Week 6 Reading Diary: PDE Mahabharata

PDE: Mahabharata by various authors

This week, we are finishing up the Indian epic, Mahabharata. This epic story has a lot of drama. A lot. At one point, I couldn't stop reading even though I knew I had to sleep. For my reading diary, I decided to focus on the section that discussed Bhima and Hanuman's encounter. I chose to focus on this part of the story because I am doing my Storybook over Hanuman and his stories. I actually planned on writing about this as part of a story. The section talks about how Bhima and Hanuman are said to be half-brothers; they are both the sons of the wind god, Vayu. I liked how they briefly explained the caste system and how Hanuman explained it all to Bhima. I decided to read more into the different ages. Krita Yuga is the age of truth, when the gods governed all the land. Every manifestation is close to the pure ideals and and intrinsic goodness prevailed. The Treta Yuga was when sacrifices were introduced and people grew more materialistic. The Dwapara Yuga is the third age and it is characterized by the introduction of the four castes, brahmin, vaishya, kshatriya, and shudra. The caste system is very interesting because it brought about different roles for each person in a community. The final age, the Kali Yuga, is the age of vice where human civilization degenerates. I am interested in writing a story about modern day friends who are all parts of different caste systems and how they work together. 

(Pyramid of caste system. Source: Wikimedia Commons)