Narayan’s Mahabharata (Part C) Reading Notes




·      Duryodhana and the gandharvas
-       Spies were sent previously so see where the Pandavas are and where the weapons that Arjuna had came from
-       Duryodhana decides to camp near the Pandavas in hopes to humiliate them later
-       The gods send a gandharva (heavenly being that sings and plays music for the gods) to provoke Duryodhana
-       They secretly take him into captivity during a battle
-       Actually, the Pandavas set him free, so his plan to humiliate them was made for nothing

·      Court of King Virata
-       the Pandavas have been exiled for 12 years now, and they go into the court of King Virata in disguise
-       the 3 are disguised as this:
a.     Yudhishthira is the king’s entertainer and place dice with him
b.     Bhima is the king’s cook
c.      Nakula works in the stables
d.     Sahadeva is a cattle herder
e.     Arjuna is an eunuch (guard) where the women live
-       Draupadi becomes the hairdresser of the Queen. She was raped by the queen’s brother, and she begs Bhima to get revenge on him
-       Bhima surprises him and strangles him to death.
-       The king and queen want to send Draupadi away, but she begs to stay in order to stay until the end of the Pandavas’s exile


Image: The Pandavas in disguise entertaining and tending to King Virata
King Virata's Court


·      Cattle Raid
-       Killing of the queen’s brother makes Duryodhana suspicious. An ally of him wants to use this as a reason to attack king Virata and steal his cattle
-       The ally ends up capturing Virata, but he is rescued by Bhima.
-       The son of Virata, Prince Uttara, hears about the cattle raid but is too afraid to go stop it.
-       He tells Arjuna (while he is in disguise) to go to battle and he fires arrows and retrieve all the weapons where the Pandavas have been hiding them for so long.
-       He reveals his identity to the Prince and wins the battle
-       Arjuna asks Uttara not to tell anyone who he is, but King Virata soon found out by playing dice with Yudhishthira.
-       They form an ally and give their children away to be married to show their alliance



Bibliography: The Mahabharata; R.K. Narayan. Mahabharata






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