Epics of India Fall 2020

Yudhisthira and His Dog Ascending        "Extra! Extra! Read all about it!" Everywhere you go in the bazaar the only thing you hear about is how Pandavas defeated Duryodhana and his army. For the Pandavas this might be the best thing that ever happened to them, but to the countless widows and mothers who lost their sons this is the darkest time in their lives. Everyone felt the repurcussions of the great war. Many inlfluential leaders were slain on both sides and the kingdom was in disarray.     Yudhisthira was in shambles. He had to find a way to get the economy back on track and appease the masses who lost their family. There were many long talks between the five Pandavas on how to go about the reconstruction. Arjuna and Bhima wanted to expand the kingdom and take resources from their neighbors, but Yudhisthira only wanted peace and could not afford to lose any more of his kin.      To fulfill his duties as king, Yudhisthira and his retinue...

   Bibliography:  "The Indian Story Book: The Five Tall Sons of Pandu"  by Richard Wilson, 1914 After their exile, Yudhisthira gets his own kingdom. Duryodhana becomes upset and wants to declare war, even though many of his advisors and the Pandavas want peace.  This starts the war and it continues as it did in the version of the Mahabharata we have read before.  The Kauravas lose their commanders in the same way and the war ends when Bhima slays Duryodhana.  The ending of this version is very different than the one we read a couple weeks ago as there is not a "happy" ending.  Instead of the families being able to see their loved ones and the Pandavas going to heaven they are just left to rebuild the broken kingdom.  Arjuna and Karna

 Bibliography: "The Indian Story Book: The Five Tall Sons of Pandu" by Richard Wilson, 1914 This version of the Mahabharata is very unique as it does not include any celestial beings or their problems. Instead, it focuses on the relationship between a feuding royal family. Most of the story is very simlar to the Mahabharata we read earlier, but this is much more condensed and some details are changed.  For example, even though Arjuna wins Draupadi's hand Kunti makes her Yudhisthira's wife and not all the Pandavas. The story continues with many of the same details. Yudhisthira is king for a while, but then loses everything in a single gambling match and they all go to exile.  Their exile finally ends thirteen years later when the Pandavas help retreive the cattle. I somewhat prefer this version of the Mahabharata because the characters are not aided by other omnipotent beings who can swoop in at anytime and save them. The Cattle Raid