Reflections

I think I am most proud of my improvement in my writings.  Earlier in the semester, it took me longer to come up with stories and what to write about but later in the semester, I was able to write stories quicker and at the same time, the stories were generally better than the stories at the beginning of the semester.  So my most valuable take-away for this class would be my improvement of my writing.

Storytelling Week 14: The Journey to Heaven

Yudhishthira continued to walk along the pathway.  His brothers and wife had already perished along this path.  As he thought to himself, the sequence of events that had led to this appeared in his head.  The sequence of events had started when Yudhishthira had heard the Krishna had perished.  This had been shocking news to him and his brothers.  They had loved Krishna very much and when they had heard that Krishna had died had decided to also depart the mortal realm to ascend into heaven. 

So they began to walk on their journey to heaven.  First they traveled east to where they encountered Agni, the fire god, who had Arjuna cast his weapons into the sea.  With that single instance, he had severed all that had held him back in the mortal realm. 

They then turned northward to the Himalayas.  As they had crossed the Himalayas they came across a desert and while they were in the midst of crossing the desert Draupadi fell because of her partiality to Dhananjaya.

Journey to heaven (Source: Wikimedia)

As they continued, walking Sahadeva also fell.  With this the first of the pandavas had fallen.  As they had continued one by one the brothers fell.  The second brother to go was Nakula, who had been broken hearted with the death of his brother and Krishna. 

Then a little while later Arjuna also fell.  Bhima was saddened over these events and he mourned their deaths.  Finally, Bhima also fell and as he lay dying, he asked Yudhishthira why he had fallen.  Yudhishthira replied that he had not attended to others while eating. 

As Yudhishthira walked along Indra appeared before him telling him that if wanted to enter into heaven he must first cast aside the dog that was following him.  Yudhishthira refused to cast aside the dog because of how faithful the dog had been to him.  Then suddenly in the place of the dog, Dharma appeared and he blessed his son for his compassion and faithfulness.  Then Yudhishthira entered into heaven.

When he entered into heaven, he noticed that he could not find his family but had found Duryodhana in heaven.  So he had them bring him to his family but instead of being in heaven, they appeared in hell.  Yudhishthira was saddened in the suffering decided to stay with them instead of returning to heaven.  When he said this hell vanished and Indra told him that it had been a test and then Yudhishthira entered into heaven.

Author’s note:

This is based off the pandava’s journey to heaven from The Story of the Great War: Some Lessons from Mahabharata by Annie Besant.  I kept the text closely based on the original text.  I mainly just shortened and lengthened the story.  My main goal was to provide a third person view.  I wrote in a past tense almost memory based style for this story.

Bibliography:

The Story of the Great War: Some Lessons from the Mahabharata by Annie Besant(1899)

Reading Diary B: The Story of the Great War: Some Lessons from the Mahabharata by Annie Besant Week 14

I am reading The Story of the Great War: Some Lessons from the Mahabharata by Annie Besant.  One of my favorite stories in this section of reading was the story of Krishna dying.  It was touching how he knew that he was going to die, accepted, and was willing to die.  It was odd however, that Krishna did not do anything to stop the destruction of his people.  Given his power, he should have been able to stop it.  But instead of stopping it, he accepted it.  It was nice at the end when the hunter he did not blame the hunter and comforted him had shot him.  Another story that I liked from the reading was the story of the death of Draupadi and the Pandavas.  It was odd that the order of deaths was as it was.  It seemed that Arjuna was a better person than Bhīma but he died first.  Something that I liked in the story was the devotion that Yudhishthira had for his dog.  It was touching that he would not abandon his dog to enter into heaven.  I also like how Yudhishthira said that he had abandoned his family and Krishna but only after they had died because he could not revive them.  Then in the end it turned out the dog was his father Dharma.  After that happened and Yudhishthira had completed his test in heaven with the illusions, it was a happy ending to a story that at times had seemed to be depressing.

