'Mahabharat- Different Versions -Perspectives'

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Devashree

@devashree_h

Channel Moderator

+ 12

Posted: 11 years ago

#131

See Sabhayata, that is the second book Yudi is Vidur's son.😉 And who was Arjuna's father?

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Medha.S

@Medha.S

Rocker

+ 2

Posted: 11 years ago

#132

Originally posted by: devashree_h
See Sabhayata, that is the second book Yudi is Vidur's son.😉 And who was Arjuna's father?

Probably Pandus son?

Usually with Yudhishtira being Viduras son, we go with Arjuna being Pandus only biological one, hence Arjuna being Indra's son since Pandu is compared to Indra a lot.

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AnjanaYYZ

@AnjanaYYZ

Stunner

+ 6

Posted: 11 years ago

#133

@Sabhayata - y did Damon (Bheem) submit to Katherine? He had other wives?

===

So who was Bheem's daddy?

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Devashree

@devashree_h

Channel Moderator

+ 12

Posted: 11 years ago

#134

Originally posted by: AnjanaYYZ
@Sabhayata - y did Damon (Bheem) submit to Katherine? He had other wives?
===

So who was Bheem's daddy?

Because he lurved her...🥺

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Medha.S

@Medha.S

Rocker

+ 2

Posted: 11 years ago

#135

Originally posted by: srishtisingh
omg
medha after reading ur post abt poi and yajyaseni I am in no mood to read them.I thought to give them a try but I am not interested in so much fiction which changesthe whole equation.
r there any other book on mb which is closer to real mb characters and events .I mean to say atleast characters are as per real mb? then I can digest some fiction too but massacre of characters I cant bear.if there are such books plz tell

Ok. See, that is not my intention ... not at all ... 😈

Seriously though,You could try them, they are just novels, albeit there is fiction but it is in all the retelling novels of MB.
My problem with Yajnaseni is how pitiable the Heroine i.e. Draupadi's character is. I dont understand and wait ... actually, i dont want to understand that how can people read that book and say my respect for has been increased, or i thought she was cunning, only now it seems she was depressed and forced, unhappy marriage, heartless husband, so many attractive Men around to steer her off the right path but still she never abandoned her wifely duties and all though she never loved her husbands equally, although she was in love with her favorite husband's favorite enemy and also her favorite husbands favorite friend, but still she never ... ever abondened her "dharma" and duties ... not to mention that she feels ashamed when Karna refused to eat food made by her because you know, she is a harlot and she hates her husbands because they made her that
But still, she will abide by her dharma and duty as a wife 👏
All the events are shown in such suspicious and sadistic light, i wanted to break a lot of things and jump off the 14th floor of my building for a while ...
Because that is JUST not Draupadi.
The author has officially made Draupadi even more socially and emotionally backward than Ved Vyas ever could in Dwapar age, I refuse to respect the woman in this book, though i have huge respect for Draupadi.
I refuse to be shaken from my belief that it is all the workings of an internalized misogyny.

So, have a read if you want, it will at least arouse a lot of aggressive emotions. Who knows, you might actually fall in love with the book

POI, as i said is a forbidden love story, star crossed lovers who finally find each other after they are in heaven and free from all humanly boundaries and social limits. I was moved to tears, all i had to do was just completely forget and dumped the fact that the book is supposed to be a retelling of MB, in the garbage and just went at it as if reading about new people and events.
If Titanic made you misty eyed, then with my formula, POI will make you weep and sob too.

You should try Yuganta- End of An Epoch!
It is a very interesting perspective with an introduction of Mahabharat, and then she tackles characters in different chapters starting with Bhishma, his devotion and sacrifice, and his weird decisions and motives that might have been unintentionally selfish.

Then we have Gandhari and Kunti, their bitterness and guilt, their sacrifices for the Kuru nation.

Then we have Draupadi and the author wrote it beautiful, showing the high contrast between Draupadi and Sita.

A chapter exploring Vidura and Yudhishtiras relationship. A deep analysis of Karna.
And, she studies the enigmatic character of Krishna, as a human, a clever and extremely charismatic human.
I had enjoyed reading it.😊

I would have suggested Arjuna: the saga but to tell you the truth, even though it is quite simple, straightforward and more about the five brothers, also a little bit of Arjuna-Draupadi, it is written extremely simply.Kind of dull if you ask me.

I liked the book written from Arjuna and Ashwatthamas perspective.tell you later about it.

