Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part A-B/Narayan's Mahabharata C-D
Vyasa and Ganesha
Vyasa is the author of the Mahabharata. There was once this king of Chedi named Upairchara. The gods wanted to bribe him, so they gifted him a silver car. Apparently, some semen fell out of the car and it birthed two children. The king took away the son, while the girl, Satyavtai was raised by the fisherman. She decided to become a virgin and apparently smelled really nice.
King Shantanu and Ganga
King Shantanu was very powerful. His wife was Ganga, the goddess of the Ganges river. The 8 Vasus were promised that they would be returned to their celestial form. The king saw her one day and she wanted to marry him. Every time they had a kid, she would drown him/her in the river. The king had enough at the 8th kid and broke their marriage vows.
King Shantanu and Satyavati
When Shantanu grew up, he decided to marry somebody. He kinds Satyavati. He ends up asking the fisherman for permission to marry his daughter. He did not gain permission because the fisherman wanted their son to be the next heir.
Devavrata's Vow
Devavarata went to find the fishy girl. Devavrata had a vow renouncing his claim to the throne and he was permitted to marry Satyavati. There were two sons, Chitrangada and Vichitravirya. The king died and Chitranada was made the king. He was killed three years later in a war.
Bhishma at the Swayamvara
Bhishma took over as king for a bit. He needed to find some wives for his brothers. He found out that there were three daughters who were available; Amba, Ambika, and Ambalika. He ends up kidnapping them and nobody challenged him.
Amba
The king brings back the three women to his city. The second and third girls are married off, but Amba is not.
Dhritarashtra and Pandu
Vyasa was summoned to the court because no male heirs were being made. Satyavata needed a male heir that wasn't a defect so she sent a handmaid to have sex with Vyasa. They made a son named Vidura.
Kunti and Her Son
Pandu was pronounced king. He marries two women, Kunti and Madri. Kunti was pregnant with Surya's son. Karna was the result of their relationship. To hide her child, she lets him go down the river. Radha finds the child and she raises him.
Pandu and His Wives
Pandu went hunting and he accidentally shoots a Brahmin and his wife that have disguised themselves as deer. Before the brahmin dies, he curses Pandu that he would die in his wives' arms.
Sons of Pandu
Kunti had Yudhishthira, Bhima, and Arjuna. Madri had Kaula and Sahadeva. They were the Pandava brothers. Pandu dies and Madri decides to get burned at the stake with him.
Gandhari and Dhritarashtra
Dhritarashtra takes control of the throne. He takes Gandhari as his wife. She ends up having 100 children. Their son Duryodhana was cursed, but he was favorited by the king. He ends up growing proud and jealous and a little evil.
Pandavas and Kauravas
Kunti has to raise the five children on her own since the king and the other wife died. She brings the five children to Hastinapura, the holy royal city of Pandu. Dhritarashtra takes care of the 5 boys.
Bhima and the Nagas
Duryodhana hates the five cousins and makes an evil plan. He tries to kill Bhima, but that doesn't work. Bhima ends up going down to the underworld and sees the nagas. He ends up being supernaturally strong because of it.
Drona, Son of Bharadwaja
Drona becomes the mentor to the young five sons and the other 100 children. Drona is a brahmin by birth, not a warrior at all.
Drona Trains the Princes
The five sons are really good students. Duryodhana gets even more jealous because of this. The important things to know are that Yudhishthira, Bhima, and Arjuna are the most important.
Ekalavya
Ekalavya was an aboriginal boy that wants to be taught by Drona. Since this is India and the caste system exists, he would normally never have the opportunity to do so. However, Drona asks him to cut off his thumb if he wants to learn. He ends up doing it and becomes Drona's student.
The Contest
Both the 5 sons and the other cousins have been fully trained as warriors now. Bhima ends up fighting Duryodhana. Their fight was supposed to be a mock fight, but it quickly became serious. Arjuna is introduced as having the greatest skills of all the children.
The Arrival of Karna
Just when Arjuna is about to win, Karna appears. He ends up showing up unexpectedly and teams up with Duryodhana. Apparently, Karna was said to be the greatest hero in the world of men.
Drona's Revenge
The training is now over with Drona. He wants the boys to pay up for their training. Their payment is for them to get revenge against King Drupada.
Duryodhana's Jealousy
While all the 5 sons have more and more successes, Duryodhana gets even more jealous. He decides that he is going to try to get rid of all the 5 sons and Kunti forever.
PART B
The House on Fire
Vidura was the half brother of King Pandu and wasn't allowed to reign over the city. They are scared that Duryodhana wants to burn the whole city and kill all the brothers. They escape underground and people die. The palace is burned down.
Bhima and Hidimba
The Pandavas brothers managed to escape to the forest. Hidimba, a demon, was hungry and wanted some food. She found the brothers and fought Bhima.
Bhima
The brothers wake up from all the noise. They try to help out Bhima and Bhima eventually overpowers Hidimba. He ends up sparing her life and marrying her.
Bhima and Baka
Kunti and the 5 sons left Bhima. We learn about a brahmin in the village that talks about people being sacrificed and eaten. Bhima goes out to confront the demon, Baka, and they fight. Bhima kills Baka and saves the village from him.
Birth of Draupadi
The Pandavas disguise themselves as Brahmin. A ceremony is performed and a girl is born. Her name is Draupadi.
The Story of Nalayani
We learn about Draupadi's past. She ended up getting 5 husbands in her previous life and got the benefit of having her virginity given back to her for every husband.