Pandava's Journey to heaven (Source: Wikimedia)

Reading Diary A: The Story of the Great War: Some Lessons from the Mahabharata by Annie Besant Week 14

I am reading The Story of the Great War: Some Lessons from the Mahabharata by Annie Besant.  My favorite story in this chapter is the story of Yudhishthira sinning.  I found it interesting that even when he sinned he told the truth.  Another part of the story that was interesting was that Krishna advised Yudhishthira to lie but in actuality, he was testing Yudhishthira’s love for the truth. In the end Yudhishthira decided to lie but at the same time he committed a crime far worse than just lying by telling the lie in his heart and out loud but at the end of it whispering “the elephant”.  It was sad to read that after he told the lie his chariot, which had previously been floating above the earth, had dropped back down to earth signifying his fall from grace.  It was a nice touch at the end of the chapter to include part of Yudhishthira’s future.   It talked about how at the end of his life he was once again tested by a god.  This time however Yudhishthira did the right thing.  He was told by a god to desert his faithful dog in order that he could enter heaven but instead of deserting the dog he decided that he would instead not enter heaven and stay with his dog who had remained faithful.  Then the god revealed it was a test and they both entered into heaven.  That was a touching end to his life.  He had earlier in his life made the wrong decision but in the end he made the right one.

Yudhishthira entering into heaven (Source: Wikimedia)

Storytelling Week 13: The Gaining of Krishna in the Pandava War

After the Pandavas had fulfilled their thirteen years of exile, they were faced with a looming question.  What would they do now?  Duryodhana was supposed to give back their kingdom, but would he do so?  Yudhishthira then asked his brothers, “What should we do?”

Bhima was the first to reply and said to Yudhishthira, “We should go to war to reclaim our honor and our kingdom. Duryodhana has wronged us and we should seek retribution.”

Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva agreed with this sentiment and said to Yudhishthira, “We agree with Bhima we should go to war with Duryodhana.”

Yudhishthira replied to his brothers and said, “It is not better to seek reconciliation with Duryodhana but I agree that we have been wronged.  Let us first seek the council of Krishna.”

Therefore, the kings and princes gathered in the hall of King Virata and Krishna spoke to them saying, “An ambassador should be sent to Duryodhana asking for half of the kingdom that should be returned.  If Duryodhana does not agree with this then the righteous ones will be the Pandavas and war may be waged.”  Then Krishna returned to his home in Dvaraka.

Sanjaya meets Dhritarashtra during peace negotiations (Source:wikimedia

So an Sanjaya was sent to Dhritarashtra with the message.  At the same time, however, messages were sent to the various surrounding kings asking for the help.  Arjuna wishing to gain the alliance of Krishna set out to Dvaraka.  When he arrived, he saw that Duryodhana had also just arrived and was there seeking an alliance with Krishna.  They went up to Krishna’s room where he was sleeping an Arjuna placed himself at the foot of his bed and prostrated himself while Duryodhana took a seat next to head of the bed.  When Krishna awoke, he saw Arjuna prostrated at the foot of his bed then he saw Duryodhana at the next to him.  Krishna then said, “Greetings, what is the reason for your urgent visit?”

Duryodhana replied, “I was the first to arrive and I seek your help in our impending war.’

Krishna then said, “Indeed you were the first to arrive but I saw Arjuna first so I must also help him.  One of you can have an army the other can have me but I will not fight.”

Arjuna who was younger was allowed to pick and because he loved Krishna, he picked him over the army.  Duryodhana was pleased with the arrangement and went home with the army and Krishna and Arjuna departed to their camp. 

Author’s Note:

This story is based off the story from The Story of the GreatWar: Some Lessons from the Mahabharata by Annie Besant.  This version of the story follows the basic outline of the original story.  I added in the conversation at the beginning and I increased the amount of dialogue in the story.  I chose to do it like this to make it feel like the reader was there which was the main goal for writing this story.

