Mahabharata Characters 40 – Arjuna 03 – The match made with Krishna as the matchmaker

This talk is a part of the “Fascinating Mahabharata Characters” series. To know more about this course, please visit: bhakticourses.com

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Hare Krishna Welcome back To the Mahabharata character series We are discussing about Arjuna And we are in the middle of Arjuna’s Pilgrimage During his one year exile When he trespassed Into Yudhishthira’s Chamber During Yudhishthira’s private time with Draupadi So Arjuna Continued his Journeys And when Ulupi had left him She gave him A blessing that You will be undefeated In Among the aquatics So She had taken him By the aquatic channel To a different realm Because Arjuna had been bathing And she had a great power Her power was so great that she had overpowered Arjuna also And that’s how she had been able to Whisk him away From near the Ganga To a celestial realm Where they had married So now Arjuna As he was going on pilgrimage He came to A particular place which looked At the same time Very sacred and at the same time Very desolate So he asked the hermits And other people over there Are there any sacred places over here So he said yes There are five rivers Which are extremely sacred And bathing in them gives Great pious credits But unfortunately Bathing in them Is impossible Because there are Terribly strong alligators over there And whoever Enters into those Those Lakes is immediately Sucked in by the alligators And the person disappears So Arjuna Remembering Ulupi his Blessing and thinking This is a positive sign of the ascetics He immediately went to those lakes And he entered into the first lake And as soon as he entered suddenly Immediately he felt His leg being caught by a Crocodile By that alligator and as the alligator Started pulling Arjuna remembered Ulupi’s blessing and then he just pulled And he felt himself filled with Incredible strength And as he pulled the alligator got Pulled out. Now alligator has Tremendous strength Especially in the water which is his own territory As you can drag an elephant Inside So terrific are its jaws And its body is also not Small and tremendous pull it can have But Arjuna by the blessing Of Ulupi had such power. He already as a Kshatriya had great power but the blessing That he would be undefeatable among the aquatics Was even more of a help And he just pulled and the alligator Got the shock of his life It had pulled so many creatures Into the water but here it found That it itself got pulled out and Arjuna Swung his leg and then Hurled it and the alligator Tossed heavily onto The rocks at the coast Of the lake and He expected the alligator’s body to be Damaged if not destroyed by the impact And the scattering Of blood and flesh and bones And a gory scene Surprisingly At that point As soon as the alligator’s Body hit that Blow which was likely to be mortal Suddenly a beautiful damsel Appeared over her She was clearly a heavenly Apsara And she offered her respects to Indra, to Arjuna And he said thank you very much So Arjuna was surprised and he asked Who are you? And what had you done by which You were put in such a Terrible body So now we know that among the 8.4 million species the aquatics are considered to be the lowest And It often occurs to me In a body like that so naturally Arjuna Asked this question So Arjuna lived in a situation where He did not He was not surprised at what happened It is a very significant Arjuna’s question is not that How did this alligator get transformed into Apsara? That was not his question His question was How did Apsara get transformed into alligator? Why? Because he understood That If that is happening it must have a Cause So it must be that there must have been some curse And That curse Must have now ended So he naturally wanted to know what had happened So rather than just getting Caught up with surprising events Arjuna was A deep thinker and he was looking at The surprising causes behind Those seemingly surprising events So then Arjuna asked and She told him That she along with four of her friends They were Apsaras.
Her name was Varga And all of them were very dear to Kubera And at one time when they were Going through a woodland To be with Kubera At that time they saw in that forest A Brahmin Performing austerities Sitting in meditation Absorbed. So now he was handsome And his body radiated with a Ascetic glow And seeing him these Apsaras Felt attracted and they also Thought that we can Show the power of our beauty And they started dancing and singing In order to distract him From his meditation And As they did this more and more Eventually the Brahmin opened his eyes And when he saw them he clearly understood What they were up to And he felt no lust because he had That much control. But he felt anger at their At their frivolousness And at their Excessive sensuousness And he cursed them as you tried To pull me out of meditation Similarly you will Be cursed to pull People out of their Religious meditations So normally when people enter into a river At that time as we sacred rivers People would enter into the rivers and they would They would do bath in the rivers So you would enter into meditation and do Gayathri.
