Reading

Day 4 of reading the Mahabharata - reflecting on dharma and adharma, questioning how the heroes knew right from wrong, reading of the dice game and Arjuna’s exile in a ruined temple.

How we ruin ourselves. Mankind has always fallen flat on its face when faced with the questions of Dharma. Dharma isn’t difficult to comprehend, adharma is just easier. Then, did the maharathas of the Mahabharata know Dharma? As I stand at the edge of the temple, I read out the names of the sons of Dhritarashtra to the wind, those sons of Kuru found adharma easier. I read of Arjuna’s exile, and his interpretation of Dharma. I read of the son of Dharma himself, as he gambled away his wealth, his brothers and their wife, Krishna Panchali, to the wiles of the Prince of Gandhara, what then was his interpretation of Dharma? ...

Day 3 of reading the Mahabharata - the land belongs to the monkeys, wind howls like Vayu watching as I read of Bhima’s battles, Panchali’s wedding, and the burning of Khandiva forest.

This land belongs to the monkeys. It is theirs to frolic in, it is theirs to own. We have somehow faltered here, and they know it far better than we. The wind blows my hair into my eyes, it cries out, howling like a dog in the distance. Perhaps it really is a dog, perhaps Dharma is watching me read the Mahabharata here. Or perhaps it is Vayu, listening in as I read how his son Bhima kills the demons Hidimba and Baka. ...

Day 2 of reading the Mahabharata at Hampi - experiencing the stories of Shakuntala and Dushyantha, Yayati and his sons, while a flute plays in the distance.

It is unbelievably calm atop a hill. I was right when I chose this spot to read the Mahabharata. Reading of Shakuntala and Dushyantha, I lost myself in her pain as he denied loving her. Reading about Yayati and how he beseeched his sons to share with him their youth, I could agree with him that one thousand years could never be enough time to enjoy the wonders of this world. ...

Starting my journey reading the Mahabharata by Bibek Debroy at Hampi, by the Tungabhadra river - encountering a stranger and sharing stories of this historic place.

Hampi. As a kid, I didn’t like going to Hampi. I had nothing to see there, it was full of tanks and wells. I didn’t care much for the heat either. Today, as I sat atop a small hill, reading the first volume of the Mahabharata, a stranger came up to me, to ask about the sights. He asked me why this place was famous, because all he saw were ruins. ...