#mahabharat headcannons

[depressedhangrybitch]

So I just watched something about arjun...

And its the funniest joke ever of mahabharat till date I have heard...

What was arjun thinking when he looked at the fish during draupadis swayamvar??

*ek machli paani mein gayi (chapaak)*

XXXXXDDDD

It's the funniest shit 🤣 😂 💀 😭 😆 😩 🤣 😂 💀

Here is the reference video....

[hinsaa-paramo-dharma]

I am sorry if my post felt rude.

By my "They are freaking brothers" statement I meant ki they are..you know Sage Nara and Sage Narayan, who ARE brothers.

I kind of dislike the shipping which is just a personal opinion (and still, that doesn't mean I am against the writings that have shipped them or any drawings of them, heck some are very beautiful too). I don't hate the PEOPLE THAT SHIP or write fanfiction about them. It's fine, hum apne raste, tum apne raste.

I have never ever said that I hate people having headcannons or silly drawing or fanfiction about Mahabharat. In fact, I do silly drawings of Mahabharat characters myself and follow many great writers here on Tumblr who write fanfiction.

Again, I didn't mean any hate to people who ship anyone with anyone in any epic (it's also so stupid like- bro why would I even hate anyone for such a mere thing?). This post was made when I had just got to know about the Mahabharat fandom so I was just kind of...weirded out because I have never thought of the Mahabharat as anything other than a religious scripture.

So uhh yeah I hope I made myself clear enough, I don't mean to hate the fandom or something and I am sorry if my earlier post felt offensive.

There are people who hate Bhisma Pitamah?

THE BHISMA PITAMAH???

[askaarii]

been thinking about what if the kauravs won the kurukshetra war? the mahabharat we’d get would be totally different because winners write history and winners are always right

so here’s my thoughts about a mahabharata that could have been written had the kauravas won

first of all, im sure that epic too would be awfully biased

the kauravs would be the good guys and the pandavas evil

some of the names would be totally different from canon, eg, suyodhan, sushashan, sushala, yudhishit

okay one of them is just a joke

the pandavas for sure won’t have a divine origin

and the kauravas would definitely have a glorious birth

there might be an emphasis on “there is power in number”

and the hundred of them would share a good bond with each other and also their sister

and duryodhan would be the nicest elder brother you can imagine

and dushashan would be his beloved disciple who is ready to follow his brother to heaven and hell

karna would also have a very major role

you know that very loyal and supportive friend

and shakuni will be that genius advisor

most probably he’ll have a divine origin or something

his revenge will also have quite a major role to justify the wrong the clan had done to him & his family

but despite this, he’ll wish genuinely well of duryodhan

aswathhama will also have a biig role

he is one of duryodhan’s favourite friends so yeah

also he’ll be one of the game changers

since canonically duryodhan is against caste-based hierarchy, this will get a bigger emphasis

so ekalavya will have a bigger role

and in the war, the pandavas would be seen as monsters

dushashan’s and karna’s death would be some of the greatest tragic points of the story

duryodhan too almost dies but at his last moments he says of a desperate move to aswathhama

who changes the game last moment and miraculously revives everyone (the main ones) of them

duryodhan will be elated and beside himself not at his revival, but at the revival of his beloved brother and friend

in the final battle, karna will kill arjun, dushashan will kill bheem and duryodhan will yudhisthir

nakul and sahadev would be spared because they weren’t main antagonists in the story anyway and heroes always forgive because they are nice

they become loyal to duryodhan’s empire who rules as a just king happily ever after

[browsing-my-favourite-fandoms]

Hindu Mythology Masterlist

Far-right radical ideologists, "hindutva" followers, people who believe in "Mughals invasion" DNI

Sideblog: @kaurava-apologist​ // also used to post stuff at @infp-denofdreams             

Art

Suyodhana and Sushasana (as Kolkata boys/ anime version)

Ekalavya

Takshak

Eklavya (ghibli-style)

Ashwatthama

Lakshman Kumara (doodle)

Eklavya (expression meme)

Ashwatthama-Suyodhana-Sushasana (doodle)

Lakshman Kumar  (animated meme)

