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 Pandavas
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 Pandavas 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
Uttara.

These incidents are all recorded in the book known as the
Mahabharata. The word mahd means ‘“‘great’’ or ‘‘greater,”’ and bharata
refers to India. Thus the Mahdbharata is the history of greater India.
Sometimes people regard these accounts as stories or mythology, but
that is nonsense. The Mahabharata and the Puranas are histories, al-
though 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 Mahabharata.

Kunti prays to Krsna by describing how He saved the Pandavas on the
Battlefield of Kuruksetra. Mrdhe mrdhe ’neka-maharathdastratah. On the
Battlefield of Kuruksetra there were great, great fighters called maha-
rathas. Just as military men in modern days are given titles like lieu-
tenant, captain, commander, and commander-in-chief, formerly there
were titles like eka-ratha, ati-ratha, and maha-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 mahd-ratha. All the commanders on the Battlefield of Kuru-
ksetra were maha-rathas. Many of them are mentioned in Bhagavaa-gita.
Bhisma, Karna, and Dronacarya were especially great commanders. They
were such powerful fighters that although Arjuna was also a maha-ratha,
before them he was nothing. But by the grace of Krsna he was able to kill
Karna, Bhisma, Dronacarya, and the others and come out victorious.
While speaking with Sukadeva Gosvami, Maharaja Pariksit also referred
to this. ‘‘The Battlefield of Kuruksetra,”’ he said, ‘‘was just like an ocean,
and the warriors were like many ferocious aquatic animals. But by the
grace of Krsna, 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 Krsna, no one
can do us any harm. Rakhe krsna mare ke mare krsna rakhe ke. ‘‘He
