Week 10 Reading Diary B: The War and the End

• Last section of The Mahabharata, let’s do this!
• So Yudhistira wants peace instead of fighting the war, he doesn’t want blood to spill because he believes that it will only create an endless cycle of hate and war. Not everyone agrees with him though, especially Draupadi, who is still angry about being humiliated and undefended by her husbands (pages 133-136).
• Krishna attempts to make peace with Dhritarashtra on behalf of the Pandavas, telling him to cast aside Duryodhana, who at the same time wants to take Krishna captive (pages 136-140).
• Poor Arjuna felt discouraged about fighting his cousins, but luckily Krishna was there to give him the words he needed to fight (pages 147-148).
• I am glad that Narayan omits a lot of the information in the epic, I know that I definitely would not want to read page after page about the war, or philosophy.
• Duryodhana doesn’t give up his tricks, and tries to kidnap Yudhistira in an attempt to win the war. This however does not work, but does lead to the death of Arjuna’s son (pages 156-158).
• Duryodhana is advised one last time to make peace with his cousins, but of course refuses to do so. Of course, his pride and the evil within him lead to his death in this way (pages 163-166).
• I love reading stories of Karma, like how Karna could not advance towards Arjuna’s chariot because of a past deed (page 170).
• I did not realize that Bhishma would survive for so long on his bed of arrows, however it was nice that Yudhistira sat next to him as he died and spoke to him and learned from him at the urging of Krishna (pages 177-178).

Image Information: Yudhistira and Krishna; Web Source: Wikimedia Commons.