Week 14 Reading Diary, cont.: The Missing Queen

reading: Part B of The Missing Queen by Samhita Arni (Zubaan, 2013)

After two long-ish books, it's weird that I'm already over halfway done with this one. It's going by so fast! I keep skimming ahead, though, because it's fast-paced enough that it's difficult to stop reading without knowing what's coming next.

It's starting to delve more into the stories behind the stories. Surpanakha shows up briefly and we hear her side of things -- different than what's in the Ramayana -- which seems to be a theme for this book, of introducing a secondary character and quickly giving their version of events. Surpanakha raises some interesting points about Ayodhya vs. Lanka, mainly regarding women's roles. She brings up the freedom and equality enjoyed by women in Lanka, whereas Ayodhyan women are viewed as needing protection, especially of their chastity.

And then the storyline is also delving into the political. It brings up more of the epic's backstories, like with Rama killing a large group in the forest because they "threaten" Ayodhyans who are there for rituals and other spiritual matters. There's some intriguing questions raised about how much the war just uses Sita and that whole situation as an excuse to expand the Ayodhyan empire and take out a rival. It would explain why Rama enters into a terrible war unquestioningly and then gives up his wife who he was fighting for -- it was never really about her, which in some ways just makes the story even more terrible.

 still from Sita Sings the Blues (Martin Teller's Movie Reviews)

Week 14 Reading Diary: The Missing Queen

reading: Part A of The Missing Queen by Samhita Arni (Zubaan, 2013)

I've heard good things about this novel, so of course I was excited to begin reading. Also, my copy is a cute little ex-library book, and the feel of a regular book after all the de-dustjacketed monographs and textbooks I'm usually reading through is so nice. :)

The beginning starts out pretty cool. The first character to meet is Kaikeyi, which is already a tip-off that this Ramayana story is going to be from a different perspective than usual. I'm still getting used to the setting, on the one hand feeling a little antiquated (with speakeasies and old films) and on the other very modern, with TV, laptops, and political debates surrounding a switch to democracy.

There's also digs at the usual epic narrative. Some are direct, with characters questioning how much of the story is told when it's told by the victors, but others, like Valmiki's officially-endorsed journalistic biography of Ram, are a little more discreet.

I thought this would read more like a mystery novel, but by the end of this first part, I'm realizing there's likely to be more violence and darkness than I expected. There's a bit of a dystopian feel right now, with the main character imprisoned under obviously not normal procedures. I might have already skipped ahead and skimmed some later scenes...definitely not the route I was expecting the plot to take, but should be interesting.

 still from Sita Sings the Blues (Coffee Coffee and More Coffee)

Week 14 Reading Diary: Breaking the Bow

reading: Part H of Breaking the Bow: Speculative Fiction Inspired by the Ramayana, ed. Anil Menon & Vandana Singh (2012)

The anthology ended on a high note -- the two last stories were excellent. "Vaidehi and Her Earth Mother" was interesting. It started out humorous, with an author whose main character has run off. Apparently she didn't like the "perfect Indian wife" roles she was assigned and completing to perfection. But then the story takes a psychological twist, ending darkly. It's unlike any of the other stories in the book, both playful and sinister. I'm wondering if the author's other work is like this, and just how much of the personal made it into the story.

"Falling into the Earth" was also pretty cool. It's another story where modern characters connect with the Ramayana as they live out their lives, but wonder if they can find different endings. This has probably been my favorite framing device after the futuristic sci-fi ones; there's so much room for authors to both build on the epic and alter it in major ways. This particular version has a sweet ending, coming out of an unhappy marriage beginning and mental illness/chemical dependence to a revision of Sita's exile after the war. It's good to end the anthology in a story where Sita finally gets a decent ending.

Rama and Sita from Sita Sings the Blues (Dharma Records)

Week 13 Reading Diary, cont.: Breaking the Bow

reading: Part G of Breaking the Bow: Speculative Fiction Inspired by the Ramayana, ed. Anil Menon & Vandana Singh (2012)

I didn't really get "Machanu Visits the Underworld." Perhaps it's just because I was unfamiliar with this part of the story, about Hanuman's son Machanu, but I just wasn't entirely sure what was going on. It did continue to play around with the overarching themes for this collection, though, things like multiple versions of the story and trying to rewrite it, but ultimately ending up in the same place again.

