IPL’s Mega Auction Began with Huge excitement but concludes with Supply issues…

VIVO IPL 2021 – Mega Auction – TATA IPL 2022

IPL is coming back to entertain the Indians in India after two continuous seasons in UAE. The COVID Pandemic made sure that India cannot host the tournament. Even though the 2021 edition did see 40% matches in India, the COVID cases pushed the tournament and took it to UAE. Since then many things have changed. The World’s best and biggest cricket league IPL faced political tensions after the Galwan Valley attack by the Chinese Soldiers. VIVO was removed as the sponsor in 2020 but came back as the main sponsor again in 2021. Come 2022, VIVO is permanently removed as Title Sponsor.

Tata group to replace Vivo as IPL title sponsor from this year | Sports  News,The Indian Express

One of the best things to happen for the IPL is the Indian brand picking the sponsorship. TATA is a highly respected company in India and will pay 670 crores as sponsorship. The sum of 670 crores is 200 crores higher than what VIVO promised to pay. This deal will mean a win-win situation for both IPL and TATA. As per the deal, TATA will remain as the main sponsor even for the 2023 edition…

The Mega Auction witnessed Mega Action…

600 players went under the hammer for the 15th edition of IPL. With two new teams added to the tournament, there is fresh excitement. The Lucknow Super Giants and the Gujarat Titans are the two new teams in the IPL from this edition. The auction was a perfect curtain-raiser and a super-duper show before the main event in April. The Auction had started on Saturday and concluded in the late evening on Sunday 13th February. Unfortunately, Hugh Edmeades the chief auctioneer collapsed right after 2 hours of auction action due to hypertension. He was replaced by the Indian Charu Sharma and he did a decent job and conducted an auction.

IPL 2022 auction - 'Just get into a suit and come' - two unusual days in  the life of Charu Sharma

Auction always brings surprises, disappointments, happiness, pain and has its share of strategic decisions. While the teams are bound by their strategies and tactics, every player thinks he is good to be picked by at least one team. But in the end, not every player gets picked. Because all that the teams need is a maximum of 25 players which is 220 players excluding the retained players.

The new teams have done extremely well at the auction and picked exciting players. The same was true for the older teams too. All this is judged as per the teams on the paper and nothing of that sort matters on the game day. So, on paper teams like SRH & RR look the weakest. That’s because these teams lack the players who have match-winning performances under their belt. But as I said, nothing matters than the perfection of the skill on the match day.

But… is the much-spoken IPL Auction a fair process of building squad?

Currently, the process that is practised in the IPL is the auction process. The teams are given a limited amount and the limit right now is 90 crores. The teams are expected to buy a minimum of 18 players and a maximum of 25 players within this budget. As per the rules, each team can have 8 overseas players and the rest of them will be Indian players.

I have a strong opinion and this is completely mine. With due respect to the IPL committee and the other people, the Auction system is turning out to be boring. Yes, there is transparency and every purchase of the player happens under the watchful eye of BCCI and IPL. But this is in a way damaging the teams and of course the players. I feel the auction system of purchasing players should be done away with. We have to move forward to the system of drafting by introducing a ‘transfer market’.

This isn’t a new method. It is already in practice in the major football leagues in the world.

Following should be the changes made to the squad building system:
  1. Do away with the Auction system and bring in the concept of the transfer market.
  2. Let the player and the team decide the salary to be paid.
  3. Don’t have unnecessary restrictions on the purse size. This will bring skewness and create a huge gap between highly paid and low paid players.

IPL Auction 2022: Complete list of sold and unsold players of CSK, DC, MI,  KXIP, RCB, RR, SRH, KKR, LSG, GT Team Wise

The teams are bound to field in the best team. It can not be always made within the number of players that the IPL decides. Many teams in the current auction did come out and complained about the lack of players matching their needs. This is a serious concern. If a franchise is unsatisfied it will bring down the confidence in the teams. If the IPL doesn’t act in the best way possible, the IPL may go back to 8 teams. To save the IPL’s brand value which is now hovering around 6 billion dollars and to quickly take it to 10 billion dollars, creative and unique decisions are important.

There are already rumours of bringing the ‘drafting’ process for the players from the next season. If that’s true, let us see how it will be the next edition!

India wins the U19 World Cup for the record fifth time!

Indian U19 Team showed the world, ‘Who is the Boss’!

On Saturday, 5th of February, the Indian U19 team defeated the England U19 team to clinch the World U19 World Cup title. The match wasn’t the best of the finals we have seen in modern-day cricket. Except for a phase of 5-10 overs in the final, throughout the tournament, the Indian team looked way better than the other teams. India didn’t get enough practice due to the pandemic but still, the structure of Indian cricket and the system adopted has made sure the team gets proper training. The National Cricket Academy should be given complete credit for outstanding performances by the India A and India U19 teams.

ICC U19 World Cup 2022 Live Streaming And Live Telecast Details

For any team to be successful there has to be perfection from the grassroots levels. That is exactly what the team India and BCCI is planning to improve in the coming days. The current structure of Indian Cricket has got three levels, India U19, India A and Indian Senior team. The idea is to make the structure wider and deeper by adding two more levels. The other two will be India U16s and the Emerging India team. All this is important because the BCCI is the richest cricket board in the country and the ICC in a way listens to BCCI. But what’s more important for India is to win matches and tournaments at the highest level.

Trophy Droughts at Senior Level vs Abundance of Trophies at Junior Levels

India has last won the ICC trophy at the senior level only in 2013. Since then, we have played more than half a dozen ICC events but haven’t won any. Whereas on the other hand, the Indian U19 team has played five U19 World Cups and have qualified for finals four times. Importantly, India won the trophy twice, once in 2018 and 2022. This kind of gives evidence of the mismatch between the performances of the teams at two different levels. This could be because the performance of the Indian team is the best or the other teams are not strong enough at U19 levels.

