From Here To India- My Epics of India Course Blog

Draupadi and the Pandavas Dear Diary, Several years in exile later and I still cannot believe we're here, kicked out of the beautiful palace we called home. You don't realize how much you take for granted the finer things in life until you suddenly don't have them anymore. This is all because one of my husbands gambled away EVERYTHING. Even me. I was humiliated, dragged before everyone while my husbands did nothing. I had a lively debate with Yudhisthira today. I still don't understand why he doesn't act! If they take up their arms they can win back the kingdom. Many years later Dear Diary,  Our exile in the wilderness has finally ended, we are in disguise in the court of a palace. Yudhisthira, ironically, spends most of his days playing dice and no longer loses. Bhima is a cook. Arjuna teaches dance. I spend my days as a handmaiden. Though we enjoy more comforts than in the forest, it would seem that this new life is still not without it'...

This part of the story ends with the Pandavas and Draupadi in Virata's court. They all go into hiding there. Virata's general finds Draupadi beautiful and wants her for himself. Draupadi manages to escape and finds Bhima. Then Bhima tricks the general and kills him. This luckily happens at the end of the exile period, and so they're able to safely reveal themselves. They then turn to leave to take back what is there. Virata asks Yudhisthira about what will happen, and Yudhisthira makes a very dark premonition.     Krishna goes to the palace to try one last attempt to make peace. It doesn't go very well. They try to take Krishna captive (why?) but they're stopped. Before Krishna leaves, he decides to have a talk with Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas. They prepare for war. Draupadi sends Yudhstrhitra off. The two armies meet and discuss the rules for war. Yudhisthira asks for permission to strike at Bhisma and Drona. They give it. Arjuna makes ready to give the sig...

     I'm continuing to work on the Peter Brook film this week. Part C opens with Amba looking for Bhima. She wants him to kill Bhisma. Bhima will not kill him though, he respects him too much. Amba still looks incredibly young, they claim this ordeal happened over 40 years ago. To which she replies "Hate keeps me young." Draupadi tells Amba to call upon the invisible forces. Eventually she leaves.     Draupadi tells of how they used to have a kingdom. She asks Yudhisthira how he could've played to lose EVERYTHING. Including his brothers and her. Yudhisthira talks about how they have the same questions as her. Why is one act rewarded? Why is another not? They debate about Dharma and how he could just sit there and do nothing. Why won't he act? She cannot understand it. Bhima begs Yudhisthira to stand up and fight. After a long debate, the group is relatively pacified, and Arjuna decides to go deep into the mountains, where he can obtain weapons for them. They...