Reading Notes: Tiny Tales from the Mahabharata, Part D

Duryodhana's Demise:

Plot Structure:

Exposition: As the sole survivor of the Kaurava brothers, Duroydhana acts like a coward and goes to hide in a lake. For some reason Yudhishthira can sense his presence, and he actually has some courage. He brings up Duryodhana's past offenses against the Pandavas, which makes Duryodhana leave the lake and challenge them to single combat.

Rising Action: For some reason Duryodhana wants to fight Bhima first (why not one of the two Pandavas who barely get mentioned at all rather than the one who killed like eighty something Kauravas??), and Bhima makes good on his promise by obliterating Duryodhana's femur. Yudhishthira goes back to his usual coward self and tells Bhima to stop gloating, as if Duryodhana deserves anything at all after sending his entire army to their deaths for his own pride.

Climax: Duryodhana beckons Balarama to kill Bhima, but as he is about to, Krishna stops him. 

Falling Action: For some reason, the Pandavas continue to pander to Duryodhana instead of just killing him. They bring his son to come watch him suffer, essentially, and Duryodhana tells him to serve the Pandavas.

Resolution: The Pandavas have a victory celebration, and it becomes known that Krishna played a crucial role in all aspects of the war.

General Thoughts: I just cannot stop thinking about how narrow-minded and elitist all of these characters are. Even Yudhishthira, who is supposed to be all kind and noble, does not understand that he could do so much more good by not even having the war in the first place. He could have saved a *billion* lives. It reminds me so much of other European and American wars and war stories; most poor soldiers suffer and die for zero reason. I wish the Mahabharata was not like this, but I guess it makes sense that Indian royalty would act the same power-hungry, classist way that other rulers throughout the world act.

(Image Info: Bone anatomy by OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology, no changes; Source: Wikimedia; License: here)

Bibliography: Tiny Tales from the Mahabharata by Laura Gibbs, Part D, stories 164-168