Reading Notes Week 9: Mahabharata: Karmic Revolution Part B

9. Son of the Sun: I appreciate that instead of starting with "here's Kunti's secret", this video starts by establishing who Kunti is in the context of the narrative and THEN talking about her mysterious past. He was known for flying into a rage and cursing people? What a reputation! Her kindness and good friendship gained her the boon of summoning the gods, including the Sun god, who bathed her in his light in an iconic scene and left her with an armored child, one she promptly sent down the river in a basket due to the restraints of social stigma in Ancient India. (The Moses parallels are interesting to me here...there are many Biblical scenarios in the Mahabharata (or maybe many Mahabharatan scenarios in the Bible?).

10. Pandu's Curse: Was Pandu hunting in the woods an aftereffect of PTSD? The switch from two deer making love in the forest to two hermits is kind of disturbing. Pandu's accidental shooting of a deer is somewhat understandable but a human= a truly grave error. Moral: look before you leap.

11. Sons of Pandu: Hmmph sure Yudhi is peaceful and virtuous even when losing everything the family has in a high stakes gambling episode. Bhima breaking the rock he was dropped on as a baby is priceless, a totally humorous scene. Arjuna having archer's eyes is also funny, like parents looking at their kiddos and saying they look like their relatives/super sharp/are going to be a dancer or something. Perhaps a story featuring these moms at a playground, bragging on their kiddos. I hope Pandu learned his lesson!! Don't shoot randos and rape your second wife!!!

12. One Hundred Sons:  "Lump". Her troubled pregnancy is another example of bad omens/foreshadowing- the weather is another common indicator of future success/blessedness of the endeavors of the characters. Of course Kunti and her sons would outshine the demonshildren.

13. Hate and Hurt: These characters continue to make the mistake of loving their children/relatives unequally. If everyone would just say the obligatory parental "Oh I don't have a favorite you're ALL my favorites" so many jealousy problems could have been alleviated. Knocked 'em out with narcotics...oldest trick in the book (see: Aristocats). AH he threw the unconscious Bhima into the lake oh no! Again, a great cliffhanger! Also, the setting interests me in these segments- though the characters reside in a castle, which would seem to be the urban center of the city/country, they often spend time in more lush/natural settings. Maybe it's just the illustrations, but I like the idea of the royal estate/city being spread out comfortably and cleanly over acres of land in a romantic, countryside kind of way. Do the castledwellers have a giant forest in their backyard or are they on the outskirts? The landscaping could also be interesting to explore in a creative retelling later on.

14. The Magic Potion: AHA I'd forgotten the fortuitousness of the venomous snakes negating the negative effects of the narcotics. What if he'd made friends with the sea snakes instead of having to kill them- that seems like a more powerful thing to do. OH nevermind Vasuki and the Naag Lok snakes become his distantly related besties. This is such a kickbutt source of power- far more interesting and deep (haha) than mere divine heritage. I wonder what language they spoke- did Bhima have to learn Parseltongue?:) The underwater kingdom must have been a sight to behold! Love!

15. Drona: Yeah I would SAY you would "distinctly remember" chucking your nephew into a river. "Destiny was bringing them exactly what they needed" nice. Good on Arjuna for being perceptive- what precisely about Drona interested him, I wonder.

16. Drona Trains the Pandavas: The Pandava boys are often characterized by their strengths- I want to write them characterized by their flaws- like, Yudhi is chill and smart, but maybe he comes off as a holier-than-thou lazy bum, you know? Maybe the great horseman is terrible with technology. Perhaps Bhima is super strong (as 1000 elephants), but has a paralyzing phobia of mice! And Arjuna, the perfect warrior, could be the source of the most awkward social interactions the world has ever seen.

17. Ekalavya's Story: I love how the preciseness of the arrows sends Arjuna into an existential crisis lol. "[Drona] buried the part of him that valued fairness and justice". I can't believe he just crippled Ekalavya forever. Are the Pandava brothers all truly the best of the best or are they the best after their proponents scour India, silencing the true best/any potential threats to their invulnerability? This was maybe the saddest of all the chapters. Ekalavya put in the hard work but in the end was too trusting, and it cost him his potentially legendary life.

Image Info: A work-in-progress picture of Episode 3 of The Mahabharata: Karmic Revolution.
Source: Epified. Link.