Reading Notes: PDE Mahabharata, Section A

I thought I would again focus on summaries of the more interesting stories in the PDE Mahabharata because I felt it helped me the most in understanding what was going on and better prepared me to write a story. The following are my favorite of the first 20 sections. Some honorable mentions include 14. Drona for reminding me of a similar story in Avatar: The Last Airbender and 16. Ekalavya, both written by Donald A Mackenzie, for an interesting backstory on how they draw a bow.

King Shantanu greets a gorgeous woman as she emerged from the River Ganga. Source: Wikimedia

2. King Shantanu and Ganga by Donald A. Mackenzie

• The goddess Ganga took the form of a human to give birth to eight Vasus who were cursed to be born as humans by a powerful Rishi. King Shantanu discovered Ganga as she emerged from the Ganges. Smitten by her beauty, he agreed to marry her on the condition that he never spoke harshly to her or she would leave him. She gave birth to seven babies and threw each into the Ganges as part of her deal with the Vasus. Shantanu interfered on the eighth child, however, and thus she left him for breaking his vow. Ganga returned later to Shantanu and gave him her a noble child, Devavrata.

4. Devavrata's Vow by Donald A. Mackenzie

• Shantanu later in his life encountered Satyavati after smelling her sweet fragrance in the air and following it. Shantanu wanted her as his bride, but her father demanded that her son, not Devavrata, be chosen as the heir to the throne, which he could not allow. He complained to his son upon return, and Devavrata took it upon himself to promise the fisherman that he would renounce his claim should he allow his father to matter Satyavati. The gods saw this and from that day renamed Devavrata to Bhishma. Satyavati became Shantanu's bride and bore two sons, Chitrangada and Vichitravirya. Shantanu eventually passed, and Chitrangada was named king. However Chitrangada passed away, and thus Vichitravirya was proclaimed king, but he was a boy so Bhishma ruled as regent.

6. Amba by Sister Nivedita

• Amba was previously betrothed to another king. However, after being defeated by Bhishma, he no longer held affection for her. She came to blame Bhishma for her strife. After praying and paying penance for many weeks, Shiva appeared before her and granted her a boon. She would be reincarnated upon death as a man and would be the one to slay Bhishma. She then lit a funeral pyre and burned herself so she could fulfill her destiny.

7. Dhritarashtra and Pandu by Donald A. Mackenzie

• Apparently, Vichitravirya had passed, as per the synopsis for part 7. So, Satyavati wished for grandsons to carry on the line, and since Bhishma had his vow, Vyasa, the son she had before she married Shantanu, sired three sons from the two princesses and a handmaiden. They were Dhritarashtra of Ambika, born blind; Pandu of Ambalika, the pale one; and Vidura of the handmaiden, incarnation of Dharma. Dhritarashtra was blind and Vidura was of humble birth, so neither was selected to be sat upon the throne. Instead, Pandu, the pale one, was placed on the throne. 

8. Kunti and her Son by Donald A. Mackenzie

• Pandu reigned and married two wives: Kunti and Madri. Kunti's family held divine importance, and she herself was pious. She managed to seduce Surya, god of the sun, using a charm she was granted by a great Rishi. They had a son together, Karna, but since he was not sired by her husband, she sent him down the river Aswa in a basket, hoping he would have a good life. Karna was found by Radha who took him in.

10. The Sons of Pandu by Donald A. Mackenzie

• Five princes were born of Kunti and Madri, called the Pandava Brothers, and each was sired by a god rather than Pandu himself. Recall that Pandu was cursed for killing a brahmin. So, when he went for a walk with Madri and embraced her, he fell dead as per the brahmin's curse. Madri and Kunti then held an argument over who should be burned with the king, to which a brahmin who overheard their argument decreed that Madri should be the one since she was his favorite wife.