Bhakthadasi

We all know that Bhagavan Krishna had eight special wives and then another 16,000 wives . Often people misinterpret and talk with contempt about Bhagavan's gruhasthaashramam or life as a householder. But there is a deep spiritual significance for this story of 16,008 wives.  According to the science of yoga, we have six chakraas including the hrudaya chakram and sahasraara chakram on our head. Let us take the chakra in our chest which is in the form of a lotus with eight petals. These eight petals represent the eight directions whose lord is Bhagavan Himself. This means Bhagavan is the Lord of our heart which can be directed to all eight directions of this universe. This explains the  concept of eight wives of Bhagavan.  Now take the sahasraara chakram which is in the form of a lotus with thousand petals. It is said that Bhagavan dwells in each dalam or petal with all His sixteen attributes or shodasha kalaas. So there are a total of 16,000 attributes of Bhagavan and t

King Yudhishtira's fifth question is  : Ko dharma: sarva-dharmaanaam bhavata: paramo mata:? കോ ധര്‍മ: സര്‍വധര്മാണാം ഭവത: പരമോ മത:? को धर्म: सर्वधर्माणां परमो मत :? (In your opinion,) of all dharmaas which is the greatest dharma?  Answer to this question is in the following sloka uttered by Bhishma Pithamaha: Esha me sarvadharmaanaam dharmodhikathamo matha: yadbhakthya pundareekaaksham sthavaararchennarassadaa एष मे सर्वधर्माणां धर्मोधिकतमो मत : यद्भक्त्या पुण्डरीकाक्षं स्तवैरर्चेन्नरस्सदा  ഏഷ മേ സര്‌വധര്‌മാണാം ധര്മോധികതമോ മത: യദ് ഭക്ത്യാ  പുണ്ടാരീകാക്ഷം സ്തവൈരര്‍ചേന്നരസ്സദാ  Of all the dharmaas, glorifying (by chanting His thousand names)and worshiping (archana) Pundareekaasha with sincere devotion is the greatest dharmam May Bhagavan's divine names bless us to go beyond the repeated cycles of birth and death!!

Fourth question of King Yudhishtira to Bhishma Pithamaha: Kam archantha: (praapnuyu: maanavaa: shubham) കം അര്ച്ചന്ത : ( പ്രാപ്നുയു: മാനവാ: ശുഭം ) कं अर्चन्त: (प्राप्नुयु: मानवा: शुभं ) By worshiping whom one can attain peace and prosperity? Bhishma Pithamaha's answer for this is contained in the same answer to the second question  tameva cha  archayan nithyam bhakthya purushamavyayam തമേവ ച അര്ച്ചയന്‍ നിത്യം ഭക്ത്യാ പുരുഷമവ്യയം  तमेव च अर्चयन नित्यं भक्त्या पुरुषमव्ययम  Those who worship, that Prusha who is beyond "vyayam" or changes, everyday with Bhakthi or deep devotion will attain peace and prosperity  May Bhagavn bless us to know Him more and more 

Third question of King Yudhishtira to Bhishma Pitamaha: 3. sthuvantha: kam? (praapnuyu: maanavaa: shubham)  സ്തുവന്ത: കം? (പ്രാപ്നുയു: മാനവാ: ശുഭം) स्तुवन्त: कं? (प्राप्नुयु: मानवा: शुभं ) Whose greatness one should extol? (for attaining a peaceful and auspicious state) Bhisma Pithamaha's amnswer: Anaadinidhananam vishnum sarvalokamaheswaram lokaadhyaksham sthuvan nithyam sarvadukhaathigo bhaveth अनादिनिधनं विष्णुं सर्वलोकमहेश्वरम्  लोकाध्यक्षं स्तुवन नित्यं सर्वदुखातिगो भवेत्  അനാദിനിധനം വിഷ്ണും സര്‍വലോകമഹേശ്വരം  ലോകാധ്യക്ഷം സ്തുവന്‍  നിത്യം സര്‍വദുഖാതിഗോ ഭവേത്  Glorify that Bhagavan or extol the glories of that Bhagavan who has no beginning or end, one who is omnipresent, the lord of all the worlds and the one who presides over  everything in the world, to remove all sorrows May Bhagavan bless us to know Him more and more

The second question of King Yudhistira to Bhishma Pitamaha is  Kim vaapyekam paraayanam? കിം വാപ്യേകം പരായണം ? किं वाप्येकं परायणं    ? Who is the one refuge of all?  The    answer given by Bhishma Pitamaha : tameva cha  arcchayan nithyam bhakthya purushamavyayam dhyayan sthuvan namasyamscha yajamaanasthameva cha തമേവ ച അര്ച്ചയന്‍ നിത്യം ഭക്ത്യാ പുരുഷമവ്യയം  ധ്യായന്‍ സ്തുവന്‍ നമസ്യംശ്ച്ച യജമാനസ്തമേവ ച  तमेव च अर्चयन नित्यं भक्त्या पुरुषमव्ययम  ध्यायन स्तुवन नमस्यश्च यजमानस्तमेव च  Those who worship, meditate, extol, and prostrate  that Prusha who is beyond "vyayam" or changes, everyday with Bhakthi or deep devotion will be freed from all miseries of life.  That Parama Purusha is the only refuge or life-boat for all those who are crossing this ocean of life.  May Bhagavan bless us to safely cross the ocean of life and reach His abode

After the Kurukshethra war, Bhagavan took King Yudhistira near Bhishma Pitamaha's side who was waiting for the auspicious time for his death on a bed of arrows. Bhagavan wanted King Yudhistira to hear about Dharma from Bhishma Pitamaha. During the discourse , King Yudhistira asked six questions to Bhishma Pitamaha and he answered one question by chanting Bhagavan Vishnu's  thousand names called Vishnu sahasra naamam. Let us explore the six questions and it's answers given in the Mahabharatha.  First question : Kimekam daivatham loke?  കിമേകം ദൈവതം ലോകേ? किमेकं दैवतं लोके? Who is the greatest Lord in the world? Bhishma Ptamaha did not have to think even  for a moment to answer this question; He replied: Jagatprabhum devadevam anantam purshottamam stuvan  naama sahasrena purusha:  sathathothita:  ജഗത്പ്രഭും ദേവദേവം  അനന്തം പുരുഷോത്തമം  സ്തുവന്‍ നാമ സഹസ്രേണ പുരുഷ: സതതോത്ഥിത:  जगत्प्रभुं देवदेवं अनन्तं पुरुषोत्तमं  स्तुवन् नाम सहस्रेण पुरुष