Week9, Reading Diary A: Kauravs and Pandavs

Shantanu is the king of Hastinapur and he falls in love with Ganga who he marries. He married her on one condition that he doesn’t question any of her actions. She drowns all her children except the eighth one who is Bhishma. Shantanu then falls in love with the fisherman’s daughter whose name is Satyavati. She has two sons with the king.one of her sons died and then Bhishma calls for three sisters to marry the second son. One of them didn’t marry the second son Vichitravirya. Vichitravirya dies without any sons so Satyavati tells her son who she gave birth from the union with Parashara to sleep with Vichtravirya’s two wives.  The sons bored from Vyasa are born with defects because of the reaction given by Ambika and Ambalika. Dhritarashtra and Pandu are the sons. They both get married. Pandu’s wife can make babies with the gods so she calls five different gods to have five different sons who are called the Pandavs. Dhritarashtra has hundred sons who are called the Kauravs. They both are trained by Drona. The Kauravs try to kill the Pandavs because they are not as well liked by the public for the throne but the Pandavs escape through a tunnel. The Pandavs go into hiding and then later go to a swayamvar for Draupadi where Arjun wins a new wife. He shares his new wife with his brothers.