Draupadi's Swayamwara
We reach another point where there is a challenge to earn someone's hand in marriage. This time around, they are supposed to show an arrow through a wheel which will bring down a golden fish. All of the brothers saw the challenge and wanted to do it. Arjuna ends up the winner of the challenge.
Wife of the Five Pandavas
Although Arjuna won Draupadi, all of the five brothers ended up having a share of her. They talk about the situation and everybody understands what happens.
The Story of Nalayani
We go into another flashback of Drapudi's previous life. We once again learn about how she wanted to get five husbands.
Indraprastha
Duryodhana finds out that the Pandava brothers are still alive. They end up returning to Hastinapura. They end up making their own city and rule it themselves. The city was named Indraprastha.
Arjuna and Ulupi
All of the brothers live together with their wife. Arjuna ends up violating one of the rules of the living arrangements and self exiles himself for 12 years. He ends up meeting Ulupi, and makes a kid with her.
Arjuna and the Apsaras
Arjuna sees some holy men and asks for blessings. He strips and goes into the water, ignoring the holy men's warning. He gets bitten by an alligator and drags the alligator to shore. He finds out that the alligator is a water nymph.
Arjuna and Chitra
Arjuna finds Chitra and wants to marry her. However, her father is scared because he wants an heir to the throne. They reach an agreement where Arjuna and Chitra marry, but their son must stay in Manipur and take over.
Arjuna and Subhadra
Arjuna is welcomed by Krishna. He ends up falling in love with Subhadra, Krishna's sister. He ends up bringing her back to the city where the original wife is. They end up getting along just fine and life continues.
Burning the Forest
We learn about another one of Arjuna's adventures. He meets Agni, the god of fire, and needs to burn the forest down to recover. The brothers help him out in exchange for celestial weapons. Indra is defeated and most of the forest burns down.
Maya's Palace
Mayasura builds the five brothers a grand palace and Duryodhana gets even angrier.
The Pandavas Victorious
Yudhishthira wants to become the strongest. He ends up fighting Jarasandha and is victorious. They do a grand sacrifice and the story continues.
The Gambling Match
A Kshatriya cannot refuse a challenge to battle or gambling matches. Yudhishthira stakes Draupadi on the gambling match and loses.
Draupadi Lost
Draupadi tries to fight against the result, but it doesn't work out. The brothers have to respect the outcome of the gambling match.
Assembly Hall
The brothers are all angry with the result. We learn that the rest of the epic will be a revenge story and Bhima gets really mad.
The Second Match
We learn that the brothers are all being exiled. Kunti cries and Panchala states a curse that will only be fixed if Bhima kills Duhshasana
PART C-D
Duryodhana and the Gandharvas
Dhritarashtra knows about what the Pandavas and the brothers are doing. Duryodhana makes a camp near the brothers and tries to shame them. The gods decide to come in and mess with him. Gandharvas take Duryodhana hostage, but the brothers end up freeing him.
The voice in the lake
The brothers live in the forest. A Brahmin approaches the brothers and asks for help. The brothers try to help him chase a deer, but they can't catch it. All the brothers end up dying besides Yudhisthira. Apparently, this was a test from God, and the brothers are brought back alive.
In The Court of King Virata
After their exile, the brothers are with king Virata. Draupadi ends up being raped by Kichaka. She asks the brothers for revenge, and Bhima squeezes him to death. The king and queen end up trying to punish Draupadi for her plan
The Cattle Raid
Susharman takes the king hostage. However, Bhima rescues him. Prine Uttara and Brihannala take the brother's weapons and fight in the chariot. Karna loses the fight. King Virata gives his daughter Uttara to Arjuna's son, Abhimanyu.
Preparations for war
A wedding for Uttara and Abhimanyu is done. The Pandavas and Duryodhana recruit allies for their war. Shalya is Duryodhana's general but promises the brothers that he will discourage Karna.
Dissension at Hastinapura
The brother attempt to make peace. A lot of people try to prevent the war, but Duryodhana doesn't want to stop. He is told that the war will be his undoing.
Krishna's mission to Hastinapura
Yudhishthira tries one last time to make peace. Krishna is told to visit Duryodhana as the emissary. Once again, Duryodhana refuses to have peace with the brother. Krishna talks to Karna and tries to convince him to abandon Duryodhana.
The war begins
Yudhishthira makes Dhrishtadyumna, his supreme commander. Krishna preaches the "Song of the Lord" and Arjuna gets motivated to fight.
The End of Bhisma
Dhrishtadyumna tries to kill Drona, but doesn't succeed. Bhishma attacks Krishna, but nobody dies yet. Arjuna shoots at Bhisma from behind and dies. Now since he is dead, Karna is ready to fight.
Abhimanyu, Jayadratha, and Arjuna
Drona is the general of Duryodhana's troops. Since Arjuna is missing, his son Abhimanyu takes over for now. He is killed by Jayadratha. Arjuna is mad and kills Jayadratha. Karna kills Ghatokacha.
The end of Drona
Drona is tricked by Bhima thinking that his son has died. He freezes because of this and gets his head cut off by Dhrishtadyumna.
Death and savagery
Bhima kills Duhshasana, Duryodhana's brother. Arjuna kills Karna. Duryodhana gets scared and tries to hide, but Bhima kills him.
After the battle
The brothers go to Hastinapura. Everybody performs rituals to honor the dead. Yudhisthira gets to become king because Narada was cursed.
The end of the story
Bhishma dies and is cremated. Dhritarashtra, Gandhari, and Kunti die in a forest fire. Dwaraka drowns in the sea. Krishna is killed by a hunter. All of the brothers die except for Yudhisthira. Everybody dies and Arjuna's grandson becomes the king.
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