cathschaffstump | Mahabharata: The Year of Exile (Reply)

(Today was a serious work day. I'm almost caught up from being gone.)

When we last left our Pandavas, they had finished their 12 years in the forest, and they were going to spend a 13th year in disguise in the court of Virata. The Pandavas chose some interesting disguises. He-man Arjuna dressed as a eunuch. Yudhisthira, who finally learned the secret of dice, dressed as a gambler. Bhima was a cook. Draupadi was the equivalent of a hair dresser.

This section of the Mahabharata echoes the war that is to come in many ways. Bhima kills a man that makes advances toward Draupadi. Arjuna acts against his nature. Yudhisthira stops gambling and starts playing with certainty.

At the end of the 13th year of exile, the Pandavas return home. They try to negotiate a return and once again their kingdom, but Duryodhana and his brothers aren't having any, so there is a giant epic war at Kurukshetra, where much of the foreshadowing from the dice game is fulfilled.

At the beginning of the battle, Arjuna is filled with doubt about his role, particularly when the god Krsna calls on him to shoot Bhisma, the Pandavas' uncle and the mighty hero who has guided Arjuna. Krna counters with his recitation of the Bhagavadghita, which is where we'll begin next time.

Mirrored from Writer Tamago.