Sri krishna Himself takes various incarnations to show mercy to His devotees, for the welfare of the world and for the establishment of Dharma in the world. Lord Vishnu descended to earth at the end of Dwapara in the form of Krishna and Arjun. Arjun was the middle brother of the Pandavas, Arjun was younger than Yudhisthira and Bhimasena and older than Nakula and Sahadeva. His complexion was Navajaldhar-Shyam, similar to that of Sri Krishna.
Commitment towards Dharma
Lord Vyasa and Bhishma pitamaha have said many times in the Mahabharata that there is no one like Arjuna in heroism, vitality, vigour, brilliance, skill in wielding weapons and knowledge of weapons. All the Pandavas were righteous, generous, humble, devotees of Brahmins and dear to the Lord; But Arjuna was an integral part of Sri Krishna. Arjuna has a great reputation for his firm commitment. Due to many curses and blessings of her previous life, Panchal princess Draupadi married the five Pandavas.
There are only three things that are the source of quarrel in the world: women, wealth and earth. None of these three has been as bloody as it has been for the woman. Therefore, by the order of Devarshi Naradaji, the Pandavas made a rule that ‘Every brother should stay with Draupadi for two months and twelve days in order. If one brother is alone with Draupadi and the other sees her there, he must accept twelve years of exile.’ Once at night, thieves stole the cows of a Brahmin. He called out to Arjuna, ‘The king who does not protect his subjects even by taking one-sixth of their income is a sinner.’ Arjun assured the Brahmin and went inside to get the weapon. Where their bows etc. were kept. Yudhishthir was alone with Draupadi.
Protector of cows and Brahmins
On one hand there was the question of protecting the cattle of the Brahmins and on the other there was the fear of exile. Arjun decided, ‘Whatever happens, I will not step back from protecting the surrendered person. The cows were rescued and given to the Brahmin. Now Dhananjay was ready to accept exile.
Yudhishthir explained a lot – ‘It is not a big fault for the younger brother to reach out to the elder brother when he is alone. It was just a normal conversation with Draupadi. Saving the Brahmin’s cows was the royal duty, hence it was the king’s duty. But Arjun was not deterred by all these efforts. He said- ‘Maharaj! I have heard from you yourself that one should not make excuses while following religion. I will not leave the truth. Making rules and not following them is untrue. Thus, taking advantage of his elder brother’s words, Arjun did not get distracted. He voluntarily accepted exile.
A Great Warrior
On the orders of Vyasji, Arjun did penance and went to get the weapon. By pleasing Lord Shankar with his penance and bravery, he obtained Pashupatastra. Other Lokpals were also pleased and gave him their respective divine weapons. At the same time Devraj Indra’s charioteer Matali came to call him with his chariot. Sitting on it, he went to heaven and there he defeated the demons who were enemies of the gods. There he learned the art of dance, singing and musical instruments from Chitrasen Gandharva.
True devotion of Arjun towards Krishna
At the time when Duryodhana went to the palace of Shri Krishna to invite him to join the Mahabharat war, Shri Krishna was sleeping. Duryodhana sat on a seat at his head. Arjun also reached a little behind and with folded hands sat humbly near the feet of Shyamsundar. God got up and welcomed both of them. Duryodhana said- ‘I have come first, so you should come towards me.’ Shri Krishna said that ‘I have seen Arjun before.’ Krishna laughed a little and said – “On one hand, the warriors of my ‘Narayani Sena’ will provide armed help and on the other hand, I will remain alone; But I will not take up arms. Whoever of you is interested, take it; But I have seen Arjuna first, hence Arjuna has the right to ask first.
On one side is the power of God, his army and on the other side is the weaponless God! But a devotee like Arjun did not have to think about anything. He said- ‘I need you. I only want you.’ Duryodhana was very happy. He did not feel the need for a weaponless Shri Krishna alone. The sensual people who desire enjoyment similarly desire the sensual pleasures only. The desire to give up sensual pleasures and attain Shri Krishna does not arise in their mind.
After Duryodhana’s departure, Shri Krishna Chandra said to Arjun – ‘Well, why did you take me alone without a weapon? If you want, I can give you an army bigger than Duryodhana’s. Arjun said- ‘Lord! Why do you tempt me? Apart from you, I don’t even want the kingdom of the three worlds. Whether you take weapons or not, you are the only refuge for the Pandavas.
First receiver of Knowledge of Geeta
It was this devotion, this dependence of Arjun, due to which Krishna became his charioteer. Leaving aside many philosophers and sages, at the beginning of the war, Krishna preached the rare and great knowledge of Geeta from his own mouth to them. He remained merciful in protecting them during the war, just as a mother is always careful to protect her innocent son from all dangers.
Killing of Jayadratha
When Kumar Abhimanyu attained martyrdom by destroying Dronacharya’s Chakravyuh in the war, then Arjun, knowing that Jayadratha was the main reason for Abhimanyu’s death, vowed – ‘If Jayadratha does not come to me, then I will kill him before sunset tomorrow. If I don’t do this, I may not get the worlds attained by brave and virtuous souls. If I do not kill Jayadratha tomorrow, may I go to hell, I will build a pyre and burn myself in it.’
