Reading Notes: Divine Beings Part B

• I wonder why the asuras weren't allowed to get to heaven by building the altar?  It shows their dedication at least although I guess it's cheating a little bit.
• Why were the rest turned into spiders while only the top got to be dogs and guard the gates of Yama?  Why them?  Also why spiders?
• That sage seems like a jerk.  It's not the elephant's fault that it fell on you!
• Airavata is cool though.  He is so loyal!  I'm glad he got his wish at the end and didn't have to suffer.  Shiva seems like a nice god, always helping out his loyal followers.
• Apparently there are two versions of the Gandaberunda and Sharabha story?  One has Gandaberunda as the one who loses sight of his purpose and begins rampaging, while the other story has Sharabha as the attacker.  I think it's really interesting that there can be two versions of the same story with the protagonists switched!  I really wonder how that came to be.
• Also it seems a little weird that Vishnu's avatar could just randomly change into a two-headed bird, but I guess it was because he was a god?
• I liked the descriptions at the end of some important deities' vehicles!  I liked the illustrations showing the gods on their vahanas as well.
• Speaking of the illustrations, they were all fantastic and I always love looking at the depictions of the beasts.

Airavata.  Web Source.

Bibliography:  Divine Beings.  Reading Guide.

Reading Notes: Divine Beings Part A

• Oh my gosh, the beginning of this was brutal!  It starts off with the story of Jatayu, the great bird-man that helped Rama find Sita by attacking Ravana while he tries to steal Sita and then staying alive until Rama reaches him to tell him who kidnapped Sita.  His backstory is so sad though!  He and his brother were flying around one day until they happened too close to the path of the sun god, who was being driven by their father (not really sure how a humanoid god has two bird-men as children, but I digress).  Their father knew that if he swerved to avoid his sons, the world would be thrown out of order, so he had to stay the course.  Sampati, Jatayu's older brother, saw what was going to happen, and to protect his younger brother, he flew in front of Jatayu and took the brunt of the force.  He fell to earth and his wings burned up, and he was never able to fly again.  Jatayu searched for his brother, but they never saw each other again.  I almost cried this story was so sad!  I just hope that when they died they met each other again.  And the father too, how he must have felt!  So sad :(
• Apparently, Jatayu also met Rama's father?  He helped the king confront a god who was giving the kingdom a famine for some unexplained reason.  Maybe he was bored?  Who knows, but anyway, that was when Jatayu pledged himself to help Rama's family for as long as he lived and why he was obliged to protect Sita later on.
• The next being, Nandi, started off human, but his devotion to Shiva led the god to turn him into a divine bull.
• Nandi guarded Shiva's home and was intensely loyal.  Once when Shiva was drinking poison to save the world (the other gods were churning the waters of the sea for amrita), Nandi drank the poison that fell from Shiva's lips and because he was so devoted to Shiva, he was also granted immunity from the poison.
• I found it interesting that Nandi's father wished for a child from Shiva and then basically devoted the child to Shiva.  Later, the boy is visited by sages who say he doesn't have long to live but then because he continually prayed to Shiva he became immortal.  I wonder what happens to the father though.  He's never mentioned again, but I bet he'd be pretty proud of his son.
• Nandi is also marginally involved in the Ramayana!  Ravana tries to go see Shiva but is turned away by Nandi.  He insults Nandi and calls him a monkey.  Enraged, Nandi curses Ravana to be defeated by an army of monkeys, which comes true when Hanuman and his army takes Lanka.  I think it's so cool that so many things relate back to the epics we read!

Jatayu fighting Ravana.  Web Source.

Bibliography:  Divine Beings.  Reading Guide.

Extra Credit Reading Notes: The Palace of Illusions Part F

• I like the way she did the one scene when Draupadi has to try and be accepted into Virat's court with only the wife talking and just us imagining what she's saying.
• Keechnak is such a creep and the way his sister just justifies it and says oh just let it happen is infuriating.  I'm glad Bhima killed him although maybe that was a bit too far.
• The big battle is finally happening!  I was really wondering how they were going to show all of the battle since Draupadi can't really be in all the places at once to show us what's happening, so I like how she did it with her also having the sight like Sanjay.
• I feel so bad for Uttara!  This war is going to be awful for her, and also for so many other people too!  So many people will die and for what?  I am glad that Draupadi does feel some remorse but too little too late.
• Hearing Arjuna talk about how honorable the war will be made me sad.  It's like how boys think war is such a great and honorable thing until they're actually in one and then they realize that it's messy and complicated and bloody.  They've all been in wars before so I wonder why they don't already know this.
• Poor Karna too!  Having Draupadi see his conversation with Kunti and kind of grasp what happened was a nice touch, so she can finally understand some more of his motivations.
• I like the way she glossed over the Bhagavad Gita part with Krishna because it's been told so many times and I appreciate that she didn't feel the need to excessively narrate all of it.

