Carole Satyamurti - Mahabharata: A Modern Retelling

MAHABHARATA A Modern Retelling C AROLE S ATYAMURTI Adjusting type size may change line breaks. Landscape mode may help to preserve line breaks. In memory of T. V. Sathyamurthy
(19291998) My gateway to India Contents by Wendy Doniger: The Mahabharata , a Text for All Seasons Introduction to the poem and its main storytellers: Vyasa, Vaishampayana, and Ugrashravas. The Bharata lineage; the story of Satyavati and the birth of Vyasa; Shantanu marries the goddess Ganga, and Bhishma is born.

Shantanu later marries Satyavati and they have two sons, Chitrangada and Vichitravirya. Chitrangada dies in battle. Bhishma abducts three royal sisters, Amba, Ambika, and Ambalika, as brides for Vichitravirya. Amba had already chosen another husband, and leaves the court. Vichitravirya dies childless, and Vyasa fathers two sons on the royal widowsDhritarashtra (born blind) and Pandu (born pale)as well as a son, Vidura, by a maid-servant. Bhishma, as regent, arranges marriages for the Bharata princes: Dhritarashtra marries Gandhari, who chooses to wear a blindfold lifelong; Pandu marries Kunti and Madri; Vidura, being born of a shudra mother, marries a woman of equivalent parentage.

Pandu is cursed by a brahmin to die during the sexual act, so has to remain celibate. Kunti deploys a boon she has received previously, and gives birth to three sons, fathered by different gods. Madri gives birth to two sons in the same way. These five sonsYudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadevaare known as the Pandavas. Gandhari, blessed by Vyasa, gives birth to one hundred sons (the Kauravas), and a daughter. Evil omens attend the birth of the eldest, Duryodhana.

Pandu gives way to temptation and dies in the act of love with Madri. Madri climbs on his funeral pyre, and Kunti takes the five boys to Hastinapura, the capital of the Bharata kingdom. The five Pandavas and the hundred Kaurava boys get on badly together. Encouraged by his uncle, Shakuni, Duryodhana makes an unsuccessful attempt on Bhimas life. The young princes are trained in the arts of war, first by Kripa and then by Dronaboth brahmins. Drona plans vengeance on his former friend, Drupada, king of Panchala.

Drona trains the royal princes in his weapons school. Arjuna becomes an outstanding archer, and Dronas favorite. Dronas son, Ashvatthaman, also receives special attention. Karna, foundling son of a suta, joins the weapons school, and is despised. He becomes deeply envious of Arjuna. Ekalavya, a tribal boy, is turned away by Drona, but becomes a great archer through diligent practice.

We learn Karnas real parentage. He seeks out the great weapons teacher, Rama Jamadagnya, and acquires celestial weapons but, finally, is cursed by his teacher for deception. Drona organizes a public display to show the young princes skills. Karna arrives and humiliates Arjuna. Duryodhana befriends Karna. Drona mounts an attack on Drupadas city, Kampilya.

Drupada is humiliated. Through prayer and austerity, he acquires a son, Dhrishtadyumna, born to avenge his father, and a daughter, Draupadi, who will, he hopes, marry Arjuna. Duryodhana persuades his father to send the Pandavas and Kunti off on a visit to Varanavata. Duryodhana plots the death of his cousins, but the plot is unsuccessful and they escape into the forest. In the forest, the Pandavas encounter the ogre Hidimba and his sister, whom Bhima marries. She gives birth to their son, Ghatotkacha.

At Vyasas prompting, the Pandavas move to the city of Ekachakra, where Bhima kills the ogre Baka. The Pandavas, disguised as brahmins, go to Kampilya where Arjuna wins the contest for Draupadis hand. Owing to a misunderstanding, all five brothers become her husbands. They meet their cousins, Krishna (an incarnation of Vishnu) and Balarama, for the first time. Duryodhana is enraged by the Pandavas good fortune. His father, the king, agrees to divide the kingdom in half.

Yudhishthira will be king of the barren Khandava tract. In time, the Pandavas transform it, building the beautiful city of Indraprastha. The brothers make an agreement to avoid jealousy arising between them over Draupadi. Arjuna transgresses, and insists on going into exile. Arjuna visits sacred sites, has liaisons with Ulupi and Chitrangadaa, visits Krishnas city, Dvaraka, and marries Krishnas sister, Subhadra. Back at Indraprastha, Subhadra gives birth to Abhimanyu, and Draupadi to five sons, one by each brother.

Walking in the forest, Arjuna and Krishna encounter the god Agni, who wishes to burn down the forest, but is being thwarted by the god Indra (Arjunas father). They agree to help him, and are given celestial weapons. Through their efforts, the forest is burned down, only a few creatures escaping. The divine architect, Maya, builds a beautiful assembly hall for Yudhishthira. The seer Narada suggests that Yudhishthira make an attempt to become king of kings. The king of Magadha, Jarasandha, stands in the way of this ambition, and Krishna and Bhima challenge him and defeat him.

Yudhishthiras brothers take armies to other kingdoms throughout the land, and secure the fealty of a number of other kings. A great consecration sacrifice takes place, to which the Kauravas are invited. The king of Chedi, Shishupala, challenges Yudhishthiras choice of Krishna as guest of honor, and Krishna kills him. After the ceremony, Duryodhana tours the assembly hall and is consumed by envy and despair. Back in Hastinapura, Shakuni suggests that Yudhishthira be invited to a gambling match, which he is sure to lose. Dhristarashtra agrees to this.

Yudhishthira, despite misgivings, accepts the invitation. Due to Shakunis sleight of hand, Yudhishthira loses everything he owns, including his brothers, himself, and his wife. Draupadi challenges the elders to say whether her husband could have lost her, when he had already lost himself, and therefore had no right to property. Duhshasana, second eldest Kaurava, tries to strip Draupadi, but fails. Duryodhana lewdly insults Draupadi, and Bhima vows to kill both him and his brother. Draupadis question remains unresolved, but Dhritarashtra cancels Yudhishthiras losses and allows the Pandavas to leave.

Duryodhana and Shakuni devise a new basis for a dice game, and the Pandavas are brought back. Whoever loses this time will go into exile for thirteen years, while the winner takes possession of their lands. Only if they remain unrecognized during the thirteenth year will their lands be returned. Yudhishthira agrees, plays, and loses. The Pandavas depart for their forest exile. The Pandavas, accompanied by devoted brahmins, settle in a pleasant spot in the forest.

Back at court, the seer Maitreya curses Duryodhana. He and Dhritarashtra learn that Bhima has killed an ogre in the forest, and fear for the future. Krishna and other allies visit the Pandavas in the forest. Draupadi and Bhima urge Yudhishthira to ignore the terms of the dice game and attack the Kauravas. Yudhishthira refuses. Vyasa appears and counsels them.

He advises that Arjuna should go on a quest to acquire celestial weapons. Arjuna departs. Arjuna travels to the Himalaya where he is tested by Indra, and embarks on a period of strict austerities. He is tested by the god Shiva, who promises to give him the terrible divine weapon Pashupata. He spends five years in Indras heaven. In the forest, Yudhishthira is disconsolate, and the sage Brihadashva tells him the story of Nala and Damayanti.