Indian Epics

For this reading I would would like to write about Draupadi suffering humiliation. Her husbands were in the court. Yudhishtir also called Draupadi to come out of her chambers. She did not come so someone named, Dushasan, drags her out. In the court, Karna said that since the Pandavas and his wife were slave they did not need the clothes or jewels they had on. He started to pull on Draupadi's clothes. The Pandavas did nothing but watch in defeat. Draupadi began calling out for Krishna's help. Luckily, he heard her prayers because Karna kept pulling on her skirt, but to no avail. It seemed like there was no end to her skirt. Bhim finally got fed up and said something. He said that he would avenge for Draupadi's humiliation. Bhim said he would kill Duryodhan. Duryodhan laughed and slapped his legs telling Draupadi to take a seat in his lap. The Pandavas all grew angry and vowed they would take revenge. This story stood out to me because Draupadi has five husbands and they did ...

For this reading note, I would like to dedicate it to the theme of violence. To set the scene Yudhishtir was planning on performing a Rajasuya Yagya. He did not want to do it, because it may cause a revolt. Yudhishtir sought for Krishna's advice.  Krishna advised him to do it because it was tradition in becoming an emperor. He also suggesting in slaying Jarasandha for the Rajasuya Yagya. Jarasandha was an emperor from a powerful kingdom called Magadh. Therefore Yudhishtir's brothers went forth to Jarasandha's kingdom disguised as brahmins. That's when the brothers challenge Jarasandha to a fight. Bhim and Jarasandha fought forever. Bhim thought it was over when he tore Jarasandha. However, Jarasandha came back to life when his body came back together magically. It was when Krishna threw a hint a Bhim that he was able to kill Jarasandha. Krishna had a leaf that he tore and threw the two pieces away from each other so that was what Bhim did to Jarasandha. Bhim tore Jarasa...

Draupadi is married to the five Pandava brothers. Narad Muni saw this situation and grew worried. He proceeded to tell Draupadi and the Pandavas his concern. He told the story of two brothers, Sundha and Upasundra. These brothers were very close knit just like the Pandava brothers. Sundha and Upasundra were also very powerful. The only way they could die was by each other's hands. Sundha and Upasundra both fell in love with the same woman, Tilottama. She became the cause of their deaths. The two brothers who were so close began to fight over the same woman. This fight occured when Upasundra saw Sundra and Tilottama together. They ended up killing each other. After Draupadi and the Pandavas heard this story, they sought for a solution so that they would not fight over Draupadi. The solution was that one brother would have Draupadi for a year. For that year, if another brother was to intrude their time together then that brother would go to exile for twelve years. I thought this st...

For today's reading notes I wrote about Bhima Kills Bakaura. After the escaping the fire, the Pandavas seek refuge. They settle in the city of Ekachakra when a scholar offers them shelter. One day, Kunti hears the scholar scream. When she asks what is wrong, he tells her about Bakasura. Bakasura is an Asura who wrecks havoc in their town. To satisfy his hunger, Bakasura would go into town kill people and eat them. One day, the townspeople and Bakasura came to an agreement that one person in town would provide food for him once a week. However, when this agreement came into play Bakasura ended up eating the person who delivered the food. This week is was the scholar's turn to be the person to deliver the food. After hearing this, Kunti offered for her son Bhima to go in his place. Bhima obliged and went to Bakasura. When Bhima arrived, Bakasura saw that the cart was empty. Bakasura was big mad. They started fighting. No matter how Bakasura was he was not a match for Bhima. The ...

For this reading note, I am writing about  Beauty and Brownie  by Ellen C. Babbitt. This story was about two deers named Beauty and Brownie. The corn fields were getting ripe so it was season that was dangerous for deers to be around because hunters would leave out traps. Beauty and Brownie's father warned them of this and asked them to take their herds and to go to some high hills until the season was over. The father also advised them to travel only in the night so they would not be seen by the hunters. So Beauty and Brownie set off with their herds to the high hills. However, Brownie did not forgot what his father said and traveled in the daylight. He herded his herd straight into some hunters and lost some of his herd. Beauty remembered what his father had told him and did not lose one deer. When the season was ending, the two herds headed back to the forest. However, Brownie still did not learn his lesson. He traveled in broad daylight again and lost more of his herd. Bot...