"Oblivion: A Journey," however, is another one of my favorites. I think the futuristic sci-fi setting is a key part of that; I came to this anthology expecting a lot of sci-fi, and I find that this genre seems to garner an amazing amount of creativity from authors looking at social issues and new versions of old stories. I always love a well-told, well-built sci-fi story!

Which Singh provides here. The protagonist is from a consciously Ramayana-inspired planet and sees themself as like a modern Ram chasing a Ravan -- but are their stories actually the same? The tale was a perfect blend of new material mixed with references to the old epic, with some moral questioning thrown in. All in all, it was excellently told.

still of Ravana from Sita Sings the Blues (Nina Paley)

Week 13 Reading Diary, cont.: Breaking the Bow

reading: Part F of Breaking the Bow: Speculative Fiction Inspired by the Ramayana, ed. Anil Menon & Vandana Singh (2012)

"The Princess and the Forest" was cool because it concerns a modern (more or less) woman drawing on the stories of the epic in her own life. It's powerful in much the same way that Sita Sings the Blues is powerful, by showing the bonds that people often create between literature and their lives, especially in times of turmoil.

still from Sita Sings the Blues

(Filmic Literacy)

"Sarama" was interesting because, once again, the point of view shifts from the usual Ramayana characters to those on the "bad" side. It's a good reminder that there's always at least two sides to every story, and that nice people get caught up in terrible events.

The last story in this section, "Regressions," was my favorite, possibly out of the entire book so far. The world that emerges in the background of the plot is drawn tightly and concisely, not to mention it's a futuristic all-women's utopia (named for Amba from the Mahabharata?) waging a time-traveling battle against their fundamentalist peers. Ties in a lot with the issues I've been reading about for my history capstone class, actually. Anyway, the ideas of revisionist stories and hundreds of Ramayanas both come through in this tale, and I wish it was a full novel rather than a mere 20 pages.

Week 13 Reading Diary: Breaking the Bow

reading: Part E of Breaking the Bow: Speculative Fiction Inspired by the Ramayana, ed. Anil Menon & Vandana Singh (2012)

"This, Other World" reminded me first of the poem "Jabberwocky." There's a lot of words thrown in to enhance the sci-fi feel that don't actually have meaning in our world, but you can figure out their general function through context. It was interesting to try to unpack all the worldbuilding Tidhar does over the course of the brief story. Sita's decision at the end and Brahma's contact with the characters were neat twists on the epic.

Perhaps because I was reading "Fragments from the Book of Beauty" late at night with some goofy friends, I thought this one was unintentionally hilarious. One friend read the first section aloud to all of us and we couldn't stop laughing. The vocabulary is just over the top, and the descriptions of the world in this tale are ridiculous. There's also more Jabberwocky words invented and thrown in. Annnd then it takes a weird turn when Mandodari is entreating Sita to give in to Ravana.

"Kalyug Amended" was cool as an updated version of Sita and her sons' story. Sita's a divorced mother, and the custody battle for her twins ends up in her favor, because in now women have more power than in the world of the epic. The last two stories in this section I don't have much to say about, other than that "Petrichor" was interesting for the backstory on Sita's origins.

Hanuman finds Sita

(Wikimedia Commons)

Week 12 Reading Diary, cont.: Breaking the Bow

reading: Part D of Breaking the Bow: Speculative Fiction Inspired by the Ramayana, ed. Anil Menon & Vandana Singh (2012)

"Great Disobedience": The note about the author mentioned that they've viewed the Ramayana as racial propaganda before, and this story very much tied in with some others in the anthology where the asuras and others groups are really the oppressed people, not the evil ones. Which made this tale heartbreaking, because Rama and Lakshmana as young men get stuck in a situation where their presence is used to justify horrendous crimes, and they'll go down in history as heroes for it. It's a side of the Ramayana that either I don't remember, or it just didn't make it into Narayan's version (and is a reminder of how complex the epic is, with its side stories and everything, and how many readings it inspires). Great story, but also very depressing.

