FAMILY TREE OF THE KURU CLAN

CHARACTERS IN MAHABHARATA.

The following slide contain the main character of

Mahabharata

SAHEER SEIKH FIROZ KHAN

ARJUN

GAJENDRA CHAUHAN ROHIT BHARDWAJ

YUDISTHIR

PRAVEEN KUMAR SOURAV GURJAR

BHIM

PANKAJ DHEER AHAM SHARMA

KARNA

NITISH BHARDWAJ SAURABH RAJ JAIN

KRISHNA

PUNEET ISSAR ARPIT RANKA

DURYODHANA

MUKESH KHANNA ARAV CHAUDHARI

BHEESHMA

SURENDRA PAL NISAAR KHAN

GURU DRONACHARYA

PRANEET BHATT GUFI PAINTAL

MAMA SHAKUNI

POOJA SHARMA ROOPA GANGULY

DRAUPADI

SHAFAQ NAAZ NAZNEEN

KUNTI

THE BHAGAVAD

GITAThe next slide contains a brief introduction about the Bhagavad Gita..

The Vishwaroop of Krishna

THE BHAGVAD GITA

In the epic Mahabharata, after Sanjya, counselor of the Kuru king Dhritarashtra, returns from the battlefield to announce the death of Bhisma, he begins recounting the details of the Mahabharata war. Bhagavad Gita forms the content of this recollection. The Gita begins before the start of the climactic Kurukshetra War, where the Pandava prince Arjuna is filled with doubt on the battlefield. Realizing that his enemies are his own relatives, beloved friends, and revered teachers, he turns to his charioteer and guide, Krishna, for advice. Responding to Arjuna's confusion and moral dilemma, Krishna explains to Arjuna his duties as a warrior and prince, elaborating on a variety of philosophical concepts.

THE GOTRA SYSTEM

The next slide explains the gotra system

The Gotra System Gotra , lineage segment within an Indian caste that

prohibits intermarriage by virtue of the members descent from a common mythical ancestor, an important factor in determining possible hindu marriages alliances .the name indicates that the contemporary lineage segment acted as a joint family , holding possession in common . Gotra originally referred to the seven lineage segment of the brahmans,who trace their derivation from seven ancient seers: atri, bharadvaja, bhirgu,gotama,kashyapa,vasistha,and vishwamitra.an eight gotra was added early on, the agastya , named after the seer intimately linked up with a spread of Vedic Hinduism in southern India.

The Gotra SystemThe practice of forbidding marriage

between people of the same gotra was intended to keep it free from inherited blemishes and also to broaden the influence of a particular gotra by wider alliances with other powerful lineage s. The system was to some extent, adopted by non Brahmins to take some prestige enjoyed by them.

MARRIAGE IN HINDUISM

The next slide explains various types of marriages in Hinduism

Arjun aiming at the fish’s eye

MarriageHindu Marriage joins two individuals for life, so

that they can pursue dharma (duty), artha (possessions), Kama (physical desires), and moksa (ultimate spiritual release) together. It is a union of two individuals from the opposite sex as husband / wife and is recognized by law. In Hinduism, marriage is followed by traditional rituals for consummation. In fact, marriage is not considered complete or valid until consummation. It also joins two families together. Favorable colors are normally red and gold for this occasion.

Types of MarriagesBrahma marriage The Brahma marriage is the marriage of

one's daughter, after decking her with costly garments and with presents of jewels, to a man of good conduct learned in the Vedas, and invited by oneself.

Daiva marriage The Daiva rite is the marriage of one's daughter, decked with ornaments to a priest who duly officiates at a religious ceremony, during the course of its performance.

Arsha marriage Arsha marriage is when the father gives away his daughter, after receiving from the bridegroom a cow and a bull or two pairs of either as bride price.

Prajapatya marriage Prajapatya is when a girl's father gives her in marriage to the bridegroom, treating him with respect, and addresses them: 'May both of you perform together your duties

Types of MarriagesGandharva marriage The voluntary union of a maiden and

her lover which springs from sexual desire is called Gandharva marriage.

Asura marriageAsura marriage is when the bridegroom receives a maiden, after having given of his own free will as much wealth as he can afford, to the bride and her kinsmen.

Rakshasa marriage Rakshasa marriage is the marriage of a maiden involving her forcible abduction from her home after her kinsmen have been slain or wounded.

Paishacha marriage When a man by stealth seduces a girl who is sleeping, intoxicated, or mentally challenged, it is called Paishacha marriage. This is condemned in the Manusmriti as a base and sinful act

KRISHNAThe Supreme Being

KrishnaKrishna is often described and portrayed as an

infant or young boy playing a flute as in the Bhagavata Purana or as a youthful prince giving direction and guidance as in the Bhagavad Gita. The stories of Krishna appear across a broad spectrum of Hindu philosophical and theological traditions They portray him in various perspectives: a god-child, a prankster, a model lover, a divine hero, and the Supreme Being..The principal scriptures discussing Krishna's story are the Mahabharata, the Harivamsa, the Bhagavata Purana, and the Vishnu Purana. He is also known as Govinda and Gopala.

