Epics of India Fall 2020

Bibliography:   Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913) The authors of the Mahabharata are Vyasa and Ganesha. Vyasa dictates everything to Ganesha who constantly writes.  Vyasa has an interesting birth as his mother, Satyavati, is coerced by Parashara to make Vyasa on the condition of her not losing her virginity and her fish-like smell is replaced with a sweet-smelling fragrance. Bhishma is the son of King Shantanu and the goddess Ganga. Who helps the 8 Vasus and in return they they give a portion of their power to her son who becomes really powerful. King Shantanu has a kid with Satyavati, a son named Vyasa. Shantanu wanted to marry Satyavati but to do that he had to renounce Bhisma's claim to the throne which he did not want to do.  Bhisma, originally known as Devavrata, went to Satyavati and renounced his claim to the throne earning the name Bhisma. Shantanu and Satyavati wed and have two sons but the first one dies early and the second is too young...

    Author's Note: This week I wanted to re-tell the battle between Rama and Ravana because of how epic the Sister Nivedita version made it seem. I decided to make all the characters lions because a battle this great had to be between equally as awesome animals, and to me almost nothing are cooler than lions.  Bibliography:  Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists: Ramayana by Sister Nivedita. 1914.      Both the lions leered at each other with unmasked hatred. Rama with his glorious golden mane shining in the sun. Ravana's dark mane seemed to absorb all the light around him, casting a terrifying aura around his gigantic body. Both Rama's and Ravana's pack surrounded them watching intently, seeing who would make the first move and who would be the victor and win the beautiful Sita.      Suddenly, Ravana let out a loud roar that echoed throughout the plain. Soon, his pack took up the call and it sounded like thunder itself was against Rama. How...

Rama and Ravana Bibliography:  Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists: Ramayana by Sister Nivedita. 1914. For this reading note I wanted to focus on the chapter that described Rama and Ravana's battle, the slaying of Ravana, and how Mandodari mourned for him. I liked this version of the battle more as there was more detail that set the fight up better. Here Ravana was described like a hydra, this painted a gruesome picture in my mind of the fight. I also think this version portrayed how powerful Ravana was better. No matter what Rama did, no matter what weapons he used nothing could defeat Ravana until the Bhrama weapon which ultimately led to the defeat of Ravana. After the defeat of Ravana, his wife Mandodari laments over his actions and how this all could have been avoided if only Sita was given back. This scene is quite powerful as it becomes obvious that Ravana was actually loved by his kin.

Rama, Sita, and Lakshmi Bibliography: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists: Ramayana by Sister Nivedita. 1914. Sister Nivedita's version of the Ramayana is much different than the public domain version of the Ramayana that we read last week. This version includes more detail and dialogue, but is also condensed as it only includes the necessary information and details. However, one thing that I liked about the PDE Ramayana were the small summaries at the beginning which would help give you an idea of what was going on. In this version there are no breaks between the stories and it all blends seamlessly. I found this version harder to read as the vernacular was a bit harder to understand than the PDE version but since I knew the gist of each story it was not too hard to understand. Overall, I really liked this version of the Ramayana everything flowed together really well. 

Indra and Vritra I will be doing my storybook about Indra and his various adventures and stories. I will mainly focus on how Indra became king of heaven, his fall from grace, and redemption story. So far, I have three stories I want to look at:  Indra and Vritra : Indra defeats Vritra, a demon who wrecks havoc, and is crowned king of heaven, but this does not last for long. Indra and the Ants :  After Indra defeated the demon he wanted a huge palace to commerate his great feat, so he told the architect of heaven to design him a great palace. But whatever design he came up with did not satisfy Indra. Bhrama saw this and decided that Indra needed to be punished so set a trial for Indra which would make him repent.   Indra and Shachi :  During this time, someone else had to rule Svarga with Indra gone so Nahusha took the throne, but none of the gods liked his rule and Shachi, Indra's wife, begged him to come back and defeat Nahusha, which Indra did and became the k...

 Comment Wall for Indra Lord of the Skies Indra Lord of the Skies Lord Indra on his mount Airavata

Rama on Indra's Chariot Bibiography:  Ramayana , Various Authors, Public Domain Edition As Rama attacks Ravana tries to deceive Sita by making illusions that show the death of Rama and Lakshama. A fierce battle occurs between the two armies with countless casualties on both sides.  Hanuman uses his leaping power to get to the Himalayas and takes the mountain top back to Lanka to heal all of the monkeys, bringing them back to life. Lakshmana defeats Indrajit, Ravana's son, This makes Ravana furious and he almost kills Sita in anger, but the rakshakas prevent this so he would not dishonor himself. Ravana almost slays Lakshmana but Hanuman uses the herbs to heal him.  As the gods watch the battle between the army Indra gives Rama his chariot and his personal chariot driver Matali. Rama receives advice from the sage Agastya, and performs rituals and curries the favor of the gods. He receives a weapon from Brahma and uses it to slay Ravana. To prove her love to Rama Sita under...

