It’s very interesting to see how many parallels there are
between the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Many of the same tropes and themes pop
up throughout and this is probably true of most ancient stories that probably
originally were passed through oral tradition. I do wonder is there is any
actual crossover of the pieces in the originals or if it is just due to the effects of oral tradition but I
guess there’s no way to know for sure. We see some small connections throughout
for sure, though.
The tale definitely takes on a more epic and arduous format
here. The journey through the forest is a very universal archetype that shows
up time and time again in literature. Here we see the Pandavas wandering in the
forest and as almost always happens with this archetype, they further develop
themselves and their minds.
Once again, the gods play a very important role in helping
out our characters. Both the god of the sun and Krishna make appearances very
early on and promise their assistance. It’s something I’m really not used to seeing
in literature and much of my storytelling for this class has essentially
avoided it or tried to lower the role of the fantastic but I’m thinking I may
want to try to include a little more in the future. I don’t want to make it too
strong, but it’s certainly worth trying to include. If I were to revise my
latest piece, I would consider adding a more divine aspect to it. I think it
could really change the nature of the piece.
It’s interesting to see how some of the pieces are almost
comical in nature while many of them are very serious and dark. I’m not sure if
it has to do with the various authors involved in the public domain edition or
if this is actually in the original, but it’s very interesting none the less.
Bibliography: Public Domain Mahabharata, link
(Hanuman statue, Wikimidia Commons)
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