Reading Notes: Epified Mahabharata, Part A
Epified: Mahabharata Part A
This version of the Mahabharata provides a lot of insight on parts I didn't understand before. In Episode 1- Shantanu the Unfortunate, the narrator proposes that the Mahabharata is a showcase of how karma functions. In my experience from reading the chapters, I can agree with that proposal. The Mahabharata showed account after account of how certain actions have certain outcomes. He explains how the River Goddess married King Shantanu agreed to give birth to the 8 cursed vedas and then kill them to free them from mortal life. But since Shantanu asked about the last child, she did not kill the 8th veda. This Veda named Devavrata became prince and heir of the throne of Shantanu.
King Shantanu falls in love with a different woman, but cannot marry her because of Devavrata. The king's son sees his father's sadness and give up his birthright, vowing not to marry, claim the throne, or have children, all so his father can marry this woman. When the King finds out about this sacrifice, he feels a sense of doom and grants his son, now called Bhishma, the ability to be immortal until Bhishma himself wants to die (this comes into play much later in the Mahabharata). As the son of the King and immortal, Bhishma watches over the throne of the kingdom, acting like a father to his two younger brothers.
Bhishma stole away three princesses to marry one of his brothers (the other had died). Amba, on of the princesses could not marry due to another love. She is rejected and blames Bhishma for all of her misfortune, seeking to exact revenge. Both of Bhishma's half- brothers are dead by now, leaving no heir. King Shantanu's second wife informs Bhishma that she had given birth to a son before meeting the King. She asks her son to father the heirs. But the two widowed princesses are scared of this rough sage. Their fears manifested in the children they each bore. One was blind as the first closed her eyes at the sight of him, while the other was sick and pale since the second turned pale at the sight of the sage. The second princess sent a servant to the sage when the sage came to her again. The servant was not scared and gave birth to a health and wise child. The blind son became King, but his brother Pandu ruled from the side. There was a rivalry between the two brothers that Bhishma didn't see, but the third son did.
"Epified: Mahabharata, Part A" by Laura Gibbs, from YouTube. Web source
This version of the Mahabharata provides a lot of insight on parts I didn't understand before. In Episode 1- Shantanu the Unfortunate, the narrator proposes that the Mahabharata is a showcase of how karma functions. In my experience from reading the chapters, I can agree with that proposal. The Mahabharata showed account after account of how certain actions have certain outcomes. He explains how the River Goddess married King Shantanu agreed to give birth to the 8 cursed vedas and then kill them to free them from mortal life. But since Shantanu asked about the last child, she did not kill the 8th veda. This Veda named Devavrata became prince and heir of the throne of Shantanu.
King Shantanu meets River Goddess Ganga
King Shantanu falls in love with a different woman, but cannot marry her because of Devavrata. The king's son sees his father's sadness and give up his birthright, vowing not to marry, claim the throne, or have children, all so his father can marry this woman. When the King finds out about this sacrifice, he feels a sense of doom and grants his son, now called Bhishma, the ability to be immortal until Bhishma himself wants to die (this comes into play much later in the Mahabharata). As the son of the King and immortal, Bhishma watches over the throne of the kingdom, acting like a father to his two younger brothers.
Bhishma stole away three princesses to marry one of his brothers (the other had died). Amba, on of the princesses could not marry due to another love. She is rejected and blames Bhishma for all of her misfortune, seeking to exact revenge. Both of Bhishma's half- brothers are dead by now, leaving no heir. King Shantanu's second wife informs Bhishma that she had given birth to a son before meeting the King. She asks her son to father the heirs. But the two widowed princesses are scared of this rough sage. Their fears manifested in the children they each bore. One was blind as the first closed her eyes at the sight of him, while the other was sick and pale since the second turned pale at the sight of the sage. The second princess sent a servant to the sage when the sage came to her again. The servant was not scared and gave birth to a health and wise child. The blind son became King, but his brother Pandu ruled from the side. There was a rivalry between the two brothers that Bhishma didn't see, but the third son did.
"Epified: Mahabharata, Part A" by Laura Gibbs, from YouTube. Web source
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