Reading Week 11: Jataka Tales (Part B)

Two geese told a turtle that they wanted to show him their home very far away. Knowing the turtle could not fly, they offered to carry him by having him hold on to a stick with his mouth that they carried. They asked him to promise to never talk, and he said he would abide by that promise.

When flying over some children, they made fun of the situation of the turtle being carried by the geese; the turtle was upset by that, and he retaliated by speaking back to him, which meant he lost his grip on the stick and he fell.

The turtle and the geese

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Reading Week 11: Jataka Tales (Part A)

The Ox Who Won the Forfeit

A man had an ox that normally was very strong. One day, while proving to others how strong he was, scolded and whipped him trying to be strong, but the ox did not budge. This was because he yelled at him. When he did not yell at him, he moved.

The Ox Was Whipped

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Reading Notes - The Five Tall Sons of Pandu (Part B)

Title: The Indian Story Book: The Five Tall Sons of Pandu
Author: Richard Wilson
Illustrator: Frank Pape
Year: 1914
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Duryodhana objects to Yudhishthira being named king of his own realm, so he prepares for war. In Virata's court, the Pandavas deliberate. Krishna's brother Balarama advocates for making peace, but Satyaki, a great warrior of Krishna's clan, calls for war. Drupada argues they should seek allies while also appealing to Duryodhana for peace. Krishna goes on a peace mission to Dhritarashtra. Krishna's appeal moves Dhritarashtra, and Drona also argues for peace, but Duryodhana insists on war, and his decision is absolute.

When the great armies first meet on the battlefield, Arjuna hesitates to attack as enemies his own uncle and cousins and also his teacher Drona. Krishna persuades him to obey Duty (Dharma), and Arjuna agrees.

The great and aged warrior Bhishma leads Duryodhana's armies and they have the advantage on the first day. On the second day, Arjuna and the Pandavas rally, and Duryodhana threatens to replace Bhishma with Karna. Bhishma tells Duryodhana that the gods are not on their side because their cause is not just, but he still fights boldly, to Arjuna's dismay. Yet Arjuna beats off all attacks, and the battle continues. On the next day, Bhima slays many of Duryodhana's brothers but he barely escapes with his life. And so the battle goes on.

Fighting for the Pandavas was Shikhandin, who had been born a woman but transformed into a man, a warrior destined to bring about Bhishma's death. Bhishma would not fight someone who was born a woman, and so he lowered his guard when meeting Shikhandin in battle, and at that moment the Pandavas shot him full of arrows. Bhishma does not die right away, however, and instead lies on a bed of arrows, surrounded by the princes of both sides who weep for him.

Before he dies, Bhishma urges Duryodhana to make peace, but Duryodhana refuses. Karna later visits Bhishma, and Bhishma reveals that Arjuna is his brother; the charioteer who raised him was only his foster father, and Karna was in fact the first-born child of Kunti, Arjuna's own mother. Even so, Karna is still determined to kill Arjuna.

Drona replaces Bhishma as general of the army, and he vows to capture Yudhishthira. Arjuna has sworn not to attack Drona except to save Yudhishthira, so Drona's attack on Yudhishthira fails and the Pandavas all fight bravely. Duryodhana grows angry at Drona and threatens to replace him with Karna. Drona says he will do his duty, promising that either he or Arjuna would die that day.

Drona's son Ashwathaman is a great warrior also, and one of the war elephants has the same name. Bhima kills the war elephant, and when Drona hears that "Bhima has killed Aswathaman," he despairs, thinking his son is dead. Drona asks Yudhishthira if the news is true, and Yudhishthira replies that the elephant Ashwathaman is dead, although Drona hears only that Ashwathaman is dead. Draupadi's brother (Dhrishtadyumna) then rides up and, seeing his own father dead on the battlefield, he kills Drona. Karna will command Duryodhana's army next.

Duryodhana is confident that, unlike Bhishma and Drona, Karna has no secret love for the Pandavas. Karna and Arjuna face each other in battle; the result is a draw.