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly Leads Congratulatory Messages For India's U19  World Cup-winning Team | Cricket News

It is the headache of the BCCI to not just find the reason but also find a solution for this. While captaincy plays a very important role, the team composition, the risks, the victories in phases are all important. The Indian team will be reaching an inflexion point soon. The senior pros like Virat, Rohit, Ashwin, Dhawan, Jadeja and others will soon retire. All of these players will play somewhere between 2 to 4 ICC events maximum before they call it off. Certainly, all these deserve a good end to their cricketing career and hopefully, the Indian senior pros play to their potential and win the next ICC event for Team India.

A sensitive issue in the U19 Cricket that ICC is not bothered about…

U19 Cricket is a competition for those who are ‘Under the age of 19’. But this isn’t fully followed and it is a strong opinion of a few cricket critics. In a way, the cricketing world and the fans have accepted that the U19 Cricketers are bound to fake their age. But it isn’t the right way to play the sport. We see young cricketers coming and playing in the international arena and gaining massive respect. But one of the brightest talents could be a day, a month or a year older than the U19s. The player may be best but that should not let the National Cricket Boards give a green signal to fake their age.

Only ICC can do something about this factor and they have to immediately do something to correct this mistake. Players in various countries, especially Asian countries, have a history of faking and misrepresenting their age. We all know who are those countries which involve in this unethical practice. A proper audit and a correct measure need to be taken up by the Cricket Boards along with the ICC to control this error. Otherwise, an alternative tournament with different criteria can be created and a tournament can be played for that.

The Winners of the past U19 editions and the winning Captain…

The tournament was conducted 14 times to date. India is the most successful team with five U19 championships. Followed by Australia who won it three times and Pakistan twice. England, South Africa, West Indies and Bangladesh won it once.

Following are the editions that the Indian team has won and the captain:
  • 2000 – Mohammed Kaif
  • 2008 – Virat Kohli
  • 2012 – Unmukt Chand
  • 2018 – Prithvi Shaw
  • 2022 – Yash Dhull

Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma extend best wishes to India colts ahead of ICC U-19 World Cup final against England | Cricket News - Times of India

Historically, the Captain of the team went on to have a decent career at the highest level. Unmukt Chand suffered injuries, bad form and it couldn’t give him enough chances at the senior level. Other than him, Kaif played for a long time and was a big match-winner. Nobody has to speak about the impact Virat Kohli has had on the Indian team. Prithvi Shaw did manage to get a decent time in the senior and he still has a long future ahead. The latest winner Yash Dhull is also looking like a brilliant find for team India and will surely get his chances at the senior level very soon. All that we need to see now is how the BCCI will manage to make some bold changes and create a team that can win the trophies…

Expenditure Driven, Growth Focused Booster Budget for India after Pandemic…

There was happiness, hope, excitement, projections, suspense, shock and disappointment in the 90- minute budget speech presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. FM presented her 4th successive Union Budget. Of the four budgets tabled by Nirmala Sitharaman, this one is the shortest. Her longest budget speech was in 2020 which was for 160 minutes. Before I give my opinion on the Budget.

Summary of Union Budget 2022-23

Let us look at the top highlights from the Union Budget 2022.
  • The Budget was focusing on 4 pillars – Productivity, Climate action, Financing Investments and PM Gati Shakti Plan
  • Capital expenditure outlay being stepped up sharply by 35.4% from Rs 5.54 lakh crore in CY to Rs 7.50 lakh crore in 2022-23. The outlay in 2022-23 will be 2.9% of the GDP
  • 400 new generation Vande Bharat trains with better efficiency to be brought in and 100 PM Gati Shakti Cargo terminals to be developed during next 3 years
  • ECLGS to be extended till March 2023. The guaranteed cover will be expanded by Rs 50,000 crores to the total cover of Rs 5 lakh crores to aid MSME sector financing needs
  • 5G spectrum auction to be conducted in 2022 for the rollout of 5G telecom services by private players in FY 2022-23
  • Digital rupee to be issued using blockchain and other technologies; to be issued by RBIstarting 2022-23. This will give a big boost to the economy
  • Income tax relief to cooperative societies with a reduction in the rate of surcharge from 12% to 7% for income up to Rs 10 crores
  • Taxpayers can now file an updated return within 2 years from the relevant assessment year
  • Income from virtual digital assets brought under the tax net. Gaines taxable at 30% without any deduction except the cost of acquisition
Analysing the Union Budget 2022:

Naturally, the people from different strata’s had expected something that will benefit them. But once again, the middle-class families are left disappointed as there was no tax rate cut or increase in the exemption limits. Also, from the experience, there was a chance of a populist budget because of the election season.

But it was not to be.

This kind of gives us a hint that the BJP is confident of doing well in the upcoming assembly elections. That said, BJP for the second time running has come up with a budget that is Capital Expenditure driven. As you see in the highlights, the Capital Expenditure of 7.5 lakh crore for FY 2022-23 is huge. Capital expenditure is all about the money spent by the government on various developmental and infrastructure activities. A jump from 5.54 lakh crore to 7.50 lakh crore is a real booster for the economy. The Gati Shakti plan composes of all that is required to build a better economy.

Another important factor for me from this budget is the taxing of virtual assets. With the introduction of 30% taxes on virtual assets i.e. Cryptocurrencies, the Indian government has answered the banning of cryptos. Now it’s clear that Cryptos won’t be banned, but they will be taxed. With the government giving a green signal for Digital Currency, it is understood that foreign Cryptos will not be made a legal tender.