So you will pull people Out of their meditations and you will drag them Into rivers. So That’s how we had become alligators So as soon as we heard the Curse We were Horrified and we fell at his feet And now Varga is telling all this story We fell at his feet and begged for forgiveness And seeing us truly contrite Truly repentant he said that You will be in this condition till a Very virtuous person Will come and who will have the The power by which he will be able to Pull you out And this great person will have great Antecedents in the past and when he does this Then you will be liberated So today that prophecy has come true Varga told him and she Gratefully smiled at him and she said that If you request him please liberate My four other Friends also and then we can go back To Swarga. So Arjuna Oblige her And in this way he served The sages also because then The holy places were freed So that they could bathe there and get Pious credits for doing so Arjuna continued His journey and actually This lake had been named Agastya Agastya Rishi had long obeyed In this lake and it was very sacred But unfortunately for a long time Its sanctity had not been Accessible for people But now Arjuna made it accessible So here we see that a Kshatriya Always acts as a protector And tries to protect citizens from danger Whatever kind of danger might be Then Arjuna went all the way around And eventually he came to Prabha Now when he came to Prabha he wanted to See Krishna but along with that He wanted to see Subhadra also Now how did Arjuna know About Subhadra Krishna had a cousin Gadha And Gadha had also Been a student at Drona’s Gurukul Along with Arjuna And naturally they would discuss about their family members And Gadha talked about various family Members at that time he talked about Subhadra also And told that she was so charming So gentle So cultured So captivating And just by hearing about her Subhadra About Subhadra Arjuna had become attracted to her And he wanted to see her And he wanted to check Whether he had a chance of gaining her hand in marriage And then He came and met Krishna Discreetly He did not go directly into the palace of He did not announce his entry Because as it is he was On a pilgrimage And he met Krishna discreetly And Krishna they talked with each other And when Krishna heard about Arjuna’s pilgrimage He said yes Increase your payas credits That is the best way to use Times like this And then Arjuna Asked Krishna about Subhadra And Krishna said that She is Of marriageable age now And Balram who is the city father He is planning to arrange Her marriage to Duryodhana So now this was This was like a thunderbolt On the heart of Arjuna And then seeing this Krishna already knew That Arjuna had Had attraction To Subhadra He was sweet on her and so He said that If you approach directly I cannot go directly against Balram’s wishes Therefore we should make some other plan And then they discussed and they came up with Extraordinary plan Even if you come to the city directly You will never be able to see Subhadra Because she stays in Balram’s palace And She hardly ever Makes any public appearances It is a very protected Life And the only way you can get to see her Will be if you Dress yourself as a mendicant Balram he has a very generous Disposition towards mendicants and invites them And he feeds them And entertains them at his house and then naturally He asks at such time Subhadra to serve them Because Subhadra by serving Mendicants will also gain Pious critics and that will help her to gain A good husband afterwards So Now Arjuna Looked at Krishna carefully Contemplated and he agreed Now we say that why is he using A mendicant’s garb For doing something like this But the point is that When He took this up It was primarily to ensure that He Would have Subhadra’s Consent also Now Krishna and Arjuna Their plan was that if at all Subhadra Had to be taken then Krishna told Him that you know eventually He plans to marry him to Duryodhana Directly and even if somehow I can stave it off and then Instead of Swayambhara is attained But still we don’t know how things will go out in Swayambhara It is best that you Kidnap her Now kidnap may seem to be A very harsh word but the idea is That there are different kinds of marriages In this particular kind of marriage If the bride Is consenting then the Bridegroom actually exhibits His heroism The warrior who is taking away the Bride at that time By fighting against other warriors Exhibits his heroism and in that way Proves his qualification for taking The bride away So that is also one way in which Things are sanctioned in the Veda There are different kinds of marriages This is one of the kinds of marriages Which is sanctioned So But before doing this Arjuna Was considering Arjuna did not want to take Subhadra away In a marriage If she was not inclined to marry He did not want her to be trapped in a Loveless marriage So He decided to take this