I really enjoy the story of Shantyavati, the mother of Vyasa. It seems a funny fable that has a happy ending, something I'm starting to realize is unusual for the Mahabharata. I like that Kunti also has a son in the same fashion, and could only imagine if they ever had a conversation about their experiences. Kunti's story does seem eerily similar to the biblical story of Moses except that Karna is born in royalty yet sent to live away while Moses was sent to live with royalty to escape his death from being born into poverty.
The story of Pandu's death curse is very amusing and tragic, although it does give Dhritatashtra a chance to take the throne. The shunning of Dhritatasthra really peeves me for personal reasons. My grandpa was blind so growing up I was always taught that blind people could still accomplish anything that someone else could. Frankly, I'm glad that Pandu dies so Dhritatashtra could prove himself a worthy king... until he lets that punk Duryodhana corrupt him. I think a story about a great blind warrior led by the gods would be quite interesting.
The story of Ekalavya is more disturbing to me because it reminds me of the harsh caste system that India lived with for so long (even into the 19th century!). Drona treats him so cruelly at the end, but this story seems to serve as more of an explanation for a certain region's bow technique than anything else.
Bibliography: Public Domain Mahabharata,
Web Source
Image: Ekalavya's Guru Dakshina,
Wikimedia Commons
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