Epics of India Fall 2020

Yudhisthira and His Dog Ascending        "Extra! Extra! Read all about it!" Everywhere you go in the bazaar the only thing you hear about is how Pandavas defeated Duryodhana and his army. For the Pandavas this might be the best thing that ever happened to them, but to the countless widows and mothers who lost their sons this is the darkest time in their lives. Everyone felt the repurcussions of the great war. Many inlfluential leaders were slain on both sides and the kingdom was in disarray.     Yudhisthira was in shambles. He had to find a way to get the economy back on track and appease the masses who lost their family. There were many long talks between the five Pandavas on how to go about the reconstruction. Arjuna and Bhima wanted to expand the kingdom and take resources from their neighbors, but Yudhisthira only wanted peace and could not afford to lose any more of his kin.      To fulfill his duties as king, Yudhisthira and his retinue...

   Bibliography:  "The Indian Story Book: The Five Tall Sons of Pandu"  by Richard Wilson, 1914 After their exile, Yudhisthira gets his own kingdom. Duryodhana becomes upset and wants to declare war, even though many of his advisors and the Pandavas want peace.  This starts the war and it continues as it did in the version of the Mahabharata we have read before.  The Kauravas lose their commanders in the same way and the war ends when Bhima slays Duryodhana.  The ending of this version is very different than the one we read a couple weeks ago as there is not a "happy" ending.  Instead of the families being able to see their loved ones and the Pandavas going to heaven they are just left to rebuild the broken kingdom.  Arjuna and Karna

 Bibliography: "The Indian Story Book: The Five Tall Sons of Pandu" by Richard Wilson, 1914 This version of the Mahabharata is very unique as it does not include any celestial beings or their problems. Instead, it focuses on the relationship between a feuding royal family. Most of the story is very simlar to the Mahabharata we read earlier, but this is much more condensed and some details are changed.  For example, even though Arjuna wins Draupadi's hand Kunti makes her Yudhisthira's wife and not all the Pandavas. The story continues with many of the same details. Yudhisthira is king for a while, but then loses everything in a single gambling match and they all go to exile.  Their exile finally ends thirteen years later when the Pandavas help retreive the cattle. I somewhat prefer this version of the Mahabharata because the characters are not aided by other omnipotent beings who can swoop in at anytime and save them. The Cattle Raid

    Bibliography: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913) Yudhisthira and the Dog Bhisma is slain in battle by Arjuna after a decisive battle and Drona takes command of Duryodhana's forces. Arjuna's son is slain by Jayadratha and Arjuna makes a vow to defeat him by the time the day is over. He goes through many foes and at the very last second right when the sun was setting he finds him and kills him, avening his son Abhimanyu. As the war rages on, the tide of battle turns towards the Pandavas favor and Duryodhana starts to flee and hides underwater until the Pandavas draw him out and the war is ended by his death.  For Yudhisthira to be crowned king a horse sacrifice must be made and Arjuna is tasked with bringing it back to Hastinpura. The army encounters many enemies, and at one point Arjuna is slain by a rival king.  He is brought back to life by a magic gem and proceeds to get the horse back to Hastinpura. Vyasa brings back all the people who died ...

     What Great Listeners Actually Do by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman      I love reading the comments that my classmates leave for me because it makes me feel appreciated that someone is actually reading my stories and investing in me. Feedback is appreciated as it helps me evolve as a writer since I am a novice. I enjoy giving feedback to my classmates since I can read their blogs and learn from what they right. This gives me the oppurtunity to througly read their stories and analyze the details so I can see where I can improve and also help them improve their stories. Writing feedback is hard for me because I do not want to be too critical, so I always try to add some compliments into my feedback. Usually I always ask questions about stuff that confuses me or stuff that be expanded on.      Also, I enjoy reading my classmates blogs because they are like a part of themselves that they put into words. It is interesting to see how they writ...

Pandavas and Draupadi Looking back at my work so far it is obvious that I have become more comfortable with the layout of the class and the work itself. At first, I was not too sure how to organize everything and how to structure my stories. However, now that I have accumulated knowledge about how to write my stories and use my creativity I am much more comfortable writing my blogs. So far my favorite reading has been the Mahabharata because I like the dynamic between the Pandavas and the characters like Krishna and Karna. I like the layout of my blog as the color scheme is how I want it to be since I have been tweaking it a little bit. I would like to upgrade my website a bit and make it more appealing to look at and I have been trying different color schemes that fit the theme. 

                                 Bibliography:  Indian Myth and Legend  by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913) While the Pandavas are in exile they meet many Bhramins and sages.  Throughout this Draupadi rebukes Yudhishthira for not protecting her, but his wise words make them thing twice.  One sage tells them to send Arjuna to the Himalayas so he can get the sacred weapons they need.  Arjuna meets Shiva while praying and Shiva gives him divine weapons.  Arjuna goes to Swarga with his father Indra and spends five years there learning how to wield celestial weapons and annihilates his father's enemies. The Pandavas have many adventures during their exile and meet many gurus and sages. At the end of their exile they fight against Duryodhana in a raid and beat him which makes him angrier.  Soon the Pandavas and Kauravas start assembling their armies and Arjuna gets ...

 For this story lab I decided to conduct more research for by storybook about Indra. I found a lot of new information, and pictures, that I think will be very useful when writing my storybook. This new information pertains Airvata his elephant mount and one of his most powerful weapons Vajra. Airvata :  Indra's mount is a white elephant named Airvata which means "elephant of the clouds". He is depicted to have ten tusks and five trunks, also he is a pure white color. The connection of elephants with water and rain is emphasized in the mythology of Indra, who rides the elephant Airaavatha when he defeats Vritra. This mighty elephant reaches down his trunk into the watery underworld, sucks up its water, and then sprays it into the clouds, which Indra then causes to rain forth cool water, thereby linking the waters of the sky with those of the underworld. Airvata Vajra :  This is Indra's most powerful weapon and also the one he used to defeat Vritra. It is a ritual...

Bibliography: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913) Vidura, the Pandavas uncle, helps them figure out Duryodhana's evil plot and they escape their death. However, Duryodhana thinks they actually died. The Pandavas hide in the wilderness and Bhima meets a femal rakshasa who loves him. He defeats her evil brother and they wed and have a son. Draupadi is the beautiful daughter of Drupada. The king has a swayamwara to find a husband for her. Duryodhana and his brothers are there as well as Karna.  Karna tries to win her but Draupadi is against marrying him since he is low-born so Arjuna wins her. All 5 Pandavas have to share Draupadi due to a previous declaration so Drupada and Krishna give them gifts. Yudhishthira receives his own kingdom to rule which he does well.  The Pandavas make a pact that when one of them is with Draupadi none of the others can enter. Arjuna breaks this and has to go into exile for 12 year. Arjuna meets Ulupi and they have a child, Iravat....