For this reading note, I am writing about  The Golden Goose  by Ellen C. Babbitt. This story intrigued me. It was about greed. There was a goose that had golden feathers. Not only was the golden goose beautiful, but kind. The goose saw that a family was struggling and decided to help them out. The family consisted of a mother and two daughters who were very poor. When the goose approached the family to help them out, the mother greeted him with suspicion. She did not know why the goose would help her and her family. The golden goose told the family that he would stop by every once in a while to give them a feather so that they could sell it. Because of this the family began to live comfortably. However, the mother's greed ruined them all. One day, she plotted to keep the golden goose and the house. She was afraid that the golden goose would not return one day and their source of income would disappear. She soon found out that if the feathers of the goose were forcibly taken ou...

For this reading note, I am writing about  Granny's Blackie  by Ellen C. Babbitt. This story was a rich man who gave an elephant to a woman. This woman became known to be Granny and her elephant was known as Ganny's Blackie. Blackie would just eat, sleep, and play with the children. One day he wanted his Granny to go out to the woods with him, but she said she was busy with work. Therefore, Blackie decided to go out and find work to bring home some money for Granny. He found a job of moving wagons across the water. He was paid in silver for his work. When he came home, everyone was worried because he had not told anyone where he had gone. However, Granny was delighted when she found that Blackie went out and earned money for her. This was a really happy, feel-good story. If I were to retell this story I would make Blackie human because I saw many human characteristics in him. He was just a child which is why he just wanted to play, eat, and sleep. However, once he saw the resp...

For this reading note, I am writing about  The Merchant of Seri  by Ellen C. Babbitt. This story was about a poor family consisting of a little girl and her grandmother. Their family was once rich, but they lost it all. From the past riches, the grandmother still had a golden bowl. However, she did not know the value. There were two merchants who would go into town to sell their goods. One of the merchants was greedy. When the grandmother and the little girl approached the greedy merchant, they offered the golden bowl to him for exchange for anything, the merchant caught on that they did not know the value of the bowl. The merchant threw the bowl to the ground and said it was worthless. He did this because he was planning on getting the golden bowl for dirt cheap. Then, he left. Another merchant came, but this one was kind. When the grandma attempted to trade her golden bowl again, this merchant was more receptive. He told them the value of this bowl and offered everything he ...

For this reading note I want to focus on the births of Pandu's and Dhirarashtra's sons. Pandu has two wives Kunti and Mardi. They all decided to dwell in the forest. However, because Pandu shot a hermit who was in the form of a deer, the hermit cast a curse on Pandu before he died. The hermit cursed Pandu that he would die when he would lay with a woman. It was fitting because Pandu shot the hermit when he was laying with another hermit who was also in the form of a deer. Kunti and Mardi had not had any children yet. Therefore, Pandu had no heirs to leave behind until Kunti revealed that she could called a god with a mantra and bear his children. One by one Kunti called the gods and had five children. Her first son, Yudhishthir, who was virtuous and patient was from Yama. The next son, Bheem, was strong and fast as the wind and he came from Vayudev, the Wind God. The last son from Kunti and Indra was Arjun. He was destined to be a great warrior. Madri did not have children ye...

For today's reading notes I would like to focus on Bhishma/Devarat. Devarat is the son of King Shantanu and Ganga. Kind Shantanu fell in love with Satyavati. However, she refused to marry him because her sons would not be the crown princes with Devarat being the first born son. To make his father happy, Devarat made a terrible oath that he would not take the throne or marry/have children so there would not be an opponent for the claim of the throne. The terrible oath that Devarat swore is how Devarat became known as Bhishma. Bhishma came to mentor his half brothers Chitrangad and Vichitiraveerya. Not once did he try to take their throne. Bhishma went as far as kidnapping Amba, Ambika, and Ambalika to be the wives of Vichitiraveerya. Amba asked to leave for she had eyes for another and Bhishma apologized to her and let her go. However, when she went to King Shalva he rejected her and told her to go marry Bhishma. Bhishma also refused Amba because he wanted to keep his oath. Vichitir...