Naga Princess

Lakshman Kumara and Shatrunjay

Anime Mahabharata sketches

Moodboard

Lakshman Kumara

Ekalavya x Takshak

Mahabharat x Highschool AU

Lakshmana Kumara x Shatrunjaya

Naga Princess x Ashwatthama

All I Know About

Lakshman Kumar

Naga Princess

Headcannons

Mahabharat if Kauravas won the Kurukshetra war

Takshak x Ekalavya 

Bengali AU! Mahabharata Headcannons

Bengali AU! Sunday At Kuru Household

Fanfiction

Cursed: Ashwatthama/Naga Princess

Bangla Mahabharat Masterlist

[depressedhangrybitch]

Thinking about mahabharat again and how that whole shitshow could have been avoided if bhishma just got some pussy

[depressedhangrybitch]

While this is quite an interesting take on duryodhan, and I going to clear out some things as much as I can so I would like to point out Some things....

Firstly, it is indeed cruel of vidur to assume that a child is inauspicious based on the bad omens completely disregarding the fact that bhim was also born at the same moment... and we dont know how he may have been treated by the people since it was the mahamantri himself who declared him a bad omen and its possible traumatic consequences on a childs psyche but...

No character in mahabharat is completely black. All of them are in different shades of grey. That is the whole point of the epic. To explore human complexities, mind and emotions.

People who have read the original mahabharat will agree with this and it's a shame that such a beautiful and complex epic have been reduced to such Simplicity bordering narrow mindedness in the pop culture.

Secondly, if we go by your point than everyone is destined to play a role in that epic not just duryodhan considering all the karma, fate that is at play. And if we take this approach then not only does it give justification to duryodhans deed but also other characters deeds as well.

Both good and evil.

And I really don't want justification and defense for events Like vastraharan ( duryodhan) and betting women like property (yudhisthar).

The only thing that pisses me off is that yudhistar was not even punished for that transgression by the heavens at the end.

Back to the topic, there was no rigging in the game against the rigger when duryodhan literally won it by unfair means.

There was no unfair play against duryodhans life as well. well if we take the known epic into account since duryodhans psychological processes are not clearly shown. I will leave that to the imagination of people on how actually duryodhan spent his childhood. But Based on known information, in comparison to pandavas he had a very privileged childhood spending his time in a palace, having all his demands met in contrast to the forest life of pandavas. He had all the resources he could have used for his own betterment.

But one thing I will admit one of the main reason for duryodhans downfall will probably be the company he kept who fed him sweet flowery lies instead of bitter truths from the very start which turned him into an adult who could not handle any criticism, which historically speaking is the worst quality to have if you are going to be king in the future, made worse by the fact that he had karna as a friend.

Thirdly, when you read the original mahabharat duryodhans intentions behind dyut sabha were entirely nefarious. He was filled with jealousy and envy by the development of indraprasth even though his father and he himself gave them a barren land which the pandavas developed into a flourishing city by their own blood and sweat. He even threatened his father that he will kill himself if his demands of an organization of dyut sabha is not accomplished. Making his father reluctantly agree to his demands. ( I don't know if this is shown in TV serials since I haven't watched them.)

Fourth, the main reason he is considered as a dark character with a villainous persona is because of how he led his life. He had the upper start against pandavas and all the connection required to play a good political game. He had gandhars, dakshin Panchal and even angas support which was furthered by the fact that his father was the king. Had he put in a bit of effort and played his cards right all the while proving that he can be a great king he could have successfully defeated pandavas in the battle of succession. Their only suppoters were vidur and bheeshm and even they would have been silenced if duryodhan proved to them that he was worthy.

Duryodhan in my opinion, which is based on known epic, is the modern equivalent of some rich man's spoiled kid who if he doesn't get what he wants will throw tantrums. The parents are partly responsible for him being a spolied little brat. The only sane enough person amongst kauravas was perhaps vikarna.

He had many opportunities to make peace with the pandavas after the exile as well, which he rejected them all. All of his actions were inspired by his envy towards his cousins and if we look closely perhaps maybe an inferiority complex which may have developed within him against his cousins making him insecure and even more jealous. Moreover, the company he keeps never actually let him grow as a person. (Maybe)

Even when he was captured by the gandharvas in his quest to flaunt his lifestyle towards newly exiled pandavas, he was rescued by them, even then he did not deign to return their property despite knowing that he wrongly played them in the dyut sabha and they in turn saved his life. Even after his mama shakuni urging he did not return their Wealth he did not do so.