There was a fierce battle on the second day. Shri Krishna had to make all the arrangements to protect Arjuna’s promise. In the evening, Krishna covered the sun and made it dark. Realising that the sun had set, Arjun got ready to enter the pyre. All the great warriors of the Kaurava side came to see him in this condition. Jayadratha also came among them.
God said- ‘Arjuna! Hurry up. Cut off Jayadratha’s head, but it should not fall on the ground! Attention !’ God has removed the darkness. The sun was seen setting. Jayadratha’s guards were confused. Arjun cut off his head. Shri Krishna told – ‘Jayadratha’s father, after performing penance, has received a boon from Shankarji that whoever drops Jayadratha’s head on the ground, his head will be broken into a hundred pieces.’ On the orders of Keshav, Arjun shot Jayadratha’s head with an arrow and brought it in the hands of his father, where he was offering water to the sun in the evening with his hands. Due to hesitation, his head fell on the ground by his father. As a result, his head broke into a hundred pieces.
Power which can only be used once
Indra had given Karna an infallible power. Karna could use that power only once. Every night he resolved to use it on Arjun but, the next day, Shri Krishna used to hypnotise him.He forgot to use that power. God sent Ghatotkacha, son of Bhima, for the night war. He created havoc in the Kaurava army with his demonic magic. Duryodhana forced Karna – ‘This monster will kill everyone right now. When it is not visible, then how can there be a war with it, kill it in any way possible.
At last Karna released that power on Ghatotkacha. That monster died. When the Pandavas were feeling sad due to the death of Ghatotkacha, Arjun asked the reason when he saw Shri Krishna being happy. God said- ‘Karna had kept his power only for you. Now he is almost dead due to lack of strength. Ghatotkacha was a hater of Brahmins, a ceremonialist, a sinner and a destroyer of religion, I would have killed him myself; But you guys would feel bad, that’s why I had left it till now.
The love of krishna for Arjun
In the battle with Karna, Arjun asked his friend – ‘What will you do if Karna kills me?’ God said – ‘Even if the sun falls on the land, the sea dries up, the fire cools down, but this will never happen. If Karna somehow kills you, there will be destruction in the world. I will crush Karna and Shalya with my own hands.’
Lord had declared long ago – ‘Those who are friends of Pandavas are my friends and those who are enemies of Pandavas are my enemies.’ Shri Krishna is always against those who betray the devotees.
Saving of Arjun’s life
Karna made many efforts. He released a snake-headed arrow, which caught fire in all directions. The stars started falling during the day. Arjuna’s enemy named Ashwasena, who had escaped at the time of Khandava Daha, also sat on the tip of the same arrow to take his revenge. Even before the arrows could reach Arjuna, the Lord pressed the chariot with His feet and sank it into the earth. The arrow hit only Arjun’s crown, due to which the crown fell burning on the ground.
There were many such occasions in the war of Mahabharata, many times Arjuna’s intelligence and strength were frustrated. But the pious and patient Arjun never left his dharma. He had the Pashupatastra which could cause destruction with a single bamboo; But even when his life was in danger, he did not wish to use it.
Similarly, his faith in the feet of Shri Krishna did not weaken even for a moment. This love and faith had bound God. God would drive their chariot, wash their horses and protect them in every way. Due to the greatness of Shri Krishna, Pandavas became victorious in the war of Mahabharata.
After the victory, Lord Arjun came to the camp on the last day and asked Arjun to get down from the chariot first. Today this was a new thing, but Arjun obeyed. As soon as the Lord descended upon Arjuna, the divine monkey sitting on the flag of the chariot also disappeared and the chariot along with the horses was instantly burnt to ashes. God said – ‘This chariot was already burnt to ashes due to the influence of divine weapons. I was saving it till now with my power. If you had not got down earlier today, you would have been burnt to ashes along with the chariot.
Protection of Uttara’s child by krishna
When Ashwatthama used Brahmastra, God himself protected the Pandavas. Due to the power of Ashwatthama’s Brahmastra, Uttara’s unborn child Parikshit was born dead, but Shri Krishna Chandra brought him back to life. Even when Arjun vowed to kill Sudhanva,Krishna protected him.
Conclusion
Arjun had supernatural bravery, he was a conqueror of the senses without any ostentation and most of all, despite everything, he was very humble. His soul resided in Shri Krishna only. The main heroes of Mahabharata are Shri Krishna and Arjun. Arjuna’s bravery, religious devotion, generosity, devotion to God and the grace of Lord Madhusudan on him are described in detail in the Mahabharata.
Arjun is God’s daily advisor.When Dharmaraja Yudhishthir went to the supreme abode, he saw Arjuna among the councillors of God. Duryodhana even said- ‘Arjuna is the soul of Shri Krishna and Shri Krishna is the soul of Arjuna. Arjun does not want to live without Shri Krishna and Shri Krishna can even leave his divine world for Arjun. God himself has been calling Arjun his dear friend and supreme well-wisher and he had even sought a boon from Agni so that his love for Arjuna would remain and grow. He was very dear to God.