There are other announcements like PM Awas Yojana, Credit Guarantee scheme increased by 50,000 crore to 5 lakh crore. E passports, 5G, River linking, Solar energy, Electric Vehicles are the other important announcements in the budget. Taxpayers were looking for a tax cut or increase in deductions due to higher health expenditure due to the ongoing pandemic. But nothing of that sort was announced. The only saving grace was the option to file an updated return within 2 years from the relevant assessment year.

Finally, is it a pro-socialist or a pro-capitalist budget?

A socialist budget consists of free soaps. Like increased tax deductions, higher tax for the wealthier, subsidies on the products and services, free loans, loan waivers, cash transfers, etc. In reality, there was nothing that came closer to being called a socialist budget. The increased capital expenditure, loan guarantee scheme, reduced tax for cooperative societies, gati shakti plan is a sign of a true capitalist budget.

Even though there were many things left untouched, the government has done an excellent job to come up with a budget that will boost the economy. Every new kilometre added to the national highway will bring development to every stakeholder. This is the best way to bring in the multiplier effect of development in the economy.

The ultimate target of the Government of India is to take India’s GDP to $5 Trillion. This goal is only possible through heavy consumption and that is exactly what the government is trying to do indirectly. In simple words, the difference between the capitalist ideology and a socialist ideology is like a seed and a fruit. The capitalist economy helps the individuals by sowing the seeds and expects them to deliver results that are fruits. Whereas the socialist economy believes in giving the people the fruits which will motivate them to produce more fruits.

Both the ideologies cannot go hand in hand and only one ideology will prevail in the end. We all know that the BJP is a right centre party that believes in capitalism and that is fully reflected in the Budget 2022. All of this will have to result in a better economy and good economic growth!

Bharat tests the ‘mantras’ taught by Vishwamitra and lands himself in new loka…

Bharat is lucky to be studying under the great guru Vishwamitra. Even though there is a blood relation between Vishwamitra and Bharat, Vishwamitra treats him no special. Guru Vishwamitra is at his best during his teaching period for Bharat. Someone who was behind the title ‘Brahmarishi’ kept all his energies on one person and that is Bharat.

Vishwamitra’s belief system was strong and it was guided towards attaining mastery in whatever is studied. Whether it is Medicine, Astrology, Warfare or Relationship. All that Vishwamitra wanted was integration and mastery in every aspect. Guru Vishwamitra deeply believed in the concept of nature. He says ‘Only when a person attains mastery over the five elements of nature, he is a learned man and has completed his learning.’

Let’s look at the subjects that Vishwamitra single-handedly taught to Bharat:
  1. Astrology
  2. Warfare
  3. Concept of Time
  4. Geography
  5. Medicine
  6. Politics
  7. Emotional Intelligence
  8. Physical fitness
  9. Concepts in Science and more…

To teach all the above-listed domains and more, it took around 11 years for Vishwamitra. Throughout the journey, Vishwamitra was focusing only on improving & upskilling Bharat. But because Vishwamitra is in Hastinapur, he also gets closer to his daughter Shakuntala. He plays an important role in the Dushyant’s Kingdom. All this is watched by Menaka from the Indra Loka and she decides to pay a visit. Vishwamitra has long ago left his anger on Menaka. He talks to Menaka on her arrival and he keeps it formal. Shakuntala is a bit shy and uncomfortable in the beginning but slowly she opens up. Everything is going picture perfect. Bharat is enjoying his learning days and Vishwamitra is enjoying the challenge of teaching Bharat.

That one mantra changed the life of Bharat, a new dimension gets added…

Vishwamitra was a wonderful Kshatriya King himself. He even held the title of Chakravarthy for a certain period. Using all his experience and skills, Vishwamitra teaches the usage of different weapons to Bharat. Bharat is now into specialization studies. Vishwamitra teaches Bharat the mantras connected to 5 elements of nature like the Agni Mantra, Vayu Mantra, Varun Gayatri Mantra and more.

One day, towards his final days of education, Bharat goes to the forest. He is around 18 years of age at that time. After hunting, he makes his way to the river Ganga. It is during the rainy season and there is heavy flooding in the river. Knowing that the river is acting in full force, Bharat takes a chance of bathing in the water. He takes off his anga vastram and goes into the river Ganga. That’s when he remembers the mantra taught by Guru Vishwamitra. Bharat gets curious to see if the mantra works or not. He sees a whirlpool and deliberately goes near that to test the mantra. The whirlpool pulls him inside and is pushing him to the base. Bharat then decides to recite the mantra but it doesn’t help him and the whirlpool swallows Bharat and he gets unconscious.

The Matsya Kingdom…

After a few hours, Bharat regains consciousness and for a moment he thinks he is dead and he is in Swarga Loka. But to his surprise he is alive and he is on a bed in a Big room. As he tries to understand the things, the door opens and a beautiful lady walks into the room. As soon as she walks in, Bharat is mesmerised and looks her eye to eye. He then starts looking down and he is stunned. The legs of the lady were like a Fishtail.

Without wasting any time, he asks her who are you? She answers ‘I am the daughter of Maharaj Sursen and you are in the Matsya Kingdom. We are called the ‘Mer people’. Bharat continues to ask her question after question to enquire about the place and habitat. To which she answers ‘We are far advanced than the people on the land. We never fight with others, we have a leader and we follow him. We don’t come out of the water because we never connect with the people on Land and the necessities. Also, no human can come inside because the Humans haven’t reached such advanced technology.’ Bharat then says, ‘Okay fine… but if that’s the case, how did I stay alive?’

Corryvreckan Maelstrom | Fact | FactRepublic.com

Kanya replies ‘Bharat, you are alive only because of the mantra’.

‘The mantra that you were reciting during drowning helped our guards to pick your vibes and bring you here.’ Bharat now asks about the Kingdom. Kanya says ‘ Bharat, My father name is Sursena and I am Jhanvi. There are no fights underwater like the fights on the land. In this kingdom, there is only one King and that is my father Sursena.’

