Scenes from the MAHABHARATA


Ganesha acts as scribe, and writes down the whole Mahabharata himself, at Vyasa's dictation; its frame story is that of Janamejaya's great snake-sacrifice; *the India of the Mahabharata*
The nymph Menaka seduces the sage Vishvamitra
In one of the cruelest and most "caste-ist" epic stories, the tribal prince Ekalavya cuts off his thumb (thus destroying his prowess at archery) at Drona's request
Arjuna wins Draupadi at her svayamvara through his extraordinary archery
Somewhat accidentally, she becomes the joint wife of all five brothers
Yudhishthira and Bhima confer, in a scene from an elaborate Persian version of the Mahabharata called the "Razm namah" (Book of War)
The disrobing of Draupadi by Duryodhana after she is gambled away by her husbands; she is nowadays often shown as being rescued through divine intervention by Krishna
The disrobing of Draupadi, with no sign of Krishna in the picture (a minority version, but apparently an earlier one in the history of the epic)
"Kurukshetra"-- scenes of the battlefield
*Bhagavad
GITA*

Right before the great battle begins, in the famous "Bhagavad Gita" Krishna instructs Arjuna in his caste duty as a warrior, and the cosmic meaning it holds
Krishna threatens to attack Bhishma, and Arjuna is barely able to hold him back.
Bhishma reclining on his bed of arrows, preparing to offer extensive moral instruction to the Pandavas
Abhimanyu takes leave of his wife Uttara, and goes off to the battle in which he will be killed
The slaying of Jayadratha by Arjuna
Arjuna and Karna in combat
On the devastated Kurukshetra battlefield, Bhima fulfills his vow to drink Duhshasana's blood
Dhritarashtra retires to the forest with Gandhari, and years later voluntarily dies in a forest fire


Raja Ravi Varma, the well-known painter, portrayed a number of scenes from the Mahabharata, especially those involving Draupadi
A symbolic interpretation of the Mahabharata family relationships, according to the principles of yoga
A thing of beauty and a joy forever: George Koshy's *ASCII Mahabharata*!



 
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