With this reading diary, I finish William Buck's retelling of the
Mahabharata. One thing I liked about this interpretation was that there was a lot of description about life after the war. When reading the story initially, I pictured Arjuna as being the "main character" or the protagonist. However, after reading this version, I really think Yudhishthira is the protagonist. After the war Yudhishthira becomes king and is very respectful and well-liked. He is very kind and loving towards Dhritarashtra which made me very happy. However, Yudhishthira struggled with a lot of guilt before he was able to accept the crown. The scenes depicting Yudhishthira's internal struggle were very interesting to me. At first, he wanted to go out into the forest and live a peaceful life until he could die. However, through the counsel of his loved ones and strange dreams, Yudhishthira recognizes the good that he could accomplish as king. He shifts his focus from a desire to do no harm to a desire to do good.
As a reader, some of the questions I asked myself in the end included:
Was the war necessary?
Did the right side win?
Were deceptive acts in war justified?
Why would so many brave and wise men follow Duryodhana's leadership?
Overall, I really enjoyed my time spent reading/watching the different versions of this epic. There are many lessons that can be taken from the various characters and their stories. The plot had many twists and turns, and kept me on my toes. I also feel as though my understanding of this epic will help me understand Indian culture better.
Draupadi and Pandavas,
Author: Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906), Date listed: circa 1910, Source: Wikimedia
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