Fifth, gandharis proclamation for his execution was after the vastraharan. Which in my opinion is a right emotional response though the approach was not. but as a woman she likely felt draupadis plight and was extremely angry at how her son could disrespect a woman like this especially when that woman is in her period and his sister in law who is equivalent to a mother according to hindu scriptures.

Draupadi never did anything to him contrary to TV serials. She never insulted him nor did she ever insult karna. So his behaviour towards draupadi cannot be justified ever.

Sixth, karna's acquisition by duryodhan was purely, dare I say, a selfish action. Duryodhan saw a potential ally to harm the pandavas and he lept at it. Karna had a known enmity with arjun and again, contrary to popular culture, he was never discriminated against for his caste. Suta were good charioteers, yes, but they were not low caste people, adhirath, karna father was a close friend of dhridarashtra which allowed him to let his son to study with the princes under the tutelage of dronacharya where both karna and duryodhan were known to provoke fights with the pandavas. Only once did bheem ever insult karna but only after he insulted the elders of his clan. (Which does not justify bheems behaviour but oh well... gray characters.)

Lastly, krishn was repeatedly insulted by duryodhan ever since he met them.

Duryodhan often called him names and was known not to give respect that was due to krishn given his status as a high member of Dwarka council and politics akin to a king.

Even after trying to imprison krishn when he came as a diplomat for the pandavas, duryodhan had the audacity to ask for help for his side during the Kurukshetra war from krishn.

I mean if I try to hurt someone and now need their help...I could never have the guts to ask for their help.

Krishn treated the pandavas with respect because he was treated respectfully by them. Even after that, his bond was mostly with arjun.

Most importantly, pandavas listened to criticism and tried to change themselves for the better.

It's not krishns fault that duryodhan chose Narayani sena over him, (in my opinion a wise decision, if one doesn't believe krishn to be a political genius or 8 Narayani vatar, that is, only then.)

That being said, duryodhan was an arrogant, egoistic and rude person who did not listen to advise even when they are given in his favor. And he constantly insulted his elders and warriors as well.

But on the other hand, he was a generous man and kind too to selective individuals.

Which is why I strictly classify him as a grey character. As I do with other characters of epic.

His only hamartia was his ego which led brought him down.

Oh... forgot to add this, If we go again, by your logic then all of this can be considered the Leela of gods and this epic was just a means for Gods like Indra and Surya to flaunt their powers and for vishnu to establish dharma. Which would have been done even if the script is changed either by hook or crook.

I mean, come on, you can't possibly win against a god.

PS: all this should be taken into account that mahabharat as an epic was lost to the world for 1000 of years. The manuscripts that were assembled was done only 50 to 100 years ago and that to we don't know if there are parts missing between since we don't know the exact count of the manuscripts.

Overall this epic should be learned from after all, it is a hub for wisdom if you look through the right angle and is called the 5th veda. ( rightfully so.)

I’m by no means an expert on the Mahabharata or Hinduism in general (I’d say my knowledge on Hinduism especially is rather limited) but am I wrong in thinking that the game was rigged against Duryodhana from the start?

There’s no denying that he’s far from a saint and some of the things he did were awful but I feel like he’s portrayed as such a completely morally black and bankrupt character when it’s sort of far from that.

Like as far as major characters are concerned, he’s the only one who has absolutely no interest or regard in the caste system whatsoever. There’s like three speeches of his that very very clearly show that. His intervention with Karna at their first meeting, although perhaps partly due to opportunism depending on your interpretation, is one of the most honourable scenes in the entire epic to me.

Not once has he ever even implied that Karna’s caste is of any importance and throughout their entire relationship, there was no one who he treated with more love and respect than Karna. Even in general, it’s well established that his judgements of people are based on their individual qualities and not caste.

Again, not saying that he was a good guy at all but he was also known for being generous and a good ruler. He’s almost always interpreted as a power hungry yet incompetent person but that’s also far from the truth. He was Balarama’s favourite student which means that there was a lot of good about him or why would someone like Balarama even bother with him?

Also, being told that on the day of his birth his uncle told his father to kill him and then his mother saying she should have killed him, is not something that anyone should hear lmfao so I think, in certain aspects, his anger is justified.

