Reading Notes: Pattanaik's Jaya, Part D

Reading Notes: Pattanaik's Jaya, Part D

(Draupadi and Krishna)

Story Source: Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata by Devdutt Pattanaik (2010).

Gambling: Shakuni's Plan

• Duryodhana consumed by envy and feeling inferior to his cousins
• Note: "this is the root cause of the tragedy in the Mahabharata" (141)
• Yudhishthira's weakness is that he loves to gamble (139)
• Have Indra mention this in his comment to Yudhishthira in Dharma story
• adharma to kill family, ask for more food, run away from daughter's house while food is still being served (140)
• Note: law of the jungle that big fish eats small fish, man establishes dharma where even the weak can thrive (141)
• Note: Vishnu little fish story parallels Noah's ark

Gambling Match

• Yudhishthira gambled away his brothers, himself, and Draupadi
• Note: Krishna embodies intelligence and Draupadi luck, and the Pandavas enter the gambling hall with neither, so they lost (144)
• Yudhishthira first gambles away stepbrothers Nakula and Sahadeva

Disrobing of Draupadi

• Draupadi dragged across the palace half-naked
• Vikarna, youngest of the Kauravas
• Karna gets his revenge and humiliates Draupadi
• Elders thought Duryodhana was behaving within the confines of dharma
• Draupadi called to the gods and kept her honor and dignity in tact

The Last Game

• Bhima swore to take revenge on the Kauravas for insulting Draupadi
• Draupadi: "Greed is unbecoming of a warrior's wife"
• good karma
• Yudhishthira gambles again when everyone protests
• duty of a king?
• Kunti to Draupadi: Sahadeva is the most sensitive, not good with calamity
• Pandavas bathe in Ganga and enter exile

Exile: Krishna Visits the Pandavas

• Krishna to Bhima: Don't blame Yudhishthira for what happened to you. Your pride contributed. To keep your word is dharma. (154)
• Krishna to Draupadi: you are responsible for rejecting Karna on the grounds of caste. This led to situation that you inadvertently helped create. Take responsibility for it. (154)
• "Those who didn't help will pay a price" (154)

Draupadi's Vessel

• Krishna encourages Draupadi
• Parallel to the Bible story of Jesus feeding the multitudes, Krishna eating half of Draupadi's berry fed all of the Brahmans (156)
• Sun god is Karna's father, still helps Draupadi

The Kauravas Gloat

• Karna is a bad influence on Duryodhana, fueled by revenge
• Gandharvas capture Kauravas
• Yudhishthira wants to rescue them, Draupadi, Bhima, and Arjuna didn't understand
• Yudhishthira: "Dharma is all about helping the helpless. They are helpless now. We must help them. Otherwise, we are no different from them" (160)
• Incorporate into story somewhere. Maybe Yudhishthira to Indra, or Dharma to Yudhishthira. 
• Pandavas sent to teach the Kauravas a lesson by Indra, king of the Devas (160)
• Note: Lakshmi, goddess of fortune, is Draupadi, but they gambled her away (160)

Jayadratha

• Jayadhrata married to Dusshala, the only sister of the Kauravas
• Yudhishthira told Arjuna and Bhima to not kill Jayadratha, Draupadi's kidnapper because it would widow the only sister they have, which would lead to bad karma (163) 
• The others yearned for revenge but knew Yudhishthira was right and forgave him.

The Story of Ram

• Yudhishthira kept cool and urged patience and serenity (163)
• Bhima was restless
• Yudhishthira: "Why blame external factors when the root cause is our passion...let us not be swayed by passion. Let us be governed by what is right. Let us be governed by dharma"
• Note: Ramayana is model king and model reign, while Mahabharata is imperfect kings and reigns (165)
• Lesson: No matter how much we suffer, someone has suffered more and survived, so we must too

Shiva Humbles Arjuna

•  Draupadi cursed fate, Bhima was angry
• Arjuna called upon Shiva to get weapons for revenge against the Kauravas
• Note: Vyasa portrays Arjuna as an arrogant prince with a fierce competitive spirit. Arjuna was taught humility. (168) 

Arjuna in Amravati

• Arjuna sees Indra come out of the sky with thunderbolts
• Arjuna in Swarga with Indra fighting with Devas
• Urvashi in Swarga falls in love with Arjuna, but she is wife of Pururava and like a mother to Arjuna.
• Arjuna loses his manhood for his 13th year of exile in hiding
• Note: human desire is contained by morality and ethics, but dead are nature and nature is not contained by morality and ethics (170)

A Journey Full of Tales

• Pandavas know Indra is Arjuna's father here (171)
• "great pilgrimage of the Pandavas" (171)
• "dipped in lakes guarded by ancient deities" reference to riddles at lake
• Yudhishthira was enriched by stories and philosophies. loads of spiritual wealth
• Legacy through generosity story: Indradyumna after spending time in Indraloka had to find people who remember his deeds in order to stay in swarga. Indradyumna did not intend to build the lake, but it happened as a result of his generosity. He gave away so many cows, lead to lake. 
• karma is about consequences, not just the action
• Note: "Both traveling to holy spots and listening to sacred stories are believed to reduce the burden of karmic debts and increase the load of karmic equity. The unlucky Pandavas thus use their long period of exile to clean up their fate" (174)
• Note: Pilgrimage is important to Hinduism