Reading Notes: Narayan's Mahabharata Part B

The Mahabharata: Reading Notes (Part B)

My favorite part of the second half of this week's reading was the dice game. The entire story seemed like one bad judgement call after another, mostly fueled by pride. I was very surprised when Yudhishthira lost everything he owned and then continued to gamble away his brothers, then himself, and finally Draupadi. I really enjoyed when Draupadi questioned the legitimacy of Yudhishthira's bet when he had already gambled away himself. I really developed an appreciation for Draupadi in this part of the story because she is granted one wish, but because of her humility (something some of the other characters at this point seem to certainly lack), she is able to turn that one wish into three, using only two to selflessly free Yudhishthira and her other husbands, and resulting in them gaining all of their possessions again.

The Game of Dice (Wikimedia)

Despite the very obvious warnings that Yudhishthira receives, he decides to engage in another game of dice with Shakuni and again loses, but this time receives 13 years of exile, 12 years of poverty, and a year of hiding. Although the Pandavas receive help that makes this endeavor much easier, the idea that so much could be lost in just a game of dice seems outrageous and completely irresponsible once Yudhishthira risks everything again. I am interested to see if this time in exile will result in some personal growth that might prevent him from making such reckless decisions in the future.

Bibliography:

Narayan's Mahabharata
Online Reading Guide Part B: Narayan's Mahabharata (Web Source)