Reading Notes: Narayan's Mahabharata, Part C

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  These reading notes are over Part C of Narayan's Mahabharata, which is written by R.K. Narayan.

Plot Notes:

  • The nobility and righteousness of the Pandavas are consistently shown throughout the epic. The Pandavas' willingness to help free Duryodhana from imprisonment demonstrates how valuable family was to this. Yudhistira's line on how they are brothers and can not be abandoned really demonstrated the virtues of the Pandavas. The power of Bhima and Arjuna is also shown when they save Duryodhana, as Indra himself told the gandharvas to take him prisoner to teach him a lesson.
  • I really enjoyed the story of the voice in the lake. The idea of thirst motivating all the brothers to ignore the yaksha was really interesting, and the overall story demonstrated how each brother responds to threats. Both Nakula and Sahadeva were driven by thirst to heed the warning and died. Arjuna responded with rage when he saw his dead brothers, but he failed to properly listen and died in drinking the water. Only Yudhistira was noble enough to listen to the voice and properly answer all the questions.
  • The usual trope is with a riddle to confuse the protagonist, but I found it interesting how the questions were subjective and rapidly asked. This demonstrates that virtue, wisdom, and justice seems to be innate according to the Mahabharata. Yuhdistira doesn't need to contemplate his answers or reflect on the possibilities, but the answers come to him faster than he could think.
  • Yudhistira is not only able to answer the yaksha's questions, but he was also able to choose the right brother in proving his sense of compassion. His choice to revive Nakula in order to minimize the grief for both their mothers demonstrated how thoughtful Yudhistira was, and it pleased the yaksha.

Style Notes: 

  • For this week's storytelling, I definitely want to re-tell the voice in the lake. I enjoy the dialogue and the idea of rapid questions to save the other important protagonists, but I want to modernize the questions and make them more relevant. I'd also be interested in changing the environment and the context, but I still want to express values of compassion and wisdom through the questions.
     
    A beautiful lake. Source: Wikimedia



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