What a treat!
I am referring to the live theatrical production of Mahabharata, a premiere of the company, Why Not? IT was my first time to see a production in the renowned Shaw Theatre at Niagara-on-the-Lake. I've passed by the theatre several times, and on my first walk in ‘96, it was right there at the edge of this iconic picture-perfect town.
What can I say? The performance was stupendous; Everything about it. Thus far, I viewed part one called “Karma.” Part two, “Dharma,” I'm hoping to see
By Chaitanya Charan das
Speaking on the Mahabharata outside Bharata – at Princeton
During my visit to Central New Jersey, 2016, Govinda Prabhu and I spoke at Princeton University on the topic of “Tragic Hero? Lessons from the life of the Mahabharata character Karna.”
Vineet Chander (Venkat Bhatta Prabhu) serves as the Director of Hindu Affairs at Pinceton University; and he had invited me to speak on this topic. Later, it turned out that Govinda P was also there in Central New Jersey at the tim
A companion article to “The Bhagavad Gita and the Path to Justice” appearing on Dandavats on June 25.(http://www.dandavats.com/?p=86759)
Mahabharata works on many levels. It is itihasa – history, that which occurred. It’s also good literature with wonderful stories. Mahabharata is also a book of knowledge, classified as the fifth Veda. Mahabharata is specifically meant to help us understand and appreciate the nuanced meanings and principles of dharma.
Dharma impacts us in many ways: through our
The world is searching for a perfect book, a book that contains all you need to know. May be the key to this search lies in the pages of the Mahabharata . Vyasadeva boldly states the glory of this great text: What you will find here you may find elsewhere, but what you don’t find here, you will never find anywhere.” Mahabharata is called an itihasa, or history. Indeed, being the history of a great country like India, it teaches us life lessons – what one should and shouldn’t emulate.
When amb
Just after the 12 years of exile of the Pandavas was completed, they were considering where to spend the remaining 1 year incognito. While still in the forest, a brahmana came to them and reported that the sticks which he used for igniting his sacrificial fire had somehow gotten entangled in the antlers of a deer, and the sticks were now gone. The sage asked the Pandavas to see if they could possibly return the sticks. In a search for that deer, a very unusual event took place. They could not f
Andy Fraenkel was born in Germany in 1947 and came to America with his parents at the age of five. He is a multicultural storyteller, author, and workshop leader. He is the author of Mahabharata: The Eternal Quest and Hanuman’s Quest.
Andy is a long-time resident of New Vrindaban Community in West Virginia. He was initiated by Swami Prabhupada in 1973 and given the name Sankirtana Das. He is a presenter of the Krishna-Bhakti tradition and offers Katha – a traditional Vedic format of dramatic st
1. One should never kick cows, for one who does so will have to suffer in hell for a hundred lives. Cows are the abode of all auspiciousness. For this reason, they always deserve worship.
2. Bullocks should never be struck harshly with a goad or whip.
3. One should not proceed through the midst of cows.
4. When cows are grazing or lying down, one should not disturb them in any way.
5. When cows are thirsty and are refused water [ because a person is obstructing their access to a water tank or r