The next day, Karna vows that either he or Arjuna will die that day, and he asks to have Shalya, the king of Madra, as his charioteer. But first he encounters Yudhishthira, and the two of them fight. The result again is a draw, and Karna awaits Arjuna.

After a brief quarrel, Yudhishthira and Arjuna apologize to one another, and Arjuna rides out to face Karna. Karna manages to break Arjuna's bow, and according to the rules of war, Arjuna asks for a respite to obtain a new weapon, but Karna continues his attack. In the midst of that attack, he repairs his bow. As Arjuna launches his own attack, Karna's chariot wheel sticks in the ground, so Karna begs Arjuna for a respite. Arjuna lets Krishna decide, and Krishna says no respite will be given. Karna and Arjuna continue to fight, until finally Arjuna shoots the fatal arrow, and Karna falls down dead upon the field.

Even after Karna's death, Duryodhana vows to carry on the war. He puts Shalya in command. When Yudhishthira kills Shalya, Duryodhana flees into the forest near a lake. [In the traditional version, Duryodhana uses supernatural powers to hide inside the lake itself.]

When the Pandavas find him, Duryodhana vows to kill them all. Bhima says that he is the one who will kill Duryodhana. They fight with maces, and Bhima knocks Duryodhana to the ground unconscious.

The Pandavas then race back to their camp, having learned that Drona's son Ashwathaman has killed their own sons. When Duryodhana comes to, he sees Ashwathaman standing there. Ashwathaman explains that he has killed all the sons of the Pandavas. Duryodhana then dies.

This was the end of the war. Pritha (Kunti) revealed to the Pandavas that Karna was also her son, and that Arjuna had thus killed his own brother. The Pandavas therefore mourned over Karna and all their other losses, and Yudhishthira acknowledged Karna's strength and skill, and "so the story ends in reunion of heart if not of life [and] in pity for the conquered rather than in boastful triumph over their fall."

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Reading Notes - The Five Tall Sons of Pandu (Part A)

Title: The Indian Story Book: The Five Tall Sons of Pandu
Author: Richard Wilson
Illustrator: Frank Pape
Year: 1914
Source


Pandu is the father of five tall sons: Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, and the twins Nakula and Sahadeva. When Pandu dies, his brother Dhritarashtra, who is blind, becomes king. Dhritarashtra has one hundred sons; Duryodhana is the eldest. He hates his cousins, the sons of Pandu (the Pandavas). Drona trains the young princes in the arts of war.

When the princes have grown up and mastered the arts of war, Drona organizes a tournament. The cousins engage in mock battles, but Duryodhana and Bhima fight so fiercely that Drona puts a stop to their contest. Arjuna performs amazing feats of archery.

Then a mysterious warrior, Karna, challenges Arjuna. He matches Arjuna's feats exactly, and then he and Arjuna prepare for a duel. The herald proclaims Arjuna's lineage and then asks the stranger to do the same; he cannot. Duryodhana then crowns the warrior as king of Huga (Anga).

A charioteer then enters the tournmanet ground, and Karna bows to him as his father. Bhima is outraged that Karna is the son of a charioteer and mocks him. Duryodhana defends Karna's skills and virtues, despite his humble birth. Darkness ends the tournament, and everyone realizes that Karna is a warrior whose talents rival those of Arjuna.

Duryodhana is furious when Yudhishthira is named as heir apparent to the throne. Duryodhana tries to trap the Pandavas and their mother Pritha (Kunti) in a burning house but they escape, disguising themselves as hermits.

They then go to the swayamvara of Princess Draupadi, daughter of King Drupada of Panchala. Drupada has heard of Arjuna and hopes he will enter the contest; to be sure Arjuna will win, Drupada sets up an archery target he thinks only Arjuna can hit. All the suitors fail to string the bow; Karna strings the bow, but Draupadi declares she will not accept a low-born husband. A hermit, Arjuna in disguise, then strings the bow and shoots the target.

People are amazed! Draupadi declares him the winner, but the other suitors are angry and attack the hermits. Krishna raises his hand to stop the hostilities, and all bow to him.

