Indian Epics Blog

(source) Howdy again everyone, NitroDubbz here. Today I'm back again with my reading notes on the Mahabharata (condensed R. C. Kincaid version). So the Pandava brothers are almost through with their year of exile and now go into disguise in the court of king Virata. Prince Kichaka tries to seduce Draupadi, so she asks him to meet her in the dance hall at night and then Bhima chokes him to death and rolls him up into a ball like Katamari. Draupadi watches from the darkness for some reason, and then tells everyone that her husband, an immortal, is the one who killed prince Kichaka, in order to avoid blowing her and her husband's cover. Then they are going to burn Draupadi in prince Kichaka's funeral pyre because they do that sometimes in India, and Kichaka's relatives are really angry at her. But Bhima kills the funeral procession and sets her free. Duryodhana hears of Kichaka's death and decides to attack King Varata's kingdom. The battle takes place p...

Very cool architecture in Hastinapur  (source) Howdy again everyone, NitroDubbz here. Today I am reading the Mahabaharata again, but a condensed version. I chose to read the C. A. Kincaid version.  This version opens with some explanation of the cultural significance of the Mahabharata poem. I think it's very interesting, it seems like it serves as a shared cultural mythology and a way to legitimize the rule of a caste or race of people. I'm not too sure about the demographics of India, I did a little research and the term "Aryan" in the Indian context seems to be more of spiritual/cultural moniker than a racial one. I read a bit of the C. A. Kincaid Ramayana and they mentioned that the north of India was ruled by Aryans and the south inhabited by savages and cannibals. So I'm wondering if these stories served as an origin story that validated a regime, maybe an empire originated in the north and spread its control to the south. I know nothing about I...