‘You need to thank Guru Vishwamitra for the mantra which saved you’. Bharat then asks her name and she replies that her name is Jhanvi.

Jhanvi gives a bit more insights about the Kingdom. She says ‘Not everyone will be able to come this deep inside the river. You are among the rare people to have achieved this feat. You cannot see anything around you, but there is an invincible bubble’. Jhanvi then says what all are available in the Matsya Kingdom and tells him the importance of technology on their planet.

Guru Vishwamitra, King Dushyant and Shakuntala are all waiting for Bharat to come home. Bharat comes back home after successful use of the mantra. But parents, Dushyant and Shakuntla are angered by Bharat’s actions…

Vishwamitra talks to Bharat and tells him the Ten Teachers in one’s life drawn from Nature…

Vishwamitra is now the Guru to his grandson ‘Bharat’. After the request by Dushyant, Vishwamitra accepts the role and starts teaching Bharat. In his first lesson, Vishwamitra is seen teaching Bharat, the lessons that nature teaches to us.

Life is all about learning new things and becoming a better version of oneself. We as humans are blessed with emotional thinking and the power to dream. This is both a negative and positive trait that is enjoyed by no other species on this planet. One always searches for ways to become successful for which he or she reads books, observe people, listen to people and set a role model.

In reality, we don’t need anybody to keep us motivated and passionate. Nature by itself is the greatest guru and it teaches uncountable lessons. Life will present infinite problems to you; nature will give you solutions for all those issues. From the limitless lessons we can learn from nature, here are the ten elements that will act as 10 teachers.

All of them are from nature. They are:
  1. Earth
  2. Water
  3. Wind
  4. Fire
  5. Sky
  6. Sun
  7. Honeybee
  8. Elephant
  9. Fish
  10. Caterpillar

Pancha Bhoothalu – The first five elements are called the Pancha Bhoothalu. As per the ancient rituals, the Hindus have great respect for these five elements.

Let us now look at Pancha Bhoothalu

What are the Five Elements or Pancha Bhutas?

Earth

Mother Earth or Bhu Devi is the only planet known that supports life. Earth teaches us the trait called ‘patience’. This is because the earth goes through immeasurable pain through various human activities like ploughing, drilling, digging and innumerable acts. Bharat listens to Vishwamitra and asks ‘Why one needs to have so much patience? Vishwamitra says ‘If you don’t have patience, you cannot understand the feelings and message of the other person. You will be blinded and see just one side. Patience will bring the element of calmness and help you in listening to another person without any bias’. He also says, ‘People generally think that those with patience are weak and helpless. But that’s not true. Patient people have the power to remain tolerant and accept others points. This is the only way to deal with things. You don’t have to change your belief system for the sake of others. But you need to listen and be relentlessly good listener’.

Patience (Sabr). Having patience in the face of all… | by Kamarun Kalam BA  SW/ BACP Acc | ILLUMINATION | Medium

Water

Water: Next element in nature to teach us an important lesson is Water. The Source of water is rain. Rain is a cleanser. Rain falls everywhere and also places which are dirty and cleanses it. Vishwamitra says ‘We need be the person to clean the unscrupulous, bad and damaged souls.’ There are both clean places and dirty places in this world and Rain without any bias touches both of them. Just like how Rain falls everywhere and purifies the places, a king needs to be the one with the quality of purifying people’s thoughts fulfilling their aspirations.

Why is Rain Water Harvesting Important? | Carlow Tanks

Wind

The third element is Wind and it teaches us Impartiality. Vishwamitra says ‘Wind moves in all the directions without any restrictions or favouritism, a King has to be similar to Wind. Whether it is poor, family person or any other person, the rules, justice, schemes and policies should be the same.

Airflow Art | Features | Illinois Tech Magazine

Fire

The fourth key element as per Vishwamitra is Fire. Vishwamitra says ‘Fire is the first element that we use in all our rituals. We use fire as the practice of ‘Sacrifice’. Fire burns the evil energies and turns them into ashes. The other way of looking at it is, Fire burns and illuminates. So, King or any individual should be willing to burn in the fire of knowledge to illuminate people’s lives.’ In simple terms, we should be able to share our knowledge and bring awareness to people.

1500+ Fire Pictures | Download Free Images on Unsplash

Sky

The fifth important element is the Sky. Vishwamitra says ‘Sky is the protector. It protects us from evil forces coming from outer space. Unwanted elements try to come to our place from outer space but they are stopped only because of the Sky’s force. A King also should be like Sky, the one who sits on the top and protects every individual in the Kingdom from the attack of external forces. He has to be the first protector.’

Sky - Wikipedia

The above five are from the Pancha Bhoothalu. Now we move to the next five gurus from nature…
Sun

Sun is the ultimate source of energy for every being on this planet. There are two key events connected with Sun every day. They are Sunrise and Sunset. In both, Sunrise is considered to be most effective and something that drives positivity. Sun sustains life on earth. Vishwamitra says ‘King should be like the sun. He should be the epitome of positivity. King must preach and practice optimism. Thus King should be like the Sun to his people and the Kingdom.SUNRISE: Wish to enjoy a spectacular sunrise, sunset? We'll tell you where to go - The Economic Times

Honeybee

The seventh element is Honeybee. Vishwamitra says ‘Honeybee is one of the few species on this planet which works tirelessly but not for itself. Honeybee teaches us the importance of hard work. The bee moves all around in search of nectar. It collects all of it and stores it. Before it can consume, it dies. In my view, King should believe and enjoy working hard. Nothing comes easy and the King should be the leading from the front and take everything as it comes without giving up.’Scientists Have Some Wild Ideas for Solving Our Big Bee Problem