Arjuna then takes Draupadi home and tells his mother he has won a prize. Not knowing what the prize is, Kunti declares that it must belong to Yudhishthira as the eldest, so Draupadi will be the wife of Yudhishthira, not Arjuna. [Note that this is a major change in the story that Wilson introduces: in the traditional version, Kunti tells Arjuna that he must share his prize with all the brothers, so Draupadi becomes the bride of all five Pandavas.]

Now that the Pandavas have made an alliance with King Drupada, Duryodhana divides the kingdom: Duryodhana takes the richer part of the kingdom along the Ganges and gives the western portion on the river Yamuna to the Pandavas. They build a beautiful royal city and perform a special sacrifice to make Yudhishthira king.


Dhritarashtra attends, as does Duryodhana, along with the kings of many other kingdoms and Krishna too. When Yudhishthira honors Krishna as the guest of honor, Shishupala, King of Chedi, gets angry. Krishna uses his discus weapon (chakra) to behead Shishupala.

Now that Yudhishthira is a king in his own kingdom, Duryodhana is mad with jealousy and decides to trick Yudhishthira in a game of dice, with the help of Prince Shakuni (who is actually his maternal uncle). Shakuni cheats and Yudhishthira loses everything, gambling even his brothers and himself. Then he loses Draupadi. Dhritarashtra is appalled and vows that the Pandavas shall not be slaves; instead, they shall go into forest exile. [In the traditional version, the forest exile is the result of a second gambling match, which Yudhishthira loses as he did the first.]

When a servant summons Draupadi, she refuses to go. Then Duryodhana's brother, Prince Dushasana, drags Draupadi by the hair into the council chamber.

She begs her husbands to avenge her, but they can do nothing. Karna taunts her, as does Duryodhana. Dhritarashtra then offers to grant Draupadi a wish; she asks to go into exile with the Pandavas. The Pandavas and Draupadi go into the forest for twelve years of exile and a thirteenth year that they must spend in disguise.

While the Pandavas are in exile, Duryodhana comes to visit and mock them, but he ends up needing their help to escape the gandharvas of the forest (led by Chitrasena), and that makes Duryodhana hate the Pandavas even more. Another prince (Jayadratha) tries to abduct Draupadi, but the Pandavas rescue her. They visit wise men who tell them stories, like the tale of Savitri who conquered death and the love story of Nala and Damayanti.

They spend the year of disguise in the court of King Virata: Yudhishthira as a brahmin priest, Bhima a cook, Arjuna a dancing master, Nakula as a stableboy, and Sahadeva as a cowboy (and Draupadi as a hairdresser to the queen). Near the end of the year, Duryodhana, together with Drona and Karna, steal King Virata's cattle. Virata's son, Uttara, calls for a chariot-driver to take him into battle, and Arjuna offers to go. Uttara thinks Arjuna is only a dancing teacher, but finally agrees. Arjuna takes Uttara to where the Pandavas have concealed their weapons, disguises as corpses hanging from trees, and so they prepare themselves to fight Duryodhana and retrieve the cattle.

Uttara is amazed by the quality of the weapons. Arjuna reveals that they are the weapons of the Pandavas. Uttara then asks where the Pandavas are now. Arjuna then reveals the truth about their disguised identities. When Drona sees the monkey banner (Kapi Dhwaja, in honor of Hanuman), he knows it is Arjuna who pursues them. Duryodhana escapes, but they rescue the cattle and bring them back to King Virata. It is now time for the Pandavas and Draupadi to reclaim their kingdom.

Drona trains the princes

Mahabharata - The Princes of Elephant City (Part A)

Long after the reign of King Bharata, there was a king in Hastinapura called Vichitravirya, who died and left two sons: Dhritarashtra, the older son, who is blind, and his brother Pandu, who becomes king. Pandu has five sons: Yudhishthira, Bhima, and Arjuna by his wife Kunti, and Nakula and Sahadeva by his wife Madri. These sons of Pandu, the Pandavas, are said to be the sons of gods. When Pandu dies, Dhritarashtra becomes king. King Dhritarashtra and Queen Gandhari have one hundred sons, and they grow up together with the five sons of Pandu. Duryodhana is the eldest of those one hundred sons, called the Kauravas (descendants of Kuru). Together, the Pandavas and the Kauravas are the Bharatas, the descendants of King Bharata.