It's a quite different version of Rama killing Tataka than the one seen here.

Raja Ravi Press, c.1910s

(Wikimedia Commons)

"Test of Fire" was pretty cool, despite its shortness. It's another version of Sita-from-another-people, having an ulterior motive in marrying Rama, but it plays to an alien race rather than the asuras. I also appreciated the otherworldly distaste for Rama's actions and how they view his treatment of Sita as pandering to his own self-interests (trying to maintain the favor of everyone) rather than doing what's right.

"The Other Woman" was, at times, one of the most fun stories I've read so far. I like the author's sense of humor, and I think I'll be checking out another speculative fiction by her. The setup and ending were a bit weird, but the lighter tone was nice after how deep and dark some of these stories have gone.

Week 12 Reading Diary, cont.: Breaking the Bow

reading: Part C of Breaking the Bow: Speculative Fiction Inspired by the Ramayana, ed. Anil Menon & Vandana Singh (2012)

If I thought the stories about Shurpanakha were creative...wow. The ones for Sita are amazing. I actually wish they were all longer; it seemed like as soon as I grasped the central concept at play in each version, the story was over.

Each Sita character, each story in Part C really took on its own form. There's a lot of playing around with the idea of many Ramayanas, many versions of the tale and of its figures. That's the main thing I took away from "Game of Asylum Seekers," that it's like each iteration of the epic is a new version of an impersonal game Sita is trying to survive/win. Then in "Sita's Descent," Sita tries to rewrite her story...and realizes that such actions as she wants to take are not within her character after all.

the god of fire and Sita

Evelyn Paul, 1911 (Wikimedia Commons)

"Day of the Deer" was a bit different. It goes along the same route as many of the Ramayana stories I read by other students in this class, with Ravana and Sita having some kind of other relationship backstory beyond the kidnapping episode. In this case, it was that Sita was supposed to bring the destruction of Rama and his kind, who have oppressed the earth's people, her people, for generations.

"Weak Heart" was interesting, mostly for the perspective on Rama's internal thoughts and motivations. It reminded me a lot of Draupadi's last thoughts of her eldest husband in The Palace of Illusions, that in his devotion to spirituality and correct living he will gain entrance to the realm of the gods, but in the meantime he'll have to leave behind all the people he loves. Rama is much the same in this portrayal of him. To become God, he must completely reject human feelings. I think most of us would question if such sacrifices are truly worth it, if gaining a measure of immortality is actually better than retaining one's humanity.

Week 12 Reading Diary: Breaking the Bow

reading: Part B of Breaking the Bow: Speculative Fiction Inspired by the Ramayana, ed. Anil Menon & Vandana Singh (2012)

"Making": It took me a while to catch on to the characters in this story. The most interesting part was the Sita character's thoughts during exile. She explains the oft-questioned insistence that Rama himself rescue her; she wants her husband to come by himself, not to arrive with an army, and she regrets the destruction of the people she's been with in captivity. It's a more nuanced version of her time at Ravana's palace than is given in the original epic.

"The Good King" was also interesting. The repeated reminders about Ravana's heads were humorous, and also aided my visualization of him (I'd always forget about his unique characteristic while reading the epic). The sci-fi elements I found difficult to parse out -- lots of jargon, especially for such a short story -- but the idea that, even in a multiverse where they live out an incredible number of lives, the story still ends the same was fascinating. And then Ravana even ties this in with multiple versions of the Ramayana, where in this case he's finally creating his own!

Ravananugraha statue with Ravana, Shiva, and Parvati

(Wikipedia)

There's a couple great quotes from this story: "Even when they were children her brother had refused to give her any importance. However, if matters ever came down to her status as his sister he would be out there protecting her like a piece of property before she could object." Sums up the patriarchy.

"When a bunch of monkeys tried to cross the straits from India, his neuroscientists caged them in the lab and ran a series of experiments on the origins of economic theory." I should add, the combination of mythic and science, religious devotion and physics is also pretty great in this story.

