R. Radhakrishnan's Blog, page 12

Bhishma at the Swayamvara: Mahabharata 10

Kashi was in a festive mood. The lovely princesses were the pride of the kingdom. They had attracted many kings and princes who came in the hope that they would be one of the lucky ones to be selected.

Amba, Ambika, and Ambalika were excited. Their father, Kashya king of Kashi, had promised to allow them to choose their husbands.

Amba was the eldest and the most beautiful of the sisters. She was a gentle girl, well-behaved, and was brought up in a protected environment.

Her sisters ...

Bhishma at the Swayamvara

Kashi was in a festive mood. The lovely princesses were the pride of the kingdom. They had attracted many kings and princes who came in the hope that they would be one of the lucky ones to be selected.

Amba, Ambika, and Ambalika were excited. Their father, Kashya king of Kashi, had promised to allow them to choose their husbands.

Amba was the eldest and the most beautiful of the sisters. She was a gentle girl, well-behaved, and was brought up in a protected environment.

Her sisters ...

Newspapers and Journalism over the years.

Growing up in the sixties and seventies, the newspaper had great importance in our lives.

Those were the days before TV and even when TV came it was Doordarshan,  the Government channel, which was bland. Much like the rice gruel they give to sick people here in the south.

The newspaper paper would come very early in the morning and all of us would read it. The hierarchy of reading indicated the hierarchy of the house. Dad would get the first go at it followed by me. My sister would be ne...

Vichitravirya: Mahabharata 9

There was a pall of gloom over Hastinapur, Chitrangada had died in a needless battle. Such is life, our egos drive us into heedless and needless actions which have a cascading effect.

Vichitravirya was a handsome lad, skilled in the use of arms. But he was unlike his brother. War and battles were not to his liking, he was more the lover boy and inclined to indulge in wine, women, and food.

He was still below age when his elder brother died. He was crowned the king as Chitrangada had no h...

Vichitravirya

There was a pall of gloom over Hastinapur, Chitrangada had died in a needless battle. Such is life, our egos drive us into heedless and needless actions which have a cascading effect.

Vichitravirya was a handsome lad, skilled in the use of arms. But he was unlike his brother. War and battles were not to his liking, he was more the lover boy and inclined to indulge in wine, women, and food.

He was still below age when his elder brother died. He was crowned the king as Chitrangada had no h...

Jane Austen

It is Jane Austen’s birthday today. Long ago, five decades back, when I was a teenager I was introduced to her novel Pride and Prejudice.

It was a novel that should not have made an impact on me. My friends and I were into commando comics, westerns, and action thrillers.

Boys normally would avoid such books.

But I fell in love with the book and its heroine. Over the years I have lost count of the number of times I have gone back and read the book. Sometimes I read the whole book, and ...

Shiva and Parvathi, the waiting wife.

For the weekend a light-hearted tale.

Shiva and Parvathi are the ideal couple in Hinduism in many ways. Shiva is all-powerful, everyone in the universe fears his third eye. He is after all the destroyer in the Hindu trinity of Gods.

Yet Shiva is also a typical husband in many ways, incomplete without his wife, who often opposes him and his actions and gets away with it. Shiva mostly comes off as second-best in such situations. Yet Shiva does not mind that and is proud of his wife and she...

Chitrangada

Chitrangada was now king of Hastinapur and he wanted to prove himself.

Bhishma now had a reputation as a great warrior after the killing of Ugrayudha. Chitrangada was proud of his guru and elder brother but he wanted to step out of Bhishma’s shadow.  Sibling relations are complicated, we may love our siblings but we compete against them too.

Chitrangada proved to be an able king and warrior. He embarked on a series of yagnas and conquests. He defeated many kings and Asuras and became fam...

Durdasa : The last sacrifice.

The Mahabharata reflects life. Life is unpredictable and sometimes can be shocking. The story of Karna is known to everyone but the story of Durdasa is not generally known.

The story of Durdasa is from the Odia Mahabharata written by the great Odia poet and writer Sarla Das. Here is the tale in my words.

Among the Kaurava brothers, there were good souls too. We know about Vikarna who objects when Draupadi is dragged into the darbar hall by Dushasna.

Durdasa is another of the hundred ...

Bhishma and Ugrayudha

Shantanu the king was dead, and the kingdom was in mourning.

Bhishma consulted with the widowed Queen Satyavati and as per her wish started the funeral rites as the eldest son.

Chitrangada,  Bhishma’s young stepbrother would be crowned the king after the rites were over. Bhishma had been looking after the kingdom for a long time even when Shantanu was alive and he took charge of all the necessary functions to ensure a smooth transition.

The neighboring kingdom of northern Panchala wa...