Drona is the boys' teacher, and the Pandavas were his best pupils, arousing the jealousy of Duryodhana. Drona then leads his pupils in an attack on King Drupada of Panchala, his enemy, and Drupada prays to the gods for a way to avenge himself against the Bharatas. From the sacrificial fire a beautiful girl emerges: Draupadi.

Duryodhana, meanwhile, grows even more jealous when his father names Yudhishthira as his heir, and so Duryodhana plots to kill the Pandavas and their mother, Kunti. Duryodhana's agent Purochana arranges for their death in a fire, but Vidura (half-brother of Pandu and Dhritarashtra) warn the Pandavas, and they escape the fire by means of a hidden tunnel. Some drunken guests die in the fire, and the people suppose that their corpses are the remains of the Pandavas. Duryodhana rejoices at the news.

  All the suitors are eager to win Draupadi (also called Krishna, with a long "a" at the end: Krishnā, meaning "dark") as their bride. Her brother Dhrishtadyumna explains the rules of the archery contest. Karna, the secret child of Kunti and the sun-god Surya (thus half-brother to the Pandavas), looks like he might win, but because he has been raised as the son of a charioteer (who rescued the baby from the river where Kunti had set him adrift), Draupadi declares she will never marry him.

While in exile, the water-nymph Ulupi takes him to her underwater kingdom and they marry. Thanks to Ulupi's blessing, he is able to defeat a savage alligator who was herself a water-nymph, cursed to take the form of an alligator until freed by Arjuna. Arjuna rescues the water-nymph's sisters from their alligator forms. (Her name is Varga, and the other apsaras are named Saurabheyi and Samichi and Vudvuda and Lata.)

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Reading Notes: PDE Mahabharata, Part D

Amba and her vow to seek revenge happens, which brings about Bhishma's death in her next life

After Bhishma's fall, Drona takes command of Duryodhana's armies. and he vows to make Yudhishthira his prisoner, and Arjuna vows to defend his brother even at the cost of his own life.

 Many warriors fall in the battle, but one of the most dramatic scenes is the fall of Abhimanyu, trapped alone behind the enemy lines. As you can imagine, the news of his son's death will be a bitter blow for Arjuna, and, with Krishna's help, he will seek revenge.

After Arjuna's loses his son Abhimanyu, Bhima will be next, losing his rakshasa son, the mighty warrior Ghatotkacha.

One of the great moral crises of the Battle of Kurukshetra has to do with the death of Drona: the Pandavas resort to trickery in order to bring about their old guru's demise.

After the fall of Drona, Karna at last takes command of Duryodhana's armies. It is also time for one of the most terrible oaths sworn by the Pandavas to come true: Bhima will secure his revenge for Duhshana's treatment of Draupadi all those years ago at the gambling match in Hastinapura.

Just as the confrontation between Achilles and Hector is the dramatic climax of the Trojan War. The confrontation of Arjuna and Karna the dramatic climax of the Battle of Kurukshetra

Karna is dead, but Duryodhana is still alive, and he has used his supernatural powers to take refuge beneath the waters of a lake.

Ashwatthaman, seeking vengeance for the death of Drona, will seek to kill the Pandavas while they sleep.

The consequences of Ashwatthaman's night raid on the Pandava camp, including the strange story of the gem in his forehead, a supernatural amulet which he was born with and which protected him all his life from hunger, thirst, poison, the attack of wild animals, and much more.

Bhishma fell in battle, but he had the gift of choosing the moment of his own death. He is waiting for the solstice, and before he dies he will instruct the survivors of the battle on how to rule the world that has survived.

Brief summary of the miraculous birth of Parikshit; Sunity Devee's account of Parikshit's mother Uttara and how she mourned her dead husband, Abhimanyu, Parikshit's father

Yudhishthira to claim imperial kingship by means of this ritual.

After the wanderings of the horse are over, it is time for the ritual itself, and Yudhishthira will now become sovereign king.