Krishna's disappearance marks the end of Dvapara Yuga and the start of Kali Yuga (present age), which is dated to February 17/18, 3102 BCE..Worship of the deity Krishna, either in the form of deity Krishna or in the form of Vasudeva, Bala Krishna or Gopala can be traced to as early as 4th century BC. Worship of Krishna as Svayam Bhagavan, or the supreme being, known as Krishnaism, arose in the Middle Ages in the context of the Bhakti movement. From the 10th century AD, Krishna became a favorite subject in performing arts and regional traditions of devotion developed for forms of Krishna such as Jagannatha in Odisha, Vithoba in Maharashtra and Shrinathji in Rajasthan. Since the 1960s the worship of Krishna has also spread in the West, largely due to the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

EKLAVYA

The True Disciple

The TRUE DiscipleEklavya is a character from the epic Mahabharata. He was

a young prince of the Nishadha, a confederation of jungle tribes in Ancient India. He was son of Vyatraj Hiranyadhanus, the king of the outcasts in the Kingdom of Magadha. Eklavya aspired to study archery in the gurukul of Guru Dronacharya (Drona), the greatest known teacher in the use of weaponry and martial art knowledge at the time.

THE TRUE DISCIPLEEklavya sincerely sought the mentorship of Drona in

weaponry and martial art. However, since Eklavya belonged to the lower castes, he was denied access to Drona's mentorship. But because Eklavya was self-motivated and was determined to learn from Drona, what he did is a phenomenal feat of dedication and imagination strategized to extraordinary learning activity leading to mastery of the art. Eklavya created an image of Drona and took the image as his guru monitoring and inspiring him. He practiced the arts of Drona in front of Drona's image. When Drona and his more fortunate disciples came to practice in the forest, Eklavya used to secretly watch from behind the trees and build upon those tips by self-practicing and showing his work to the pseudo guru he created himself in the image of Drona.

ARJUNThe Valiant

Warrior

ARJUNA Arjuna was born into the royal family of Hastinapura. He

was acknowledged as a son of Pandu by his first wife Kunti, though he was fathered by the grace of the god Indra , rather than by Pandu who was cursed that he would die if he tried to father children. Arjuna was the third son, after Yudhishthira and Bhima. Younger to him were the twin sons born of Pandu's second wife Madri, Nakula and Sahadeva.

After the death of Pandu (and Madri's subsequent suicide), the Pandavas and their mother lived in Hastinapura, where they were brought up together with their cousins, the Kaurava brothers. Along with his brothers, Arjuna was trained in religion, science, administration and military arts by Drona and Bhisma.

One day, when the princes were playing a game, they lost their ball in a well. When the rest of the children gave up the ball as being lost, Arjuna stayed behind trying to get it. A stranger came by and extracted the ball for him by making a chain of "sarkanda" (a wild grass). He threw the first one to pierce the ball, then the second one to pierce the free end of the first one and then the third one to pierce the tail of the second one and so on till he could reach it. When an astonished Arjuna related the story to Bhishma, Bhishma realized that the stranger was none other than Drona. He ordered Arjuna to call the sage and asked him to become the Kuru princes' teacher. Seeking refuge from Panchala, Drona agreed.

WOMEN : NOW AND THEN

WOMEN NOW AND THEN

It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness .A proverb: To the women Gandhiji gave a directive to become fearless and courageous and work for their own emancipation as well as freedom for their nation . “Devine souls take birth such houses ,where the women are respected .where they are not respected . Where they are not respected ,all works becomes useless there.”Women are worthy of worship. They are the fate of the household, the lamp of enlightment for all in the household. They bring solace to the family and are integral part of the family life. Even heaven is under control of women. The god resides in those household where women are worshipped and in households where women are slighted all her efforts at improvement go in vain .Yagnavalkya also had also the same opinion about women .They are embody of all divine virtues on earth and also that gandharva has given them sweetness of speech, soma has bestowed all his purity on them and fire has showered all his brilliance to make them most attractive . Similar ideas are expressed in Mahabharata and Ramayana too. In Mahabharata it is considered that at the center of social organization man supposed to respect the will of his wife and adore her .On the contrary there was too much written against the women. Women were considered fickle minded and not worthy of trust .

WOMEN :NOW AND THEN

They were seen as an object for lust of men, to serve men and to provide them progeny .It is said in Mahabharata that women is the root of all evils .There is no creature more sinful than women. She is burning fire ,she is the illusion that “daitya maya “ created. She is the sharp edge of razor. In the Ramayana description of women” Faces of women are like flowers, their words are like drops like honey, but their hearts are like sharp razors ,the interior of them no one can know. these statements are given in the same contextual whose generalization are fallacious .In this study we wish to judge the real picture through analysis of socio-economic, political and religious institutions .Efforts are made to understand the positions of women in different period of time .Vedic period :Women are regarded like mother goddess A symbol of life with immense capacity of tolerance and sacrifice hence they had respectable place in society. In ancient Rig-Veda period: Social Sphere :Women were co partners of their husbands in their life ,all pleasures, joys enjoying and bearing pain and sorrows together. Women used to enjoy freedom in their personal life ,all pleasures,joys enjoying and bearing pain and sorrows together .Women used to enjoy freedom in their personal life and had acces to education and thus society due respect to

WOMEN : NOW AND THEN

They were also familiar with social and political and playing significant role in those matters, They would also attend meetings with men. Women's role in society was pivotal..They were also familiar to social and political life and participated in these matters They were allowed to attend meeting with men .Widows were allowed to remarry. Divorces were not permissible for both men and women.

Ankur Agraj