সঞ্জীব চট্টোপাধ্যায়ের শেশপ্রহর

Three ages have passed: Satya, Treta, Dwapar. In the Satya Yuga, there is no role for any avatar. There are sacrifices, rituals, meditation, and philosophy. In the sacred ashrams of holy men, the sacrificial fire rises, and smoke ascends into the sky. Clouds form, and from the clouds comes rain. The earth is filled with wealth and grain. The sages' hermitages, recitation and study, the Vedas and Brahman, knowledge and self-realization. After Satya, came Treta. The beginning of the avatars' descent. Lord Ram came. The rise of the Kshatriya dominance began. Archery, war, and battle. The eternal struggle between the forces of good and the forces of evil. The sages grew weary. The havoc of demons and their deliberate barbarism. The epic Ramayana was written - a magnificent story of Lord Ram, combining religion and action. Then came Dwapar. On the stage of time appeared Lord Krishna, the divine flautist. The flow of love and devotion. In a vast, agriculture-based civilization, people's lives were bound by the bond of friendship. The playful exploits on the two banks of the Yamuna. Many forests, many groves, many festivals, and love! The five aspects of Vaishnavism: Shanta, Dasya, Sakhya, Vatsalya, and Madhurya. One mantra, "Krishna Keshava Pahi Mam," one call, "Radhe, Radhe." Dwapar was a terrifying era - an era of wealth, power, and influence. An age of extreme pleasure and extreme suffering. An age where humans, not gods, dominated - an era of bloodshed. The time of the Mahabharata. And that era's "Sheshprahar". Time was now about to enter the Kali Yuga. In the bloody final moments, the Mahabharata came to an end. Now, Kali has arrived. The Mahabharata now seems to be just India.