Week 9 Reading Notes: More Mahabharata Part A

For this week, I've chosen Richard Wilson's version called The Indian Story Book: The Five Tall Sons of Pandu. I chose this as it is a retelling but with no mention of gods or celecstial weapons, so it must portray the brothers as some very impressive warriors! I'm excited to see how this one goes.

The Young Princes: Pandu has five sons, Arjuna being the best warrior of them all after training. Pandu's brother Dhritarashtra becomes king with his 100 sons after Pandu dies, and the tension begins to build between the cousins early. To show off their skills and decide the best fighter, a tourney is made and they face off. Bhima (son of Pandu) and Duryodhana get heated and the battle has to be called off. While Arjuna shows off, he is challenged by a nameless stranger (Karna). Karna is able to keep up perfectly with him and out of everyone there, KARNA is chosen to become the new king of Huga (an area controlled by Dhritarashtra).

Draupadi's Swayamvara: Yudhishthira (Pandu) is named heir to the throne and not the eldest son of  Dhritarashtra, Duryodhana. Logical response? Kill them all and their mom in a burning house. Too bad they get out. MAJOR CHANGE HERE: After escaping and Arjuna winning Draupadi, she is given to be the wife of Yudhishthira as he is the eldest son. This is a change from her having five husbands in the PDE version.

King Yudhishthira: Instead of Yudhishthira becoming king via Duryodhana, the land is divided in half, giving the wealthier half to himself, and the other half to Yudhishthira. The ceremony for Yudhishthira was quite the spectacle as Krishna, the guest of honor, beheads the King of Chedi over the rude remarks they made about the guest of honor.

The Gambling Match: In a cheated gambling match, Yudhishthira loses everything to Duryodhana. Even his wife at first, and thus starts the exile of the Pandavas. As as last wish, Draupadi wishes to go into exile with them and she is able to. They are to be exiled 13 years.

Exile: During their exile, they still manage to make Duryodhana hate them by what other than saving his life! During the last year in exile, they disguise themselves among the court of King Virata in various roles. When Duryodhana steals King Virata's cattle, it's time for the brothers to reveal their true colors and get that cattle back! They retrieve their weapons and ready for battle with the one who got them exiled.

End of Exile: Drona is the first to realize who they really are when going to battle against them, and Duryodhana is able to escape. Now that their exile is up and they've retrieved the cattle and their weapons, they are ready to take back their kindgom.

Overall, seeing no mentions of avatars or other celestial being is a refreshing take on the story. Instead of celestial weapons, they're just expertly crafted. And instead of using celestial powers, the brother are all just amazing at what they do!


The duel between Bhima and Duryodhana

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