Yaksha Prashnam Questions 13-16

 Continued from:  http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/02/yaksha-prashnam-question-3.html

The Yakshan then asked Yudhishtirar the reason divinity is present in a Kshatriya? The Dharmam (duties) prescribed for a Kshatriya? What makes the Kshatriyas mere humans and the weakness a Kshatriya must overcome?

The reason divinity is present in a Kshatriya?

The Kshatriyas use weapons to wage wars. The weapons of a Kshatriya give them their divinity.

The Dharmam (duties) prescribed for a Kshatriya?

The Dharma prescribed for the Kshatriya class is the performance of Yagnam. Only Kshatriyas can perform Yagnams like Ashwamedha Yagam or Rajasuya yagam; Brahmins can only assist a Kshatriya to perform the Yagam. Brahmins are not eligible to perform these yagams.

What makes the Kshatriyas mere humans ?

Lack of courage makes a Kshatriya human. Fear must be overcome by a Kshatriya as it is their duty to protect their nation.

The weakness a Kshatriya must overcome?

 A Kshatriya must offer protection to anyone who surrenders to them. They must overcome their weakness to abandon the people under their protection. They must follow in the foot step of Lord Rama and King Dilipan. Lord Rama never abandons anyone who surrenders to Him. Similarly King Dilipan was asked by his guru Sage Vasishta to graze the cow Nandhini. The king personally looked after Nandhini. He followed her everywhere with a bow and arrow in hand to protect her from danger. One day while grazing in the foothills of the Himalayas, a lion pounced on the cow. As the lion was about to kill the cow, the king lifted his bow to shoot the lion. The lion immediately started to converse with the king. The king was surprised to hear the lion speak. The lion introduced itself as the servant of Lord Shiva and Parvati. Goddess Parvati was growing a special tree in that area. She was very fond of the tree and had given permission to the lion to kill anyone who trespasses in that area.  The king realized that he had not paid any attention to the warning signs. As a result of his negligence, Nandhini was in danger. He immediately made a deal with the lion and asked the lion to eat him instead of the cow. The lion was surprised. The lion asked the king the reason why he was keen on protecting Nandhini. Dilipan said that as he had promised his guru to take care of Nandhini; he had to make sure that Nandhini was safe. The lion then asked the king to forget about Nandhini, go back to his kingdom and compensate sage Vasishta with thousands of cows. The king replied that his life wouldn’t be worth living as he would have failed to protect Nandhini.

The esoteric interpretation of Yudhishtirar’s answer is as follows.

Perumal exists in the Archai form at various temples to protect us. He never fails a person who surrenders to Him. Human nature is revealed when out of devotion we fear for His safety. It is our duty to protect the Temples in our neighbourhood. We must not fail to take care of the needs of the local temple or the needs of Perumal in our home. It is futile to donate funds to Tirumala if we neglect the Perumal in our house as well as in our neighbourhood temples. This behaviour must be avoided by us.

Continued On: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/02/yaksha-prashnam-question-5.html

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Based on, Yaksha Prashnam - A discourse in Tamil by Sri U.Ve. Karunakaran Swamy
(Any errors or inconsistencies in the following series are due to the mistakes I made while taking notes. ) 

Copies of the CDs can be obtained from Sri Karunakaran Swami’s website http://www.nadadoor.org/ . This series is for the benefit of people who do not understand Tamil. Those of you who understand Tamil very well must definitely obtain a copy of Swami’s Upanyasam. You can do so by contacting Nadadoor.org. Swami also renders discourses in English but I am not sure if Yaksha Prashnam discourse is available in English.  The experience of listening to Swami’s upanyasams could never be obtained by reading the following series. I have done my best to take notes with due diligence. I apologize for any errors that I have made while writing this series.