So far I have noticed this epic is far more difficult to read than the Ramayana because there are so many characters and places that are being described.
One of the moments that stuck out to me was the battle between Arjuna, Krishna and Indra. This battle was for Agni to be able to consume the forest with fire. Arjuna and Krishna promised to help Agni only if he gave them celestial weapons. There was no description of the battle that took place, but the fact that Arjuna fought against his father for the sake of another intrigued me. I wonder what was going through Indra's mind as he lost to his own son in battle.
I also liked the story where Arjuna won Draupadi's hand in a contest. This story made me think of the animated Robin Hood, where he disguises himself to win a kiss from the princess. The story was interesting in that they Pandava brothers all agreed to take Draupadi as their wife.
There was a great similarity between Rama and Arjuna because of their exile. I thought it was very strange that Arjuna went into exile over just looking at Draupadi when she was with one of his brothers, but then again the whole Mahabharata is extremely far fetched.
The professor mentioned that this epic is set at a later date than the Ramayana. And so there is even more depravity as some of the traditional values are lost with time. I think that having such a gap between the stories provides an opportunity to question the themes of marriage and family bonds that are presented in the story.
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