Bibliography:

The Story of the Great War: Some Lessons from the Mahabharata by Annie Besant (1899)

Reading Diary B: The Story of the Great War: Some Lessons from the Mahabharata by Annie Besant Week 13

I am reading The Story of the Great War: Some Lessons from the Mahabharata by Annie Besant.  One of my favorite stories from the reading was the story of the Pandava war.  One of the most interesting parts about the war for me was the politics right before the war started.  It was interesting how each party vied for support from different leaders.  One of the interesting ones was Krishna.  Krishna knew that Duryodhana was not a good person and that he had wronged the Pandavas but when Duryodhana asked him for help, he still gave him help.  I found that it was odd that he would support both sides.  It surely most have been odd for the soldiers that he sent to Duryodhana to be fighting one of their leaders.  Another of the interesting times that Duryodhana got support was when he tricked Shalya, King of the Madras.  Shalya was allied with pandavas but Shalya was tricked into thinking that Duryodhana was a servant of the son of Kunti and offered him anything he wanted.  It was also interesting that Krishna went to the Kurus to try and prevent the war from occurring even though he knew that it would still occur.  The wickedness of Duryodhana was displayed when Krishna went to visit Kurus and Duryodhana had pavilions set up to sway Krishna to join his side but Krishna had already made an agreement between both parties.  It did not work but the fact that Duryodhana tried to get Krishna to betray the Pandavas was an unsettling fact.

The Pandavas and Draupadi (Source: wikimedia)

Storytelling Week 12: King Shantanu and the Maiden

After King Mahabhisha had ascended to heaven there was a festival hosted there by the gods and King Mahabhisha was among the guests that attended the festival.  Now during the festival a great wind blew by and lifted the sari of the goddess Ganga.  All of the gods present turned their heads so that Ganga might not be embarrassed but King Mahabhisha did not turn his head.  When the gods and goddesses saw this, they were filled with anger.  Brahma then cursed him saying, “In time you will leave earth and be reborn as a human.  In addition, Ganga will also be born as a human where she shall inflict harm on you.  When she has done so my curse will lift.”

After a period of time passed, King Mahabhisha was reborn on earth as the son of King Pratipa.  His name was Shantanu.  Prior to Shantanu being born Ganga had appeared to King Pratipa and had him promise to marry his son to her and Ganga also left a warning for Shantanu.

When Shantanu had become a man, King Pratipa told him about the warning saying, “A celestial maiden will be your wife, but do not judge the propriety of what she does or who she is and she will be your wife forever.”

Later after King Pratipa had crowned Shantanu king, he was walking along the banks of the river Ganga when he saw a breathtaking maiden and fell in love with her.  He then asked her to marry him.  She agreed but with some stipulations.  He had to promise that he would not interfere with her actions nor could he ever address her unkindly.  The maiden said to him, “As long as you behave kindly, I promise to live with you but as soon as you treat me unkindly or interfere with me I will leave you.  King Shantanu agreed to the conditions and they were married. 

King Shantanu lived happily with the maiden and soon a child was born.  The maiden then took the child and threw it into the river killing it.  Then when the maiden had gotten pregnant again gave birth to the second child she threw it again into the river killing it.  The maiden continued to kill the babies up through the seventh child.  When the eighth child was about to throw it into the river King Shantanu stopped her and said to her, “Do not kill your own child, your sin is heavy, why do you keep killing your sons?”

Ganga leaving King Shantanu (Source: wikimedia)

King Shantanu who had forgotten his promise with his father and the maiden was then addressed by the maiden, “I will not kill this child, but I will now leave you because you have broken our agreement.  I am Ganga and I am here because of a curse placed upon you in your previous incarnation.  The children I was killing were the Vasus who were cursed to be born upon the earth and I was killing them so that they could return to heaven but the eighth Vasu was to remain on earth for a long time as part of the curse.  I will keep this child and raise him and will return him to you in his youth.”  Therefore, Ganga and their son descended into the river Ganga. 

Author’s Note:

This story follows the basic outline of the original story of King Shantanu and Ganga from The Story of the Great War: Some Lessons from the Mahabharata by Annie Besant. I retold it in my own words and tried to change it so that the language in the story was modern. I tried to place importance on the conversations and tried to give background information in the story on why the event occurred

Bibliography:
The Story of the Great War: Some Lessons from the Mahabharata by Annie Besant(1899)

Reading Diary B: The Story of the Great War: Some Lessons from the Mahabharata by Annie Besant Week 12