Elephant

The Elephant is a huge mammal that is known to be the strongest and largest living animal. That’s the physical appearance of an Elephant, the other trait of an Elephant is the ‘Memory’. Vishwamitra says ‘King should be like an elephant. Even though King is busy with hundreds of things, he should never forget anything. He should remember every activity and action of every individual.ELEPHANT MEMORY | Cartoon Movement

Fish

Fish is known for swiftness and the ability to escape from the clutches of the fisherman. Vishwamitra says ‘Just like the way Fish has the power to get away from the capturers, King should also be prepared for crisis. King should have the cleverness to come out of the capture of enemies. The fish trap is net, but for the King, it will be emotions and the army trap. So, King has to master the art of getting out of the Traps and master escaping’.Fishing nets, Royalty-free Fishing nets Vector Images & Drawings | Depositphotos®

Caterpillar

The tenth element according to Vishwamitra is ‘Caterpillar’. Vishwamitra says ‘Caterpillar does look ugly sometimes. But it has the power to transform. This insect can change its shape, skin, colour and evolve continuously. A King should also be like Caterpillar. He should evolve as per the situation and let go of the negative situations. For a King, there’s no teacher. Because Kingship is the ultimate authority and you should evolve and learn on his own.’New Creatures in Christ - The Returned Missionary - Live the Gospel & Your Dreams

These lessons from Vishwamitra lay a very strong foundation for Bharat in his pursuit of knowledge and his education takes off from a perfect platform.

Parashuram is forced to get out of the World and Shakuntala comes in search of him…

We have travelled all the way from Shakuntala wanting to meet Parashuram and seek revenge on her husband Dushyant to the birth and full story of Parashuram. Today’s post will give a review of the story to date…

Jamadagni and Vishwamitra are born at the same time and are of the same age. Coincidentally Parashuram and Shakuntala are also of a similar age. That is because Vishwamitra is the daughter of Menaka and not from his first marriage. Vishwamitra first got married at the age of 18. He ruled the Kingdom for about 15 years and when his elder son Deval was 12 years old, he left for the forest.

As Deval is very young and not ready for Kingship, Satyavati takes over as Rajmata. On the other side, Jamadagni got married late and we know the story of him visiting Agastya Muni and marrying Renuka. At that moment, Renuka was just 18 years old and Jamadagni was 34 years, the age gap was 16 years.  At that time Vishwamitra was in the forest, Shakuntala is born there to Menaka. Far away from the forest, Renuka also gives birth to Parashuram in a few years.

How could Dushyant forget Shakuntala after having Loved Her So Much?

We have seen the whole saga of Menaka being forced to leave the forest and Vishwamitra leaving Shakuntala in Kanva Maharshi ashram. She then grows and meets Dushyant and married him and gives birth to Bharat. But after all that, Dushyant leaves her with Bharat, when she was just 17 years old. She then waits for Dushyant to come back for 5 years, but he doesn’t turn up, so she goes to confront Dushyant in Hastinapur and he refuses to accept her and humiliates her. She walks out of the place leaving Bharat in the custody of Dushyant.  Around the same time, Parashuram finishes Ashvamedha Yajna and is pushed out of the world. Not knowing that Shakuntala goes searching for Parashuram to seek revenge on Dushyant who humiliates her.

Will Shakuntala meet Parashuram and fulfil her wish?

Shakuntala discusses her issue with Kanva Maharshi. Kanva Maharshi listens to her and says ‘Shakuntala, I understand your pain. But remember dharma doesn’t allow a Brahmin girl like you to marry a King. In my opinion, only your father can help you with your problem.’

Shakuntala starts her journey to Kanyakubj and not to Ayodhya. Because after all the destruction and Yajna, Vishwamitra respectfully asks Vasishtha to go back to Ayodhya and be a Kula Guru. There is a strong intention behind this for Vishwamitra. By then Vasishtha is already a Brahmarishi but Vishwamitra is not. If he has to achieve that, he should explore and meditate more.

VishvaMitra Brahma Rishi – VishvMitra

The other way of becoming Brahmarishi is another Brahmarishi calling you Brahmarishi. Everyone knows Vasishtha wouldn’t do that because he suffered at the hand of Vishwamitra. Thus, right after Ashvamedha Yajna, Vasishtha moves to Ayodhya and Vishwamitra moves to Kanyakubj.

Shakuntala meets her father Vishwamitra and cries out her pain…

Shakuntala finally meets father Vishwamitra. The rishi knew her arrival and welcomes her. All of this is witnessed by Menaka from swargaloka. Shakuntala says ‘Dear Father, you are responsible for everything that has happened to me.’ Vishwamitra replies to it by saying, ‘Daughter, an unfortunate event happens for something fortunate’, ‘Understand that you don’t have an idea, whom you have given birth to. Also, you have got my genes which makes you angry. The same anger made me banish Menaka from my life. Unknowingly you are also doing the same to your husband Dushyant.’.

‘Dushyant is your husband. Why do you have to punish him for the mistake? He did that because he was trying to follow his Dharma. Understand Raja Dharma is more important than anything. Don’t you know that Dushyant is 30 and still unmarried? And whatever he said about your birth was right. I may be sage, but Menaka was a prostitute. Whatever he said is not fully wrong. At the same time, things have to change for good.’

‘Father, I understand whatever you are saying. But what is the solution now?’

‘Dear Daughter… you have two options in front of you…

‘One is to kill your ego and stay with Dushyant or stay here and live all alone. Going to Dushyant you will be queen and live with your son Bharat. But if you decide to live with me, you will have your self-respect.’

Shakuntala takes some time and decides to go back to Dushyant. But on one condition, she requests father Vishwamitra to come along with her. Vishwamitra happily accepts the condition and both of them go to Hastinapur.

