Reading Notes: Narayan's Mahabharata, Section D

Hello World!!

This week we completed the Mahabharata. There was an incredible amount of bloodshed in the last bit of this book. The entire book had some violence, but this specific part definitely had an extreme amount in my opinion. I was incredibly amazed by how each of the characters were killed of one by one. In all honesty, I was aware that certain characters were going to die but I didn't think that all of them would meet the same fate. I was particularly upset about Krishna's death. I had always heard the story of Radha and Krishna, so I suppose that it was a bit of a shock to me when he was killed. 

The part that seemed the most cruel to me was the entire scene with Drona. I didn't think that someone could be so manipulative. I knew once I had read that Ashwatthaman, the elephant, was dead that there would be a twist in the story. I felt so terrible for Drona. I can't imagine what that would have felt like. I'm sure I would have had the same reaction. I can't believe that he was killed while he was still in shock and mourning the death of his son. I can't imagine the kind of heart it would take to do something like that. 

Drona's Death, Source: dronasdeath.wordpress.com

 In all honesty, while I enjoyed the Ramayana this story became a bit more than what I could handle in this last little bit. I enjoy quite a bit of guts and gore, but I felt like this was much more extreme. It was a significant contrast in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. In my opinion the Ramayana was a love story while the Mahabharata was more about war. 

All information has come from Narayan's Mahabharata, (link to Reading Guide D)