Reading Notes: Part D Mahabharata

Part D of the Mahabharata did not disappoint and kind of ended up how I expected and remembered when I rad the epic a long time ago. Ultimately, the Pandavas were always considered the good guys in the epic and it was not surprising to see them come out on top. One aspect of Part D I found noteworthy was how all of the curses and promises made earlier in the epic came true. The characters really enjoyed vengeance and revenge, and those two themes were strong throughout the epic. One example was Bhishma being killed and then getting to choose his own death. Bhishma was rally in a tough place having known both sets of cousins, so I think it was nice at least he could choose how he left. Additionally, the Mongoose story was nice to take away from the epic. Another aspect of the epic that I found weird was how Krishna passed away. To me it does not really make sense for a god to die, but I guess since he was in an incarnation it really just transformed back to his true self. There were some details that I found noteworthy, so another I have to bring up was Duryodhana's death and final revenge. He ultimately was the biggest villain in the epic in my opinion, so it was kind of disappointing to see him get a somewhat happy ending. I assume there's some greater message behind his death that I do not understand. Overall, I enjoyed the Mahbharata, probably more than the Ramayana. The reading was somewhat difficult to read, but I feel that I got the overall message and plot well enough. I look forward to seeing the other Mahabharata reading next week.

Source: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913)

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Arjuna vs Karna

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