Reading: Nine Ideal Indian Women

Uttara
When the Pandava were exiled, they found themselves in the kingdom of Birat. The brothers and Draupadi disguised themselves and served the court. Arjun disguesed himself as a woman and taught Maharajah's only daughter, Uttara. Arjun fell in love with the little girl like his own daughter. When they revieled their true identies, the two kings decided to marry their children. Uttara and Arjun's son, Abhimanyu, married and started their happy life together.
One day, Abhimanyu was called to lead the war against the Kurus. Here on the battle field, he dies, and all Uttara is devestated and wants is to join her husband. Krishna comes to console her and says that he will be born as her child. Uttara decides to remain living to take care of her son, but when he no longer needed her, she was finally free to go to her beloved.

Uttara and Abhimanyu

Bibliography: Nine Ideal Indian Women - Uttara

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Sati
Queen Prasuti wanted a daughter so her and her husband, Daksha, went to the forest to pray. Here, the  goddess Adi-Parashakti promised to become their daughter, but if she was ever insulted, she would return to her godly form and disown them. The king and queen agreed and they recieved their daughter, whom they named Sati.
Sati was destined to marry the god Shiva, and all throughout her life, Sati became fasinated with him. Whenever another sutior was brought to her, she would want Shiva more. Finally, Shiva decended and married Sati. However, King Daksha was so unhappy with the arrangement that he started to yell at Sati. Because she was insulted, Sati took her goddess form of Adi-Parashakti. In this process, she was broken. and Shiva, out of sadness, took his anger on the earth. Vishnu cut her body into 52 body parts and scattered them around the world. After a long time, Adishakti was reborn as Parvati and Shiva got his love once again.

Shiva and Sati

Bibliography: Nine Ideal Indian Women - Sati

Reading: Nine Ideal Indian Women

Savitri
Savitri was a beautiful princess. One day, when she was retreating out in the forest with her family, she came across a handsome young man. She later found that this man was Prince Satyaban, and that he lived in the village with his mother and father, the exiled King of Abani. The two fell deeply in love with each other, but it was foreseen that Prince Satyaban would not live longer than a year. Despite this warning, Savitri wanted to still marry and share a life with him.
They marry and decide to live with his parents in the village. When the dreaded day came, Savitri went into the forest with her husband, and she stayed next to him as he died.
When the god of death came to take him away, she followed behind saying that there is nothing for her in this world without her husband. After a while of convincing, Her husband was returned to her and they lived a long, happy life together.

Savitri begs for her husband's life

Bibliography: Nine Ideal Indian Women - Savitri

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Damayanti
Damayanti was a princess that was in love with Prince Nal of the neighboring kingdom. He came to her swayamvara and won her hand in marriage. However, a demon named Kali wanted to marry her as well. When she didn't choose him, he cursed Nal, saying that his would lose his kingdom.
Eventually, Nal lost his kingdom in a game of dice, so Damayanti and Nal were forced into exile. Nal decides to leave Damayanti to save her from his luck. On his way, Nal gets bit by the Snake King Nāga Karkotaka. This bite turns Nal into an unrecognizable dwarf.
Since she was abandoned, Damayanti returns to her father's kingdom and holds a fake swayamvara to bring Nal to her. Even though he was transformed into a dwarf, Damayanti is able to recognize him and the two unite. This causes Nal to turn back into his human form.

Damayanti and the swan messenger

Bibliography: Nine Ideal Indian Women - Damayanti 

Reading: Twenty Jātaka Tales Part A

Twenty Jātaka Tales

These are my favorite stories I had the opertunity to read this week. They are all from the Twenty Jataka Tales

The Monkey Bridge
This is the tale of a human king and a monkey king. The Monkey King's kindom was on a treasure tree that has the best fruit. The human king was jealous of the monkeys and wanted to attack them to steal their fruit. However, in the midst of chaos, the Monkey King showed great nobility and his leadership qualities impressed the human king. In the end, the Monkey King sacrificed himself for his kingdom and the humans honored the Monkey King's life.

The Guilty Dogs
Once, in the middle of the night, there was a group of dog that went and set fire to the palace chariots. When the King heard about this, he ordered every dog to be killed. However, a cheif informed him that the guilty ones were the palace dogs and the innocent should be punished for th evil deeds of few.

Banyan
There once was a king that loved hunting Deer. When he came across two Deer kings, he granted them their lives. When the two went back to their herd, they saw that the herd had either died or been injured. The kings decided to start sacrificing their members one by one so that less deaths would occur. One day when a young mother was suppose to go die, the King of the Banyan Deer took her place. When the king saw how the Banyan Deer King would sacrifice himself, he was impressed and promised never to hunt the Deer again.