It’s also very clear that from the start, Krishna was against him. Every act of his towards Duryodhana was deliberately meant to sabotage him in some way. Even Balarama acknowledged this so it’s basically a matter of fact.

So yeah, I’m not saying he was a good guy or that he’s just some misunderstood pookie but I think that not acknowledging some of his very good traits and the fact that everything was rigged against him since day 1 is a disservice to the whole point of the epic.

I hope I didn’t offend anyone with this. I know for over a billion people the Mahabharata is a religious text and the last thing I want to do is disrespect that regardless of whether I believe in it or not. I’d really like to hear some of your opinions on this take and I’m also really keen on engaging with people about the epic in general <3

[askaarii]

Takshak and Ekalavya HCs because, why not?

The badass duo

Termed as “Terror of the Forest”

Takshak is the tribal Naga chief and Ekalavya is the warrior Nishad prince

Bonded because of a special hatred for the caste-based society and  ✨Arjuna ✨

Because that man burned Takshak’s home and the entire forest and snatched Ekalavya’s ambition out of pure jealousy

But if they are together I’m pretty sure Takshak would revive Ekalavya’s right thumb because he is after all the serpent king with lots of powers

And then they would be the unstoppable villain duo :)

The relationship started out of pure business reasons. Here’s the equation: 

Takshak = evil tribal chief .... (1) Ekalavya = underrated tribal warrior .... (2)

(1) + (2) = Ekalavya joining Takshak’s “evil” forces

But they had ideological differences alright because Ekalavya was pretty respectful towards his “guru” and Takshak snapping how the hell could he give respect to a “teacher” who took away his future

They remained cold but had to cooperate because of  ✨reasons  ✨ that went like “you are just a tool” to “ you are vital to my victory” to  “my most precious weapon” 

Ended in risking their own lives to save the other’s and going “um, that isn’t how you treat your weapon or tool do you?”

results in a whumpee confession and takshak using his naga powers to heal them both 

and from then?

villain dates! with a hint of “give us our dignity for goddamn’s sake!”

[seohyun0306]

I agree that certain acts that took place cannot be justified whatsoever but it’s important to note that during the vastraharan, dragging Draupadi to the sabha and disrobing her wasn’t duryodhanas idea and that it was Karna and Dushasana that were the ones to bring it up first. That’s not to say that duryodhana was blameless, which is far far away from truth as he went along with it without complaint once it was proposed but a lot of people forget he actually wasn’t the one to suggest it. Again, that’s no justification for his role in it, especially because of the lap thing.

When I’m talking about the game being rigged against him, I wasn’t talking about the dice game lol. “Game” in my post was used in a more colloquial and modern way where I was trying to say that since his birth, he had absolutely no chance of evading his loss and fate. One of the best, if not THE best indication of this was after the Gandharva incident where he openly admitted that the Pandus were no threat to the kauravs, that it was his own stupidity and vices that started the feud, that Vidura’s was right in his wisdom from the start and that he was wicked. Even the intervention of Karna, dushasana and Shakuni, arguably the three most important people in his life, didn’t sway him. He was threatening suicide again but for the first time it wasn’t to emotionally manipulate anyone into doing his bidding but something he was genuinely set out to do. At that point duryodhana was willing to forsake every single thing he had done and gained through evil means. literally to the extent that the most evil forces as per Hinduism, the Danavas and Daityas had to resort to supernatural means to get him to abandon his conviction. Had they not gotten involved, duryodhana would have starved to death and none of the horrors of the war would have happened. I think this shows that since the beginning, he was used as a puppet for the sake of a bigger cause and that he was basically supernaturally barred from acting upon his true thoughts and feelings.

About Karna, I am of the opinion that his relationship with Karna was perhaps the least selfish relationship even more so than that of him with his brothers, shakuni and his parents. Perhaps at the start of their friendship there could be an argument, which I disagree with, that duryodhana had Begun the relationship with opportunistic intentions but even following this logic, as the epic progresses it is very very easy to deduce that duryodhana had immense and genuine love for Karna, perhaps even more than Karna had for him towards the end when Krishna told him his true parentage.

I’ve always felt that regardless of Any good qualities and virtues of his, he was doomed from the start as a puppet and tool. Duryodhana is far from being anything of a hero but I believe that from day one his life was never his.

