It seems that Bhishma's death was what it finally took to make Karna hate his brothers. Though, in truth, the Pandavas treated Karna awfully and ought to be ashamed. It is reasonable for him to hate them.
Now Satyajit has been added to the list of the dead. I'm not getting much from the scenes from the battle other than that a lot of people are dying.
Now Arjuna's son, Abhimanyu is dead and Arjuna has slain Jayadratha - his son's killer.
Now Ghatotchaka is dead, and Karna no longer possesses the celestial dart of Indra.
Drona literally just sat down and died when he believed his son to be dead. I don't understand why the Pandavas - who are supposed to be such amazing warriors - didn't just actually kill Ashwatthaman instead of lying about it.
I am exceedingly perturbed by the fact that Bhima actually drank Duhsana's blood. Karna and Arjuna are finally in battle. One of them must die, and I am not eager to see either die.
Krishna seems to be something of an instigator here. I don't know that I support his character's actions. I should like to further explore the reasons why he chooses to so incite Arjuna. Perhaps there is some divine purpose to this war as there was in the Ramayana. Also Karna's dead now.
Bhima is far to prideful in his behavior to be a good ruler. He is a powerful warrior, but he could never rule effectively. I also struggle to see the weighing differences between breaking a vow and breaking the laws of combat. It appears that Krishna (also Vishnu) has some vested interest in the outcome of this conflict.
Duryodhana has no honor whatsoever, but sometimes in war that is what it takes to win. On the other hand, what kind of victory have they won by slaughtering people in their sleep?
Draupadi really is vengeful and quick to demand her enemies' deaths. I won't call her wrath unjust here, but I feel that she's a particularly angry character, and there's a lot that could be explored there.
The story of Bhishma's death is interesting to me, and I may include it in some capacity in my storybook since my book is centered around Ganga. I'll have to refresh my memory as to the details of Bhishma's birth.
It seems to me that Uttara, given her new son would not have wanted entirely to kill herself and join her husband in heaven. Given the gift of his son on this Earth, I think she would have wanted to enjoy what time she could with her boy.
Now Arjuna has died and come back to life all as a result of his lustful adventures. I still have no idea how I feel about this.
There is a pattern in the epics I have seen thus far that they tend to end with the death of the protagonists. I think I may take this into account while writing my storybook and have Ganga describe to the traveler her role in the deaths of many Indian heroes throughout the ages.
Bibliography: PDE Mahabharata
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