The Fairy and the Hare
Once there were four furry friends that promised to give whatever food they found to the poor. The jackal, a water-weasel and the monkey found some food and when an old traveler came by, all of them offered their foods. However, when the man came to the hare, the hare had nothing to offer, so he offered himself. However, the old man was actually a fairy in disguise, so when the hare jumped in the flames, it did not burn him.

The Master's Test
Once there was a master that wanted pupils to go steal because the master was poor and weak. One of the two pupils was ready to follow through, but the other hesitated. The master had meant this to be a test of character and the one that refused to follow through passed.


Bibliography: Twenty Jaraka Tales by Noor Inayat (Khan)

Reading: Sita Sings the Blues Part B

0:54 Sita becomes pregnant with Rama
1:00 Rama banishes Sita because Rama's subjects think Sita is unpure
1:03 Sita meets some holy men that help her and she gives birth to twins
1:05 the boys were taught to praise Rama
1:07 Sita continued to pray to Rama and still loved him
1:11 One day, as Rama was walking through the forest and he came across his sons and invites them back to his kingdom
1:13 Sita asks that if she is pure, mother nature should come take her away
1:15 Sita gets what she asks for and she is finally free

Sita's unconditional love for Rama

Bibliography: Sita Sings the Blues

Reading: Sita Sings the Blues Part A

0:14 Rama and Sita start their exile into the forest

0:15 Ravana is a good king except for him stealing Sita. He would pray to the right gods and was a good, learned, man. He was the king of Lanka

0:16 Surphanaka, Ravana's sister, convinces Ravana to steal Sita

0:18 Ravana steals Sita away when Rama was distracted

0:20 Sita sings about how much she loves Rama

0:22 Hanuman is the incarnation of Shiva so his sole purpose was to help Rama

0:26 Sita stays true to her love Rama and despite Ravana's andvances, Sita stays true

0:32 Hanuman assembles an army and, under Rama's leadership, they march to save Sita.

0:38 Rama becomes very cold to Sita because Rama thinks Sita was with Rama

0:40 Sita goes into a fire to prove she's innocent and Rama believed her

0:44 the gods sent a flying chariot to take Rama and Sita back to Rama's kingdom

0:46 "if you want the rainbow, you must have the rain"

Sita singing the blues

Bibliography: Sita Sings the Blues

Reading: Krishna Part B

One day, Krishna said that before the year ended, he would be able to ride the bull, Hastin. Krishna spent months drawing the bull with sweet straw and playing his flute. Eventually, he was able to ride the bull. Krishna taught his village that kindness was the greatest weapon. When the time came, Krishna wanted to marry Radha. However, the family preist revealed to Krishna his true destiny to be the saviour of Dharma.

The evil king Kamsa invites Krishna to his kingdom to try and attempt to kill him. Despite Akrur's warnings, Krishna still agrees to go meet the king. All the villagers were sad upon hearing this news and they tried to stop him. However, Krishna assured them everything would be alright. On the way, Akrur realized fully who Krishna was and he obediently took Krishna to his new home.

When they arrived at Mathura, Krishna and Balaram were loved by all. Here, Krishna was able to heal a disformed woman with kindness and his fame spread more. Kamsa set up a final plan to destroy Krishna. He had his agressive elephant, Kuvalayapida tied up at the palace enterance to trample Krishna as he came into the palace. However, when Kuvalayapida tried to attack Krishna and Balaram, Krishna was able to overpower the beast and destroy it.

Krishna was went to the center of the court and lifted the bow. When he tried to string it, the bow snapped in half. Kasma, seeing this, ordered his men to go and attack Krishna and Balram. However, the brothers were able to take down all the men with ease. Eventually, they came after the king. After an intense battle, Kasma took his last breath and the crowds cheered for their freedom. Krishna, Akrur, and Balram were able to go free Kasma's old father and Krishna's parents. Krishna and Balram decided to stay in Mathura under the leadership of Kasma's old father.