Garb so that Subhadra Would get to see him And he would also get to see her And the plan worked to perfection And when Balram Saw this extraordinarily Ascetic, well built Powerful And attractive So he invited him And now he invited him not only to Just come for once For taking food but he invited him to come and stay In my palace itself so Arjuna would stay In the In an area of the palace which was Appropriate for a mendicant It was Not filled with all royal luxuries But it was More a natural setting where he could Meditate, there was a garden And there was a lake and other Things like that in the palace itself And Subhadra served him regularly When first time Subhadra came to serve him She was surprised Who is this handsome looking Mendicant And she saw that this mendicant was also Looking at her with unusually Intense eyes And She was surprised, is he also interested in In a bride He is also interested in Getting married and as she was thinking She felt herself attracted And she thought that actually Even he would be a better bride than He would be a better bride groom than Duryodhana And as she was thinking like this She kept Serving him attentively And this went on For day after day after day and gradually As they kept meeting each other Their attraction increased And Krishna was seeing this And Krishna was happy to see his dear Friend and his dear sister Coming closer to each other And finally when the Chaturmas period During which Arjuna had been staying With Balram And at one place, this is the time Ransits, they don’t travel But they stay at one place So as that came towards the end Arjuna’s one year pilgrimage Is also coming towards an end So Krishna told Arjuna that now is the time For you to act And he gave him his own Chariot And he gave him a Awful chariot, he brought his own steeds Also two of his steeds Shaibya and Sugriva And Arjuna when he appeared at that time He put aside his mendicant robes And he Donned armour He dressed like a powerful Kshatriya And he decided To go Krishna told Arjuna that there is going to be a festival In the Raivataka mountains And That festival, the whole family will be there Subhadra will all be there And that is the best time for you to act In the meanwhile then, before acting this way Krishna decided to check with Subhadra And He, now they were brother and sister So Krishna actually asked Subhadra How she felt about marrying Marrying Duryodhana And she scowled Distainfully And her intentions Couldn’t have been more Clear And then Krishna started speaking about Arjuna You know Krishna is here acting like a Matchmaker And he is acting like a perfect matchmaker over you know He is Making arrangements for both of them And also facilitating the growth of their attraction So When he does this Then he tells Actually he describes Arjuna’s heroism Arjuna’s Qualities And then as he is thinking that Our heart is attracted to Arjuna also And just thinking If only Arjuna could be my husband And Krishna smiled Arjuna also desires to be your husband In fact Arjuna is here In order to gain your hand Now Subhadra was surprised She started looking at Krishna intently Thinking If Arjuna had been here Wouldn’t she have known Wouldn’t everybody have known If the great Hiraikvar and Arjuna had come She looked at Krishna and immediately she understood Oh that mendicant He is Arjuna And her heart jumped in joy And she said She already suspected that That mendicant He walked with the gait of a lion He had shoulders like an elephant His voice like the thundering of clouds He could not be a mendicant He must have been a glorious Kshatriya And that she was Arjuna How had she not thought of him before Thought of that Seen the connection Recognised him She had also heard the Glories of Arjuna from various sources And then Krishna told her Don’t get excited and don’t show any Visible signs of being flustered Or anything like that Don’t let anyone suspect Arjuna will act at the right time And then When the festival was going on Arjuna was in his chariot Looking from near the mountains And then he saw that Subhadra was with her friends Near a Vishnu temple And Arjuna immediately Charged down in his chariot As Subhadra was talking with her friends She suddenly heard the clattering of hooves of horses She turned around and she saw The mendicant whom she had been serving But he was no mendicant The same face was there But everything else was different Here Arjuna was carrying a huge bow And there was a magnificent sword at his hilt Tied to his waist And he was dressed in royal Dresses He looked magnificent and he was Riding forth at high speed Charging right towards her In the chariot Subhadra’s heart leapt with joy At the same time it stopped In anxiety Wondering what would happen But before anybody could react Within the twinkling of an eye Arjuna had swooped down on her Caught her hand, pulled her into the chariot Turned around and fled And Before the Yadus Could