Reading Notes: PDE Mahabharata Section A

King Shantanu and Satyavati by Donald A. Mackenzie: Source

Satyavati is a girl born of Indra's sperm that was swallowed by a fish. When a fisherman caught the fish, he released the two children, the boy and the girl, living inside. The fisherman was able to keep the girl, Satyavati. She grows up giving people rides across the Ganges. She grows up a little before brahmin Parashara comes along. He is overwhelmed by her beauty and asks her to mother his child. In return, he will remove the fish smell from her, she will smell like perfume for the rest of her life, and he restores her virginity.
On a side note- I'm not entirely sure what that last part is supposed to mean. The idea of such a thing seems ridiculous in mind.


Bhishma at the Swayamvara by Sister Nivedita: Source

To this point in the story, Bhishma seems to be a decent person. He forfeited his claim to the throne so that his father could marry again! However, in this portion of the Mahabharata, Bhishma goes to kidnap the daughters- Amba, Ambika, and Ambalika- of the king of Benares. A contest is occurring to determine who is fit to marry these women. However, Bhishma steals the three daughters and fends off multiple armies with his archery skills! Eventually the king of Benares surrenders. Bhishma takes the daughters back to Hastinapura for his step-brother Vichitravirya, who is currently acting as the city's king.


Amba by Sister Nivedita: Source

Amba is the oldest of the princesses that Bhishma kidnapped. She had secretly sworn to marry the King of the Shalwas. She tells Bhishma about her previous arrangement. He sets her free to go marry the King of the Shalwas so that this younger step-brother does not have a marry a woman who will not love him. She goes to the King of the Shalwas, who Bhishma defeated in battle when he kidnapped Amba. He treats her terribly. Eventually, she leaves him to become exceptionally pious. As a result of her piety, Shiva offers Amba a boon. She wants Bhishma dead- she thinks he ruined her chance of a happy marriage when he disgraced the King of the Shalwas. Shiva promises that Amba will kill Bhishma. "How? She's only a woman!" Well... Shiva promises to reincarnate her as a man so that she can kill Bhishma in a future life.
Amba's response? She prepares and lights a funeral pyre and jumps on.


Duryodhana's Jealousy by C.A. Kincaid: Source

Pandu was named as king when he came of age. He two wives each had numerous sons- these two sets of sons came to be known as the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Duryodhana is effectively the head of the Kauravas. He goes to King Dhritarashtra and deceives him. He asks the king of send his queen and the Pandavas away to an entirely wooden palace he's had built. Everything in the palace is soaked in oil. This is Duryodhana's plan to get rid of the Pandavas, as they are better than the Kauravas in almost everything.

The Mahabharata is structured very differently than the Ramayana. It focuses on MANY more characters. It is much harder to keep them all straight, as no single character is specifically followed throughout the story like Rama was.