Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part A

Vyasa is the author of the Mahabharata and a character in the epic.

Vyasa - creator of the Mahabharata - Credit: Wikipedia Commons

King Chedi was given a flying car by the Gods and somehow dropped his semen out of it, which a fish swallowed and birthed a couple kids, a boy, and a girl.  He took the boy and left the girl, Satyavati. She ferries across the river, a rishi Parashara offered to take her smell away if she bore a virgin-born child, which she did, Vyasa.

Ganga was King Shantanu's first wife, a goddess of the Ganges River.  She turned into a human and agreed to wed Shantanu if he never raised his voice or told her not to do what she wanted, and he agreed.  But she cast their children into the Ganges as they were born and eventually the King couldn't take the grief and raised his voice at her.  She explained while she was doing it, but left anyway. Eventually, she returned with a son for the King, Devavrata, whom he loved very much, and she left again.

King Shantanu wanted to marry Satyavati, but the fisherman would have to give up his daughter unless his son was promised heir to the throne, but Shantanu could not do that to his own son.  Devavrata made a vow to never have kids or marry or accept the throne, so that his father would be with Satyavati, and bear a son who will become the heir, and so they were wed.  She bore two sons and Vichitravirya was to be the heir of the throne.

Vichitravirya needed to be married to take the throne over, and his half-brother went and won an arena-like battle to win 3 princesses for him.

Amba, the oldest of the princesses, was released because she was already in love with another prince.  When she went to him, he no longer wanted her, and she was upset and was cast away.  Her only goal in life became to destroy Bhishma, and she eventually killed herself to become a new form after she talked to Shiva.

Unfortunately, Vichitravirya died before he bore sons, and so Vyasa became the new heir of the throne. The two princesses both bore Vyasa a son, both with defects.  He had another with no defects named Vidura. It was Pandu who became king, who married Kunti.  He had five sons that were rumored to be created by the gods.  His favorite wife Madri was burned in the funeral pyre with him.

We meet Drona, who became a sage.  He was rejected at the throne by Drupada, and Drona exited the city calmly.  He went to see the Pandavas and offer to teach them and train them to become warriors to help defeat Drupada. They accepted, and they started to become great warriors.



Notes Taken from part A of Mahabharata public domain edition found here.


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