Vyasa will conjure up the ghosts of the dead warriors.

Krishna dies, persaged by his omens.

Now that Krishna is dead, the Pandavas and Drauapdi decide to end their time on the earth, leaving the kingdom in the hands of Parikshit, Arjuna's grandson.

In the end, the epic focuses on Yudhishthira and the final test he must face.


Bibliography:
Link

Mahabharata

Reading Notes: PDE Mahabharata, Part C

Like Rama, the Pandavas will now enter into a long period of exile in the forest and, again like Rama, during their exile they will encounter many sages who live in the wilderness, hearing stories and learning from them.

You won't be surprised that Krishna pays a visit to the Pandavas in exile. Despite his encouraging words, Draupadi is dismayed and rebukes Yudhishthira harshly, as does Bhima.

Arjuna, meanwhile, goes on another series of solo adventures. The first time he went out on his own was because of the exile imposed when he violated Draupadi's private time with Yudhishthira; this time, he will go out on his own to acquire the weapons the Pandavas will need at the end of their exile when they will, once again, have to face the jealous Duryodhana and his brothers. Arjuna is the son of the god Indra, but the god Shiva will also play a very important role in his life

Remember that Indra is Arjuna's father? In this next adventure, Arjuna will go to Swarga, Indra's heavenly abode, and there he will meet Urvashi. The consequences of this encounter will affect his life profoundly in the future!

With this episode, you will now return to Draupadi and the four Pandava brothers in exile who now embark on a journey to the Himalayas. They miss Arjuna and, finally, he rejoins them.

You might remember that at the end of the Ramayana, Hanuman remained on earth and was to remain on earth for as long as Rama's story was told... which means he is still here with us now! He was also on earth at the time of the events of the Mahabharata, and in this episode you will see his encounter with Bhima, who is Hanuman's half-brother: they are both sons of Vayu, the wind god.


Duryodhana's jealousy has not abated, and in this episode he will be humiliated in front of the Pandavas once again. Karna continues to be loyal to Duryodhana, and he now vows that he will kill Arjuna in the battle that will follow the end of the Pandavas' exile.


When Karna was born, his body was clad in golden armor and he had earrings that were a token of invincibility. Indra, Arjuna's father, is anxious to protect him from Karna, so Surya warns Karna that Indra will try to take his celestial armor and earrings. Indra does indeed manage to take these from Karna, but Karna will get something in return.

Life in exile is dangerous enough for kshatriyas, but of course it is far worse for a woman, especially a woman unguarded, as you saw in the Ramayana. Like Sita, Draupadi faces terrible danger in the forest.

As you may recall, the final year of the Pandavas' exile must be spent in hiding. The five brothers and Draupadi go to the court of King Virata, and they each enter into his service. Arjuna's disguise is one that fulfills the curse put upon him by Urvashi: he will become the eunuch Brihannala, a dancing teacher.

Remember when Draupadi was dragged into the assembly hall, and none of her husbands could intervene to help her? It will happen again now: the brother of Queen Sudeshna, Prince Kichaka, tries to rape Draupadi. and her husbands cannot even acknowledge her openly. In secret, though, Bhima defends Draupadi, and she will claim that the deed was done by her husband who is an immortal gandharva.

When Duryodhana and his allies attack King Virata and steal his cattle, the Pandavas will come to his defense — much to the surprise of the king and of his son, Prince Uttara. Be careful with the names here: Uttara ("Uttaruh") is the masculine form of the name, and Uttarā ("Uttarah") is the feminine form. Virata has a son name Uttara, and his daughter is named Uttarā.

Now that the Pandavas' exile is over, war with the Kauravas seems inevitable, especially after the terrible vows of vengeance sworn by the Pandava brothers. Krishna nevertheless attempts to avoid war and make peace between the factions

The relationship between Krishna and Arjuna is very intense, and that will become even more clear in this episode when, given a choice between Krishna alone and the whole army of Dwaraka, Arjuna is glad just to have Krishna by his side.