Kuruksheta War.  Web Source.

Bibliography:  The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni.  Reading Guide.

Extra Credit Reading Notes: The Palace of Illusions Part E

• I can't put this book down so I thought I'd go ahead and finish it for extra credit since I have some more time this week.
• What happened with Draupadi because of Yudhishthira was so painful!  Much worse hearing her thoughts because basically only Krishna came to her aid and her supposedly powerful husbands could do nothing.  I can kind of understand why she became so bitter and hateful after this.
• Ugh Karna and Draupadi make me so angry.  Why can't Draupadi just be nice!  I can understand because Kunti was right there and she kind of suspected but still just say the normal things and she can't really say anything.  And then at the dice game I can see why she didn't want to beg for his mercy but she didn't have to look at him like she hated him!  I don't know I just feel like it's becoming increasingly harder for the author to justify Draupadi's behavior towards Karna in terms of her love for him.
• Although Karna is not entirely blameless either!  He could have been nicer to her face instead of just whispering about how she's "noble and beautiful."
• The slow transformation of Draupadi from happy, headstrong young girl to bitter, vengeful woman was very well done!  It goes so slowly and naturally that I didn't even really notice that she was changing.  It was only at the end that it becomes very obvious with how she can't take pleasure in anything and only lives for revenge.
• Poor Bhima :(.  He loves Draupadi but she'll never love him.  Even in the original I think they always made it seem like she preferred Arjuna.
• They didn't really include that time that Arjuna accidentally walked in on Draupadi and Yudhishthira and banished himself for 7 years.  I feel like that might have affected their relationship some so I wonder why she didn't include it.

Draupadi and the Pandavas in exile.  Web Source.

Bibliography:  The Palace of Illusions.  Reading Guide.

Reading Notes: The Palace of Illusions Part D

• The story for how the Pandavas built their palace was a bit more fleshed out in this version.  It includes a magical architect Maya that Arjuna saves when they burn down the forest.  In gratitude, he helps them design and build the Palace of Illusions.  I had no idea that they had somebody else help them build it!  How was he able to do all of the illusions that were in there?
• So I think Draupadi was around 15 or so when she was first married to the Pandavas and it says that she spends a decade in the Palace of Illusions before Duryodhana visits.  That means she's still only 25!  And she already has 5 sons!
• I'm a little surprised that she doesn't seem to care much about her sons.  I mean I suppose in the Mahabharata she's not really mentioned in connection with her sons, but still I would have thought she would love them more.
• I don't like her kind of jealous and vengeful attitude towards the other wives.  I guess it's understandable to want them to all love her, but I wish she would work with them more rather than thinking she needs to control all of her husbands.  And her "fights" with Kunti too!  I wish they would get along better.
• It's so funny hearing them talk about Krishna like oh he's just a normal guy, minor king, haha.  Narad says that Krishna is the incarnation of Vishnu and none of them can believe it!  I suppose it would be like hearing one of my friends was actually a god, but I just think it's hilarious that none of them really notice that he's divine.
• I like how Draupadi's love for Karna makes some of the decisions and things she does make a bit more sense especially with some of the things like going to see Duryodhana for the game.
• Speaking of which, I can kind of understand why Draupadi froze up when Duryodhana fell into the lake but still!  I would think that kind of response would be automatic after practicing at being courteous all the time.

Indraprastha.  Web Source.

Bibliography:  The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni.  Reading Guide.