Hastinapur Calling - Open The Magazine

Seeing Vishwamitra, Dushyant is pushed into mixed emotions. He is scared and happy. Happy because Shakuntala has come back, sacred because Vishwamitra might punish him. Dushyant immediately falls on the feet of Vishwamitra.

Vishwamitra says, ‘King Dushyant, I am not unhappy with you. I understand why you have done certain things in life. Let me tell you, we are in Treta yuga which started after Bhagwan Parashuram decided to rest in Gokarna. During this yuga, People are pushed into Dharma Sankat. So, you have done what is your dharma towards the people as kin. I have come here to leave my daughter. Do take care of her and give the right education to Bharat.’

Dushyant then tells, ‘Guruji, we don’t have the opportunity to seek services of Dattatreya. All we have is a great guru like you and I want you to teach Bharat. Make him the greatest of King in history.

Vishwamitra agrees to it and becomes the guru for Bharat who in future becomes a Chakravarthy on whose name we still call this country as Bharat.

Parashuram, the ‘Vishnu’ avatar is forced to leave the Earth even after great deeds!

Parashuram victory and a successful Ashvamedha Yajna bring a sea of change in society. The ritual of Bali gets completely abolished and it is attributed to the bravery of Parashuram. The practise of sacrificing animals and offering to the gods and goddesses was eliminated. When this was stopped, everyone was very happy because everyone wanted it but nobody could dare to go against the centuries-old practice.

Seeing whatever is happening in the Sapt Sindhu, the greatest of sages Rishi Kashyap, Rishi  Vasishta and Rishi Vishwamitra is all happy. Ruchik and Satyavati are also watching everything with a lot of happiness and a sense of accomplishment. The Yajna is successfully over and the concentration now shifts to the announcement of the new King.

Kashyap says ‘Parashuram, you have done an unthinkable job and brought everything under control. My time at this place is now over and I will have to head back to my place. It is your duty now to take care of the Kingdom and rule with purity and that’s your Dharma’. Sapt Sindhu was so confident to see Parashuram ruling the Kingdom. Not just the Sapt Sindhu but the entire human civilization encompassing rulers of Europe, Africa, China and everyone else were looking forward to Parashuram leading the World. In a way, Sapt Sindhu was truly the rich and most powerful Kingdom in the World.

Parashuram decides not to be the King, Kashyap is the new king of Sapt Sindhu…

Parashuram goes into deep thinking mode and comes with a reply that stuns everyone. He says ‘I am very happy with the present state of the Kingdom. I was unhappy with the arrogant and ignorant behaviour of the Kshatriyas, but now things have changed for good. Because I killed thousands of people to bring this change. I have removed greedy Kshatriyas and now there is order in society. But, I cannot and don’t want to be the King. It is because I never intended to be one. I prefer living a life like a Dharmic Brahmin just like my great grandfather Chavan and other Brahmins. So, this Kingdom is not mine, I request you to take over as the king and rule this land of Dharma’.

Uživatel विपाशा na Twitteru: „Rishi Kashyap and Mekka connection: Rishi  Kashyap had four wives, Aditi, Diti, Danu and khas. Children from Aditi  called Aditya or Dev,Daitya from Diti, Danav from Danu and

He continues by saying ‘You are the best at this because you are the one who’s responsible for Human Civilization. You are the reason behind the birth of Suryavanshis and Chandravanshis. So, you should be able to bring order to society.’

Everyone is aghast with this decision taken by Parashuram. Whereas Kashyap humbly accepts it but not before dropping the most unexpected bombshell.

Kashyap, the new King orders the expelling of Parashuram…

Kashyap says ‘Parashuram, I am going to take up this role of King and I will rule happily and keep it safe from any evil energies. But listen to me I have a condition before I take this responsibility. Parashuram says ‘Please tell me what it is…’.

Kashyap says ‘Oh Parashuram! You have seen injustice and you decided to remove it. Remember one thing, the world is made up of a mixed set of people. There will be creatures that are good and bad. Society is made up of positives and negatives. Just because you believe in a particular lifestyle, you just cannot change it your way. If people are greedy, let them be. You have to leave them to fate and their Karma. Always there is a reason behind every activity that a man does. Not everyone is supposed to be the torchbearers of Dharma’

‘Also, Parashuram you need to understand that punishing is only and only the duty of the King. No individual is bigger than the rule of law and the King’s orders. Because of your past actions and all that you have done, I order you to be expelled out of my land. You will only step in when I want you to come.’

Listening to this, everyone is puzzled and shocked.

Puzzled because nobody knows where Parashuram can go if the entire world itself is in the rule of Kashyap. That’s when Vishwamitra comes ahead and tells Parashuram, ‘You don’t have to worry about your stay. There is a place that is not under the rule of Kashyap and I will take you to that place.’

All of them start their journey and reach Kolhapur. This is the end of the Sahyadri mountains and the starting point of Western Ghats. Vishwamitra takes Parashuram to the top of the mountain and orders him to use his Pashupathi Astra for one last time with full force. Parashuram listens to the instruction of Vishwamitra and throws the Astra with full force. The Astra is thrown into the Ocean and a piece of land gets opened under the water. This place in the modern days is called Gokarna.

Parashuram makes his way into that open land under the water and stays there forever. He does come back but that’s for a different purpose and in a different yuga.