Krishna has acted as a peace broker before, and he will try once again. This time he will even manifest himself in his divine form as Vishnu, specifically, in the Vishvarupa, the All-Form. He will do the same again in an even more famous scene at the Battle of Kurukshetra, urging Arjuna to fight.

Karna's situation is both fascinating and tragic: as the war with the Pandavas draws near, he still does not know that they are his brothers. That, however, is about to change: Krishna reveals to Karna the secret of his birth and tells him to go to the Pandavas in peace, assuring him that they will not only accept him but regard him as their elder brother. 

The battle forces assemble, fighting either for Duryodhana and the Kauravas or for Yudhishthira and the Pandavas. You will see characters returning from earlier in the epic, such as Bhima's demon son Ghatotkacha (remember his marriage to Hidimbi in the forest, before he became Draupadi's husband?), and you will also meet new characters, such as Duryodhana's half-brother Yuyutsu, son of King Dhritarashtra and a woman belonging to the vaishya caste

The Bhagavad-Gita, or "Lord's Song," is the most famous part of the Mahabharata. When the battle is about to begin, Arjuna looks at the opposing side and sees his relatives and his gurus, and he despairs, but Krishna persuades him to fight. The reading here comes from the first two chapters of the Gita

 As the battle begins, Bhishma is the general of the Kaurava forces but, he does not feel the same loyalty to Duryodhana that Karna does, and he warns Duryodhana of the doom that awaits them.


Bibliography:
Link

The Lord's Song

Reading Notes: PDE Mahabharata, Part B

Vidura is the brother of Pandu and Dhritarashtra and wiser than both. He was never able to become king because his mother was a servant. He is loyal to the sons of Pandu and a member of Dhritarasthra's court.

the Pandava brothers lived in the wilderness with their mother Kunti before she brought them to live in Hastinapura. Now they are living in the wilderness once again, and they will face many dangers while they living in hiding.

Unlike Shurpanakha's ill-conceived love for Rama in the Ramayana, the love affair between Bhima and the rakshasi Hidimbi is a happy one!

After defeating the rakshasa Hidimba, Bhima will now do battle with an asura: Baka, also known as Bakasura.

The Pandavas are living in hiding, disguised as brahmins, but news of Draupadi's swayamwara brings them out of hiding — although they remain in disguise. You will also get to read about Draupadi's supernatural birth in this segment, along with the supernatural birth of her brother Dhrishtadyumna.

You have seen some dramatic swayamwaras so far: Sita's swayamwara in the Ramayana, the swayamwara when Bhishma abducted the three brides earlier in the Mahabharata — and now the dramatic swayamwara of Draupadi.

Things will now take an unexpected turn: Arjuna won Draupadi as his bride at the swayamwara, but in obedience to their mother's accidental command, all five Pandavas will now become Draupadi's husbands. It is not uncommon for kings to have many wives in the epics, but for a woman to have five husbands at once is not something anyone would expect!

This story provides a more detailed account of Draupadi's previous lifetime as Nalayni, and the "karma" that results in her having five husbands. 

Finally, Yudhishthira becomes a king in his own right, building a great royal stronghold at Indraprastha on the river Yamuna

 As you can imagine, making a marriage work with five husbands and just one wife is complicated. Arjuna accidentally breaks the rules established for their living arrangements, and as a result he must leave for a period of individual exile, and during that exile, he has a series of extraordinary adventures! The encounter with the Naga princess Ulupi is one of the most famous of those adventures.

This wonderful episode of Arjuna's exile will probably remind you of a fairy. It comes from Kincaid's retelling of the Mahabharata which you might want to consider as a reading option later on; as you can see, he has a lively and vivid storytelling style.

The king is reluctant for Arjuna to marry his daughter because he needs her to have a son to carry on the royal succession. So, Arjuna and Chitra marry and have a son, but the son stays in Manipur and goes on to become king. There will be a dramatic encounter between Arjuna and his son when, many years later, Arjuna returns to Manipur.

Arjuna has a special connection to Krishna, and in this episode you will see how he comes to marry Subhadra, who is Krishna's sister.

