Secondly I must remember- one form of human injustice has continued on till now and women's rights were only recognized in the 20th century! That's 2000 years after Christ! And these epics were written 1000 years before Christ!
So i can forgive the pathetic attitude towards women
Having said that here are some things that irk me about it:
1. Women are prizes to be won.
2. They have very little say in their lives - who they marry for eg.
3. Considered holy to die together with husband
4. Arjuna goes on travels for a year on self exile- sounds more like a holiday to me! He marries girl after girl along the way! When they get pregnant he moves on!
Other things;
Is it ok to want to be king? To fight to be king?
One thing I think I can see through : this book is by someone from the Krishna consciousness movement- there is some element of hardsell here and there I feel. ESP where the good characters aren't so good and bad characters aren't so bad- these bits are glossed over or over presented to convey the writers point of view and agenda. Like the famous line about draupadi cursing the kaurivas graphically is not here. Yudhistra's gambling is not presented as a weakness but as a way of honoring the king who invited him to play. Karna is said to prefer fame to life. All fishy! Makese want to read more though! See diff presentations
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