Parashuram wins the battle against Arjun, but his return to home is the deadliest…

The battle is all over. Arjun is dead and it’s a brutal death. His wife Manorama runs out of the palace to see her husband’s dead body. She is in unbearable pain. Not just the Queen Manorama, but the entire Kingdom is shell shocked. They are now without their King, the Chakravarthy is dead. The news which is difficult to digest…

Parashuram is content with the result. He feels his job is done and wanted to celebrate it differently. Ram visits a goshala and picks up a calf going along with him. He now starts his journey back to the ashram. Parashuram is moving towards the northernmost part of the Narmada River. The path to reach his destination is a bit long due to the presence of the Narmada River. In some time, he reaches the ashram. Things are completely different from what he expects. What he is witnessing is something he never thought of in his wildest dreams. Villagers are dead and the lanes are filled with bloodshed.

Parashuram understands things are not fine and he moves towards his home. He then finds Renuka fainted. He quickly sprinkles water to wake her up. As soon as she gets up, she cried out loud and is shivering with tears. She guides him to another room. Ram enters the room and he is stunned by the visuals. Jamadagni is killed and the head is missing from the body. Parashuram is in pain and anger. He raises his axe and asks mother what had happened? Mother says ‘King’s three sons have come and destroyed everything. They have chopped off father’s head and taken it off with them.’

The real villain behind all this violence and bloodshed = ‘Shukracharya’

Shukracharya used his black magic to see the battle between Arjun and Parashuram. As soon as the Kartivirya Arjun was killed by Parashuram, he reaches to his three sons and informs them about King’s death. Shukracharya fills venom in the three sons and spreads hatred. That results in the deadliest attack on the innocent villagers.

Renuka is crying and crying. Parashuram is only recalling his father’s words ‘Dear Son, Violence is not the solution for everything. Don’t fight…’ Renuka then tells him that the King’s sons have just left. Without wasting any time, Parashuram leaves the calf at home and rides the horse to hunt the sons. Within minutes, Ram finds the sons and in one minute he kills all three. Before the father’s head falls on the ground, he jumps and holds it. Parashuram then takes his father’s head along with him and finishes the funeral following the traditions. All the special people, including Kings and Vishwamitra, come to attend the funeral. Vasishtha is in the Himalayas.

Vishwamitra meets Parashuram personally and tells him the importance of having the right king. Because after Arjun’s death, the appointed deputies of the Kingdoms plan to declare independence. Parashuram asks ‘Guruji, in that case, what should be done?’ Vishwamitra says ‘You have to appoint someone like the King or You should become the king’. For which Ram says ‘I don’t want to be the King. That’s when Vishwamitra says ‘Ok fine… but right now more important thing is to do Ashvamedha yajna. This will establish you as the undisputed leader of the Kingdom. This will send a strong message to Kshatriyas who want to declare independence and stop them from doing it.’

Ashvamedha Yajna

As per the rules, the Ashvamedha Yajna is done only by the married couple. Parashuram is still unmarried. So, he cannot sit for the yajna. The next alternative is his parents. But we know Renuka is a widow. The next best couple is his grandparents Ruchik and Satyavati. Vishwamitra suggests Ram visit the Himalayas and convince his grandparents to sit for Ashvamedha Yajna.’

As suggested by Vishwamitra, Parashuram goes to the Himalayas and on his way, he meets Vasishtha. Vasishtha obliges and helps Ram in finding the location of Ruchik and Satyavati. But Ruchik isn’t ready to sit for the Yajna. Ruchik says ‘Oh Ram, I cannot do this because I have given up on worldly connections. You have to find an alternative and I suggest you check with Rishi Kashyap.’

Jammu Kashmir – Culture and Tradition | RitiRiwaz

Parashuram then makes his journey to the northernmost state of Sapt Sindhu.

The place of Rishi Kashyap residence today is called Kashmir. Parashuram explains the situation to Rishi Kashyap and Rishi Kashyap accepts to sit for the Ashvamedha Yajna. Ashvamedha Yajna is all set to take place in Sahyadri Mountains. As part of the Yajna, a horse is worshipped and the same horse is left off for a year. An army is also sent along with the horse to defeat the King who tries to attack the Horse. But in this case, not an army, but only Parashuram goes along with it.

Instead of the army, only Parashuram will go along with it. In one year, no King was able to defeat Parashuram. During this process, he kills 1000s of Kshatriyas. Finally, the Yajna is complete and on the day of completion, Parashuram looks 20 years older. His axe is dripping with blood. Mother Renuka is shocked to see him in this state. But she is happy to see her son coming back to the Kingdom, in whatever possible avatar.

To kill or not to kill the horse?

The first step is to bring the horse back safely after one year. The final step is sacrificing the horse. This is called ‘Bali’. The preparations are underway for the process of Bali. But there is one man who is standing against this practice. He is none other than the ‘Parashuram’.

About: Ashvamedha - Royal Horse Run (Google Play version) | | Apptopia

In the ancient days, there was never a differentiation between the food habits of the individual. Be it Brahmin, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras. Though there are most preferred food items as per the Varnas. But there’s nothing wrong or sin if a Brahmin eats non-vegetarian. It was a welcome practice in the ancient days.

Rishi Kashyap has to complete the Bali process by chopping off Horse’s head. Right when Rishi Kashyap gets ready, Parashuram stops him. Parashuram says ‘I have killed have thousands of people because they were on the wrong side and committed sins. Historically also only unethical and wrong people get killed. This horse was used for the most sacred purpose. It is because of the horse that we brought back the order in the society. Think once and answer, why do we kill this innocent horse?

Why do we kill the innocent horse?

Parashuram continues ‘From now on, the tradition of Sacrifice or Bali will and should change. No ritual will have the concept of Bali and nobody will kill animals for the sake of sacrifice’

After Parashuram finishes speaking, Vishwamitra comes forward, bows down and falls on the feet of Parashuram. He says ‘You have brought the lost order and the life to the society. We were heading towards destruction and you changed it. It is only because of you this kind of order is possible. We are happy to see you do all that.

This way people present at the location and participants in the Ashvamedha Yajna praise the power of Parashuram and Vishwamitra declares him as the Vishnu!!