Reading Notes: The Palace of Illusions Part C

• Finally we're getting more into the exciting part of the Mahabharata!  I can't wait to see how Draupadi will deal with married life and also the bet.
• She still constantly thinks about what might have been with Karna and that's probably not good for her marriage.
• I really like how they did the slow reveal of Arjuna being her husband.  If you're familiar with the story, you know what's going to happen but if you're not, you could still pretty much figure out who the mystery brahmin was.
• The cute touching moment between Arjuna and Draupadi where he helps her out is great.  I wish they had just been able to be happy together maybe that would have worked out better.  Then again, even without that Arjuna seems pretty selfish and unthinking just making her walk like that.
• I don't know if this is the author's actual attitude but I really hate how she always has Draupadi thinking that she needs to do things a woman's way otherwise she won't be able to accomplish anything which seems like a strange way to think.  Maybe Draupadi wouldn't have made Arjuna like her more if she'd have said hey I need to rest, but he would have learned that she demands respect and doesn't just submit meekly.
• I wish Kunti had liked Draupadi more.  I think that would have been nice if they had learned to work together but I suppose it seems very "realistic" to have the hated mother-in-law figure.
• Yudhishthira always seemed overly perfect to me too so I'm glad even Draupadi comments on how perfect and calm and unshakable he is.  Too eerie in my opinion.
• The representation of Bheeshma is pretty great.  He definitely seems like the cunning grandfather type because he knows how to sway people but does love his grandsons a lot.
• I'm definitely getting the Game of Thrones vibe from this telling of the Mahabharata!  Draupadi is going to have to get better at scheming and hiding her feelings.

Iron Throne.  Web Source.

Bibliography:  The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni.  Reading Guide.

Reading Notes: The Palace of Illusions Part B

• :( I was waiting for the author's interpretation of Draupadi's swayamvar where she insults Karna and becomes married to Arjun but I did not expect this twist!  It seemed like it was setting up for her to be in love with Arjun but instead she fell in love with Karna!  She only said those words because Karna was going to kill her brother and she did not know what else to do.  Now I'm sad because it would have been so much better if she had married Karna!  Or maybe not, I suppose the rest of the Mahabharata would still have happened but maybe it would have been better?  Now I'm curious what would have changed, haha.
• She had a chapter earlier with Vyasa who cautioned her to hold back her question among other prophetic things before her wedding, and now we know why!  If only she'd been able to calm him without having to resort to insulting him.  Now the later part where he tries to humiliate her is even worse.  Not looking forward to that part.
• Draupadi does not really seem to like the idea of marriage so I'm really wondering how she's going to deal with having 5 husbands.  Especially because the story seems to be setting up a lot of tension between her and Arjun (foreshadowing his infidelity and not having her be overly attracted to him).
• There's also some set up with tension with Kunti as well and now I'm worried :(.  So much set up in this section!  Excited to have more action next.

Karna.  Web Source.

Bibliography:  The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni.  Reading Guide.

Reading Notes: The Palace of Illusions Part A

• So a little background:  I was originally going to read a graphic novel about the Ramayana from Sita's point of view as I hadn't read anything about the Ramayana in a while, but when I went to the library I couldn't find the book!  So I looked at the book right after that one which happened to be The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, about the Mahabharata from Draupadi's point of view.  This was the best coincidence of my life as far as I'm concerned right now.  I never really thought about Draupadi that much except to be angry at her for treating Karna so poorly, but this retelling made me more sympathetic.
• In the versions of the Mahabharata that I read, Draupadi and her brother, Dhristadyumna, did not play large roles (except for the aforementioned incident by Draupadi).  This book starts much before Draupadi's famous swayamvari with the Pandavas, so we get to hear a lot more about her childhood.
• It talks a lot about her father, Drupad, and his rivalry with Drona.  I especially liked the chapter "Milk" where the two children come up with stories about why Drupad and Drona hate each other so much, cobbled together from eavesdroppings and vague hints from their nurse.  It was very entertaining to hear how they interpreted certain events to reflect better on their father.
• Dhristadyumna especially doesn't appear in the Mahabharata much even though it seemed like his destiny was much more important than Draupadi's at first.  He was prophesied to help his father kill Drona, and now I'm desperately trying to remember who does kill Drona and what happens to Dhristadyumna (or Dhri as Draupadi calls him).  I'm already so attached!
• I liked when the author mentioned what their names mean:  Draupadi means 'Daughter of Drupad' and Dhristadyumna means 'Destroyer of Enemies'.  Both are pretty appropriate names, haha.
• Krishna also appears a bit in this story.  He comes in and speaks to Draupadi a lot and always tells her the truth about what is going on around her.  He also gave her some much needed confidence about her dark skin color, something I didn't think about when reading the Mahabharata.  Apparently, both Krishna and Draupadi had very dark skin at a time when dark skin was looked down on, but both ended up being thought of as great beauties.  I liked how she showed Draupadi's transformation from timid girl to confident, beautiful woman.
• I am so excited to finish reading this book!  I did not think I would like it nearly as much as I do.

