Reading Notes | Mahabharata A

This week, I chose to continue in the style of note-taking that I used for the Ramayana. I liked this style because I was able to look back and remember the important characters and plot developments that hold the stories together. I really enjoyed the PDE Ramayana, but I decided to utilize a different version for these notes. I chose to focus on pages 1-11 because this is where characters are introduced.

Vyasa and Ganesha
-Vyasa = composed the Mahabharata, similar to Valmiki with the Ramayana
-could write a funny story about the two debating their stories/works 
-Ganesha = Vyasa's scribe, elephant-headed god

(Vyasa and Ganesha. Web Source: Wikimedia)

Pg. 1

Shantanu = King of Hastinapura, marries Ganga, a woman he meets by the river

-Ganga drowns first seven of eight babies in the river (sending them back to heaven)

-She takes the last baby (Devavrata/Bhishma) with her 

Pg. 3 

Shantanu and Satyavati fall in love but to get Satyavati's father to agree for them to get married, Bhishma renounces his heir to the thrown.

-could be a fun love quarrel to write

-Shantanu and Satyavati have two sons, one dies, now there is only Vichitravirya
-Bhishma goes to get three daughters from a neighboring kingdom Amba, Ambika, and Ambalika.

-Amba had already been chosen to marry another King, but after he finds out, he shuns the idea

-Amba vows to seek revenge on Bhishma

-Ambika and Ambalika both marry Vihcitravirya

Pg. 5 

-Vichitravirya dies, so Satyavati gets her son Vyasa to sleep with the wives + the maid

-One child is blind (Dhritarashtra)

-One child is pale (Pandu)

-One child is perfect (Vidura)

Pg. 9

-Dhritarashtra marries and his wife covers her eyes to share in blindness

-Pandu has two wives but cant have children because he shot a deer having sex that cursed him 

-Kunti = one of Pandu's wives; conceived a child with the sun god - Karna!

MORE SONS

Pandavas

-Yudhishthira = son of Kunti and Yama, characterized by Dharma

-Bhima = son of Kunti and Vayu, enormously strong

-Arjuna = son of Kunti and Indra, weapon expert

-twin sons from twin gods

Meanwhile Dhritarashtra has one hundred sons = Kauravas

-Pandu dies will making love to Madri (curse)

-Kunti left behind to raise 5 children

Pg. 11

-Pandavas and Kauravas now raised together under Dhritarahtra's roof (kingdom)

-Duryodhana(K) plots against Kauravas, especially Bhima and tries to kill him

-Bhima goes down into the underworld king of the mighty serpents who are called nagas, and as a result of this adventure, he becomes supernaturally strong

-Drona = guru to both sets of boys, brahmin by birth

-Arjuna is the only one who succeeds with Drona's challenges

-Karna arrives to challenge Arjuna

-Drona now challenges the boys to capture Drupada and bring him as prisoner to Drona

-Duryodhana's jealousy grows 

Bibliography: Narayan's Mahabharata by R. K. Narayan