Reading Notes: PDE Mahabharata Part D

The last part of the epic concerned the war that the Pandava brothers are still waging. I'm going to be completely honest; reading about people fighting can be extremely boring. It is difficult to remember which person chopped off whose head, and which person has a new problem with another. So, in writing my notes, I only wrote about specific people who stuck out to me. The first part that seemed really dramatic was  Abhimanyu's death. He was killed "like a forest lion surrounded by hunters" which really conjured up a picture. After hearing about how his son was killed, Arjuna vows to avenge his death.

At least there was one, not exactly funny, but witty moment to give the reader a break from all the dying and killing. The part where Bhima tries to convince Drona that his son Ashwatthaman had died by saying over and over "Ashwatthama (the elephant) is dead" was actually kind of funny, since it was actually an elephant by the same name that was killed. And Bhima just kept saying "the elephant" really quietly after saying Ashwatthama's name. Of course, it wasn't funny that an elephant died, just funny that he found a way to tell the truth.

The only part of the battle that seemed to make sense was the dramatic match up between Arjuna and Karna. Rules of battle came into play several times during their fight. At one point, Arjuna's celestial bow was broken and so he begged for a pause in the battle. Karna refused. So later, when Karna's chariot broke, and HE needed a pause, Arjuna refused as well, and ended up killing Karna. I thought it was interesting that Arjuna wanted to allow the pause, but his advisor Krishna made him reconsider having mercy on Karna, since he was responsible for Draupadi's harsh treatment and Abhimanyu's death.

On a random note, I wished that they went into more detail about the jewel on Ashwatthaman's forehead, like what it did and what they stole it to use it for.

The last part of the reading really captures the imagination. The scene of all the fallen warriors coming back to embrace their living relatives was magical. Wives were even allowed to go back with their dead husbands if they wanted to. The moment of dawn when the dead had to return to heaven was beautiful to imagine.

Vyasa summons the dead warriors: Wikimedia

Bibliography: PDE Mahabharata