Reading Diary B: Peter Brook's Mahabharata

The gambling match still baffles me.  I don't understand how Yudhisthira, one of the wisest men, could gamble everything away.  He had nothing to win and everything to lose.

The king Dhritarashtra is portrayed as a caring and normal man who is trying to do the best by his children.

Amba tries to get Bhima to kill Bhishma.

Arjuna's exile seems to be missing entirely from the film.  There is also no House of Fire.  Half the movie remains and the war is the only large event that remains.

The Kauravas try to kill the Pandavas in exile.  Vyasa interferes and puts a stop to the attack.

Bhima encounters Hidimba later chronologically.  He is married to Draupadi at this point.  Hidimbi looks overjoyed when her brother is killed.  It is somewhat disturbing that Hidimbi goes from being faithful to her brother to experiencing joy at his death only a few minutes later.  Kunti is not here for this fight.

The Kauravas use fire to invoke Arjuna.  They can see that he is searching for weapons and the Kauravas can even talk to him.  I wonder what type of god or magic makes this possible.

Arjuna gets a weapon from Shiva.

Karna cares for a Parashurama in the wilderness and asks for a weapon in return.  Parashurama gives Karna a formula that will call a creature from heaven to give him a weapon.  When Parashurama sleeps, a worm eats a hole in Karna's thigh.  Parashurama accuses Karna of lying to him about being a kshatriya and curses him to forget the formula.  Also, where did Karna's armor go?

The Riddles at the Lake makes a little more sense now.  The Pandavas are overcome by an overwhelming thirst that makes them drink even when their brothers are dead.

Arjuna gets the Pashupata from Shiva
Image from Wikipedia