Krishna and Balaram

Bibliography: Epified videos: Krishna

Reading: Krishna Part A

King Kamsa learns about the baby that will grow up to defeat him. To stop this prophecy, he goes and kills all the children of his sister, except one. Upon the birth of the eighth son, Vasudev took his son and placed him with a woman in a neighboring village and took the little girl the mother had given birth to. When Kamsa tried to kill the little girl, the baby changed into a goddess and told Kamsa that the prophecy still remained.
Kamsa sent a horrible demon, Putana, to take care of Krishna. However, Krishna ended up destroying the demon. One day when Krishna was out, his mother heard that her son was eating mud. When she asked him to open his mouth, she didn't see mud but the entire universe. Krishna learned to play the flute and spent many hours practicing. He used this skill to defeat the giant snake demon that lived in the lake nearby.
Krishna grew up and defeated all the monsters Kamsa sent his way. One day, Krishna convinced the village to pray to the Govardhan Hill instead of Indra. Out of anger, Indra sent a giant storm to get rid of the village. However, Krishna was able to save his people and Indra realized his mistake and came to bow down at Krishna's feet.
Growing up, Krishna and a girl named Radha were inseparable. One day, the other girls told Radha to drink extremely hot milk because Krishna wanted her to. Without thinking, she drank it but it was Krishna who bore the blisters while Radha was left unharmed.

Krishna and Radha

Bibliography: Epified: Krishna

Reading: Mahabharata Part F

 Draupadi prayed out to Krishna for help as Dushasana tries to disrobe her. Krishna extended Draupadi's cloth to where it would never end. The Pandava brothers vowed to get their revenge on Duryodhana. The Pandava brothers left Hastinapur with anger in their heart. The two leaders started planning their acts of revenge. The Pandavas were asked to gamble again. The brothers lost and were forced into exile.  The left the kingdom for twelve years. Some of the people wanted to follow the brothers to the forest, but they told them to return and serve Kunti.

During exile, Krishna met them and promised the brothers support. The brothers were able to overcome a great beast. Becuase of this, the brothers realized they would be able to reclaim their kingdom if they had each other. The Pandavas were able to gain knowledge from all the saints. One sage came to tell them that Arjun would have to obtain weapons to win the war. Arjun sought out solitude to pray.

When Shiva came to visit Arjun, a wild boar came charging at Arjun. Shiva, dressed as a hunter demanded to know who took away his kill. They fought against each other. Whenever Arjun regained consciousness, he called out to Shiva and asked for a garland and aide. The garland appeared around the hunter's crown that Arjun had thrown to the ground. Arjun realized that this hunter was Shiva and asked for a blessing. Shiva gave Arjun a heavenly arrow and blessed him. Arjun had the opportunity to meet different gods. All of them blessed the prince with their weapons. Then suddenly, Indra, Arjun's father, descended and he took Arjun to heaven. Indra trained Arjun on how to use the lightning bolt.

One night, Urvashi, the mother of the Kuru dynasty, came to visit Arjun in the dead of night. She told him she loved him and that she wanted to marry him. Arjun rejected him and cursed him saying that Arjun would never be able to love another woman. Meanwhile, on earth, the Pandavas left the forest and traveled to holy places. One day, Bheem got lost in the forest. Not knowing how to find his way back, he blew his horn and woke up all the animals. Suddenly he was standing in front of a giant monkey, Hanuman. Hanuman told him it was selfish of him to wake up all of the animals. This angered Bheem and he tried to move the monkey. However, he could not move him. The monkey introduced himself as Hanuman, a brother of Bheem. Hanuman told Bheem that he would strike fear into the enemy's hearts when they would go out to war.

Krishna saves Draupadi

Bibliography: Epified: Mahabharata videos

Reading: Mahabharata Part E

When Arjun and Subhadra reached Indraprastha, they were welcomed with open arms except for Draupadi. After a while, Draupadi and Subhadra spent a lot of time together and Draupadi accepted her as Arjun's wife. Arjun and Subhadra were madly in love with each other.

When Subhadra was pregnant with his son Abhimanyu, Arjun would tell her stories of his heroic battles. Unknown to them, their son listened to these stories as well. During the story of how to unlock the seventh circle, Subhadra fell asleep so the story was incomplete to her and her unborn son. Abhimanyu grew up to be a great warrior but the unknown knowledge would later decide his fate.

Yudhisthir was told he needed to slay Jarasandha in order to become the emperor. Bhim fought with Jarasandha, tore him in two, and threw the two pieces in opposite directions. During Yudhisthir's coronation, Yudhisthir chose Krishna to do the honors, and this angered Shishupal and he rose and objected. He dishonored the brothers. Upon this, many other kings joined Shishupal. Krishna became angry and decapitated Shishupal. After this, the ceremony was able to continue.

