The Dharma Forest by Keerthik Sasidharan

 

18th of 2021 and 4th in Feb was the much awaited 'The Dharma Forest' by Keerthik Sasidharan. Krishna said: ‘The most wondrous thing about our world is that forms change. From a stone you make fire, from fires we make food. But the real wonder is . . .’

Jara spoke suddenly, in a voice that was his, but it was now inflected, heavier in tone, and more assured, as if someone else had taken possession of him. ‘. . .how wondrous it is to live, watch others live, to see others die willingly. Like in a great War.’

A moment’s silence later, Krishna suggested, ‘Perhaps you could tell me about the war in Kurukshetra, about Bhishma, Arjuna, about Duryodhana . . . about how it all came to end.’

Initially Jara protested distractedly, but Brahma and Shiva whispered into his ears, 'Speak, and the words will come....." From some deep meditative stupor, the words do come, in the cadences of oracles and soothsayers...a terrifying start and what follows is a night full of stories,  about nine lives from the days of the great Mahabharata war, where each life embodies a rasa -- love, courage, wonder, disgust, fear, ridicule, sorrow, anger, and tranquility -- colors from man’s emotional palette.

As the Mahabharata war wages on, it shows no mercy and takes no prisoners. Death and destruction abound. In the midst of a world rendered unrecognizable by the lust for power, maliace and the machinations of war, stand each of them. 

This first volume of the “Dharma” trilogy tells about Bhishma’s wondrous immortal life, Draupadi’s loves amid erotic jealousies, and Arjuna’s war-weary courage.

Before the story begin, Krishna tells Jara, " Never believe what storytellers tell you. They marry lies and truth to give birth to pleasure." 

Separate blogs for each of the stories:

Part I

An Hour of Wonder: The Story of Bhishma

A Night Full of Love: The Story of Draupadi

A Day of Valour: The story of Arjuna