Reading Notes: PDE Mahabharata, Part A
Taken from The Mahabharata, A Summary by John Mandeville Macfie.
The illustrations for the Mahabharata are a lot more detailed than the ones for Ramayana. The Ramayana's were more flat and primitive, but the Mahabharata's have depth, shading, expressions, etc. that make it more interesting (in my opinion) to look at.
Similar to how Valmiki was the author in the Ramayana (and also a character!), a guy named Vyasa is credited with writing the Mahabharata. From the wording though, it seems like he'll have a larger part to play than Valmiki did in his story.
King Shanatu and Ganga
Aha! So this is where that story of Ganga throwing babies into the river comes from! And there's some justification behind it as well - the babies are actually celestial beings that have been cursed to have a human form. They went to Ganga to ask her to be their human mother, where she promised to throw them into the river so they could return to their celestial forms quickly. It seems like King Shanatu was captivated by Ganga's human beauty, but objectively, their relationship was pretty toxic. Ganga basically hid this huge secret about having to throw the babies into the river and made a condition that if he ever went against her, she would leave him. So Shanatu, in fear of her leaving him, let her have her way. I mean come on! People are different. Any relationship that doesn't have some sort of conflict is assuredly fake, no matter how you put it. The relationship is strengthened through working through the conflicts with your other, not threatening to leave if slightly belittled. She does return later and give him a son, who's name was changed to Bhishma.
Swayamvara
This was Bhishma's trial for marriage, similar to how Rama had to string that one unstringable bow, except this time, it's not as noble. He just takes the women (yes, not just one woman), and challenges anyone to take them from him. No consent! We need some progessivism!
Amba
Well, you ask and you receive, I guess? Amba, one of the women Bhishma won, decides that he is the cause of all her sorrows and woes. So she fasts and prays for his destruction - and it's granted. She just has to die so she can get a new body - one that can kill Bhishma. Wow, it's just like today! A woman is dissatisfied with her position, so she becomes a man.
The illustrations for the Mahabharata are a lot more detailed than the ones for Ramayana. The Ramayana's were more flat and primitive, but the Mahabharata's have depth, shading, expressions, etc. that make it more interesting (in my opinion) to look at.
Similar to how Valmiki was the author in the Ramayana (and also a character!), a guy named Vyasa is credited with writing the Mahabharata. From the wording though, it seems like he'll have a larger part to play than Valmiki did in his story.
(King Shanatu and a beautiful woman on the Ganga, from Wikipedia)
King Shanatu and Ganga
Aha! So this is where that story of Ganga throwing babies into the river comes from! And there's some justification behind it as well - the babies are actually celestial beings that have been cursed to have a human form. They went to Ganga to ask her to be their human mother, where she promised to throw them into the river so they could return to their celestial forms quickly. It seems like King Shanatu was captivated by Ganga's human beauty, but objectively, their relationship was pretty toxic. Ganga basically hid this huge secret about having to throw the babies into the river and made a condition that if he ever went against her, she would leave him. So Shanatu, in fear of her leaving him, let her have her way. I mean come on! People are different. Any relationship that doesn't have some sort of conflict is assuredly fake, no matter how you put it. The relationship is strengthened through working through the conflicts with your other, not threatening to leave if slightly belittled. She does return later and give him a son, who's name was changed to Bhishma.
Swayamvara
This was Bhishma's trial for marriage, similar to how Rama had to string that one unstringable bow, except this time, it's not as noble. He just takes the women (yes, not just one woman), and challenges anyone to take them from him. No consent! We need some progessivism!
Amba
Well, you ask and you receive, I guess? Amba, one of the women Bhishma won, decides that he is the cause of all her sorrows and woes. So she fasts and prays for his destruction - and it's granted. She just has to die so she can get a new body - one that can kill Bhishma. Wow, it's just like today! A woman is dissatisfied with her position, so she becomes a man.
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