As Indraprastha rejoiced at their mighty king, Duryodhana burned even more with anger. When he came to the brother's palace, he fell into the pool and it embarrassed Duryodhan. Yudhisthir tried to calm him and fix the problems, but Duryodhana left in anger. Shakuni, Duryodhana's uncle, organized a plan to get rid of the Pandavas. They decided to challenge Yudhisthir to the game of dice because he was awful at the game but Shakuni was great at it. Yudhisthir accepted the challenge, knowing what the evil cousins were planning.

Durning the game, Shakuni kept winning round after round. Yudhisthir lost the Pandava wealth, his army, and all he has. He ended up losing everything he owns, but Shakuni asked to keep gambling. Yudhishthir lost his brothers, some of his men, and even himself. Shakuni said that Yudhisthir could win himself back if he was willing to bet Draupadi. When Draupadi was lost in the court, she cried out Krishna for help.

Draupadi brought to court

Bibliography: Epified: Mahabharata videos

Reading: Mahabharata Part D

Draupadi's father sets up a contest for every prince to come and try to win his daughter's hand. The Pandavas came as well. No one could string the bow except for Arjun. He lifted the bow and hit the target directly. Among the ones who came to this event was Karna. When he came to string the bow, Draupadi told him that he was not able to win the hand of a princess. Krishna was also there but he came just to view the events.

Kunti accidently told the sons that they had to share Draupadi. It was said that in a past life, she prayed for a husband with five virtues and in this life, she was to marry five husbands. When the marriages took place, Draupadi's brother witnessed this and took the news back home to his kingdom, and this news of the marriages spread everywhere, even to the people of Hastinapur (much to Duryodhana's disappointment). Upon return to the kingdom, the brothers are given certain areas of land. The Pandava brothers create the land of Indraprastha, and they moved there. Here, Krishna asked to set fire to the land. Among the ashes, a great kingdom rose. The brothers named it Indraprastha. Upon hearing this news, Duryodhana set to work to plot against the Pandava brothers.

Narad came to visit the brothers and when he saw Draupadi, he was worried because he was reminded him of two brothers killing each other over a woman. Narad told the brothers that every brother should keep Draupadi as a wife for one year and if any of the others interrupts, that brother will be exiled for 12 years.

It worked well but one day, Arjun went to Yudhishthira's chambers to get his weapons. Since Arjun disrupted Yudhishthira's time with Draupadi, Arjun was forced to exile. During this time of exile, Arjun went to reside in the Himalayas. One day when Arjun was bathing, a force pulled him down and he later found that it was a woman that had fallen in love with him. Arjun spent many months with her and then decided to leave to a kingdom. Arjun was married to another princess and after she bore him a child, he snuck out to return to Indraprastha.

Arjun found himself in Krishna's kingdom, and they shared many days together. Arjun asked to marry Krishna's sister and according to tradition, Arjun went to abduct her. When he went to visit her, she fell in love with him as well. Arjun mounted a chariot, grabbed his love and raced out of the kingdom.

Arjun racing out of the kingdom

Bibliography: Epified: Mahabharata Videos

Reading: Mahabharata Part C

Karna became the son of a charioteer but he felt as if he was born for something greater. When he learned his origins, he decided to get training from the Guru Drona. However, when he got there, the guru rejected him, not knowing Karna was part god. He was sad when he returned home, but he was able to find another teacher, Parashurama. In order to be taught, Karna told Parashurama he was a brahmin. Karna learned and he became a great soldier in the land. One day, Parashurama laid his head on Karna's lap. A scorpion came and bit Karna's thigh but he took the pain in silence so Parashurama wouldn't be disturbed. When Parashurama woke up and saw that Karna was bleeding, he accused Karna of not being Brahmin, and he laid a curse on Karna.

Back in the kingdom of the Pandavas, a great tournament was taking place. Arjuna impressed everyone with his skills until Karna came and challenged him. Since he wasn't invited, Karna wasn't able to be named the victor. The Pandava brothers challenged him to a fight but he could not fight the brothers unless he proved he was a royal. All he could explain was he was found in the river. King Dhritarashtra made Karna a king.

The fame for the Pandava brothers grew and the oldest was said to become the next king. This made Duryodhana jealous and he plotted to burn the brothers in a castle he built to be extremely flammable.  However, the Pandavas learned of this and prepared. They built a tunnel under the palace to escape Duryodhana's wrath. Bhima set fire to the palace and the brothers escaped with their mother. Everyone back at the kingdom mourned their death, not knowing they were still alive.

