Inquiries Into the Absolute: Digest 134, Fate of Pandavas After the

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Digest 134, September 4th, 2005. Answers by His Holiness Romapada Swami

Maharaja

**You are welcome to send in your questions to HH Romapada Swami at

iskcondc with the word "Question" included in the subject line.

 

Fate of Pandavas After the War, Lord Krsna's Departure, Reason for War

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Q 1. What happened to Krishna after Mahabharata? As per my information he was

shot by someone on his foot thinking it to be a deer's eye, but are we telling

that the disappearance of God from this world was just like that? Who ruled

Mathura after His departure?

 

Answer: Mausala Lila or the disappearance of Lord Krishna is described in

response to Digest 60 Question 3:

http://www.iskcondc.org/cgi-bin/renderphilo.pl?digestname=digest60

 

Vajra-Nabha, the great grandson of Lord Krishna became the ruler of Mathura

after the Lord's departure.

 

Q 2. What happened to the Pandavas after the war? As per my information, once

their children were murdered, they left for the Himalayas on the path of

heaven.

 

Answer: After the war, Maharaja Yudhisthira was established as the rightful

emperor of the world. Despite his deep lamentation for the death of so many

warriors, Yudhisthira ruled the planet righteously and peacefully for 36 years,

according to the instructions of Bhismadeva and under the guidance of Lord

Krishna. Detailed narrations of how he ruled the planet with the cooperation of

his brothers are found both in Mahabharata and in Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 1 (Ch

7 - 14 http://vedabase.net/sb/1/en) During this time, King Yudhisthira

conducted many sacrifices and the entire world was very prosperous and all the

citizens including the animals and plants were peaceful and joyous.

 

At the end of 36 years Maharaja Pariksit, the grandson of Arjuna, and the only

surviving descendant of the Kuru dynasty, who was perfectly trained under

Yudhisthira's care, was installed on the throne. At that time, the Pandavas

received news of the Lord's departure from the planet and they also retired and

went to the Himalayas.

 

Q 3. Are we saying that the entire war was fought just to kill Duryodhana, whom

I think was very correct in his thinking except his one mistake of Draupadi

vastra haran?

 

Answer:

Lord Krishna's purpose was to establish the rule of righteous leaders and

reduce the burden of earth in the form of belligerent kings who were simply

interested in personal aggrandizement. By Vedic standards, the king is not only

expected to be an expert administrator but also a representative of God on

earth (nara-deva) who can both uphold the laws of God within society and

facilitate the citizens on the path of spiritual progress. (Please see BG 4.1-2

purports http://vedabase.net/bg/4/1/en http://vedabase.net/bg/4/2/en)

 

Duryodhana obviously did not possess these qualifications, for he repeatedly

demonstrated his disregard for religious principles, not only in insulting

Draupadi but also in the dice game and in his numerous attempts to murder the

Pandavas, in which his primary goal was simply to establish his own supremacy.

Many a times he disregarded and even insulted saintly persons such as Bhisma,

Vidura and even sages like Vyasa and Maitreya Rishi. Ultimately he directly

derided and assaulted Lord Krishna Himself, when the Lord came to the Kuru

assembly as a messenger of peace. How could such a king who had no regard for

virtue be expected to exemplify, protect and guide the citizens on the path of

virtue? Therefore, it was the supreme will of the Lord to remove Duryodhana and

his associates and establish Yudhisthira, just as in the paddy field unwanted

plants are removed. This would serve an instruction to the whole world that

virtue always wins over vice.

 

Please also refer to Digest 46 Some Reasons for Mahabharata war:

http://www.iskcondc.org/cgi-bin/renderphilo.pl?digestname=digest46

 

Digest 49 Character of Karna and Duryodhana:

http://www.iskcondc.org/cgi-bin/renderphilo.pl?digestname=digest49

 

This digest on the web:

http://iskcondc.org/cgi-bin/renderphilo.pl?digestname=digest133

 

All previous digests in one file (with responses to about 400 questions):

http://iskcondc.org/cgi-bin/renderphilo.pl?digestname=digest00

 

Responses to Some Frequently Asked Questions (Karma, free-will, demigods, Lord

Siva, why are we here, how to control the mind, Deity worship, marriage, Jesus

Christ, spiritual and material relationships and morality of Lord Krsna's

conjugal pastimes, spiritual master, spirit soul/jiva/living entity):

http://www.iskcondc.org/cgi-bin/renderphilo.pl?digestname=digest999_faq

 

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** A brief biography of His Holiness Romapada Swami is available at:

http://www.prastha.com/cgi-bin/uncgi/renderphilo.pl?ndx=2

** This and all previous digests are available on the web** They can be

accessed at: http://www.iskcondc.org -> Inquiries into the Absolute

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ISKCON DC Philosophy Website:

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Related Sites: http://www.romapadaswami.com, http://www.caitanya.com

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