I found The Mahabharata a more complicated and deeper story than The Ramayana. It's difficult to separate out who's right and wrong in the story. Duryodhana is definitely wrong in his persistence in pursuing his own agenda, but everyone else is just caught up in the crossfire, torn by loyalties, prophecies, kinship, and morality. The Pandava brothers question whether what they do is right -- and make plenty of mistakes along the way -- and in the end, they're mainly the "right" side just because they're the protagonists and we want them to win.
The web of promises, allegiances, and prophecies is astounding. Krishna has promised some things to the Kauravas, but ultimately his loyalty lies with the Pandavas, whom he assists to victory. Characters and oaths that have been forgotten since the beginning of the story pop up again, like Amba getting revenge or the sons of the Pandava brothers. It all comes full circle, which I guess is the main point of the epic. Characters may be given opportunities to learn from their mistakes and depart from the destructive paths they've created for themselves, but ultimately, they're locked into this cosmically dictated sequence of events.
I liked Narayan's version for its brevity (I think the Penguin Classics *abridged* version is over 900 pages). I'm reading this mostly for the narrative content, so long lists of wedding guests or military allies or overly detailed descriptions wouldn't be that interesting. Still, having browsed through epic-inspired books, I've noticed how many novelized versions focus on the women of The Mahabharata and wondered how much their story can be expanded from the glimpses Narayan gives us in this adaptation. The battle is epic or whatever, but I really care more about how they live the rest of their lives.
battle scene from Bhagavad Gita, 16th cent.
source: Wikimedia Commons
Hi Susanna,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I wasn't the only one who really liked how rich the plot of the Mahabharata is! I think it's so cool how complex each character is -- there aren't really good guys and bad guys, just a bunch of interesting characters caught up in a crazy, complicated conflict! I felt like every character had believable motivations (even when influenced by magic or whatnot). In the context of the story, everyone made sense. I wonder how the characters are perceived in modern Indian culture -- do most people root for one side or another?