Bhima, my favorite character
(source: wikipedia)
It was interesting how Shantanu's love for Ganga was depicted. Not only did she request that he dare not question where she was from or her true origin, but she also demanded that he could not question her actions. Any logical man would have vanished from this situation, but Shantanu was determined he was to marry this woman.
When Ganga started drowning her children, I instantly made the relation to Andrea Yates who is notoriously known for drowning her children. It's a terrifying act and just because it happened in fiction, doesn't mean it's immune to occurring in reality.
The interaction between Shantanu and Satyavati was entertaining. Shantanu was still constantly thinking about Ganga and then suddenly that competently vanishes and he is in love with another woman. I enjoy how easily the idea of love is tossed around in these epics.
It was completely shocking to read about Bhishma's act of renouncing his right to the throne. He did it with almost no hesitation. He noticed his father was upset, he contacted the chief fisherman, and then he agreed to renounced his right. This just goes to show how great of a son Bhishma is to his father. Giving up the rights to the throne is a large sacrifice.
Flashbacks of the Ramanya occurred concerning the situation regarding Amba and the king of Shalwa. Just like Rama demanded a test of purity after Sita spent time in another man's home, Amba is rejected for the exact same reason. It's clear this is a rule in strength.
I feel as if there is a lot going on. There just seems to be multiple children being born and the family tree seems to be somewhat massive at this point. It's not a negative, but there is definitely a large family dynamic occurring in this book.
Bhima seems to be emerging as my favorite character at this point in the reading. I enjoy that he is being portrayed as a total strong man that can easily defeat anything that crosses his path. Characters like this always entertain me as they seem invincible.
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Bibliography: Narayan's Mahabharata
Link to this reading guide
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