My Malice and Bias

The Mahābhārata is an epic narrative of the Kurukṣetra War and the fates of the Kaurava and the Pāṇḍava princes. The oldest preserved parts of the text are thought to be not much older than around 400 BCE, though the origins of the epic probably fall between the 8th and 9th centuries BCE. Great Indian Epic - Mahabharata The Epic The epic is traditionally ascribed to the sage Vyāsa , who is also a major character in the epic. Vyāsa described it as being itihāsa (history). The epic employs the story within a story structure, otherwise known as frametales, popular in many Indian religious and non-religious works. It is recited by the sage Vaiśampāyana , a disciple of Vyāsa, to the King Janamejaya who is the great-grandson of the Pāṇḍava prince Arjuna. Battle of Kurukshetra The core story of the work is that of a dynastic struggle for the throne of Hastinapur , the kingdom ruled by the Kuru clan. The two collateral branches of the family that participate in the struggle are th

Gurdwara Garhi Sahib commemorates the spot of the bloody Battle of Chamkaur . After the attack at the river Sirsa, Guru Gobind Singh , his two eldest sons and 40 Sikhs made it to the town of Chamkaur while being pursued by an army of 1,000's. Guru Gobind Singh and the 40 Sikhs sought shelter in a mud-built double story house. They were attacked by the enemy on December 21, 1705. Against these overwhelming odds, the Sikhs ventured our in small groups to fight the enemy and bravely lay down their lives. Thirty Seven Sikhs were martyred that day including Guru Gobind Singhs two eldest sons as well as three of the Five Beloved Ones (the first baptized Khalsa). Guru Gobind Singh makes a reference to this battle in his victory letter Zafarnama. Guru Gobind Singh leaving Anandpur Sahib Doors of Kot Kapura After Guru Gobind Singh left Anandpur on the night of December 5 and 6, 1704, he crossed the Sirsa river and en route from Machhiwara , after staying at Dina , reached Kot Ka

Tales of Bravery and Treachery Rajputs are a warrior clan settled in NW India. Rajput (from Sanskrit raja-putra, " son of a king " is a member of one of the warrior clans of the Indian subcontinent. They rose to prominence from the late 6th century CE, and, until the 13th century, the Rajput rulers dominated many regions of central and northern India including Punjab regions of India and Pakistan. Rajput-Sikh Wedding in Punjab The Rajput population and the former Rajput states are found spread through much of the subcontinent, particularly in north, west and central India. These areas include Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu, Kashmir, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Sindh. Origin of "Rajputs" The origin of the Rajputs is the subject of debate. There is no mention of the term in the historical record as pertaining to a social group prior to the 6th Century AD. The collapse of the Gupta empire during the lat

Alexander on Death Bed The story of Alexander the Great ’s triumphant march into India, suddenly giving up at the urging of his soldiers who were tired after years of fighting and who wanted to return to their loved ones in Persia. The Greek odyssey down the Indus, ended with Alexander sustaining a deadly wound; and, finally splitting his army in two so that they would have a better chance of escaping Pentopotamia (Punjab); returning with a fraction of his army to the seat of his empire in Persepolis and his death from his wounds; all based on Greek legends, with no documentation, just a myth. So did Alexander really venture successfully into India and turn back at the urging of his men? Or was it all a spin? So what exactly happened to Alexander in India? The Greek Version Alexander crosses the Indus into the Punjab and somewhere near modern-day Bhera town in Sargodha district of Punjab, now in Pakistan, he faced the army of Porus , the Kshatriya king of West Punjab. The Gre