Draupadi and Dhristadyumna.  Web Source.

Bibliography:  The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni.  Reading Guide.

Reading Notes: Epified Mahabharata Part D

• I wonder how Draupadi feels about this whole thing.  She doesn't even get to really decide who she marries; this contest will.
• Well she does get a bit of choice, I suppose, haha.  Poor Karna again!  I honestly can't blame him for being so close to the Kauravas especially when everyone else treats him like this.  And just because of his class too!  She didn't even let him try!  No wonder he resents and wants to humiliate her later.
• I wonder how she feels about this too!  Now she has 5 possibly unwanted husbands.  She doesn't seem too troubled by this later but who knows.  I'm kind of sad they didn't talk about Narayan's version of why she has 5 husbands in the videos.  In his version he says that she is the reincarnation of a devoted wife to an ugly sage, who near the end of his life rewarded her by taking on the form of 5 men.  When he died, she wished to have 5 husbands again, and now this is her fate.  I like that version better!
• I wish they had just been able to avoid the war by living in peace in Indraprastha.  I can understand Duryodhana being jealous of their city, but still, leave them be!
• Poor Arjuna!  I understand why their arrangement was necessary but it still seems like such an honest mistake and justifiable in terms of the circumstances.  But I guess that's what makes him so "good" since he followed the oath anyway.
• I wonder what happens while Arjuna is in exile.  It seems like not much.
• Now I'm wondering how old everyone is.  They never really mention ages but it seems like they can just have 7 year exiles without significant changes or getting older.  They even have the 14 year exile later and they still seem in the prime of their life!

Indraprastha.  Web Source.

Bibliography:  Epified Mahabharata.  Reading Guide.

Reading Notes: Epified Mahabharata Part C

• Poor Karna :( I feel so bad for him because he can never claim his birthright.  He doesn't want to betray his "parents" but he could have so much more.
• I'm glad that Duryodhana recognizes Karna's potential!  He's more "progressive" than the Pandavas in that sense.  I wonder if this attitude is frowned upon actually because of the idea that Karna should have stuck to his assumed class.
• I feel so bad for Drona too!  You'd think that one of the best archers in the world would have found some employment, but I can't believe that his friend wouldn't help him!  Or that he would be so condescending to him.
• What an elaborate scheme to kill the Pandavas.  I get that they don't want people to know that they killed them but sheesh they could have just hired some assassins or something.
• They glossed over this in these videos too!  In the original version, they invite some lower class people in and leave them to die so that people will think that they are dead.  It's just awful that they would do that, so I'm glad in other versions they remove that.
• Narayan's version didn't really emphasize Bhima all that much.  It's cool to hear some of what he did while Arjuna and the others were doing stuff.  It seemed like Arjuna was the "hero" of the Pandavas in Narayan's retelling, but this version makes it seem like Bhima's no slouch either.
• Draupadi's birth seems so strange.  She's almost an afterthought in the birth of her brother, but then it ends up being her brother that isn't mentioned much later.  Although maybe that's just the selective focus and not being able to include everything in the story.

Birth of Draupadi.  Web Source.

Bibliography:  Epified Mahabharata.  Reading Guide.

Reading Notes: Arnold's Bhagavad Gita Part B

• Thanks to Dr. Gibbs pointing it out I found Arnold's version of J. Robert Oppenheimer's famous quote!  It is much more different in this version, but I like how poetic it is.  Would have been much harder for him to quote though.
• This half of the Bhagavad Gita intrigued me a lot more than the first half.  I liked how it delved deeper into the differences between a good person and a bad person and the different types of qualities.
• I was especially interested in the difference between sattva, rajas, and tamas.  I think it's rather interesting that Hinduism regards doing things for pleasure and passion to be worse than doing things without attachment or emotion.  In Christian and Western culture, people typically prefer doing things with passion and for their happiness.  Tamas seems to be more similar to the Christian idea of a "bad person."
• I also think it's interesting that Hindus regard people trying to get material wealth to be one of the worst kinds of people while most Americans and Westerners wholeheartedly believe in this path; it's even the American Dream.
• The justification for the caste system was very interesting.  Krishna says that it's better to do the job that you were assigned poorly than to do something that you shouldn't do well.  That is very against most Western ideals, and my own opinions too, but it's a very interesting viewpoint either way.
• I kind of just flipped through most of the pictures when I was reading, but at the end I discovered that they had an appendix that went through each of the pictures in detail and described the symbolism in each one.  It was so helpful!  I had no idea of all of the nuances present in the positioning of the people or the borders and it helped me understand the Bhagavad Gita a lot more.

