Reading Notes: Epified Mahabharata, Part B

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These reading notes are over Part B of Epified: Mahabharata, which is made by Epified. 

Plot Notes:

  •  This part of the Mahabharata is when the Pandava brothers begin to take the spotlight and develop. We see their characters as well as their strengths and capabilities, but I like how the narrative doesn't necessarily equate divine powers to moral goodness. For example, Arjun is seen as disciplined and a divine warrior, but his arrogance and drive for power caused his guru to do a great injustice to Ekalayva.
  • My favorite parts of the story is Drona's introduction, training of the Pandavas, and the eventual cruelty and injustice done to Ekalayva. Drona's skills and amazing powers are recognized immediately when Arjun senses something special about him, and he proves his capabilities when he recovers the ball from the well. The training shows how each brother is specialized and plays to their own unique strengths. They are all great warriors, but they all take different forms, which parallels their divine origins. The cruel injustice to Ekalayva demonstrates how nuanced these characters are, as they don't necessarily embody moral goodness. They may be righteous, but this injustice shows that they're not consistent whatsoever. Instead, social norms guide them to destructive ends as well.
  • I really want to tell Ekalayva's story, because it actually forces the "good guys" like Arjun and Drone to be the antagonist. It's powerful social commentary and gives insight on how rigid social structures were and still are in Indian society. Furthermore, I want to try to re-tell the story in a different context but with similar details. Rather than being a skilled archer, I can imagine Ekalayva being a master engineer in a future cyberpunk world with bot fighting. His homemade robots can take on anybody because he learned so much through Drona's blueprints, which parallels the image he made to be his mentor. I may change the ending, but I'm not for sure.

A cartoon of a robot. Source: Pixabay

 

 

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