I don't have much to say about "The Mango Grove," other than that I love a good love story and couldn't wait for the characters to end up together again.

Week 11 Reading Diary, cont.: Breaking the Bow

reading: Part A of Breaking the Bow: Speculative Fiction Inspired by the Ramayana, ed. Anil Menon & Vandana Singh (2012)

I've been so excited to get to read this! I first ran across the anthology probably a little before it came out, when I was looking for speculative fiction (particularly sci-fi) by non-English and/or non-Western authors. It's out there, even in translation, it's just not always that easy to find! So, loving both sci-fi and new takes on old stories, I had long been looking forward to finding a copy of this book and reading it.

The introductions made it clear that this epic has so. many. different versions, and this anthology is just adding to them. I knew, of course, that individual storytellers are each going to have their own way of telling the story, but I hadn't realized how much leeway there is and just how much adaptation has been done over the years. It's something I would definitely love to learn more about! It kind of reminds me of Arthurian legend, how the same basic things get retold, but in different ways and different languages, over a long period of time, essentially creating its own genre...

The first story didn't impress me too much. It seemed like an extended version of something someone might do in this class, which is cool within the course framework, but not particularly revolutionary or notable within this anthology. Mostly I was just disturbed by the vitriol of some of the "comments."

The second story, "Exile," was amazing. I was reading it while sitting in a crowded, loud room, and I realized partway through that I was so absorbed I'd completely blocked out all the people around me. It's set in a futuristic world -- again, I always love the sci-fi -- and is able to do a lot of world-building, and do it clearly, within not very many pages. It didn't do much for me in terms of having me come away with a social message or anything, but the future subculture it built around the epic was pretty awesome.

I realized after the fact that the first three stories (how far I've read so far) relate loosely to Surpanaka being humiliated, as here where Lakshmana has cut off her nose.

Raja Ravi Press, 1920s

source: Wikimedia Commons

Week 11 Reading Diary, cont.: Palace of Illusions

reading: Part H of The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (2008)

It is done. I was surprised that there were still several chapters left after the big battle, but then, the original epic does cover long-reaching consequences of the conflict. The novel most of these events in only slightly more detail than the succinct summary given by Narayan. They rebuild after the war, there's a prophecy about Pariksit, Krishna and all his family dies, the Pandavas die. Another couple decades of Draupadi's life summed up in little space.

This section of the novel was more rewarding than the last because the characters begin to heal. Draupadi, Kunti, and Gandhari finally come together, to help the widows who are left in desperate situations. They've come to regret many of their past actions, but the effects of these will inevitably come back to haunt them. Draupadi's voice matures at this point, as she finally begins to let go of the selfish concerns that have driven her before to look more at her relationships with those around her.

The last chapter was most interesting to me. The Pandava brothers and wife are on their last journey, one that is both physical and spiritual. Draupadi is the first to fall, and as she dies, she converses with Krishna one last time. With Krishna coming back and discussing metaphysics with her, I wonder (not knowing much about actual Hindu faith in practice) how much of this section is just literary content and how much begins taking on a spiritual/religious message. All of the strains of thought are finally coming together in this scene, with Draupadi coming to terms with the role of the individual in the world.

death of Draupadi

from Bahadur's illustrations of the Mahabharata, 19th cent.

source: Wikimedia Commons

Week 11 Reading Diary: Palace of Illusions

reading: Part G of The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (2008)

Well, this reading was heartbreaking. Turns out I had pretty much completely forgotten everything that happens after the battle. I roughly remembered that all five Pandava brothers survive, but their children and most of the other key figures do not (besides Krishna). I'd forgotten the part where everyone should be safe, but someone on the Kaurava side goes mad, breaks into the Pandava camp, and brutally kills Dhri, the five Pandava sons, and some other important people who are, again, slipping my mind right now.