First frontispiece in the book.  It is Dhritarashtra asking Sanjaya to tell him what happens in the battle.  Web Source.

Bibliography:  Bhagavad Gita:  The Song Celestial translated by Edwin Arnold.  Reading Guide.

Reading Notes: Arnold's Bhagavad Gita Part A

• I love how the book is presented!  I checked out the copy from the Bizzell library and it is gorgeous!  It comes in a cute red box and it has very pretty illustrations in it!  It also has Sanskrit next to the English, which is cool to look at even though I don't understand a word.
• The style of this is so different from Narayan's version.  Obviously, Narayan's was a narrative so he didn't really have a lot of room for the preaching (for lack of a better term) that is in Arnold's version, but besides that the poetry of this version is so nice.  It's a really good translation!  I don't know what it sounded like in the original Sanskrit, but if it's anything like the translation, it must have been beautiful.
• This style of back-and-forth conversation helping to demonstrate the principles of the religion really reminds me of the Bible.  Some of the Bible verses are similar to this with the apostles questioning Jesus, so it's really interesting to see how the same idea holds in Hinduism.
• I was really intrigued by Krishna's argument that life is life and cannot be destroyed.  It is kind of an interesting view, but it makes some sense, I guess, since even with the death of one person, there is still life in general.
• I keep waiting for the infamous line quoted by J. Robert Oppenheimer about "I am become death, destroyer of worlds" but it looks like I'll be waiting a little longer!  Either that or it's not in this translation.

Arjuna questioning Krishna.  Web Source.

Bibliography:  Bhagavad Gita:  The Song Celestial translated by Edwin Arnold.  Reading Guide.

Reading Notes: Epified Krishna Part B

• Why do all these gods feel the need to test Krishna's divinity?  They already know he's Vishnu reincarnated.
• Poor Radha :(.  She was so devoted to Krishna!  They were one soul!  Why couldn't they be together???
• I hope Krishna can come back to his village someday but I think it looks like he's just going to forget about them forever.
• I really like how they keep the representations of Krishna so consistent with the little peacock? feather everytime.  It really helps build a picture of who he is.
• Poor elephant :( he probably didn't want to have to kill people.
• Why did no one kill Kamsa before if everyone hated him so much?  I guess he was a good warrior but still if enough people fight him then it won't matter.
• Haha, I love Krishna's logic.  Well we keep getting attacked here so why don't we just move somewhere else?
• Why can't he kill him now?  This is such a strange fate paradox.  He will be killed by Bhima later because Krishna spares him now, but if Krishna hadn't spared him now, but he did so oh god this is too much.

Krishna.  Web Source.

Bibliography:  Epified Krishna.  Web Source.

Reading Note: Epified Krishna Part A

• I love the music and drawing style for these even better than the Mahabharata ones actually.  I really like the way the music matches the mood and seems more integrated with the story than the other ones.  I also like the way each picture is framed and is more a snapshot of one particular story.
• I hadn't really thought much about Krishna in the Mahabharata but I really like learning more about his past!  I had no idea he went through so much in the beginning of his life
• The part when Maya turns out to be Durka (sp?) was so great!  Especially when she chastised him for thinking that women were weak.  You go girl!
• The way he killed the first demoness was so strange, haha.  Also the way she decided to kill him was a little strange too.  She couldn't just have dashed his head against a rock?
• How does Kunce (sp?) have access to all these weird monsters?  What did he have to do to get control of all of them?
• I hope Krishna's birth parents are eventually freed!  It's so sad that all of their children except for him died and that they have to be locked up for so long.
• Seeing the universe in your son must have been terrifying.  I'm glad she was able to make it out of that without becoming insane.
• So glad that his friends didn't die permanently because of the snake!  This is why kids shouldn't play in the forest, haha.
• I wonder why he wanted them to worship that hill specifically?  I mean it was a nice demonstration of his power later but why?
• Radha sounds like a great person.  Krishna better treat her nice.
• I can't believe all of this happened already and he still hasn't met the Pandavas!  He led an exciting life.

