Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part D

   For the reading over Mahabharata, I chose the version written by R.K. Narayan. This version is similar to the one of Ramayana that I read in that it is a shortened modern version of the Indian Epic. I found myself enjoying these versions better because they are easier to follow and comprehend for me. I will be taking notes over some of the most interesting subparts in part D.

Part 145. The War Begins

• Yudhishthira makes Dhrishtadyumna, Draupadi's brother, the supreme commander of his troops
• Bhishma is the supreme commander of Duryodhana's troops
• The battle is to happen on the field of Kurukshetra
• Arjuna does not want to fight his guru Drona and the members of his own family
• Krishna preaches a doctrine of duty and detachment to him
• it is called the Bhagadvad-Gita, or Song of the Lord.
• Krishna manifests himself in cosmic form
• After this sermon, Arjuna is ready to fight

Part 151. The end of Bhishma

• Dhrishtadyumna tries to kill Drona to avenge his father's embarassment
• Drona escapes him
• Bhishma attacks Krishna and draws blood
• this enrages Arjuna
• Krishna goes to slay Bhishma with his discus
• Arjuna begs him not to
• Ghatotkacha, the demon son of Bhima and Hidimba, comes to the aid of his father
• Amba has become reincarnated as a warrior, Shikhandin, to get her revenge on Bhishma
• Arjuna shoots at Bhishma from behind
• Bhishma falls fatally injured and is no longer able to fight
• Karna now agrees to fight

Part 160. The end of Drona

• Krishna proposes that Drona can be brought down by his devotion to his son, Ashwatthaman
• Krishna wants them to lie and tell Drona that his son Ashwatthaman is dead
• Bhima kills an elephant named Ashwatthaman
• Drona heard him
• Drona asked Yudhishthira if it was true
• Yudhishthira says Bhima killed him but muttered under his breath that it was just an elephant
• Drona was heart broken and paralyzed in a trance
• Dhrishtadyumna cuts off his head

Part 177. The end of the Story

• Yudhishthira goes to consult the still dying Bhishma who lectures him about kingship and then dies
• Yudhishthira cremated Bhishma on the shores of the Ganges
• Dhritarashtra, Gandhari and Kunti went to live in the forest and die there in a forest fire
• Krishna's people destroyed themselves in a civil war
• the city Dwaraka is swallowed by the sea
• As Krishna slept on the bank of a river, he was killed by a hunter who mistaked the soles of Krishna's feet for birds
• The Pandavas die one by one until only Yudhishthira is left
• he departs for heaven in his bodily form
• Parikshit, the child of Abhimanyu, and thus Arjuna's grandson grew to be the king and continued the Pandava's line

Bibliography. R.K. Narayan, Mahabharata,pp. 133-179

(Image of Dhritarashtra and Bhima's Statue that can be found in Ashmolean Museum)