I liked the idea of the Mahabharata being told by another
character as a story in Buck’s version of the Mahabharata. Vyasa asks his
companion, Vaishampayana, to recite the Mahabharata to Janamejaya. I still find
it crazy that it takes Shantanu seven children to finally question Ganga about
her drowning their children. I would expect a king like him to take control of
the situation at hand and figure out Ganga’s reasoning for her questionable
actions. Shantanu finally does so when their eighth child is born, which Ganga
gives to him after he begs her to let the child live. He names this child
Bhishma.
I found the story of
Satyavati to be kind of comical because the way she is born is so unorthodox.
At this point though, I’m not surprised because a lot of things that have been
happening in the Mahabharata are so random and crazy. Satyavati is born in the
belly of a fish that became impregnated when a hawk carrying the semen of the
King of Chedi accidently drops the semen into a river. A fisherman comes across
this fish and takes the baby girl as a child of his own. Shantanu and Satyavati have a child named Vichitravirya.
Reading Narayan’s version of the Mahabharata first helps me
when I read Buck’s version because I am already familiar with most of the
characters so it’s easier to keep track of who’s who and what’s actually going
on. So far, I think I like Buck’s version better but I’ll decide for sure once
I’ve read more of this version!
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| Shantanu tries to woo Satyavati; Wikipedia |
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