Vasudeva escaping with Krishna.  Web Source.

Bibliography:  Epified Krishna.  Web Source.

Reading Notes: Epified Mahabharata Part B

• One of the episodes randomly had a different voice person, and it was a little interesting haha.  I had gotten so used to the male one, that the female one gave me a bit of a shock.
• Yesterday it seemed like they cut out a lot of detail from the Mahabharata, but this time it seemed like there were a lot more stories that I hadn't read in the Narayan version.
• The differing version of why Kunti had an illegitimate son was interesting.  Less blame was placed on her because the sage didn't tell her exactly what the mantra would do.  In the Narayan version, she was told though and she just wanted to know whether it would work.
• I was very disturbed at the retelling of Gandhari's sons.  The putrid lump of flesh being divided into the vats of oil was very weird, not to mention the fact that her sons apparently looked demonic and were the type that only blind parents could love.  It definitely seems like they have a bit of a bias towards the Pandavas, which I don't appreciate.
• The story of Ekalavya was very sad too.  He worked so hard and he couldn't enjoy any of his hard work because he wasn't a kshatriya.  This story really demonstrated a lot of the caste system prejudice that was present back then.  It seemed that Narayan glossed over a lot of that in his retelling.
• Personally if I were Arjuna after meeting Ekalavya, I would be inspired to work even harder rather than just being angry that somebody else had beaten him that shouldn't have.

Ekalavya cutting off his thumb and presenting it to Drona.  Web Source.

Bibliography:  Epified Mahabharata.  Web Source.

Reading Notes: Epified Mahabharata Part A

• I love this drawing and animating style!  It's so cute and I like how it looks like they're drawing it in real time!  I also really like the look and appearance of each of the characters.  They all show so much emotion!
• Going through the story again this way with all of the little retellings of the story each time really helped me get the character names down!  It's also helped me a lot with remembering family trees.  I had a lot of problems remembering all of the different relationships but it really helps when the story is condensed so much.
• I did kind of miss all of the extra detail though.  I watched it with my friends and I found myself pausing after every video to give them more in depth explanations of what had happened!
• I really enjoyed going back through the Mahabharata this way!  I'm definitely going to be watching all of these in the near future, maybe even this week if I have time!

Epified Mahabharata.  Web Source.

Bibliography:  Epified Mahabharata.  Web Source.

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part D

• I like how the Pandavas have a lot of regrets and don't want to continue fighting the war.  I wish they would all just stop and make peace but I suppose there are too many grudges.
• It's interesting seeing this book's version of the quote:  "I am become death, destroyer of worlds."  That was my most favorite quote by J. Robert Oppenheimer about the atomic bomb, and I'm really glad that I got to read that part.  In this version Krishna says "I am death.  I am destruction."  I like the impact of the other version better.
• So many sad moments in here with Bhishma on his bed of arrows, Drona getting his head cut off, and Adhimanyu getting caught in the lotus maze formation.  The last one especially got to me when Arjuna began crying about his dead son.
• I was also sad about the death of Karna.  It was kind of interesting how many people tried to convince him to go back and support the Pandavas.  I like how much he stuck to Duryodhana even though he knew he was doomed simply because Duryodhana had been the one who had supported him from the very beginning.  He was loyal to the bitter end.
• I liked how defiant Duryodhana was even at the very end.  He knew he was going to die and had just been humiliated by Bhima, but still he finds it in himself to chastise a god about his situation.  Maybe he did deserve it since he had started everything in the first place, but even so he was still brave and strong.
• Out of her hundred sons, Gandhari only had one left.  That was pretty sad too as well as the fact that she and Dhritarashtra and Kunthi died in a forest fire.
• I liked how Narayan set up the epilogue by saying that all epics writers have a hard time not continuing on to the narrative.
• Overall, I was very surprised with how deep and philosophical some parts were.  In the PDE Ramayana I read, not a lot of the parts were philosophical.  It was mostly very action oriented it seemed, but in the Mahabharata, many parts had deep questions and quotes.  I especially liked the quote about the greatest wonder in the world.