This section really emphasizes the senselessness and monstrosity of war. The two sides start out with rules for war, but about halfway these get tossed out the window. Atrocity is countered with atrocity in a cycle that will only continue past the conclusion of the battle. At the end, the head honchos finally wake up to the fact that their drama-turned-battle doesn't just affect them; they're all heartbroken -- and so is everyone else around them. The conflict over succession has devastated the lands they would be ruling, which seems pretty counterintuitive to me.

So...if I thought Rama's treatment of Sita in the Ramayana was sad, the Mahabharata is even more depressing by the time the epic concludes. And I'm not even to the end just yet. But kudos to the epic for not just senselessly glorifying its heroes, but for showing the pathos that goes along with their actions and repercussions as well.

Just look at all the little people who are going to die because the couple of big ones can't get along.

image: Arjuna confronts Karna; painting c.1820 (Wikimedia Commons)

Week 10 Reading Diary, cont.: Palace of Illusions

reading: Part F of The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (2008)

The end is drawing nigh, which is a bit frightening, remembering roughly what happens to everyone by the conclusion of the Mahabharata. I tend to prefer books without a great deal of violence and death...so this was a poor choice in those respects. I'm not looking forward to the next sets of chapters.

It was interesting, though, to suddenly be introduced to a host of new characters and reintroduced to some old ones. Kunti and Sikhandi are back, as are the sons of the Pandavas. I was particularly intrigued by the story of Hidimbi, Bhima's first wife, which I didn't remember from the epic. So many of these characters would be fascinating as the protagonists of their own novels! After all, they've all been doing their own things while the Pandavas are embroiled with their political and family dramas.

Hidimbi and the Pandavas

 (Wikimedia Commons)

Another interesting aspect coming up is Indian philosophies. A kind of current running in the background of this novel is Draupadi's stubborn independence, while admirable for her position as a woman in her culture in that time, also leads her to some decisions with far-reaching, lethal consequences. If she would just let go of her anger and fear, she'd be happier and also have avoided some of the incidents that lead to the path the story takes. In this last section of reading, these themes were spelled out to her by others more explicitly than they had been in the past.

Week 10 Reading Diary, cont.: Palace of Illusions

reading: Part E of The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (2008)

I'm starting to really dislike Draupadi. As a complex character, she's up there in development; as a likeable person, she's not so great. Her pride, anger, and whininess get pretty annoying in the last chapters. She makes several mistakes as a queen that will have major consequences, because she can't always control her emotions and inclinations when it's better for the situation for her to behave better. It gets a little confusing for me to see her true character at this point, because in hindsight she recognizes where she should have done things differently and is describing events as they unfold from this retrospective-but-present-tense voice.

I also don't understand her whole thing with Karna. She saw his portrait before her swayamvar and apparently fell in love with him, though she never verbalizes her attraction to him in quite this way. But it's been how many decades since she got married, and she's still bothered by this?? I realize how important the Pandavas' relationships with Karna are (and how these relate to Draupadi and the course of events), but I don't think Draupadi's feeling so drawn to him for no discernible reason is the strongest base for how things play out due to their bungled interactions.

It's interesting, though, to see how Divakaruni portrays Draupadi in exile as different than Sita in exile. The Ramayana pictures Sita as the perfect wife, uncomplainingly going along with her husband in what turns out to be a fairly nice stay in the forest (until Ravana's sister shows up). Draupadi in this book, however, is whiny, trying to goad her husbands on to vengeance (for her own hurt pride's sake) by complaining the whole twelve years they're exiled. This could've been a great time for the family to bind together and build up their relationships, but instead, Draupadi's behavior comes closer to making them all miserable.

the Pandavas brothers and Draupadi go into exile

(Wikimedia Commons)

Week 10 Reading Diary: Palace of Illusions

reading: Part D of The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (2008)

I'm halfway through Divakaruni's novel now. Overall, I'm enjoying it, though knowing what's coming it's more of an appreciation of how the characters develop and the story is explored rather than an oh-gosh-isn't-this-just-fun feeling. There's this dark undercurrent coming through beneath the narrative that I don't really want to see fully unveiled.

