Bibliography: Public Domain Mahabharata. Story: Duryodhana Falls
Notes: I am just all over the place with Yudhistira at this point. I can't decide if I think his few good qualities outweigh the massive troubles that he has caused for his brothers and for his people as a whole. I am becoming unconvinced.
I am less familiar with this section of the Mahabharata, and wanted to know more about this story, so did a bit of further research online specifically as to why Yudhistira had such a big problem with Bhima fighting Duryodhana. I mean, its not as if Bhima hadn't been making his intentions clear for a pretty long time. It turns out, it was Yudhistira's sense of honor, of dharma, that caused him to initially allow Duryodhana to pick which warrior he was going to fight, but also take issue with the fact that Bhima did not really fight fair. What really galled me about that particular bit was that the only reason that Bhima chose to break Duryodhana's thighs is that he cannot win the fight fairly, meaning that in asking him to fight fair, Yudhistira would condemn Bhima to death. Now, I realize that not all siblings get along equally well, but I'd be pretty miffed if my sister ever asked me to do such a thing, or at least did not try to help me come up with an alternative.
During my research of this story, I was pleased to learn that Krishna shared my exasperation of Yudhistira's actions. I think it might be interesting to write a story either from the perspective of Bhima as he is forced to watch again as Yudhistira's actions once again negatively impact his life, or from the perspective of Krishna as he realizes that the leader of the Pandava who he has been actively helping this whole time may not really deserve to be there he is.
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