When they were in the forest, Bhim was the one that worked the most. He carried his brothers and mother, went out to fetch them water, and watched over them as they slept. They finally settled in a city in the forest, but this city was terrorized by Bakasur. When she heard this, Kunti suggested that Bhim should go challenge the beast. Bhim went to Bakasur's cave and killed the beast. Upon his return, the entire village thanked Bhim and honored the family.

In another part of the land, Drupada knew that Drona was coming to take revenge because Drupada humiliated Drona. Drupada prayed for a son to fight his battle and from sacrificial flames, a strong son came forth. Then, another child came, a beautiful daughter named Draupadi.

Karna's armor 

Bibliography: Epified: Mahabharata Videos

Reading: Mahabharata Part B

Pandu learns that Kunti had a secret. Long before she was married, the Sage Durvasa came to the court Kunti lived in. Since he was a scary man, everyone would avoid him. Everyone except Kunti. The sage delighted in Kunti so much that he gave her the power to summon any god she desired. Kunti decided to test this out. She looked up at the son and recited the words. Suddenly, the sun god appeared. Lost in his light, Kunti was given a child who was born with gold earrings and armor. However, she knew she could not keep the child. So she sent him adrift in a basket on the river.

Pandu takes his wives into the forest to rest. One day as he was hunting, he accidently shot a hermit. The hermit cursed him and said that any time Pandu is intimate a woman, he will die. Pandu, stricken with grief, decided not to return to the kingdom. Without telling him of her son, Kunti told Pandu that she was able to call any god she desired. Pandu insisted that she do just that and bare Pandu a son.

Kunti was able to summon three different gods and bore Yudhishthira the wise, Bhima the strong, and Arjuna the archer. Kunti also used her power to help Madri bare twins. All was well until one day. Kunti returned from a journey and found Pandu had died because of his curse. When the funeral happened, Madri decided to join her husband in the pyre. The forest reminded Kunti of everything she lost so she took the boys and returned to the kingdom.

Back at the kingdom, Gandhari’s pregnancy was a bad one where she was always in pain and she constantly had nightmares. When her day came, Gandahri found that she had not given birth to a baby but rather a lump of lifeless flesh. Vyasa had promised Gandahri that she would have 100 sons, so he took the lump, divided it into 100 pieces and dipped each piece into a jar of oil. As the eldest was born, everyone saw there was demonic presence about him. However, the king and queen, being blind, only cared for their children with love.

When the Pandu brothers returned, Duryodhana, Gandhari’s oldest, started to get jealous of the attention the Pandu brothers were getting. He especially hated Bhima. As his hate grew, Gandhari’s brother fueled the hate further. Duryodhana decided to invite the Pandu brothers to a retreat where he poisoned their food with sleep inducing poison. Bhima fell asleep by the river. Duryodhana tied Bhimas hands together and pushed Bhima into the river.

As Bhima drifted down, serpent tried to dig their fangs into him. Bhima woke up and started killing them off. Afterward, he noticed in had set foot in a different palace. He was greeted by Vasuki the serpent ruler. The two were related so the serpent treated Bhima as his own grandson, showering the boy with blessings. The serpent gave Bhima the strength of 100 elephants and Bhima left knowing that he had to grow into a man to face the dangers around him.

One day as the boys were playing, Bhima accidently threw the ball into a deep well. The Brahmin Drona came and shot an arrow into the well, hitting the ball. Then he kept shooting arrows. Each one attaching to the previous one. With the final arrow, he pulled the ball up. The boys asked the Brahmin to return to the kingdom to meet their grandfather, Bhishma. Bhishma realized that Drona would make the perfect teacher for the young boys.

Drona trained the Pandava boys and found that all of them excelled at their given talents. Arjuna epically was skilled with every weapon and was able great in hand to hand combat. Arjun and Drona’s son were given the ability to control the earth with weapons. Drona relieved that he was training the boys for vengeance on a kingdom.

One day as the Pandava brothers were traveling, they found Ekalavya. Arjuna was disappointed because Ekalavya was the best archer. Arjuna demanded to know who Ekalavya’s guru was. He said it was Drone. The boys returned with Ekalavya to Drone and demanded why he taught just a simple forest dweller. Ekalavya said that many years ago, he came to Drone to be taught but Drone refused him. So Ekalavya decided to practice with a cut out of Drone. Drone asked Ekalavya for his right thumb and left the boy. Drone knew that without his thumb, Ekalavya could not become the great archer, so Arjuna could be it.