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Srishti

@srishtisingh

Voyager

Posted: 11 years ago

#136

thanks medha
yep POI Is engaging and I finished it in one go.generally I like reading the whole book in one go so that I can sleep 😛

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Rehanism

@Rehanism

Dazzler

+ 2

Posted: 11 years ago

#137

Good to see this thread.

One thing I would like to discuss is the topic of Draupadi's feelings for Karna. Of course puritans love to hate this topic for allegedly destroying a 'Maha-sati''s character and such shit, but it begs the question - Why did so many authors come up with this same idea? Obviously Mahabharat by Vyas doesn't mention anything even miles close to that, but it seems the root of this idea is in Mahabharat itself. I think the fact that Krishna offered Draupadi to Karna behind her back led some to the conclusion that Krishna being Draupadi's biggest benefactor and well-wisher won't hand her over to a loathsome person whom she completely abhors. So the choice of inference (from their POV) of the event were - 1. Either Krishna was simply being a cunning politician and treating her as a bait to win an ally without caring for her happiness OR 2. He knew Draupadi's heart secretly loved Karna and marriage to Karna won't be completely reprehensible or punitive for Draupadi. Perhaps the former was too cruel for them to admit so they went ahead with the latter and then the imaginations ran wild.

Regarding Palace of Illusions, I once liked it, but later on when I went through it, I realized that the author behaves like a complete fan-girl of Karna while describing him. Also she white-washes Draupadi's character too much to the point where she completely omits Draupadi's vow of not tying her hair and Bhim's killing of Dushasan for her sake. However I would encourage people to read Karna's Wife by Kavita Kane.

Edited by Rehanism - 11 years ago

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Sabhayata

@Sabhayata

Sparkler

+ 4

Posted: 11 years ago

#138

@Rehanism:Even if i keep aside what Vyasa says or doesnt say about Draupadi or Karna i just dont find any logic in Draupadi or karna having feelings for each other.Leave the epic aside i just dont find it logical

She insulted him and he insulted her back so how can there be any feelings.Karna couldnt have had any feelings for her after she insulted him at swyambar and the way he insults her in the sabha later proves this very fact that he didnt have any feelings for her.No one will insult a person they like

Same goes for Draupadi how can she have any feelings for the man who insulted her so much and took part in her disrobing.It just doesnt make sense in my mind that a woman can have any kind of feelings for the man who instigated her disrobing.

So logically i dont know how two people who have insulted and hurt each other so much could have any positive feelings for each other

Edited by Sabhayata - 11 years ago

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Rehanism

@Rehanism

Dazzler

+ 2

Posted: 11 years ago

#139

Just completed reading Yuganta. The book attempts to be more of a critical review of MB, rather than a narrative. It tends to approach the epic in a secular way where all references to divinity or magic events, boons, curses, even divine weapons are treated as later addendum or metaphors with the remaining skeleton as events from human history (dated around 1000 BC) rather than mythology. For instance it claims Pandavas and Karna to be Kunti's illegitimate children rather than demigods. Further it has a rather unflattering view of Karna, projecting him as an all round loser, and claims that all curses inflicted on him were interpolations made to make people sympathize with him. Dunno how I feel about this book, except that its very tasteless. More about it later, perhaps.😕

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AnjanaYYZ

@AnjanaYYZ

Stunner

+ 6

Posted: 11 years ago

#140

@Sabhayata - i don't buy the Draupadi-Karna secret either, but but but every Mills & Boons is based on "hate" masking other feelings. Coming to Y the version may exist here are some theories:

1. Don't people want what they can never have? (Karna) Or regret the path they did not take? (Draupadi)

2. If she could accept the five then why not six especially when the sixth was their brother also and very similar in skill, etc.?

3. Krishna/Kunti may have attempted to use her as a bribe for Karna;

4. Those particularly taken with the character of karna could not fathom anyone rejecting him.

---

I did a paper on boons & curses in MB and other Indian mythology an eon ago in University. They fascinate me. Many boons turn into curses (a la the proverb - "be careful what you wish for") and curses can sometimes be boons in disguise - e.g. Urvashi's curse. They are interesting "outs" for inexplicable happenings or things the storyteller(s) may not want to address if one unravels them. For instance its easiest to explain/justify Draupadi's marriage by saying Shiva gave a boon to her. Curses also provide means of elevating characters - i.e. Karna ulitmately lost to Arjuna because he was cursed not because Arjuna was a superior warrior. In sum, boons & curses may just have been clever literary tools for anciet storytellers... something that enriched the story as much as hyperbole, similies, and metaphors.

Edited by AnjanaYYZ - 11 years ago

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