Reading Notes C: The Himalayas

I picked the story of The Himalayas from the Mahabharata for this reading.

Arjuna (living in Indra’s celestial city)

Yudhishthira & Three Younger Brothers w/their shared wife, Draupadi, and the priest Dhaumya (Forest of Kamyaka)

         Why are they in the forest>They have been exiled.

Great Sages hang out with Yudhishthira and the Gang.  Yudhishthira learns the skill of dice.  They are relieved of their sins through sacred waters.  They also learn many tales, about suffering and self-sacrifices, long-exiles and penances to gain wisdom and the gods’ favor.

The Gang of Exiles travels north to the Himalayas.  The Gang is seen by and sees Kubera at his dwelling.  Kubera is the lord of treasure and king of yakshas, so he lives quite lavishly.  The story says they Gang “gazes upon palaces of crystal and gold; the high walls were studded with jewels, and the gleaming ramparts and turrets were adorned by dazzling streamers.  They saw beauteous gardens of bright flowers, and soft winds came towards them laden with perfume; wonderful and fair were the trees, and they were vocal with the songs of birds.”

         I LOVE the last sentence about the trees: “and they were vocal with the songs of birds.”  It is such a beautiful image because it holds a personification that can easily be imagined without a wild bending of reality.

Basically, they are at this grandiose palace for Yudhishthira to gain counseling from Kubera.  Kubera tells the Gang leader to be patient and long-suffering.  He also warns(?) that there is a time and place for Kshatriya prowess.

Kshatriya prowess – so like war or military skills, ability to perform well in battle.

The story ends with the profit of Kubera’s warning.  The patience of Yudhishthira goes well because once when sighing for Arjuna, the bright car of Indra appears!  They worship Matali, the charioteer before Indra himself arrives with his hots of apsaras and Gandharvas.

Indra promises Yudhishthira that the gang leader will someday reign in splendor over all men.

Arjuna also appears and everyone is super excited to see him: all the Pandavas are returned together to Kamyaka.  They visit Markandeya, the sage, whose life endures all the world’s ages.

He moves the story along by telling of the mysteries and that has happened since the beginning.  He also tells them about the Deluge, giving them full knowledge.

I have suddenly been struck with the idea of the Pandavas Gang: five brothers have a gang (so this will be set in the modern twenty-first century).  Their cousins and rival gang, the Kauravas, claim they deserve to take over the streets (their throne) of the city Hastinapura in the kingdom of Kuru.  The Pandavas disagree...

The Pandavas from Pinterest