Reading Notes: Mahabharata, Part D

 Mahabharata by various authors

Bhishma Falls

- At length Shikhandin rushed forward like a foaming billow, and when Bhishma saw him his arms fell, for he could not contend against one who had been born a woman.

*What a funny concept. He's a man now, why not fight him like one? Why not fight a woman as an equal either? I might try to write a story like that.*

Death of Drona

- The uplifted sword fell and cut off Drona's head, which was at once raised from the ground by his supposed slayer and tossed like a ball into the midst of the Kuru hosts.

*Dang, that's graphic! Not what I was expecting in the midst of this story.*

Arjuna and Karna

- When Arjuna had restrung his bow, he rose up like to a stricken and angry tiger held at bay, and cast a screen of arrows against his foe. But Karna feared him not, nor could Arjuna bear him down. The issue hung in the balance.

*Oo, I like the drama of two equally matched foes battling it out for ages. It's a cool concept to picture, almost like an action movie.*

- So fell in that dread combat a brother by a brother's hand.

*Intense!*

Ashwatthaman's Jewel

- Thou hast less cause than others to wail now.

*Ugh, I hate this expression! What is the purpose of a phrase like this? It just makes you feel worse for being ungrateful for what you still have and it doesn't give you the freedom to mourn like you should be able to.*

Parikshit

-Life and Death, sorrow and happiness, go round as the Wheel of the Law. 

*This story's dealings with death and mourning intrigue me greatly.*

- They call you merciful. Have mercy on me. Send me to my Abhimanyu.

*The kind of grief that Uttara expresses in this chapter is touching. The kind where you just wish to follow along. It might make for a heartrending story.*

- Before Abhimanyu came to this world, he said in heaven that he did not wish to remain on earth longer than a few years.

*Interesting new way of looking at/understanding death.*

Mahabharata (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Bibliography: Mahabharata by various authors. Website: Indian Epics: Images and PDE Epics