War can bring out the worst in people. We have seen this
throughout many centuries of village raids. Bhima, a fine warrior, killed many
people in this war. He killed the elephant Ashwatthama. He killed Duhshasana
and after mutilated his body and drank his blood. Because Duhshasana is the
brother of Duryodhana, he hides in despair because of the loss of his brother.
“I cannot go on any longer” he says, “That was my best friend and I am too
distraught to live life without him.” After coming to the realization that he
was angry instead of sad, he decides to dual Bhima who ends up completely
hurting him by wounding his thigh. He eventually dies.
Many people were upset by Bhima’s action because he is so
brutal in combat. He is notorious for his behavior as a teenager and adolescent
because of how he mutilated cats and other small animals in his back yard. His
uncle, Dhristarashtra, was especially reluctant towards him. He took Bhima in
at a young age because both of his parents were killed in battle. Although he
tried to be as good of a father as possible, there was always something off
about their relationship. After the end of the war, Dhritarashtra wanted to
kill Bhima. For no particular reason really, he was just so upset and Bhima was
usually who he took his anger out on.
Krishna was around the corner and heard Dhritarashtra
talking in an angry stuper. “Where is my nephew?” He scolded, “He no longer deserves to live after
all that he has done!!” Krishna knew how important Dhritarashtra was to Bhima,
regardless of how poorly he treated him. Bhima was always respectful to his
uncle because he forever owed him for taking care of him as a young boy.
Krishna built a statue with the same clothes and scent as Bhima. It was so
realistic that even people who weren’t blind could have fallen for it!
Krishna placed the statue in the corner of the room ready
for action whenever Dhritatashtra arrived. Eventually he did, and he came near
the statue due to the familiar scent of Bhima. Just as Dhritatashtra came to
attack Bhima, the real Bhima entered the room and saw the scene take place. He
watched as his uncle attacked what he thought was him. Distraught, he ran out
and never returned. He had known for so long that his uncle wasn’t his number
one fan, but he had no idea how deep the hatred ran. He lived in the forest and
died from a poisonous snake bite.
Bhima vs Duryodhana. Photo found online.
Author’s Note: I chose to write about the Statue of Bhima. I
kept the same overall story line, but I added some random details of my own in
there with regards to their family history. I wanted to add the dichotomous
relationship between Bhima and Dhritarashtra to show that Bhima had respect for
his uncle even though he wasn’t always nice to him.
Narayan, R. K. (1978). The Mahabharata.
Narayan, R. K. (1978). The Mahabharata.
Hey Courtney!
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job this week with this story! I really liked how you kept with the original story, but added your own details. It is sad to think how much Bhima liked his uncle, and then to have his uncle try to kill him. I really liked the picture you used for this story also. It really goes well with the whole Bhima's uncle wanting to kill him.
Courtney, I really enjoyed reading your story. I liked the way you incorporated your ideas into the original story. Watching Dhritarashtra killing a replica of Bhima must have been so heartbreaking for Bhima. Bhima ran away rather than attacking his uncle tells how much he respected his uncle.
ReplyDeleteHi Courtney.
ReplyDeleteI thought Bhima was an interesting character in the book. He was super intense with the blood drinking and all! I liked the details you added about the history of Bhima and his family. You could tell that Bhima did think highly of his uncle regardless of how he was treated. Great job on this story it was a very good read.