Dangerous Encounters
39
to save herself, and then unlimited yards of cloth were supplied, and the Kurus could not see her naked.
But then, in the next game of chess, the bet was that if the Pāṇḍavas lost the game they would go to the forest for twelve years. Thereafter they were to remain incognito for one year, and if detected they would have to live in the forest again for another twelve years. This game also the Pāṇḍavas lost, so for twelve years they lived in the forest and for one year incognito. It was while they were living incognito that Arjuna won Uttarā.
These incidents are all recorded in the book known as the  Mahābhārata . The word  mahā  means “great” or “greater,” and  bhārata  refers to India. Thus the  Mahābhārata  is the history of greater India. Sometimes people regard these accounts as stories or mythology, but that is nonsense. The  Mahābhārata  and the  Purāṇas  are histories, although they are not chronological. If the history of such a vast period of time was recorded chronologically, how many pages would it have to be? Therefore, only the most important incidents are selected and described in the  Mahābhārata .
Kuntī prays to Kṛṣṇa by describing how He saved the Pāṇḍavas on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra.  Mṛdhe mṛdhe 'neka-mahārathāstrataḥ . On the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra there were great, great fighters called  mahārathas . Just as military men in modern days are given titles like lieutenant, captain, commander, and commander-in-chief, formerly there were titles like  eka-ratha ,  ati-ratha , and  mahā-ratha . The word  ratha  means “chariot.” So if a warrior could fight against one chariot, he was called  eka-ratha , and if he could fight against thousands of chariots he was called  mahā-ratha . All the commanders on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra were  mahā-rathas . Many of them are mentioned in  Bhagavad-gītā . Bhīṣma, Karṇa, and Droṇācārya were especially great commanders. They were such powerful fighters that although Arjuna was also a  mahā-ratha , before them he was nothing. But by the grace of Kṛṣṇa he was able to kill Karṇa, Bhīṣma, Droṇācārya, and the others and come out victorious. While speaking with Śukadeva Gosvāmī, Mahārāja Parīkṣit also referred to this. “The Battlefield of Kurukṣetra,” he said, “was just like an ocean, and the warriors were like many ferocious aquatic animals. But by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, my grandfather Arjuna crossed over this ocean very easily.”
This is very significant. We may have many enemies who may be very powerful fighters, but if we remain under the protection of Kṛṣṇa, no one can do us any harm.  Rakhe kṛṣṇa māre ke māre kṛṣṇa rakhe ke . “He