understand what had happened Arjuna and Subhadra Had disappeared And as the Yadus realised What had happened They all became infuriated Who dared take our daughter from Amongst us like this Get my weapons And then one of them said Oh that looked like Arjuna Arjuna They were enraged And realising that if this was really Arjuna Then they had a battle on their hands So they immediately charged back into the city And A full Council of war was announced And all the Yadu generals assembled In the assembly And then started speaking Balram said that Krishna, Arjuna is supposed to be your friend But how can he have acted In such an inimical way You know by abducting Subhadra like this He has stamped on our head We cannot tolerate such an insult Indeed I will find him and I will destroy not only him But I will destroy the whole Kuru dynasty And Balram’s words Met with approval And everybody echoed yes yes Actually As this scene was emerging First all the warriors Were themselves very angry And said get my chariot Get my arrows, get my bow Where are my horses, where is my armour I want to charge out right away The Kshatriyas were all in their fierce Kshatriya mood of fighting And as they were getting ready at first Balram said Stop all of you fools Can’t you see that Krishna Is just silently watching all this Surely he has something on his mind And Arjuna is his friend So first let us hear what he has to say And then we will decide So Balram was in command But still he wanted to see what Krishna had to say So he Pacified others as an elder brother He pacified others So that everybody would hear what Krishna was saying But before Krishna could speak Balram wanted to give a peace of his mind And he spoke and actually when he spoke He was voicing the sentiments of all the Other Yadus also And Krishna Was unfazed This was the time when he had to He had to take care of his friend And of course he was the matchmaker So now he had to Make sure that the matchmaking Went off completely Was completed successfully And he said very calmly Pacifying zone He says I do not think that Arjuna has insulted us In fact he has honoured us He said he knew He knew that we would not have Accepted any gifts For getting the hand of Subhadra After all who would give Their own Child as if she were Animal to be bought by payment And Neither would he Want to Purchase a bride like that So by exhibiting The swiftness of his Kshatriya skills He has Shown that He is worthy of her And moreover If you see actually When they went together Subhadra Did not scream she did not protest at all So she wanted this match She was happy with it So why are you objecting It was not a kidnapping It was an escape which both of them Which both of them went together And As Krishna spoke Soothingly he pacified Some of the others asked different questions And Krishna spoke pacifically He said that actually Not only has Arjuna shown his Skills And he has proved his worthiness But along with that So what is the skill the sheer speed with which He could come and take Subhadra That speed is also Very important Important Quality skill Attribute for a Kshatriya warrior In order to gain upper hand in wars and to win wars So he has shown that And along with that He said that The Kuru dynasty Arjuna’s dynasty is also An illustrious dynasty And an alliance with them is surely Auspicious So moreover now that Subhadra has been taken By Arjuna there is no question of Her getting married to anyone else So better Accept the marriage And seal the alliance And make it auspicious By inviting both of them Back and giving them gifts So Krishna spoke so expertly That he turned the tide around Completely Now interestingly When this marriage took place it may appear to be You know what is this A boy and a girl are just running away like this Boy taking the girl away But actually from both sides there were dharmic considerations For a girl Her brother is a protector So Krishna was in full knowing And was fully accepting the plan And Arjuna also When he did this Now he was there for several months In Dwaraka While the relationship with Subhadra Was developing at that time When he realised that this is what he was planning to do He first sent a message To Yudhishthir Maharaj And told him that He was planning to marry Subhadra He knew that such a decision He could not take without the consent Of his elders And Pandu was not there So Yudhishthir was his elder So Yudhishthir agreed And in this way they had both Taken blessings from their Elders in the family And now each of those family members Krishna took the responsibility Of persuading others And then he so expertly Persuaded them that they all agreed And then Balramji Sent messages And both Arjuna and Subhadra Who had decided Arjuna knew that Krishna was expert And Krishna would make some arrangement So they left the vicinity But they did not immediately charge off towards Indraprastha They decided to wait for some time