Reading Diary A: The beginning

The book starts out being told by Pandu's grandson

Then the poet Vyasa tells the story of Mahabharata while Ganesha, the scribe, writes it down

Before the sea turned to salt water it was milk

Takshaka disguises himself as a beetle on the last day of the king's, Parikshit, death curse time limit

Parikshit tries to show that he is no longer living in fear by putting the beetle on his neck whenever Takshaka turns into a snake and bites him

Parikshit's son takes over the kingdom and plans to hold a sacrifice to kill Takshaka

(Image Source: Satyavati, the girl born out of a fish by Tropenmuseum) 

Mahabharata finally begins

• Ganga falls in love with the king
• has 7 kids and drowns the first 6
• Bhishma is spared because the king finally says stop
• semen in a fish--> fish smelling man (Vyasa) 
• Chedi renounces his kingship and gives it to Santanu
• Santanu and Satyavati have a son named Vichtravirya 
• Vichtraviyra is given 3 wives by Bhishma
• One of them is sent away because she already gave her heart away (Amba)
• Vichtraviyra dies before he has kids
• Satyavati summons her son Vyasa to have kids with the two wives
• Dhritarashtra (blind), Pandu(pale), and Vidura (normal)
• Pandu marries Kunti and Madri
• Kunti has a mantra that she can make love with gods
• Kunti tried it first with the sun god, Surya
• Kunti sent the baby up stream --> Karna
• Dhritarashtra marries Ghandhri and becomes king
• Ghandhri is pregnant for 2 years and has 100 babies
• They have to incubate for 2 more years in jars full of butter
• Pandu is cursed and can't make love 
• Kunti uses her mantra and has 2 kids when Madri wants to have kids and she uses the mantra to have 1 more child and twins
• Pandu can no longer resist and makes love to Madri and dies and Madri does too
• Drona marries Kripi and is so poor he can't even afford milk for their child
• Drona asks Drupada for help but Drupada denies Drona's friendship and calls him his enemy
• Bhishma makes Drona the trainer for all the Pandava and Kaurava princes
• Kripa became archery teacher
• Arjuna is the best bow person until Karna arrives and shows his skills and is named king (everyone wonders who exactly he is--> son of gods?)
• But he is the son of a chariottor--> found him when Kunti sent her baby up stream and raised the boy