When a Hope or Desire Is Broken

Almost every major figure in the Mahabharat is carrying a broken expectation. Dhritarashtra expected a throne his blindness cost him. Karna expected to be known for what he could do rather than for where he came from. Amba expected a marriage, and the refusal of it turns into the vow that eventually kills Bhishma.

The epic treats a broken hope as a fork rather than an ending: what happens next depends almost entirely on whether the person makes the loss into a grievance. Amba's becomes a life's purpose; Yudhishthira's exile does not.