Reading Notes: Mahabharata, Kincaid Version, Part A

This week, I read an alternative version of the Mahabharata by C.A. Kincaid. This served as a more informative version of the story, for me personally.

To start, it really clarifies the lineage that the characters face. It sets up well the reasons that the two families dislike each other, but I thought that the best set up difference was when they compared how the five sons were all related to a different divine being. In addition, we get a better insight into how Krishna gets her name, and why she is thought of as so beautiful. One thing that causes issue (that did not before because I did not pick up on it) is that she marries five people at once. This is somewhat of an issue because in the Ramayana, Sita is banished to a test of fire and then to the forest over questions of her purity. But if all five are married (and it's not simultaneously, they clearly state it is one after the other), then why could people not believe that Sita marries Ravana, then Rama, and move on with life?

What is also more clear to me is the bow and arrow challenge. At first, it seemed to me that Arjuna was competing in the contest for land or for a title, but now that I have read this version, it is more clear that he is competing for Krishna. In addition, the author does a good job of setting up for the conflict that follows when Arjuna wins, as earlier, I thought that people were just annoyed for no reason that an outsider that they did not know had won.

Overall, this version of the story is a lot better for me, but I wonder if that is because I have already been exposed to the Mahabharata. I felt the same way about the second Ramayana story that we read, but I believe it is because I had already seen and read the story to some capacity. One thing that this story does a lot better is how it flows and how it depicts the characters. The first section of the Mahabharata that we read was twenty smaller stories, and this one is only seven. That made the stories seem like less of an island on their own. This was personally an issue for me, because I did not know when a new story began.

In conclusion, it was a great version of the story to read, and I look forward to reading more.

Arjuna and Krishna first meet. Arjuna is the son of Indra, the the character of my project. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography
Mahabharata from The Indian Heroes by C.A. Kincaid

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