And As they Were going at a leisurely pace The messengers came and they were brought back And their big celibacy Properly the marriage was Consecrated, celebrated And Then along with many gifts Subhadra And Arjuna departed And when Arjuna Came back With Subhadra As the news reached the citizens of Indraprastha They were delighted Now it was Khandavprastha But because Indra had worked his magic Through Vishwakarma, he had to come to be known as Indraprastha And the citizens were delighted And the Pandavas, the remaining Pandavas were delighted Relieved to know that Arjuna had been safe During his pilgrimage Travelling to various places And delighted further to know that Now he had a married Krishna sister And that a stronger alliance would be formed And Subhadra was welcomed into the family And then Arjuna decided to go to meet Draupadi Arjuna was himself Apprehensive Because he knew Draupadi would be Upset So among all When he went to Draupadi and tried to speak to her Draupadi was sulking And she said, why have you come here O Dhananjay, go and be with Subhadra, she will be missing you What business do you have over here So Arjuna Begged forgiveness from her And he said that My affection for you has not dimmed at all I still have affection for you So Draupadi was not at all pacified And she said that A second knot always weakens the first knot No matter How tight it might have been earlier So she implied that When Subhadra has come now Your love for me will decrease So Arjuna Tried to pacify her in various ways But She could not be pacified And he drew back And then he made a plan And he called Subhadra And he told her, dress like a cowherd girl Dress like a gopi And go and wait on Draupadi Now Subhadra, although she was a princess She also understood that She will have to play a submissive role If she is to preserve the family peace And actually she was a younger wife She had been married later And She accepted the family dynamics And decided to humbly And intelligently do her part So She dressed herself In a rustic manner And then she came to the chambers of Draupadi And she had her maid waiting over there She said I would like to also serve Draupadi Serve the queen And she was ushered into the chambers And when Draupadi saw her She said, who are you? He told her She said, I would like to be your servant And seeing her gentleness Seeing her beauty Seeing her Rustic garb Draupadi was not only attracted to her But she was reminded of Krishna Krishna had been Living in Vrindavan as a Gopal And he had lived with Gopis And this reminded her Krishna and then she said She was very pleased to see her And she says, may you be blessed To be the wife of a great hero And the mother of a great hero And Subhadra bowed her head down And she said, so be it And then she looked up, smiled and she said I am Subhadra, Krishna’s sister She was also very intelligent She did not introduce herself as I am Arjuna’s wife Or I am not your She did not snub her in any way She also understood Arjuna’s plan And she played along, she emphasised I am Krishna’s sister And So Draupadi was so happy to see her Gentleness and humbleness She hugged her, embraced her And then they sat down and started talking about Dwaraka and Krishna And they spent hours talking with each other And soon they became the best of friends And in this way Arjuna Made this plan And Subhadra and Draupadi were reconciled So often Whenever there are Situations that come up in life Whenever any relationships may Get weakened or damaged So we have to Always find out What are the common points What are the areas which bring us together Bring two people who are going Adrift together And highlight those areas The more we focus on the similarities The more we can Actually strengthen our bonds Our differences are there And differences also bring spice to the life But spice cannot be the main meal Spice is a Something which is otherwise spices It adds taste But there has to be some main meal That is the main food So like that Our commonalities They are like the main bond That brings us together And the spice brings The additional spice So whenever There are any Reasons for creating Factors which sort of Create weaknesses or wounds In the relationships Then we have to focus on the commonalities And the focus on the commonalities So for those who are sadhakas There is siddha Bhagwan Shri Krishna Krishna and his service Krishna and his representative The spiritual master They are the commonalities When we focus on Krishna Whatever troughs our relationship May go through We will find the spiritual strength To navigate and come out of those troughs And continue in the relationship Not just Making the relationship survive But making it stronger Thank you And in the next session we will discuss About another adventure in Arjuna’s life In fact one of the most adventurous Where he defeated All the gods together In the burning of the Khandav forest Thank you