Sugriva and Rama Bibiography:  Ramayana , Various Authors, Public Domain Edition Rama and Lakshama meet Hanuman, who quickly sees how righteous Rama is and we learn that he will be one of Rama's most devoted followers. Rama learns of Sugriva who was also exiled from his kingdom by his brother, Vali.  Rama and Sugriva are very similar characters as they both got exiled from their respective kingdoms, due to betrayal from their family. Rama kills Vali, but does it in a dishonorable way by setting up an ambush. This is the most unrighteous act we see Rama do so far. Maybe setting up some character development? After the rainy season ends, Sugriva helps Rama find Sita by sending out monkey armies and locates her in Lanka. Hanuman travels to Lanka to find Sita, and searches the whole city until he finds her in a grove of Ashoka trees. At first, Sita thinks Hanuman is deceiving her but he shows her the ring Rama gave him.  Hanuman is captured by a rakshaka, and as punishment Ra...

  The Difference Between Praise and Feedback     This is the first article I read and it was very eye opening to me, as it said to focus more on "process praise" which is the effort that was put into the action, instead of "person praise" which praises just a characteristic of the person. The article goes on to say that the good feedback is encouraging, helpful, and specific. So, instead of just saying "good job", say "I liked how you incorporated X into your story, but I wish you could clear up Y about Z". This way the person receiving the feedback is not bogged down by the negative, but instead is motivated by the new ideas they have to better their work. How to Provide Great Feedback when You're Not in Charge     This article is very unique because it teaches us that there are three types of feedback: appreciation, advice, and evaluation. All three types of feedback are used in specific scenarios. Appreciation is used to motivate people, a...

Indra on his mount Airavata       I am still set on doing a storybook about Indra the of Svarga, or heaven. He is also the god of storms and lighting and is known for his feat of defeating Vritra, a demon who terrorized the world. After Indra defeated the demon he wanted a huge palace to commerate his great feat, so he told the architect of heaven to design him a great palace. But whatever design he came up with did not satisfy Indra. Bhrama saw this and decided that Indra needed to be punished so set a trial for Indra which would make him repent. During this time, someone else had to rule Svarga with Indra gone so Nahusha took the throne, but none of the gods liked his rule and Shachi, Indra's wife, begged him to come back and defeat Nahusha, which Indra did and became the king of Svarga again.     The three stories I have chosen are the ones above:     Indra and Vritra     Indra and the Ants     Indra and Shachi

Author's Note     I decided to put my own spin on the story of Rama and Sita . In the original story Rama visits Sita's kingdom where she is a princess, and the only person she can get married to is the one who is able to use the Bow of Shiva. Rama not only is able to use the bow, but snaps it in half with his insane amount of power. I put my own spin on it by putting these characters in a more modern setting. Bibliography Ramayana , Various Authors, Public Domain Edition Rama and Sita        "I'll never find the right one" Ram thought to himself. He always felt pressure from his father to find the right girl. Someone who would support him so that Ram could run his father's multi-million dollar company well. But to Ram it seemed like all they want him for is the money. However. this all changed when he thought he met the one: Sofia. To him she was perfect. Intelligent, driven, and her family also owned a big company so it was a match made in heaven. Still, ...

Kabandha Bibiography:  Ramayana , Various Authors, Public Domain Edition Bharata returns to the kingdom and learns that his father Dasharatha died, and of the deceit committed by his mother.  He vows to never take the throne and tries to bring Rama back.  This shows how moral Bharata is. After performing his father's funeral rites, Bharata finds Rama in the jungle and tries to convince him to come back. However, Rama's obedient nature forbids him from denouncing his father's word.  Rama gives Bharata gold sandals that represent Rama's authority and allow Bharata to govern, Rama and Lakshmana fight a demon who kidnapped Sita, but this demon cannot be pierced by sharp objects so they throw him into a pit. This was interesting to read as the demon and Rama were linked and when Rama defeated him the demon was allowed to to go to heaven.  Rama does battle with many Rakshakas. Here he shows his true power and decimates the demon army. Ravana, the king of Lanka and dem...

Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana in the Forest Bibiography: Ramayana , Various Authors, Public Domain Edition Dasharatha is a mighty king who has everything he wants, except a son. His kingdom is prosperous and he rules during the Solar Dynasty but this problem hounds him. Dasharatha performs a horse sacrifice to gain the favor of the gods, and it works as he is promised four sons and Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, and Indra attended the ceremony. At the same time as this problem for Dasharatha, the gods had their own problems with Ravana, a supernatural being who was wreaking havoc. Since no deity was able to beat him Vishnu reincarnated himself as a human, specifically Rama the son of Dasharatha. Rama and his brother Lakshmana help the rishi Vishvamitra defeat the two rakshasas.  This makes Dasharatha very sad as it is the beginning of his son's journey to manhood Rama defeats a rakshasa and receives celestial weapons that talk to him for this heroic act.  When the other rakshasas attack t...

Silence the Critical Voices in your Head     This article by Sabina Nawaz gives a real life example of how negative thoughts can impact someone who is performing at their highest level consistently well. The article stresses that even one negative thought, or critique, no matter how small can slow down your productively exponentially. However, there are ways to combat these thoughts and they all dwell on one main topic: the positive thoughts. Whenever a negative thought pops into your head you have to push past it to find the positive and use that as motivation. Seven Questions to Ask After Feedback     When you first receive feedback sometimes your first thought is to just disregard it; however, a lot of growth is missed when you do not take that feedback into account as it can elevate your work and perfect it. The article provides seven good questions you can ask yourself when you receive feedback and what to do with it. 1) What are the opportunities in the critici...

Indra     Indra has always interested me as he has always been a popular pop cultural reference and I have heard about him many times in Indian stories. One new thing I learned about Indra was that he is present in some Buddhist epics as Shaka. I would be interested to delve more into his background and see how his character changes over history. Gurus and Sages     In every Indian epic that I have read, even most Indian folklore that I have read, involve gurus/sages in one form or the other. I would like to look more into Parashurama and Vishvamitra, and learn how they have affected Indian epics and how they grew into that prominent role. Chiranjivi     Immortals have always intrigued me and I have never heard of the seven immortals before, besides Hanuman and the sages, so this is a very new and interesting topic to me to explore. Karma     I am a big believer in karma and I know of its prominence in many religions, especially Hinduism. In ...

    On this day a great many millennia ago the Bodhisattva lived as a monkey, but not as an ordinary money. No, here the Bodhisattva lived as the Great Monkey and was as a big as an ape that resided in the jungle. Because of this the Great Monkey had to feast on many fruits to satiate the hunger it always felt. However, one day the Bodhisattva realized that it had ate all the delicious fruits on its side of the Ganges and while she was looking for more nourishment the Bodhisattva spotted the abundant fruit trees on the opposite side of the Ganges, but there was just one problem: the Great Monkey did not know how to swim.      To get to the other side she needed help and decided to ask the male and female crocodiles who lived in the Ganges to help her get to the other side. When the pair of crocodiles heard her proposition the wife got greedy and very much wanted to eat the Great Monkey, so she told her husband to trick the Bodhisattva and bring her to the wife i...

     My favorite story was The Crocodile and the Monkey's Heart   , Marie L. Shedlock's translation. I always love reading a good underdog story and this is the epitome of an underdog. The monkey is first tricked by the crocodile since the crocodile offers the Bodhisattva, the monkey, a ride across the Ganges to the bank with more fruit. However, it was all a ploy so that the crocodile's wife could eat the monkey's heart. When the Bodhisattva realizes this he lies to the crocodile saying his heart is actually on a fig tree by the bank, tricking the crocodile to take him to the safety of a tree. With this the Bodhisattva is saved by using his cunning. One thing I would like to point out about this story is how static these characters are. Even though it is a short fable the only character development we see is in the monkey, but the lesson is still there: no matter how dire the situation looks there is always a way out.  The Jatakas from the MadrasCourier

    I have chosen to read the Public Domain Version of the Ramayana since it features many different illustrations from different artists which give me new perspectives on the stories themselves. The two comic books that caught my eye were Guide: Tales of Arjuna and Guide: Parashurama . Tales of Arjuna interested me as I have heard of Arjuna before and his character development interests me as well. Parashurama interested me as I have not heard of him before and reading the summary was very informative.     The two videos that I watched were: Hindu Creation Stories  and Robert Goldman Sings From the Ramayana . I love learning about origin stories and this one is one of my favorites as it is fascinating to see how each of the three main gods represent the circle of life. For example, Bhrama represents birth, Vishnu life, and Shiva death. The second video caught my eye as I have always wanted to hear the Ramayana in its original language and prose. Hearing the c...