Part D covers a lot of ground in not a lot of pages. The Pandavas' fantastic palace is built, Draupadi has her five sons, and at least ten years go by. I think this period could probably have a novel of its own about all the court intrigues and drama going on, a la The Tudors and similar shows about the royal and wealthy that are currently popular. Unfortunately, there's not space for all that here, not to mention it would be a significant departure into sideplots off of the main epic frame.

Still, it's weird how little attention is given to some parts of this time. It looks like the episode of Arjun being exiled for walking in on Draupadi and her husband of the year is completely left out, and while Draupadi mentions having sons and them later being raised by Arjun's favorite wife, she largely ignores that she has children. There's so much going on in the source material that could be developed into fully fleshed-out stories, but I guess those would relate more to an entire series of novels rather than just this one.

Krishna orders Mayasura to build Pandavas' palace

(Wikimedia Commons)

Week 9 Reading Diary, cont.: Palace of Illusions

reading: Part C of The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (2008)

So...that went differently than I expected. I could see it heading that direction (partly because I'd skimmed ahead through the next chapter), which curtailed my Storytelling for this week, actually. Originally I was going to have Draupadi offend her father by coming out as polyamorous (hence the five husbands), but that's not really how the story goes.

In Divakaruni's version, there's an undercurrent of Draupadi actually being in love with Karna -- not that she's ever truly met him. At this point, the brothers are distant from her, and Kunti is more of a monster-in-law who just wants to maintain emotional control over her sons. I'd envisaged Draupadi's relationships with the Pandavas as like that between Rama and Sita (at least before Sita's kidnapped), where they're all loving and devoted to each other and help each other through tough times. The reality is completely different, at least in this novel, which is kind of disappointing and depressing.

On the other hand, the palace intrigue angle is likely more realistic. True to the rest of the epic, the Pandavas and Draupadi have more to worry about than their true interpersonal relationships, given that one side of the family is trying to kill them and the outcome of the family feud determines the fate of an entire country, etc. I had a fairly idealized view of the Pandava family going into this novel, and it's pretty well crushed now.

scenes from the Mahabharata surrounding the Pandava brothers' marriage to Draupadi

from manuscript, c.1800 (Wikimedia Commons)

Week 9 Reading Diary, cont.: Palace of Illusions

reading: Part B of The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (2008)

This novel is everything I question in the Mahabharata. The gender roles -- especially the position of women -- the inevitability of fate, the devotion to following conscience, morals, rules. She captures perfectly the melancholy sense of feeling in the epic of having to go along with fate and what's dictated/proper, knowing that doing what's right is going to lead to unforeseen consequences further on. It's depressing and excellent all at the same time.

I was thrilled to see Sikhandi pop up. I'd pretty much forgotten about her; I think the Narayan version just kind of dropped that whole Amba side plot, but the Epified videos included her in more depth. Her story is the epitome of the epic literature's sense of "this may seem unfair, but it's necessary," given the cultural context and way things have to eventually play out. She's stuck in terrible situations, is still a strong figure, and doesn't seem too bitter about everything even as she's dedicated to seeking revenge. It's a crazy kind of mindset to think about, but it's so typical of the characters in these epics.

The Karna angle is also interesting. There's so many hints for what's coming for Draupadi, but at the same time, her attraction to Karna is a different twist. I want to helpfully warn her and smack her all at the same time. Divakaruni does a great job of bringing out both the princess's strength of independent will and also her flaws of impatience and pride. Draupadi isn't the most perfect or likeable character, even as readers root for her. It's a pretty realistic portrayal.

Dhrishtadyumna announces Draupadi's swayamvara

(source)

Week 9 Reading Diary: Palace of Illusions

reading: Part A of The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (2008)

I'm sooo happy to have an excuse to read novels for class!!! Really, it's a nice way to finish up spring break. I haven't been able to do fun reading in a while, so I appreciate the chance to combine novels and classwork. I've read one of Divakaruni's more recent novels, Oleander Girl, and enjoyed it, so I've been looking forward to starting this one as well.

Divakaruni is a writer after my own heart with the premise of this book. She questions the portrayal of women in the Indian epics, how they are strong figures but brought out only when they have important interactions with the men. Draupadi is like every other historical fiction heroine: modern before her time, feeling like she's socially on the fringes, questioning women's roles, education, etc. -- but at the same time, isn't that what we want to read about her challenging?

