This week I chose to read the public domain edition of Mahabharata that was provided by our
professor. The names and places are hard to keep straight at first, but links embedded
in the reading along with the audio version to follow along with help a lot. As I was reading, I tried to keep an open mind
to characters that could fit in to my storybook project for this class. Amba
was probably my favorite character, although I realize that she is probably
supposed to come off as evil and crazed to the reader. She was treated unjustly,
despite her noble actions, and is seeking revenge against Bhishma. I look
forward to finding out how the rest of her story unfolds. In my version of her
story I might leave out the part about her having to be reincarnated as a man. This
takes away from the power she already possesses in her womanly form.
Two other characters I found to be intriguing, although they
would probably not make an appearance in my storybook, are Drona and Drupada.
The two were friends growing up, but then Drupada essentially hurt Drona’s
feelings when they got older by telling him he wasn’t good enough to be his
friend any more. This apparently cut Drona so deep that he makes it his life’s
mission to make Drupada eat his own words. In the end, Drupada is forced to
accept Drona’s “friendship” but in reality the two are more like enemies.
Dronacharya as commander-in-chief of the Kaurava army,
Author: Ramanarayanadatta astri, Source: Wikimedia
Those were the three characters I was most entertained by so
far, I look forward to seeing how the rest of this epic unfolds.
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