The Mahabharata with Arti Dhand: Recent Episodes
Arti Dhand, University of Toronto
The Pandavas hear the stories of King Yuvanasva, who gives birth to Prince Mandhatr, and of Jantu, the only child of King Somaka.
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The tale of Rama Jamadagneya aka "Parasurama" concludes; the tale of another
Bhargava figure, Cyavana and his wife, Sukanya
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We conclude the story of Rsyasrnga, and begin that of Rama Jamadagneya, aka Parasurama, or "Rama with an axe".
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King Sagara's story continues, with his great-grandson Bhagiratha's efforts to entice Ganga to earth; in part II, we meet Rsyasrnga, a boy who's grown up in the forest and never met another human being before.
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The Pandavas continue their tour, still hearing about Agastya; they learn of Indra's battle against the asura Vrtra, followed by the story of King Sagara and his 60,001 sons.
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Distressed at the absence of Arjuna, the Pandavas go on pilgrimage, where they hear many ancient stories--among them that of the famous rsi Agastya.
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Nala and Damayanti are finally united; The Pandavas think consider the future.
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The Nala-Damayanti story continues. Nala loses his kingdom, and the couple is forced to confront a new reality.
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The charming tale of Nala and Damayanti continues.
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Arjuna ascends to heaven, and begins military school. The Pandavas, meanwhile, hear a story about the unluckiest man on earth.
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Vyasa suggests Arjuna train with the gods; Arjuna travels up the Himalayas and tussles with a seemingly indomitable tribal man.
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The Pandavas move to Dvaitavana, where they wrestle painfully with their situation, and try to persuade Yudhisthira to fight.
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Krishna explains his absence from Indraprastha. The King of Saubha had attacked his city of Dvarka, which was defended valiantly by his sons. Then Krishna'd pursued Shalva to destroy him.
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As the Pandavas set up in the Kamyaka Forest, visitors come by--Vidura, Samjaya, Rishi Maitreya, Krishna, Dhrstadyumna, and others. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Duryodhana frets about Vidura's return, and Duryodhana hatches another plan.
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The Pandavas begin their exile, and try to come to terms with the trauma of all that's befallen them.
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The Pandavas bid goodbye to folks in Hastinapura, leaving behind Kunti, their other wives and children; the Kauravas take stock.
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Why did Yudhisthira gamble? Where was Krishna? What game were Yudhisthira and Sakuni playing? In this episode, we consider these questions, as the last game concludes and the Pandavas and Draupadi prepare for exile.
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Sinister omens bring a halt to the events, and Dhrtarastra offers Draupadi 3 boons. Yudhisthira, however, imperils the Pandavas' kingdom again.
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The infamous scene in the Kaurava assembly hall continues. Draupadi demands an answer to her question. Duryodhana's brother Vikarna offers his perspective, Vidura tries again to make the Kauravas see reason, and the assembly devolves into the outrageous sexual assault of Draupadi.
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Some of the most outrageous, iconic, and scandalous events of the epic - Yudhisthira loses himself and all of his brothers to Duryodhana, then stakes his wife, Draupadi.
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Yudhisthira and Sakuni face off in a series of high stakes gambles in which Yudhisthira experiences a catastrophic losing streak, jeopardizing everything for himself and his family.
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Dhrtarastra dispatches Vidura to invite the Pandavas to Hastinapura; Yudhisthira must decide whether to go, knowing it involves gambling.
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Duryodhana returns from Indraprastha filled with envy, and his uncle Sakuni devises a plan to wrest away the Pandavas' kingdom.
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Yudhisthira's rajasuya sacrifice gets underway, but runs into a hiccup when Sisupala, the King of Cedi, challenges the choice of Krishna as the Guest of Honour.
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Krishna, Arjuna, and Bhima challenge King Jarasamdha of Magadha, and Yudhisthira prepares to fulfill the requirements for the Rajasuya Sacrifice, which will declare him emperor of the world.
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Book II, the Sabhaparva begins with councils to discuss the viability of Yudhisthira's ambition to perform the rajasuya sacrifice. What's the import of this sacrifice? What does it entail? Krsna arrives for consultation, and advises that the only way forward is by eliminating the king of Magadha, the powerful Jarasamdha.
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Why did Krishna and Arjuna enable the massacre of the Khandava Forest? Some theories, some survivors, and the building of the Pandava Palace.
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The Mahabharata Podcast with Arti Dhand
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Arjuna marries Subhadra with high drama, and the couple return to Hastinapura. Arjuna and Krishna participate in the burning of the Khandava Forest.
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The Pandavas begin work on their new capital, but there's a mishap. Arjuna must retreat into exile for a year.
