Reading Notes: Reading B: The Mahabharata p. 133 - 179

War is Inevitable. 

I finished reading The Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan pages 133 to 179. First, I was delighted to read Draupadi admit, out loud, that her husbands have abandoned her, it reiterates what I already thought in the previous reading notes, Reading A: The Mahabharata pages 83 to 132. She then asks Krishna for help, could this maybe be the reason Bhima helped her in the previous story? Maybe Krishna played a hand in Bhima avenge Draupadi since he did not fulfill his promise to protect her. However, Bhima is the only brothers that want an avenges Draupadi in the war against the Kauravas. Even though the brothers share Draupadi as their wife, it seems to me that Bhima cares the most for her.  In the time before there war, there are two parts where the mothers try to help their sons but neither listen. Gandhari (Duryodhana's mother) and Kunthi (Karna's mother) both try to persuade the boys to stop the quarrel between the Kauravas clan and the Pandavas brothers. When neither will listen, they expect the boy's fate that they will soon die in the war. I think this is a very touching moment for the woman that they share in common and could be created into a story. Since they have lived together in the same court, they must be close friends and could look to each other for comfort in the impending war that will result in the loss of their sons. I enjoyed how the book ended with the Pandavas winning the war but not being happy with what they gained in the kingdom. Early in the reading, I think a significant line by Yudhishthira about war should be taught in history classes.

"The waves of violence never cease. Victory creates animosity; hostilities lie dormant but continue. Even if there is one baby left in the other camp, it will retain a small smoldering ember of hate, which could kindle later conflagration. To prevent this, it is considered necessary to exterminate the opposite camp totally." Page 133.  

This line explains so much about how war continues to happen. This quote from The Mahabharata made me think of Germany's leader Hitler that started World War II. He was angry at what happened in World War I and came back for vengeance when he could.  Teaching our children about the past can help them not repeat it in the future but I do not feel that this philosophy has been taught or acknowledged to students (at least in America).

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Image: Soliders in the field in World War II. Source: Wikimedia Commons by Franz Peter Weixter