Reading Notes: The Five Tall Sons of Pandu, Part B

I liked the way that Wilson wrapped up the narrative here. There are a few things that stuck out to me, though. First was that Karna was a much less sympathetic character in the second half of the story than he was in the first half. Also, the continued emphasis on Arjuna being the greatest warrior among the Pandavas was interesting, as in the Mahabharata, I did not get a sense that he was clearly more skilled than his brothers. Also, in the Mahabharata (or at least Narayan's version) Yudhishthira was much more of a focal character than Arjuna, and this makes me wonder which brother commanded more space in the original epic.

Other parts of the second half of this story that stuck out to me were the mentions of the prince who was born a princess -- this took me out of the realist mode of storytelling, more than the gandarvas in the first half of the story did. However, otherwise the battle scenes were enacted well and in accordance with what I have read before, just without the use of any magical or godly assistance.

Last, the notion of manly tears is an interesting one, and I do not remember that from Narayan's Mahabharata. I feel that it must have been a detail deemed unnecessary by Narayan, but it is a cultural note which I find fascinating nonetheless.

The fight between Karna and Arjuna had some interesting notes on honor in battle. Source.

Bibliography: Wilson, Richard. "The Five Tall Sons of Pandu." Source.