The Pandavas Depart  and The Afterlife  by  Donald A. Mackenzie Vyasa, a priest, came upon the Pandavas. He told them it was time for their departure. Yudhisthira divided the kingdom. The Pandavas and Draudapi got rid of their materialistic items to prepare for their departure. Then the Pandavas, Draudapi, and a hound departed. Draudapi was the first to fall. She fell because her heart was still with Arjuna. The next one to fall was Sahadeva. Then Nakula fell. Finally, Bhima fell and Yudhisthira and the hound were the only ones left standing. Bhima fell because of his cursing, gluttony, and pride. Yudhisthira was the one who explain why each of them fell. It was weird to me that Yudhisthira was calm through all this. It is like he did not care until he came to Mount Meru where he met Indra. It was then when he pleaded with Indra to allow everyone to go to heaven with him. When Yudhisthira said everyone, he meant everyone even the hound. Yudhisthira would not aban...

Arjuna and Indra  by  Donald A. Mackenzie Indra is Arjuna's father. Urvashi  was smitten with Arjuna, but Arjuna did not feel the same way. Therefore  Urvashi put a curse on saying " thou wilt   for a season live unregarded among women as a dancer and musician". However, Indra told Arjuna not to worry for it will work in his favor. Karna and Indra  by  Sister Nivedita Arjuna and Karna were destined to slay the other. Karna had celestial armor and earrings to protect him. These were tokens of invincibility. Indra appeared to Karna in the form of a brahmin so that he could remove these tokens of invincibility. However, Karna knew it was Indra. Karna struck a deal with Indra. Karna would give Indra his tokens of invincibility if Indra gives him an invincible dart. I like this story and may retell the story.  (Picture of Indra and Karna  Wiki ) Jayadratha and Draup adi  by  Donald A. Mackenzie Some men really like kidnapping...

In  Wife of the Five Pandavas  by Donald A. Mackenzie, Shiva granted Draupadi five husbands because in her previous life she was a pious woman named Nalayani who prayed to him for a husband. She prayed five times to Shiva about a husband so he gave her five husbands. Her five husbands were the five Pandava princes. This is so weird to me. It kind of reminds me of the show 'Sister Wives', but I guess it would be called 'Brother Husbands' for this story. As the story continues on, they made a pact that only one of them should be with  Draupadi at a time. However Arjuna broke this pact and he was sent to exile for twelve years. He goes on and finds different women. I feel like there are a lot of gaps in this story so I would retell this story by filling in these gaps. A recurring theme in the this part of the stories is the unique births. In the  Birth of Draupadi  by  Donald A. Mackenzie,   Drupada wanted children so he performed a sacrificial rit...

I was very surprised at the story of King Shantanu and Ganga  by  Donald A. Mackenzie . King Shantanu fell in love with Ganga. Ganga is actually the goddess of the Ganges River. King Shantanu did not know this because when they met Ganga was in her human form. She agreed to be his as long as King Shantanu did not speak harshly towards her. Whenever Ganga and King Shantanu had children she would drown them in the Ganges River. She did this seven times. By the eight time, King Shantanu had enough and went off on Ganga. She left him and revealed that she was the goddess of the Ganges River. I appreciated the fact that Ganga was a strong woman who knew when to leave, unlike Sita in Ramayana. Ganga agreed to stay with King Shantanu did not speak harshly towards her. However, I feel like Ganga abused this statement. When she drown their children in the Ganges River, Ganga should have told King Shantanu she did this so they could return to their celest...

In Sita Sings the Blues by Nina Paley the second part of the story focuses on Sita and Rama's return back to the kingdom. Sita is pregnant which should be a glorious thing, but there is rumor going around questioning Sita's purity again.Rama fearing he will not be respected for having Sita by his side, kicks her out to the jungle. Sita gives birth in the jungle. Years pass and Rama encounters two boys that are singing songs about him. Rama finds out that they are Sita's children. He welcomes the two boys into the kingdom to help him rule, but he makes Sita prove her purity again. If the Earth takes her back then she passes the test. The Earth swallows her up. Sita is gone. The end scene shows Rama crying. There was a scene in this movie where Sita is pregnant. It shows her pregnant with mini Ravana's babies and then with mini Rama's babies. This scene gave me an idea. If I were to retell the story I would make Rama's nightmare come true. Sita would be pregnan...