I’m by no means an expert on the Mahabharata or Hinduism in general (I’d say my knowledge on Hinduism especially is rather limited) but am I wrong in thinking that the game was rigged against Duryodhana from the start?

There’s no denying that he’s far from a saint and some of the things he did were awful but I feel like he’s portrayed as such a completely morally black and bankrupt character when it’s sort of far from that.

Like as far as major characters are concerned, he’s the only one who has absolutely no interest or regard in the caste system whatsoever. There’s like three speeches of his that very very clearly show that. His intervention with Karna at their first meeting, although perhaps partly due to opportunism depending on your interpretation, is one of the most honourable scenes in the entire epic to me.

Not once has he ever even implied that Karna’s caste is of any importance and throughout their entire relationship, there was no one who he treated with more love and respect than Karna. Even in general, it’s well established that his judgements of people are based on their individual qualities and not caste.

Again, not saying that he was a good guy at all but he was also known for being generous and a good ruler. He’s almost always interpreted as a power hungry yet incompetent person but that’s also far from the truth. He was Balarama’s favourite student which means that there was a lot of good about him or why would someone like Balarama even bother with him?

Also, being told that on the day of his birth his uncle told his father to kill him and then his mother saying she should have killed him, is not something that anyone should hear lmfao so I think, in certain aspects, his anger is justified.

It’s also very clear that from the start, Krishna was against him. Every act of his towards Duryodhana was deliberately meant to sabotage him in some way. Even Balarama acknowledged this so it’s basically a matter of fact.

So yeah, I’m not saying he was a good guy or that he’s just some misunderstood pookie but I think that not acknowledging some of his very good traits and the fact that everything was rigged against him since day 1 is a disservice to the whole point of the epic.

I hope I didn’t offend anyone with this. I know for over a billion people the Mahabharata is a religious text and the last thing I want to do is disrespect that regardless of whether I believe in it or not. I’d really like to hear some of your opinions on this take and I’m also really keen on engaging with people about the epic in general <3

[depressedhangrybitch]

I feel so too, but as I said karnas acquisition was selfish on his part but not the friendship. I feel the friendship was genuine albeit not a good thing to happen to duryodhan.

As I have implied from my post duryodhan had a very privileged life compared to pandavas but he was not taught well. He did not have a shrewd political mind required by someone of his stature and this I blame on his company both during childhood and adulthood.

Karna friendship towards him doomed him in my opinion. And I genuinely believe that if he had just one person, one sane person to advise him and if he had one healthy relationship then the story might have turned out different perhaps for the better.

A man is what u make him to be and a child is like a blank parchment which will be whatever u write in it and safe to say, dhridarashtra and gandhari did not train him well. I do not expect bhishma and vidur to train him because of obvious bias but OK.

And of course, as I said before he was a tool for the greater cause. All of the characters within the epic were. That is the whole gist of hindu dharma philosphy; to sacrifice for the greater good. One man's life is not as important as that of millions and in this case billions of future generations.

Yes thank u for clarifying what game u meant, I genuinely thought it was dyut. But if we go by your logic then everyone in the epic has a game or role to play with no choice of their own just puppets on strings which also does not put an appealing picture for me. And unfortunately duryodhan had bad cards to play.

But if we look at the picture as the characters having some semblance of control in their lives then I would say, that both duryodhan and yudhister could have played clever games with each other in some points of their lives like varnavrat (duryodhan) and dyut (yudhistar)

They are just too entitled ( duryodhan) and naive to the point of stupidity ( yudhistar)

Duryodhans ego was his biggest enemy. Had he not listened to his ego he might have made peace with the pandavas even after vanvas.

His ego is what stopped him in making peace with the pandavas even after gandharva incident. And he would not be allowed to die before his role was finished. Gods would have not allowed that to happen so no successful suicide attempts.

His life and I quote, Alucard from castlevania;

'This entire catastrophe has been nothing but history's longest suicide note.'

And yes, in the end duryodhans life was never his, no character in the epic had a life to live for themselves which fills me with both anger and pity. Of what life they might have lived that even after such Wealth and power you cannot be happy and at peace. Not even some semblance of happiness.

