Week 9: Narayan's Mahabharata (pp. 1-83)Assignments - Reading Guide A - Reading Guide B - Mahabharata Resources |
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Your Reading B for this week is Narayan's Mahabharata, pp. 41-83.
You might want to read over the previous
reading guide to remind yourself of what has happened so far.
p.
41. The Pandavas at Indraprastha. Duryodhana is
distressed to find out the Pandavas are
still alive, although his father, Dhritarashtra,
cannot bring himself to hate the Pandavas as much as his son does. Bhishma and Vidura encourage
Dhritarashtra to make peace with the Pandavas. Karna denounces
both of them as traitors and urges war. Dhritarashtra is confused by all the
conflicting advice. He sends Vidura to the Pandavas with an invitation to come
back to Hastinapura,
where they are cordially received by Dhritarashtra. Dhritarashtra gives a part
of his kingdom, called Khandavaprastha,
to the Pandavas. There the Pandavas build a magnificent city called Indraprastha.
The sage Narada visits
the Pandavas at Indraprastha and warns the Pandavas to be careful of potential
conflicts that might arise from sharing Draupadi as
their wife. Because Arjuna intrudes
on Yudhishthira and
Draupadi during the year that Draupadi was Yudhishthira's wife, he goes into
exile for twelve years. During this time, he marries Ulupi,
a naga princess,
and he also marries Subhadra,
the sister of Krishna.
p.
47. Duryodhana attends the coronation of Yudhishthira. Yudhishthira
performs a rajasuya,
or royal coronation, at Indraprastha. Krishna attends as a guest, and so does
Duryodhana, together with his maternal uncle, Śakuni.
Duryodhana is deeply jealous of Indraprastha. Śakuni urges Duryodhana to leave
the Pandavas alone since they possess great power and weapons, such as the
Gandiva bow.
The Gandiva bow was the gift of the fire god Agni
to Arjuna as a reward for having trapped the birds and animals in the forest
so that fire could burn the forest and Agni could consume the fat of all the
animals. Maya was
saved from the fire, and he built the assembly hall of the Pandavas at Indraprastha.
This hall has many optical illusions, and the Pandavas laugh at Duryodhana
when he is fooled into thinking the marble floor is actually a pool, or walking
into the wall because he thinks there is a door there. Draupadi also laughs
at Duryodhana, which enrages him.
p.
50. Śakuni proposes a game of dice. Śakuni suggests to
Duryodhana that they can get their revenge on the Pandavas in a game of dice.
Śakuni is an expert player, and Yudhishthira has no talent for the game. Vyasa comes
to visit the Pandavas and warns them of the bad omens that he sees. He predicts
thirteen difficult years for the Pandavas, and Yudhishthira makes a vow to
speak no harsh word for those thirteen years, hoping to avert any cause for
trouble. Dhritarashtra, meanwhile, agrees to build a great assembly hall, the
Crystal Palace, to rival the hall of the Pandavas. Vidura comes to invite the
Pandavas to the Crystal Palace for a game of dice. As a kshatriya,
Yudhishthira cannot refuse this challenge, so they go to Hastinapura.
p.
55. The first game of dice. Śakuni is going to play in
the dice game in Duryodhana's place. In a frenzy, Yudhishthira loses everything
he owns. Vidura urges Dhritarashtra to put a stop to the dice game, but the
game continues. Yudhishthira then gambles away his brothers, and himself. Then
he gambles away Draupadi. Duryodhana sends his brother Duhśasana to
fetch Draupadi. Draupadi wants to know how it is possible for Yudhishthira
to gamble her away if he has already staked himself and lost. Moreover, she
has her period and does not want to appear in public.
Duhśasana drags her by her hair into the assembly hall, when she is dressed
only in a single garment. Draupadi continues to protest when she is dragged
into the hall. Bhishma refuses to take sides, but Vikarna -
one
of the younger sons of Dhritarashtra - insists that Draupadi was not fairly
staked and won. Karna rejects Vikarna, and orders that the Pandavas strip off
their princely robes. Duryodhana then orders Draupadi to undress. In desperation,
Draupadi shuts her eyes and calls on Krishna for help. As Draupadi's sari is
pulled off, another sari replaces it. Bhima swears
he will get revenge on Duryodhana. [Be careful not to
mix up the characters Bhishma and Bhima.]
Meanwhile, Duryodhana continues to taunt Draupadi. Dhritarashtra gives Draupadi
a wish, and she asks that Yudhishthira be set free. Dhritarashtra gives her
another wish, and she frees her other four husbands. When he gives her a third
wish, Draupadi declines. Dhritarashtra then gives back all the Pandavas' possessions
and sends them back to Indraprastha in peace.
p.
66. The second game of dice and exile. Duryodhana, Śakuni
and Karna confer after the Pandavas' departure. Duryodhana is furious, and
urges his father to invite them back for a second match. Duryodhana's mother, Gandhari,
urges Dhritarashtra to reject Duryodhana's proposal. But the invitation is
made, and Yudhishthira again accepts. The stake is thirteen years of exile:
twelve years in poverty, followed by one year in disguise. Yudhishthira loses
and the Pandavas go into exile. Vidura offers to take care of Kunti while
her sons are away. Dhaumya,
a priest, accompanies the Pandavas and Draupadi into exile. 
The
Pandavas go to the
Ganga river. Yudhishthira
urges the people following them to go home, but some insist on staying. Yudhishthira
prays to Surya,
the Sun God, who gives Yudhishthira a copper bowl with an endless supply of
food. This allows Yudhishthira to feed the people who are with him. The Pandavas
go to live with hermits in the wilderness. When he is exiled by Dhritarashtra,
Vidura comes to join them, but Dhritarashtra's charioteer, Sanjaya,
soon comes to summon Vidura back to Hastinapura, because Dhritarashtra cannot
do without him. Śakuni, Duryodhana and Karna are urging an attack on the Pandavas,
but Vyasa urges peace instead.
p.
76. Weapons for the future. Meanwhile, Krishna comes
to see Yudhishthira and promises that Duryodhana and his allies will be punished.
Draupadi criticizes Yudhishthira for being so willing to forgive their enemies,
while Yudhishthira insists that anger is destructive at all times. He urges
Draupadi to be patient. 
As
they speculate about the future, Vyasa assures Yudhishthira that all his enemies
will be slain in battle and he teaches Yudhishthira a great mantra which makes
it possible to get weapons from the gods. Yudhishthira teaches this mantra
to Arjuna, who uses it to get weapons from Indra, Varuna and
other gods. When Arjuna goes to the Vindhya mountains
to meditate, he gets the weapon Paśupata from the god Śiva.
Arjuna also visits
Amaravati,
the heavenly city of Indra. A gandharva
teaches Arjuna music and dance. An apsaras named Urvaśi falls
in love with Arjuna but he rejects her advances. Urvaśi curses Arjuna to live
among women as a eunuch. Indra, however, is impressed with Arjuna's self-control,
and tells him that this curse will turn out to be a blessing later on. Arjuna
rejoins the Pandavas after five years, and they are delighted to learn of the
weapons that he has acquired.
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