Annnd it looks like Divakaruni is, perhaps inevitably, going to start exploring the whole fate thing. Draupadi is already questioning how unquestioningly everyone goes along with what their roles should be, with what the characters are told they must do according to prophecy and whatnot. I can't wait to see how this question is resolved, if it can be.

Also, I've discovered that I cannot for the life of me keep all these names straight. Three versions of the Mahabharata in, and I couldn't remember everyone's relationships and even had to double-check that Arjun is one of the Kaurava oops, Pandava (see??!!) brothers...

Draupadi Amman figure from Alandur (Wikimedia Commons)

Note: I originally planned to start the second half of the semester with Breaking the Bow, but I acquired a copy of Divakaruni's novel before I could get the anthology, so I'm swapping the two in order.

Week 7 Reading Diary: Epified Mahabharata

reading: part B of the Epified Mahabharata

Watching over what I've read in The Mahabharata, I'm starting to find it humorous how really abnormal things are treated as perfectly normal in the world of the epic. It's stated so straightforwardly that Karna was found as a baby, floating in a basket in the river, complete with armor and jewelry that grew to fit him as he aged. Or how a passing sage conveniently knew Draupadi's past-life story. Perfectly normal, right?

One again, I'm appreciating the details in this series that aren't mentioned in great depth in Narayan's version. I think some of them were at least glanced over, but I didn't get much sense of the backstory. One episode went into Karna's teacher killing all the Kshatriyas, over twenty times. It's a good reminder to me that Narayan is giving a very much abridged version of the epic, and also that stories about characters in The Mahabharata and other epics extend past only a single text and are found in multiple sources.

Arjuna draws the bow, from the Epified Mahabharata, episode 20

Then there's the bow test again. Is there any other way to decide royal marriages in these tales?? On the other hand, it makes it much simpler to find the perfect match by taking any question out of it! If only life were so simple now... Characters dealing with fate is an interesting recurring theme across these tales, like I've noted before. This time, what struck me is that major characters will insist on going into exile, even when those also involved with the rules beg them not to, because they personally feel like they must abide by the rules. That's dedication to proper behavior.

Week 7 Reading Diary, cont.: Nivedita's Krishna

reading: Part B of the Krishna chapters from Cradle Tales of Hinduism by Sister Nivedita (1907)

Once again, I'm struck by how much Krishna resembles a hero rather than a god. There's the enumeration of the challenges set for him, much like the testing of heroes in other tales. He's also able to be cursed by a mortal, his family doomed to self-destruction the same as any non-divine group found in the epics.

The motif of the bow pops up again! Rama breaks the bow in The Ramayana, Arjuna in The Mahabharata, and even the divine Krishna in Nivedita's tale! It reminds me of the sword in the stone found in Arthurian legend, and I wonder how often this kind of test occurs for culture heroes in world epics.

Where Krishna does seem to differ from other culture heroes, however, is his view on life and fate. Unlike Kansa and other characters in the epics, Krishna never tries to avert his fate. Instead, he encourages others to go along with whatever life is supposed to bring them, as expressed in his conversation with Arjuna that becomes the Bhagavad Gita. Perhaps this is one way that he is characterized as a god rather than simply a mortal hero?

Krishna reveals his universal form as revealed to Arjuna

statue in Singapore (Wikipedia)

For storytelling this week: I find New Religious Movements and revitalization movements fascinating, and it occurred to me that Krishna's rise to influence and replacement of Indra in the tales I read this week can perhaps be matched with Anthony F.C. Wallace's stages of revitalization. Anyway, I thought telling of his ascendancy through the eyes of a devotee and according to the religious movement model might be interesting. I find it particularly interesting that Krishna never returns to Brindaban, but that his "peasant friends" make a pilgrimage to see him at the harvest sacrifice

And an interesting sidenote: on page 230, Nivedita uses "kine" to refer to cows, which is a very antiquated term drawn from Old English originally -- does this have anything to do with her dialect of English?