Bhima and Duryodhana.  Web Source.

Bibliography:  R.K. Narayan.  Mahabharata.  Reading Guide.

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part C

• I was a little shocked at the part where most of them drank water from the pond and died.  I knew they couldn't actually be dead since the battle still had to be fought but it was really interesting that all of them succumbed to the temptation except for Yudhishthira.  Also I was not expecting that the person who was testing them was actually Yudhishthira's father, so I guess it does make sense that he was the only one who passed.
• I'm glad that they actually got to enjoy their last year in exile with the boon from Yama.  It was nice that they could do whatever they wanted.  All of them chose such mundane things.  It makes me wonder whether they would have been happier just giving up their kingdom.
• I find it funny that even when Duryodhana goes to taunt the Pandavas and gets captured, they still rescue him and he still thanks them!  It's funny which courtesies can't be done away with.  It also makes me kind of sad though that they will fight.
• Their argument over the dice game is sad.  They're both right, kind of, but it's just so small and petty.  Whether they revealed themselves too early, or whether the dice game was legally entered into or not do not seem like terms by which an entire family should be destroyed.
• The Pandavas keep being built up into the family that is better and that should win.  I want more points of view from Duryodhana and Karna.  Everybody seems to think that Duryodhana is such a terrible person.  The story is still kind of ambivalent though.
• I find it interesting that Krishna still offers his help to both Duryodhana and Arjuna even though they're on opposite sides.
• Why can't they all just get along?!

Krishna and the Pandavas.  Web Source.

Bibliography:  R.K. Narayan.  Mahabharata.  Reading Guide.

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part B

• Reading the introduction gave me more appreciation for the one scene where there is a woman and five men's charred remains found in the house.  In the Sanskrit version, they are tricked in there by the Pandavas and are left for dead simply for being members of a lower caste.  I appreciate how Narayan sidestepped the issue and simply said they must have wandered in accidentally.
• I just wish they would all get along now.  I hate seeing how much more the fights keep escalating.  Duryodhana should have been happy that they were going to have their own separate kingdom, but I suppose he would never have been happy that they were supposedly doing better than he was.
• Yudhishthira has a serious gambling problem.  Sakuni's rigging of the dice was wrong (and his explanation for why it wasn't wrong was silly.  It's not skill that allows you to rig dice.), but Yudhishthira could have stopped at any time.  He was only obligated to play one round.
• I keep losing sympathy for Duryodhana.  That's just mean to treat Draupadi like that.  At worst, she laughed at you.  At best, she had absolutely nothing to do with your conflict with the Pandavas.
• Seriously, Yudhishthira?  Did you really have to go back and play again?  All your brothers even told you this is a terrible and stupid idea!
• Bhima and Arjuna make good points about not remaining in exile the whole time, but I appreciate Yudhishthira's wanting to keep his vow.  I wonder what they'll choose in the end.
• Also Arjuna's "blessing" thing is kind of funny.  Wait 13 years while women scoff at you but don't worry it'll actually pay off in the end.

Draupadi's never ending robe.  Web Source.

Bibliography:  R.K. Narayan.  Mahabharata.  Reading Guide.

Reading Notes: Narayan's Mahabharata Part A

• The Kindle edition introduction was actually really interesting!  I really enjoyed reading about how many different versions of the Mahabharata there were and how other translators attempted to relay the story.
• I skipped the character guide at first but soon realized that was a mistake.  There are so many characters and this is coming from someone who reads Game of Thrones with ease.  I'm already getting mixed up with all of the different cousins and brothers and nephews.
• I love the story of Satyarati.  So weird but interesting.  The whole fish mother and fish odor thing was so funny.
• What happened with Vyasa and the two wives was really interesting.  Very unfortunate that that was the case.  Even though the king tried to make sure he would still have an heir, fate still made him lose all of them.
• I can already see the set up for the giant battle later.  It's so tragic.  I wish someone could have just said to them to stop fighting but I suppose it's hard to forget grudges when they build up so slowly over time.  And both sides are right too, in my opinion.  Maybe Duryodhana escalated things a little too quickly but still.
• Draupadi's story is very interesting haha.  I like the way Narayan tries vainly to explain her status in the context of the values of the time.

Draupadi's swayamwara.  Web Source.

Bibliography:  R.K. Narayan.  Mahabharata.  Reading Guide.