Reading Notes: Mahabharata, Part A


When "Bhima and the Nagas" begins the Pandavas and the Kauravas are living together in the royal palace and share a meal.

Duryodhana, the eldest of the Kauravas, is a jealous and petty young man and carries a grudge against the Pandavas because they are better warriors and better liked than him and his brothers. The Pandava that Duryodhana hated more than the others was Bhima because he was the strongest.

Duryodhana acted on his hatred at this meal by poisoning Bhima and dumping him bound into the Ganges.

While under water Bhima is attacked and bitten by poisonous snakes called nagas. Their poison counters the poison from Duryodhana and he is able to break free from his restraints and fight off the nagas.

Bhima ended up in the naga city located in the underworld, and the king of the nagas, Vasuki, wanted to meet the man that fought off so many monsters. Bhima's great-grandfather, Aryaka, was in the underworld and convinced Vasuki to give his great-grandson a glass of a potion that would give him the strength of a thousand nagas. Bhima drank eight glassfuls and slept for eight days.

When Bhima woke up the nagas throw hime one last feast and he returns to his family that had believed he was dead.

Bibliography. "Bhima and the Nagas" from Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A Mackenzie. Source.

Image. Bhima Fighting Duryodhana, via Wikimedia Commons

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