September

September 21

In Class:

 We first covered the homework from last week. 

The class then watched a video of Vyasa’s perilous journey to meet Ganesha in the mountains. Vyasa has been tasked with writing a great scripture called the Mahabharata. The two make a deal in which Ganesha will constantly narrate the Mahabharata and stop speaking if Vyasa stops writing. Ved Vyasa is the creator and one of the characters in the Mahabharata because he saw the events happening and wanted to write them down as a lesson for humanity. Ved Vyasa’s parents are Parashar and Satyavati. 

The Mahabharata comprises Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha. Dharma means one which sustains and upholds life. Artha means management, administration, and economics. Kama means desire, wants, and needs. Finally, Moksha means salvation.

 We then watched a video of Shantanu meeting Ganga and falling in love with her. The two then get married and give birth to a son. Ganga killed her first son by drowning him and another 6 sons. Ganga didn’t kill the 8th son because Shantanu begged her not to. Then, years later, Shantanu comes back from war and meets his son who is now an adult. At the end of the video, Shantanu met Satyavati.

Then, the students learned that the process of new moon to full moon is called Shakla Paksh (15 days). Full moon to new moon is called Krisha Paksh (15 days). This whole process takes 30 days which is called Maas (Month). 

Homework: 

The students have to gradually read the Mahabharata book that they were  handheld in class at their own pace. They will be expected to know a couple facts about the Mahabharata by next class.

 Which Veda has Ayurveda in it. 

Find out the original name of the Mahabharata and name of 8th son who was left alive.

They should figure out the name of Shantanu and Ganga’s second son. The students should also know which of the Shantanu + Ganga OR Parashar + Satyavati stories happened first or at the same time.

The students should know the day of the lunar cycle for next week. 

The students should pick a mantra and recite it 5-10 times everyday, then recall their experiences next week.

September 14

Key Learnings

• Planetary Alignment & Time: The position of planets on a given day can help determine the exact date of an event.

• Hindu Calendar: Students are learning about Hindu months based on the calendar we follow.

• Mahabharata Structure:

◦ A shlokha is a poetic verse; the Mahabharata is composed in this format (it contains over 100,000 shlokas/lines).

◦ The Mahabharata has 18 Parvas (chapters/sections).

• Author of Mahabharata:

◦ Written by Ved Vyasa, also known as Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa.

◦ He was the son of a rishi and a fisherwoman.

◦ He later became known as Ved Vyasa because he compiled and organized the Vedas.

• Writing of the Mahabharata:

◦ Vyasa requested a devata to write while he dictated the Mahabharata.

◦ Condition: the devata would only write continuously as long as Vyasa narrated. Vyasa, in turn, required the devata to write only after understanding what was said—so he added puzzles to slow down the writing.

• Ved Vyasa’s Saying:

◦ “Whatever you can see in life is in the Mahabharata, and whatever is not in life is not in the Mahabharata.”

Homework for Students

1 Learn the Hindu months from the calendar we follow.



2 Find out the names of the rishi and the fisherwoman who were Vyasa’s parents (Book 1, pages 1–20).



3 Ask your parents the four names of the Vedas.



4 Find out who the devata was that wrote the Mahabharata while Vyasa narrated it.



5 Look at the moon one night this week and find out its phase (Is it moving from new moon → full moon, or full moon → new moon?).