The Pandava brothers in the forest

Bibliography: Epified: Mahabharata Videos

Reading: Mahabharata Part A

The Mahabharata was created to tell the story of a great war that happened in India. King Shantanu meets a beautiful woman by the river. She promises to marry him if he never questions her actions. As the years went on, Ganga would drown their newborns into the river. Keeping his promise, Shantanu didn’t question his wife until the eighth child was born. When asked, she said that she was allowing these cursed children to return to peace. With that, she left with Shantanu’s youngest child.

Sixteen years later, Shantanu’s son Devavrat, finds his way back to the king. The king returns to the kingdom with his son. Later, Shantanu falls in love with Satyavati. In order for the king to marry her, Prince Devavrat gave up his heir to the throne and said that he would never marry or have children so his father could marry Satyavati. Because of this vow, Shantanu allowed his son to choose his own death.

Shantanu meets Devavrat

As the years went on, Shantanu passed away, leaving the kingdom to the hands of his two sons. Chitrangada dies in a battle and Vichitravirya becomes sick. Bhishma decides to take the princesses Amba, Ambika and Ambalika as wives for his half-brother. Amba asks to leave so she can marry the king she loved, but when she got there, the king rejected her. She returned to ask Bhishma to marry her, but he rejected her as well. Broken hearted, she swore she would be Bhishma’s demise.

Vichitravairva dies, leaving the kingdom with no heir. Satyavati tells Bhishma to marry and father children but he remains true to his vow. Satyavati then tells Bhishma about another son she had before she married the king. Satyavati calls Vyasa, her first son, to come and father children with Ambika and Ambalika. Vyasa agreed, but the two princesses were horrified at the sight of Vyasa. Eventually, the two princesses and a servant girl were able to conceive Vyasa’s sons. Ambika’s son, Dhritarashtra was born blind, Ambalikas’s son Pandu was born pale and weak, and the third son, Vidura, was born healthy, strong and one of the wisest men.

As the boys grew older, there was a rivalry between Dhritarashtra and Pandu. Bhishma never saw this but Vidura did. The time came for Dhritarashtra to ascend the throne and rule but he was only king in name. Pandu was the one who actually ruled the kingdom. Bhishma went to a kingdom to find a wife for Dhritarashtra. He met Gandhari who blindfolded herself for life since her husband was blind. Gandhari and Dhritarashtra married and the kingdom rejoiced. The second son, Pandu also married two women. However, he learned that his older queen was keeping a secret. A secret that would change everything.

Bibliography: Epified: Mahabharata Videos

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part D

As the battle went on, Bhishma and Arjuna were forced to fight each other. In the end, Arjuna was victorious and Bhishma fell. This caused everyone in the battleground to weep over the fallen hero. Bhishma told Arjuna to honor Yudhishthira and end this war. Then, Drona took Yudhishthir captive.

In the midst of chaos, Jayadratha escaped and went to help the enemies. Because of this, Arjuna lost his son and he vowed to destroy Jayadratha. With the help of Krishna, Arjuna was able to gain his revenge. Then, Bhima’s son, Ghatotkacha was slain. The Pandava brothers tricked Drona into thinking his son had died. When Drona was distressed over this, the Pandava general took the opportunity to attack and slay Drona.

Bhishma on his bed of arrows

Bhima sought to take revenge on Duhshasana because he put Draupadi to shame all those years ago. Bhima cut off Dushasana’s head and drank his blood. The Kaurava warriors fled because of the gruesome sight. Meanwhile, Arjuna and Karna were waging a deadly battle as well. Thinking of his poor son, Arjuna sent an arrow into Karna’s head.

Having lost his best men, Duryodhana retreated to dwell in a lake. However, the brothers found him and Bhima struck him in the knee. When night came, Ashwatthaman came to slay the brothers while they slept. Draupadi lost her brother and her five sons. Out of sorrow, she went to find Ashwatthamann and take his great jewel.

All the families came to mourn their lost ones. After all the bodies were slain, Yudhishthira was made rajah of the city of Hastinapura. To atone for his sins, Yudhishthira performed a horse sacrifice. This horse went on to have many adventures and finally, it returned to Hastinapura. Then, Yudhishthira performed many rituals and he finally became the king.

One day when the brothers and Draupadi went to the place of their elders, Vyasa came and said the ones they lost would be returned to them. After meeting them, the royal family returned to the kingdom with new sorrows. Krishna and Balarama retreated to the forest where they were slain.

After this, Vyasa once again appeared to the Pandavas and told them their time on earth had come to an end. One by one, all of the heroes ascended into the rising sun.

Bibliography: Public Domain Edition: Mahabharata