On a side note, his good qualities and virtues as u put it were not there where he needed it the most. Being generous is a good quality to have as a human but as a prince who is fighting a succession battle you should have a political mind like krishn and a kind facade where people constantly underestimate u. Duryodhan unfortunately was too proud to be ever become flexible as the situation demands. When u face a high speed river it is better to give into it's waves rather than face them head on. The latter always leads to death which is what happened to duryodhan. He was living in a false sense of security that since his father is the king the pandavas will bow down and he constantly had the habit of underestimating people. All of the above qualities are not what a good ruler should have, this even bhisma admits.

I know he was intelligent enough to see that pandavas will not be easily defeated. The lac incident is the testament to both his intelligence and stupidity. (Depending on which angle you look it through)

From political mindset it's a stupid move but from a view of conspiracy theorist, a lac palace is a good way of killing someone if you are a normal human not a prince who is known for his enmity with the victims who in this case are pandavas. Duryodhan in some way aided to pandavas support as his actions portrayed pandavas further as victims which garnered them sympathy and support which a good king needs, his people's support to rule efficiently and effectively.

The angle through which you are looking at duryodhan is what I also saw him through for the first time I was introduced to his character which put such a depressing picture for me that I was forced to also look through other lenses as well.

Gods are capricious creatures and what they want will happen even if lives are ruined because in the end it's for greater cause.

And do u know who else thinks along such lines:

Dictators.

whoever gods are on the side of, that side will win no matter how odd the stakes against them are.

Perhaps you and I have such opinions that they may....OK scratch that.... they are definitely too controversial to ever be made public.

I do not like gods unnecessary interference within the epic or rather any epic be it mahabharat or illiad or anything else but oh well.... what can u do.

Conclusion: I agree with your opinions if I look through that angle but.... there an interesting quality about humans, we are very good at finding loopholes. Which duryodhan could also have done, he had many chances.

Also, duryodhan was surrounded by toxicity both in childhood and adulthood which is not a great thing for character development.

Karna was the most shitty thing that happened to him. Karnas constant egging and false lies pushed duryodhan to disaster and it's funny to me that usually in modern times, its shown the reverse way where karna was doomed by duryodhans company.

Karnas portrayal as a tragic hero is absolutely the most stupid thing to ever happen within the modern cinematic adaptations of the epic.

And I don't know how many times I have said this,

BUT NO CHARACTER IN MAHABHARAT IS DOODH KA DHULA......THEY ALL ARE HUMANS WITH DIFFERENT SHADES OF GREY.

But people don't listen so...what can u do....

I’m by no means an expert on the Mahabharata or Hinduism in general (I’d say my knowledge on Hinduism especially is rather limited) but am I wrong in thinking that the game was rigged against Duryodhana from the start?

There’s no denying that he’s far from a saint and some of the things he did were awful but I feel like he’s portrayed as such a completely morally black and bankrupt character when it’s sort of far from that.

Like as far as major characters are concerned, he’s the only one who has absolutely no interest or regard in the caste system whatsoever. There’s like three speeches of his that very very clearly show that. His intervention with Karna at their first meeting, although perhaps partly due to opportunism depending on your interpretation, is one of the most honourable scenes in the entire epic to me.

Not once has he ever even implied that Karna’s caste is of any importance and throughout their entire relationship, there was no one who he treated with more love and respect than Karna. Even in general, it’s well established that his judgements of people are based on their individual qualities and not caste.

Again, not saying that he was a good guy at all but he was also known for being generous and a good ruler. He’s almost always interpreted as a power hungry yet incompetent person but that’s also far from the truth. He was Balarama’s favourite student which means that there was a lot of good about him or why would someone like Balarama even bother with him?

Also, being told that on the day of his birth his uncle told his father to kill him and then his mother saying she should have killed him, is not something that anyone should hear lmfao so I think, in certain aspects, his anger is justified.

It’s also very clear that from the start, Krishna was against him. Every act of his towards Duryodhana was deliberately meant to sabotage him in some way. Even Balarama acknowledged this so it’s basically a matter of fact.

So yeah, I’m not saying he was a good guy or that he’s just some misunderstood pookie but I think that not acknowledging some of his very good traits and the fact that everything was rigged against him since day 1 is a disservice to the whole point of the epic.

I hope I didn’t offend anyone with this. I know for over a billion people the Mahabharata is a religious text and the last thing I want to do is disrespect that regardless of whether I believe in it or not. I’d really like to hear some of your opinions on this take and I’m also really keen on engaging with people about the epic in general <3