 

Chakravarthy Kartirvirya Arjun of Sapt Sindhu gets brutally killed by Parashuram – A Brahmin Boy!

Vasistha tries his best to pull Arjun of the maya of Shukracharya. But he failed in it. Arjun doesn’t give any importance to the words of Vasistha and restarts his search for the Brahmin Boy. At the same time, Renuka and Jamadagni, parents of Parashuram make their way back to the ashram on the banks of river Narmada.

Tired of searching for Parshuram, Arjun decides to teach a lesson to his parents. Although he had respect for Jamadagni and Renuka for a long time, things have changed now. Arjun is more a person who is not in his senses. When he gets the news of their arrival in Ashram near river Narmada, he starts to feel as if a huge conspiracy is been scripted to defeat him and his kingdom. Thus, to put an end to all this speculation, he moves to the ashram, beats Jamadagni until wounds turn bloody and injure Renuka. His tone was rude and divisive. While going back to his Kingdom, he warns them not to conspire anything against him in future

Parashuram achieves his goal of obtaining the ‘Pashupati astra’ and excepts to share his happiness…

Meanwhile, Parashuram finishes Meditation and he is given Pashupath Astra by Lord Shiva. A happy and overjoyed Parashuram wants to show it to his parents. With full excitement, he goes to Kanyakubj, but till then his parents have already left for Ashram near Narmada River. Parshuram is now on his way ashram and while he is travelling, he is happy with everything and recalls the memories with his parents.

But to his shock, the ashram is sabotaged and both the parents are badly injured. Parashuram is very angry and is desperate to seek revenge. But his father Jamadagni stops him and explains to him the power of the King and the duties of Brahmin. But Parashuram is just unstoppable. Till then all his Brahmin qualities are written off and he is now a Warrior, a Kshatriya.

Parashuram says ‘Dear father, the Astra I have with me is the message by god. He wants me to use it for re-establishing the lost dharma’. He quickly turns back and moves to Mahishmati. On the same day, a big Darbar of Kings was happening in Mahishmati. All the Samanta Rajas including Daval, Rohitashwa and Dushyant were all present. This meeting was called by Arjun to take stock of things across the Sapt Sindhu.

Parashuram reaches Mahishmati and he is stopped by the guards. On stopping Parashuram says ‘I want to meet King Arjun’. Guards pushed him away saying ‘He is in a meeting you cannot meet him for next two days. By the way, why the emperor of the world should meet a tiny fellow like you?’

In an irked tone, Parashuram says ‘I have come here to seek justice, your emperor has attacked my parents and I want his apology’. Guards laugh out and say ‘You tiny little boy! If you want money, King will give you that too if you fall on his feet. But your expectations are too much. Just go away from here or we have to use other means.’

The Pashupati Astra is used for the first time and the damage is unbelievable…

Parshuram is in no mood to listen to anyone. He forcefully tries to enter and then four guards stop him. Within seconds all of them are dead. Like that in a fraction of minutes, 100 soldiers try to stop Parashuram and all of them get killed. All this reaches the army general and he is worried. Because his role is to make sure there is no security threat. He then goes with a platoon of the army to attack Parashuram. From minutes it goes to an hour. But the result is the same. All the soldiers including Army General are killed by Parashuram.

What are some lesser known facts about Bhagwan Parshuram? - Quora

Now the message reaches King Arjun. He is in a serious meeting with other Kings and an unexpected message reaches him. Arjun is happy and angry. Happy because the prey is at his place, angry because Parashuram killed hundreds of his soldiers. This time, King Arjun sends ‘6 platoons’ of the army. Along with them, 6 army generals are sent to battle Parashuram. The war is full-on and the powerful Parashuram is killing soldiers like never before.

Somewhere in the jungles adjacent to the Narmada River, the three sons of King Arjun have gone hunting. Shukracharya is right there and he is using his black magic to watch all that is happening in Mahishmati. Back to Mahishmati: Parashuram jumps into the air and uses his Bow to shoot hundreds of arrows to kill the 6 platoons of the army.

Devastated Arjun decides to take on Parashuram…

Arjun is informed about the unfortunate news of armies getting killed and Parashuram approaching the darbar. Arjun gets up and says ‘Now is the time to put an end to this once for all. Brahmin boy, you are now going to see an end to your life.’ Manorama, his wife gets the news of Arjun preparing himself to battle Parashuram. Manorama urges and pleads Arjun not to fight Parashuram. Arjun says ‘I am not committing any sin. I am only doing my bit to save dharma and following Dattatreya’s guidelines. Guru told me nobody can defeat me until I follow the dharma’.

Arjun arrives at the battlefield. He says ‘You tiny little fellow, brahmin boy. You have killed my soldiers without any reason and I will take revenge of every single death.’ A fierce battle takes place between both the warriors. Parashuram then throws a weapon that hits on the chest of Arjun. The injury is so bad that it pushes Arjun to the ground.

If Parshuram was better than Arjuna, then why did he fail to defeat Bhishma  but the same Bhishma was defeated multiple times by Arjuna? - Quora

Arjun says ‘It’s only because of the presence of three of your friends you can defeat me. Dushyant, Deval and Rohitashwa have all betrayed me. I am not going to spare anyone. But first, let me get rid of you…’ Parshuram says ‘Enough is enough you fool. I have respected you but you haven’t fulfilled your responsibility as a King.’

Parashuram takes the ‘Pashupath Astra’ and chops off Chakravarthy Kartivirya Arjun’s head.

Arjun then realises the mistakes he has committed. He remembers all the sins and negative thoughts which drove him to this path. But it is too late… also the story doesn’t end here… the violence doesn’t stop here… more violence and unfortunate events coming in the next post!