As in The Ramayana, I'm struck by the choices given to the characters in these Indian epics. Even with influences from deities and sages, a certain amount of decision is left up to the characters in determining their own fates. For example, the blind king is given repeated chances to cast off his evil son and do what's right regarding his nephews. He even follows this advice occasionally, though, torn between his nephews and his sons, he tends to lapse back to bad decisions.
At the same time, determining what's up to fate in the epic and what's caused by human choices is difficult. Yudhistira has to accept the challenges for games, but at the same time, he take it too far with his wagers -- but isn't this part of the greater story, the set of events he, his brothers, and their wife must go through?
For storytelling this week, I'm not sure which route to pursue. One thing I considered was based on the descriptions of the royals' lavish palaces. The rivals spend so much time, money, and effort on trying to top the Pandavas -- and for what? In the long run, all of them will eventually die, and their palaces will fall to ruin with the passage of time. So one story I thought of was having someone return and discover the ruins, to reflect on their past majesty and the futility of all this competition and scheming.
the Pandavas escape Lakshagraha
source: Wikipedia
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