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Upon learning of the Pandavas' survival, King Dhrtarastra considers his options, war or conciliation.
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Kunti instructs Arjuna to share his alms with his brothers, prompting a crisis when the "alms" in question is the Princess Draupadi.
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The Pandavas arrive in Pancala, in time for the groom-choosing tournament of Draupadi.
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Visvamitra orchestrates the murder of Vasistha's sons by using the King Kalmasapada, who becomes a cannibal.
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As the Pandavas travel to King Drupada's capital in Pancala, they have an altercation with a gandharva known for his snazzy chariot as Citraratha. He tells them stories of their ancestry, which leads to tales about the ancient rsi Vasistha.
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After the departure of Hidimba and Ghatotkaca, the Pandavas wander the forests until they meet their grandfather Vyasa, who directs them to live disguised as brahmins in the town of Ekacakra.
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While Hastinapura mourns the death of the Pandavas, the heroes escape to the woods and Bhima assumes responsibility for the protection of the family.
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The Pandavas arrive for the festival of Varnavata, and find themselves living in a house constructed for burning.
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Duryodhana schemes with his father to get rid of the Pandavas.
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Drona is now prepared to undertake the task for which he's worked so hard to train the Bharata boys: revenge upon his childhood friend Drupada for his rejection of him.
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Drona organizes a tournament to showcase his students' talents, and the great hero Karna enters the scene.
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Arrival on scene of one of the most important characters of our text, Drona.
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Last rites of Pandu and Madri, who becomes a sati; and childhood squabbles among the 106 boys lead Dhrtarastra to look for teachers.
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Gandhari's 100 sons are born, and one daughter; and Pandu succumbs to death, followed by Madri.
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Kunti shares her secret, enabling Pandu to have 5 children through the intercession of the gods.
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Pandu returns triumphant from conquest, and goes on vacation - to traumatic results.
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The story of Samtanu and Satyavati, concluding with Devavrata's magnificent sacrifice, which transforms him into Bhisma.
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Bhisma arranges the marriages of Dhrtarastra, Pandu, and Vidura; introduction to Gandhari
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We learn the mystery behind Satyavati's birth, and hear the painful story of Ani Mandavya, who curses the god Dharma to be born as Vidura.
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A dynastic crisis in the House of Bharata is resolved with the assistance of Vyasa--or is it?
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Two weddings, a Funeral, and a Kingdom without a King: Bhisma returns to Hastinapura with the 3 Kasi princesses, and the marriage of Ambika and Ambalika to Satyavati's son, Vicitravirya.
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From Sakuntala's son Bharata to the story of Samtanu and the river goddess Ganga
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The charming tale of one of the most feisty women characters of the Mahabharata - Sakuntala
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The conclusion to the Yayati saga, which includes a discourse on core principles of Hindu philosophy; the beginning of the Bharata lineage, with the charming tale of Sakuntala
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The continuing story of the Bharata clan's remote forefather, Yayati. Yayati's marriage to Devayani and ill-advised relationship with erstwhile princess, Sarmistha; Sukra's curse and Puru's sacrifice.
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The Bharata saga begins, with the colourful story of their ancestor King Yayati. The gods send Kaca to learn the secret of restoring life from Sukra, the asura priest; Sukra's daughter Devayani has a quarrel with Princess Sarmistha; Yayati enters to save the day.
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Janamejaya asks about the devas and the asuras; we learn of Kasyapa and his 13 wives; the dual identities of the major characters, and the great proxy war of the gods.
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Continuing the story of the ill-advised wager between Kadru, mother of snakes, and Vinata, mother of birds, with the birth of Garuda. This episode completes the tale of Astika, with the dramatic conclusion of Janamejaya's snake sacrifice.
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The most famous Hindu myth: The Churning of the Ocean. In part II of the story of Astika, we zoom out to take in the big picture, to include the story of the gods.
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The brahmin Ruru is told to "Be like Astika." Who is Astika? The journey takes us through the strange story of the ascetic Jaratkaru, who insists he can only accept a wife donated to him in alms.
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The story of Bhrgu and his pregnant wife Puloma begins the Bhargava cycle of stories, which brings us to the snake-murdering career of the brahmin Ruru
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The story of the death of King Pariksit - Krishna's great-nephew, Abhimanyu's son, Arjuna's grandson.
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Some stories about masters and disciples, and the quirky story of Utanka.
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In the opening scenes of the Mahabharata, we learn some of the basic structure of the text: who composed the story, who's narrating it, to whom, on what occasion, where. We discover that the Great Epic is encircled by snakes and frightful events which anticipate and reflect situations to follow.
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Introduction to the Great Epic-a Story about Everything!
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