Reading Notes: The Five Tall Sons of Pandu Part A

The Five Tall Sons of Pandu at first glance seems to be just a retelling of the Mahabharata that focuses on the Pandavas and the events that they are involved in. As you read the story though, you come to realize that it is more special than that. The Pandu brothers are often referred to as being "tall." This is the only allusion made to the divine nature of the brothers from previous iterations of the Mahabharata. The book tries to focus on the mortal aspect of the Mahabharata, and it only differentiates the brothers from typical people via their physical stature. This is a clever way of nodding to the original context of the Mahabharata but does not detract from the choice to refrain from focusing on the divine aspect of the original story.

This story fast tracks the initial story of the book. It briefly mentions Pandu and how he dies. It speeds along until it reaches the competition between the Pandavas and Duryodhana with his 99 brothers. This competition is held by Drona and showcases the great strength of the Pandavas, much to the dismay of Duryodhana. This version of the story also treats the other 99 brothers of Duryodhana as an after-thought. It just mentions Duryodhana, and it is honestly confusing as to whether or not he speaks for the rest of his brothers. This version also does not mention how Drona used the Pandavas and Duryodhana to take revenge on Drupada, so when the story reaches the point where Draupadi's hand is available for marriage, the reaction of Drupada to Karna winning is confusing.

All the time though, the story does not mention any divine influence over the events. It also tries to refrain from treating the events that happen as supernatural. Instead they seem to be superhuman, but not absurdly so. Overall I liked this version.
The Pandavas. Soure


Bibliography
Richard Wilson, The Indian Story Book, Source

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