In  Sita Sings the Blues  by Nina Paley Ravana, the demon king, caught my attention. There are three authors in story. At times during the movie, they would discuss different versions of the story or expand on a character. It caught my attention when one of the authors mentioned that before Ravana kidnapped Sita he did not have a bad rep. Apparently some people thought he was a good king. He was also an educated man who knew all of his weapons and prayed to the right gods. Ravana was so devoted to Shiva that went his veen broke, some say that Ravana used his intestines to keep playing the song. Ravana kidnaps Sita because his sister, Surpanakha, asks her to. His sister explains that she is so beautiful that her eyes, skin, breasts, and hands were like lotuses. Ravana becomes convinced and schemes of a way to kidnap Sita. After Ravana kidnaps Sita he tries to convince Sita to love him instead of Rama. However, Sita remains loyal to Rama. When Rama finally rescues Sita, he...

In  Ramayana  by Public Domain Editions, I have noticed beautiful sentences throughout the story.  A sentence that caught my eye was, "the earth and the sea were immediately convulsed, and darkness covered the heavens; lightning flashed and thunder bellowed aloud; the mountains began to break in pieces ". In this sentence the use of personification brings the scene to life.  Also the details helps with the visualization of the scene. For example,  "then the King of Ocean vanished amidst the waves and the heavens brightened again". I can clearly see that image in my head. In the future I will try and incorporate the use of personification and details to bring my story to life. There is also a common motif in this story. It is deceit. In Rama Attacks Ravana uses his powers to trick Sita. Ravana told Sita that Rama was dead. A rakshasi even brought a bow and a head that looked like Rama's. However, Sita figured out that it was one of Ravana's tricks when Rava...

In  Ramayana  by Public Domain Editions, I am focusing my notes on the story of Sampati and Jatayu. Jatayu and Sampati are brothers who are birds. In the previous chapters of Ramayana, Jatayu made an appearance. When Jatayu sees Ravana kidnap Sita, Jatayu attempts to rescue her. However after Jatayu's noble battle with Ravana, Jatayu laid wounded in defeat. Jatayu soon passed away after Rama found him. He let Rama know what direction Ravana took Sita.  The two bird brothers lived in the Himalayas. They would compete with each other by racing. However, one day Jatayu flew too high and the sun caused him to pass out. Sampati used his wings to protect his brother from the scorching sun. However, Sampati's wings burned and he was unable to fly. Sampati landed in Mount Vindhya where a Saint Nishakara looked at him with pity and passed by. However,  Saint Nishakara  came out to talk to Sampati. Sampati asked for death, but  Saint Nishakara  said that him b...

I n  Ramayana  by Public Domain Editions, I am focusing on Bharata, one of the sons of King Dasharatha. Bharata was appointed as the new king. Rama was actually appointed first to be king by King Dasharatha and his counsel. However, due to a boon that King Dasharatha owed Kaikeyi,  Bharata's mother, Bharata became the Yuvarajah, the crown prince. Not only did  Kaikeyi take away, Rama's right to rule, but she  also wanted  King Dasharath to banish Rama for fourteen years in the jungle.  King Dasharatha  was reluctant, but he kept his word.  What interested me about Bharata was his nobleness. When  King Dasharatha died, Bharata wept. However,  Kaikeyi told him to stop because it was a sign of weakness. You can tell how much Bharata looks up to Rama, because when Shatrughna tried to slay Manthara, he stopped him because he knew Rama would not forgive him.   Bharata said he would have slain his mother otherwise. The grief from R...

In  Ramayana  by Public Domain Editions, I am focusing on the love story between Rama and Sita. Rama is the son of King Dasharatha. Rama also had the marks of Vishnu and is bound to be great. Sita is the daughter of a King Janaka. She is well known for being beautiful. One day, Rama and Sita were both in the garden. Before Rama even saw Sita's face, he heard the jingle of the bells of her feet and knew he would love her. When their eyes met, they fell in love. Rama even said that, "the queen of night is not so fair as Sita." Sita left and prayed to the goddess of Bhavani about Rama. K ing Janaka, Sita's father, decided to hold a competition. Whoever was able to string Shiva's bow would have Sita's hand in marriage. When Rama was able to have the opportunity  to string Shiva's bow, he snapped it with his strength. Therefore, Sita was his. Finally, Rama and Sita get married to each other.  (Picture of Rama Breaking the Bow of Shiva  PDE Ramayana ...