Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part A

 

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Tiny Tales of the Mahabharata by Laura Gibbs

Characters: Vyasa- writer

Ganesha- elephant head god

King Shantanu- 

King Mahabisha

Vyasa seeks a scribe and asks Ganesha the Elephant headed god. Vyasa did not pause in his recitation as it was a deal, Ganesha broke off his own tusk to write this Mahabharata.  Mahabisha ascended to heaven and could not stop staring at a woman's breasts so Indra cursed him and sent him back to earth. Mahabisha was then reborn as king Shantanu. King Shantanu needed a bride, he proposed to the woman he saw at the river. She said yes if he never questioned her actions. A year later, they had a child. She took the baby to the river and drowned him there. She had 7 children and drowned them all, she was goddess of this river and she came to earth just to drown the children, they were the children of 8 elements cursed to be born as children to earth. 

Deva Varata was the eighth child born to them, he asked her to give him the child since she had drowned so many. She brought the child back to him after he had learned he was returned to be the heir to the throne. The cycle continues, Shantanu saw another beautiful woman at the river. They wanted the son of this woman to be the heir to the kingdom, but he already offered this to his other son. 

King Uparichara wrapped his semen up in a leaf and gave it to a parrot, but the parrot dropped it and a fish ate it, and one day a fisherman found two twins inside this fish. Shantanu told his son about what the fisherman said, his son renounces claims to the throne to help his father. He renounced all women so his son could not inherit, because of this he got the boon to choose his own death.  Bhishma stole three brides away for Vichitravirya, but one confessed she was betrothed to a king already. He would not marry her because she belonged to Bhishma. She wanted revenge on him for this. 

Amba was to kill him in her next life, so she threw herself into a fire she was impatient. When Vichitravirya died he left behind two widows, so they turned to his half brother but he had refused women. 

 

Three sons are born Ambika's son was born blind, another was born pale, the maid had a son and he was wise. Pandu married Kunti, and took a second wife, but had no son to succeed him. Kunti received a mantra for a god to give her a baby, the sun god have her a baby and she set him adrift in a river. She used this mantra for other sons by other gods. Pandu had 5 sons at this point and two wives. Pandu touched Madri and it killed him, he told his sons to eat his flesh after he died for they too will have wisdom.

A charioteer found a baby in the river, and adopted him. The baby was Karna, and was cursed every time Karna attempted to help someone the opponent would be helped instead. 

A baby was born to King Drupada, Shikhandini that was Amba. However she cut her life short and because of that she was raised as a boy and was betrothed to a woman. The woman figured out that that was a woman and declared war, so Amba's reincarnation killed herself. So then Shikhandin was given a yaksha's manhood to seek revenge. He promised to return the yaksha's manhood.