Reading Notes: Narayan's Mahabharata Part A

Reading A: Narayan's Mahabharata

Draupadi and the Pandavas
Source: Google Image

Structure

I chose to read Narayan's Mahabharata because I enjoyed his version of Ramayana so much; however, I am not liking the structure of this novel as much as the last one. The Ramayana had such a better flow and was much easier to read for me personally. With this novel, I feel like the story bounces around a lot, and it is extremely difficult to keep track of who is who. I have had to refer to reading guide much more this time than last time, and I find it kind of frustrating. I think it has to do with what was in the Forward and Introduction of this book: the Mahabharata itself is a very complex story considering how long the original version is and how many stories have been added to it. With that being said, I still believe I will retain a lot more of this epic through this novel version than through several separate stories. 

Favorite Story

My favorite story so far from part A was the marrying of the five men by Draupadi. In the Foreward, it is discussed how there are many controversial stories within the Mahabharata that contradict many of the traditional beliefs. For instance, in the Mahabharata, Draupadi has five husbands, something completely unheard of for a woman. Only men have been allowed to have multiple partners so the thought of a gender swap was really difficult for people to swallow. I loved the Narayan kept this story in the Mahabharata, but I found his justification for it quite silly. Rather than describing Draupadi as a powerful woman capable of having five husbands, he tells the story as if her multiple partnerships was an accident. The mother of the boys said to split the woman thinking she was more gifts from the community, and Arjuna took this and ran with it. He said he cannot betray a mother's word despite the mom saying that is not what she meant. Either way, I think this was the first story in both epics where the patriachial traditions were challenged, and I approve. Maybe I will rewrite this story for my storybook assignment and add my own feminist twist to it. 

Bibliography: The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic, R.K. Narayan