During the Kurukshetra war, Arjuna’s son Abhimanyu was unfairly, brutally murdered on the thirteenth day. Outraged, Arjuna vowed to kill before the next sunset the warrior most responsible for the atrocity: Jayadratha.

Accordingly, the next day, Arjuna broke through seemingly endless layers of enemy ranks, all arranged for the express purpose of thwarting him. But as he closed in on his quarry, he was attacked simultaneously by six great warriors, just as his son had been the previous day. Arjuna, being an archer par excellence, was able to hold back his scheming attackers. But the sheer volume of their attack prevented him from shooting the final lethal arrow at his target. And he began to despair. He had exhibited incredible speed, skill and will; he had done all he could; and he had come so close. Yet with the sun about to set, he was still stranded so far.

Seeing his devotee’s predicament, Krishna intervened mystically – he covered the sun with his divine disc, thereby impelling his opponents to lower their guards. As they jeered at (what they thought was their) thwarted aggressor, Krishna uncovered the sun. Arjuna seized the momentary reprieve, bypassed the intervening warriors and felled Jayadratha with a celestial missile, thus succeeding in his mission impossible.

In the Bhagavad-gita (11.34), Krishna indirectly prophesies this spectacular success when he assures Arjuna that the foremost opposing warriors including Jayadratha have already been killed by divine arrangement.

The assurance that applies to Arjuna in his outer battle also applies to us in our inner battle, wherein we are thwarted by seemingly insurmountable inner enemies: our selfish desires. If we strive determinedly, doing all we can and pressing on in our quest for selfless spiritual love, Krishna’s omnipotent grace will empower us to emerge victorious.

To know more about this verse, please click on the image

Explanation of article:

Podcast:


Download by “right-click and save content”