girls under the clutches of Bhaumāsura sincerely prayed to Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa for their deliverance, and their sincerity of purpose made them at once pure by virtue of devotion. The Lord therefore accepted them as His wives, and thus their lives became glorified.
