Tuesday, May 1, 2012

April 29, 2012


Beginning Prayers
  • Om Saha Navavathu
  • Vakratunda Mahakaya
  • Saraswathi Namastubhyam
  • Ramaya Ramabhadraya
  • Buddhir Balam Yashodhairyam
  •  Krishnaya Vasudevaya.
Bhajans:



Stotram:
  • Gurustotram & Lingashtakam.  We reviewed the last verse of Lingashtakam.

Story:

Ram gives the signal to the vanara army and the battle begins. The vanaras and the raksasas fought fiercely.  The generals on both sides are well matched.  Angada fights with Indrajit and kills his charioteer.  Indrajit gets angry and starts shooting poisonous and serpent darts at Rama and Lakshmana.  The brothers are annoyed at first but are rendered helpless by the serpent darts.  The vanaras are confused and surround the brothers and they start weeping.  Meanwhile Indrajit tells Ravana that Rama and Lakshmana are dead.  Ravana is overjoyed and asks some raksasas to tell Sita about the death of the brothers.  He asks that Sita be flown over the battlefield so she can see the truth for herself.  Sita sees Rama and Lakshmana lying helplessly and cries bitterly. Then the rasksasi Trijata points out that Rama and Lakshmana's faces still has the divine glow and says that they are not dead but will be revived soon. Sita is cheered by these words.  Suddenly the ocean rises and Garuda, the king of birds alights in the midst of the vanaras.  He gently strokes the unconscious bothers and they sit up with renewed strength and energy. The vanaras shout with joy and Ravana comes to know that the princes are revived and ready to fight. 


Ravana calls a fierce raksasa Dhumraksa to the lead the army to the western gate.  He fights with Hanuman and his vanaras and is killed by Hanuman. Ravana then asks Vajradamstra to fight against Angada but he too is killed by Angada. Ravana grows afraid as each of his brave warriors are slain. Prahasta his commander-in-chief reminds Ravana that all this could have been avoided if Ravana had returned Sita to Rama. Prahasta is also killed in the battle.  Ravana himself leads the army and fights with Hanuman and Lakshmana.  Lakshmana is wounded and becomes unconscious.  Ravana then comes face to face with Rama.  They fight fiercely and Rama knocks off Ravana;s crown, his chariot and destroys all his weapons. Ravana stands in front of Rama bedraggled and harassed.  Rama tells Ravana to go home, rest and come back the next day with fresh weapons. Ravana returns to his palace and decides to wake up his sleeping brother Kumbhakarna.  The raksasa wake him up with great difficulty.  Kumbhakarna hears from Ravana the grave situation he is in.  Kumbhakarna is not happy about Ravana's deeds but decides to stand by his brother.  He goes out and fights with the vanara army, eats up a lot of them, makes Angada, Sugriva and Nila unconscious. He parades the streets of Lanka with Sugriva on his shoulders, Sugriva regains conscience and his spring comes back to him, he lands int he midst of the vanaras. An annoyed Kumbhakarna wounds Hanuman and asks to fight with Rama.  In the battle that follow Kumbhakarna is killed by Rama.  Ravana is shaken when he hears this news. His sons decide to go out and fight with the vanaras and one by one they too are killed. Ravana is heart-broken but is determined to continue fighting.  He organizes his defenses again and the raksasa army is once again prepared to face the vanara attack. 

Activity:


Games:


Likhita Japa:

Conclusion:
We had assembly today.

Comments:
We continued our Samaskriti practice this week and will continue in the next class.  We have a practice session on Saturday May 5th at 4.00 pm.  Details will follow in an email.  For those who are participating attendance is a must.  We still have to learn the final part of the dance. Samaskriti is on May 20th and we have only a few more opportunities to practice.  Every child must be present to make this a decent performance.  Even if one child is missing it throws our routine as each child has a part to play. We appreciate your understanding in this matter.  We will have a stage rehearsal on Saturday May 12th from 2.30 to 3.00 pm.  We get only 30 minutes for practicing on the stage so attendance is a must and please be on time.  This will be the stage at the Bridgewater school.  We get only this one chance to practice on stage before the May 20th show.

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