This episode tells about a famous adventure that Arjuna and Krishna have together. The meeting with Maya, the divine architect of the gods, will prove to be a crucial event in the series of events (leading to catastrophe!) that will take place when Arjuna returns home to Indraprastha. About Maya: this is the masculine for of the name , as opposed to the feminine form, Mayā. The masculine Maya is an asura, sometimes called Mayasura, while the feminine Maya is the goddess of the illusion that we call reality.

Mayasura proves true to his promise and builds an amazing palace for the Pandavas, one which drive Duryodhana even more mad with jealousy.

It is now time for Yudhishthira to declare himself a supreme monarch by performing a Rajasuya sacrifice. This will require that he confront a rival king, Jarasandha, and it will also lead to a violent confrontation between Krishna and Shishupala, the King of Chedi.

The coming catastrophe now begins to take shape: just as a kshatriya (member of the royal warrior caste) cannot refuse a challenge to battle, he also cannot refuse a challenge to attend a gambling match.

Draupadi's fate is an essential part of the story here, and she protests eloquently and loudly about the events that have taken place in the gambling hall.

As the scene continues, Bhima in particular will swear some terrible oaths, and the rest of the epic will be driven by the cycle of revenge that has now been set into motion.

There will be a second match, and it will end almost as badly as the first match, with no reprieve. As bad omens occur, you will see people shouting "Swashti! Swasthi" which is indeed related to the word "swastika," an ancient symbol of good luck in India, later misappropriated by the Nazis.


Bibliography:
Link

Vidura is loyal to the sons of Pandu and a member of Dhritarasthra's court.

Reading Notes: PDE Mahabharata, Part A

Explanation of how Vyasa becomes the dictator of the Mahabharata to the elephant-headed god Ganesha. The beginning plot for Vyasa's birth is laid out.

Devavrata is introduced, an important character; is also called Bhisma, son of King Shantanu and the goddess Ganga. He is a human being but possesses the powers of the eight gods known as Vasus. Satyavati is reintroduced. She is the new love interest of King Shantanu after his first wife Ganga had left him. The story also describes how King Shantanu's son, Ganga, got his nickname Brishma. It means terrible oath. It is because Devavrata takes a terrible oath so that King Shantanu can marry Satyavati.

Brishma takes the three daughters of Kashi to be brides of Shantanu and Satyavati. Brishma brings back three women to be the wives of Vichitravirya, but only two will become brides of his. Amba, the third woman, has a story of her own and will return later. Although having two wives, he could not have any children as he dies.

Pandu gets sons, even with a curse on him, and eventually dies. Dhritarashtra is introduces, as well as his sons. The dominant theme is set: Duryodhana, his oldest son, and the rivalry between the Pandavas and Kauravas, led by Duryodhana.

Kunti is described to raise the five sons of Pandu alone. She eventually brings them to Dhritarashtra, a blind king, and gives them a home and raises the sons.

Duryodhana is described to hate his cousins and attempts to kill Bhima, the second of Pandu's sons, and the strongest. Bhima goes down into the underworld king of the might serpents, nagas, and becomes supernaturally strong.

Drona is introduced, who is the guru to the young Pandavas and to the Kauravas, their cousins. The Pandavas are great students of Drona, and this makes Duryodhana, King Dhritarashtra's eldest son, jealous.

Ekalavya, an aboriginal boy wanting to be Drona's pupil is introduced. With Pandavas and Kauravas trained as warriors, they display their skills in a tournament. Bhrima engages in a mock fight with Duryodhana and it becomes very serious. Arjuna is also introduced as having the greatest skills of all the princes. As it seems he may win, Karna appears, the son of Kunti and the sun god, born when she was but a girl before marrying King Pandu. He was abandoned as a baby and was raised by a low-caste charioteer. Neither he nor Arjuna realize that they are brothers, son of Kunti.

After the princes have completed Drona's training, he demands the guru Dakshina a payment. He wants the boys to bring about his revenge against King Drupada, his childhood friend who had treated him so badly.

Pandava becomes more successful, and Duryodhana becomes more jealous. He decides he will get rid of Pandavas and Kunti once and for all.


Bibliography:
Link

The Royal Princes Trained Under Drona