Reading Notes: Reading C: 51 Lesser Known Tales from The Mahabharata

I am still reading 51 Lesser Known Tales from The Mahabharata by Sharath Komarraju. I read thirteen tales for the 3rdpart of the reading. Two of the stories that stuck out to me and could be joined together to create my own unique story was the tale The Three Myths of Ganesha and Kartikeya, the Forgotten Brother. Ganesha is one of the more famous Hindu gods, and it seems that his brother, Kartikeya popularity began to dwindle when Ganesha was brought into the picture. One of the notes in both of the stories is that the brothers often have competitions between each other and Ganesha is usually the brother that wins. A famous story being when the boys raced around the world, and while Kartikeya used a peacock to fly around the world, Ganesha just walked around their parents Shiva and Parvati. Ganesha was claimed the winner because of his intelligence and wisdom. While I understand the importance of Ganesha symbolism of what his "world" is, I still felt bad for Kartikeya. Since I am the second born child in my family, I have some sympathy towards Kartikeya. While I understand the importance of Ganesha being the older, wiser brother for the Hindu culture I would like to create a story where Kartikeya gets the best of Ganesha and can teach Ganesha a lesson. Another story that I enjoyed reading was the Demolition of Arjun’s Vanity: The Chariot. What I enjoyed the most about this story is it told a side of Arjun’s personality that I did not get when I originally read The Mahabharata. Arjun is given everything throughout the story, but at the end, he must lose everything because that is how the world works. The final sentences in the tale were very powerful. They read, “We wonder why everything is being taken away, forgetting, that it had all been given to us on loan and that every loan has to be repaid.” I am not sure what story I could create to go with this lesson, but I really enjoyed this aspect of the story. 

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Image: Shiva and Parvati with their two sons Ganesha and Kartikeya. Source: Wikimedia Commons by Keijona