Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part A

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Who's Who?
The Mahabharata is filled to the brim with characters. As brothers and sons accumulated I struggled to keep track of who everyone was - it certainly didn't help that Dhritarashtra alone had more than a hundred sons! 

The Pandavas
Pandu --- Kunthi
Sons: Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna 

Pandu --- Madri
Sons: Nakula, Sahadeva

Kunthi
Sons: Karna

The Kauravas
Dhritarashtra --- Gandhari 
Sons: Duryodhana, Dussala, Dushasan, 98 others

Pleasure and Pain
-Pandu kills a deer engaging with its mate while out on a hunt
-The deer is actually a celestial being 
-He places a curse on Pandu saying that he will die if he attempts to unite with any of his wives
-Pandu is forced to become celibate
-Pandu's wives income mantras to unite with the Gods and bear sons, thus carrying on the legacy of the family
-Pandu is walking in the woods with Madri one day, and unable to resist her, seizes her and dies in the act of lovemaking
-Madri jumps onto Pandu's funeral pyre

The Story of Draupadi
-Was a woman named Nalayani in her previous life
-Nalayani married a sage that was physically repulsive, but remained intensely loyal and faithful 
-After a time the sage revealed that he was not in fact ugly and it had been a test, and offers to grant her a boon
-She asks that her husband take five forms to love her as five men 
-The sage eventually went off to meditate, leaving his wife high and dry
-Nalayani meditated and prayed for her husband, whispering the word five times
-Ishwara the Almighty heard her plea and declared that she would be reborn as a beautiful woman destined to take five husbands 
-She was reborn out of a sacrificial fire as Draupadi, and became the wife of the five sons of of Pandu

The Arena
The public ceremony held to show off the skills of the sons and nephews of the King reminded me very much of the Greek gladiator games. Spectators surround the young men in the arena as they demonstrate their skills and strength. Each one has studied with Drona and mastered various fighting arts. 



The exile of the Pandavas. Source: Wikimedia Commons


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Bibliography

Narayan, R.K. The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic. 

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