Week 6 Reading Diary cont: Narayan's Mahabharata

This is the final part of my reading diary for the Mahabharata by Narayan.

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Hesitant Hero

Eeek, I always get uneasy when the phrase “bad omen” is used in these books. Like, you know exactly what is going to happen – destruction. Here, there is blood rain, earthquakes, and mad dogs. Gee. What a great way to start a battle.

I found Arjuna’s sadness at having to kill his family touching. But I really liked how Krishna explained the concept of “detached conduct”. It’s like with a jury having to decide a verdict – you cannot be biased. You have to be objective about the situation. The Kauravas have done wrong, and so the Pandavas must fix it. It is sure to be difficult, but it is the right thing to do.

The different battle formations were interesting to think about – I can picture a heron-shaped formation attacking the fish-shaped formation! I think this will be a good piece to add to my storybook tale on Krishna!

Delirium of Destruction

The fighting between Arjuna and Bhishma is so sad – neither wants to kill the other. Arjuna could easily take down his grandsire, but he is held back by his love for him. Bhishma is caught several times by Duryodhana – he is watching the Pandavas with love and admiration.

Okay – what the heck – Arjuna uses Sikandi as a human SHIELD. Sikandi is actually Amba reincarnated (Bhishma spurned her, so she came back as a male to take revenge), and since Bhishma knows this he will not shoot at her. So Arjuna just has Sikandi stand in front of him so he can take down his foe. How lame is that? I could imaging re-writing this with a poor little woman strapped on a shield, being used during war.

The Kauravas are a sneaky bunch – in an attempt to capture Yudhishthira, they distract Arjuna. And then, Arjuna’s son gets killed while trying to break a lotus formation. They really shouldn’t have done that – Arjuna is not a guy to mess around with!

I understand why Krishna suggested that they defeat Drona by telling him his son, Aswathama, has perished – but, that is pretty harsh. You know it is a harsh move when Arjuna refuses to do it (also, he understands the pain of having your son taken from you).

This battle is filled with deceit! Yudhishthira lies about Drona’s son’s death – Karna brings up honor, but then shoots Arjuna while they were talking. But final,y Duryodhana was defeated by Bhima.

A depiction of the battle between the Kauravas and Pandavas. (Source: Wikimedia)

Victory and Sorrow

Dhritarashtra tried killing Bhima with a hug – A HUG! Watch out ladies and gentleman, killer hugs on the loose! What was that old man thinking? Who even does that? I mean, I get that he is upset that his sons have died…but that doesn’t mean you try to hug someone to death!

I am constantly disappointed in Yudhishthira. He is all torn up about killing all the Kauravas and has decided to throw a pity party. For himself. Not all the women who lost their husbands. Not all the soldiers he commanded who lost their friends. No. He was sad for himself, because now he has to be a king. This dude is a straight up loser. He doesn’t understand responsibility, he doesn’t even try to do what a king should do. He gambles away his kingdom. He forces his brothers and wife to go through years of exile. He takes thousands of soldiers into battle, where may die. And then he cries when he was to be king again. He really needs to sort out his problems.