Reading Notes: PDE Mahabharata Part A

After reading through the Ramayana, I realized my favorite kinds of stories were ones that included epic heroes and epic battles.  So I as I began reading the Mahabharata, I looked out for characters and stories that I could rewrite with awesome battles.  One of the first characters that stood out to me was Bhishma.  I liked the comparison given about this being more Game of Thrones while the Ramayana was The Lord of the Rings; Bhishma stood out to me as a character like Varys or Little Finger--never really on the throne but pulling strings behind the scenes for his own agenda.  It was really cool to see him win over the three princesses with his archery ability, though.  After that, I don't recall any fighting scenes with him, at least in part A.  Obviously the Pandavas stood out as cool warriors to write about.  I think it's Duryodhana's bitterness, but the Pandavas seem much more likable to me compared to the Kauravas.  They just kind of come off more as the protagonists--the Starks if you will.  The part whee Bhima was poisoned and went to the underworld for some reason reminded me of Hercules where he went to the underworld and became very weak.  It's kind of the opposite in this case though, as Bhima becomes very strong after his trip.  We see the skill of Arjuna at the competition; reading this scene really made me want to write about him.  It seemed really unfair how Karna was treated after a really good showing at the competition.  Why should it matter where he comes from?  In that way, Duryodhana was kind to embrace him despite his background when compared to the Pandavas.  I think it was for selfish reasons though.  It would be fun to write about a fight scene between Karna and Arjuna; I felt the tension building up in the training scene.  What makes it even more interesting is that they are long lost brothers. 

Arjuna riding in his chariot.

Source: Commons

Bibliography: The Public Domain Edition of the Mahabharata, used from sources including Arnold, Besant, Devee, Dutt, Ganguli, Kincaid, Macfie, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Seeger and Tagore