I am reading The Story of the Great War: Some Lessons fromthe Mahabharata by Annie Besant.  One of my favorite stories from the reading was the story of Ganga and Bhishma.  I found that the history behind the reason Ganga was on earth was interesting.  The fact that Ganga chose to marry Shantanu was interesting because he was the reason that she was reincarnated on earth.  Possibly the reason that she did this is because she seemed to be a kind goddess.  The reason for this believe is because she did not place the curse of Shantanu instead Brahma placed the curse on him.  Also another reason for this believe is that she was killing the children so that the Vasus could return to heaven.  In addition, in her explanation of why she did it she explained that gods did not like to be born on earth because it felt like a prison to them.  Something odd about the story is that the curse of the Vasus from the Rishi also affected Shantanu.  I think this because the eighth child was Vasu Dyau who was cursed to live on earth for a long time and when Shantanu finally breaks his promise with Ganga it is with the eighth child.  When he asks her to stop she tells him she will not kill the child but leaves him instead because he broke the agreement.  So in this story two different curses are affecting one another and it seems like Brahma new it was going to happen like that because of how he spoke the curse.

Ganga and Bhishma leaving Shantanu (Source: wikimedia)

Storytelling Week 11: The Yogi and his Wife

One day as Shiva meditated at Kailas a disciple came to him and told him of some heretical rishis in the Taragam forest.  The disciple told him that they believed that the universe was eternal and that performance of works alone was sufficient for salvation and that the souls had no lord.  Naturally, Shiva was intrigued about the rishis so he went to the Taragam forest to ascertain the truth.  Once there, he discovered ten thousand rishis who did indeed believe as his disciple said.  Wishing to convey the truth upon them, Shiva left the Taragam forest and went to heaven, where Vishnu currently resided.  He then spoke to Vishnu saying, “In the Taragam forest there resides ten thousands heretical rishis and their families, and come let us go and teach them the truth of the world.”

Vishnu then replied to Shiva saying, “I agree let us go and disguise ourselves as a wandering yogi and his wife.  We shall sow disorder in their ranks with our beauty.  They will then attempt to get rid of us but we shall then show our glory to them.”

So Shiva disguised himself as a yogi and Vishnu his wife and they went to the Taragam forest.  When they arrived at the hermitage news of their arrival spread like wildfire.  All the women began to struggle to get a look at Shiva and all the women became madly in love with him. Like with Shiva all of the rishi were madly in love with Vishnu.  When the whole camp had gathered and were declaring their love for Shiva and Vishnu, some of the rishi began to suspect that something was suspicious about the couple that had just arrived in their hermitage.  The rishi then gathered together and it was then decided to curse the couple and when the curse failed the rishi were surprised and began to cast even greater curses on them.  When these had all failed, they prepared a sacrificial fire and summoned a tiger to kill Shiva and Vishnu.  Shiva then simply picked up the tiger, skinned it with pinky finger, and wrapped the skin around himself.  Astonished the rishis summoned a serpent, which was even more powerful than the tiger but again Shiva simply picked the serpent up and wrapped it around his neck. 

Shiva Dancing (Source: wikimedia)

Finally, the rishis summoned the most powerful beast they could summon, which was a goblin with a club.  Shiva then pressed his foot on the back of the goblin, stood on its back, and began to dance.  As he was dancing the heavens opened up and the rishis saw the gods and the splendor of heaven.  The rishi quickly threw themselves at the feet of Shiva and Vishnu and began to worship them. 

Author’s Note:

This tale is similar to the original story of Shiva’s Dance from the book Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita.  The original story is shorter so I decided to expand on it and go into more details.  I added in the dialogue between Vishnu and Shiva and at the beginning of the story I added in the paragraph.  The original story does not say how he found out about them.  So I thought of one of the possible ways that it could have happened.  

Bibliography:

Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita, With illustrations by artists under direction of Abanindro Nath Tagore (1914)

Reading Diary B: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists and Cradle Tales of Hinduism by Sister Nivedita

I read Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists and Cradle Tales of Hinduism by Sister Nivedita.  One of my favorite stories of Shiva was the story of Shiva fishing.  I found it interesting that Shiva would curse Parvati to become a fisherman’s wife when she was his wife.  Then he thought later about it later, thought that he had been too hard on her, and decided to go down and marry her.  So instead of going down and declaring that she was his wife he sent a shark to harass the fishermen to the point were the head fisherman declared that the person to get rid shark would become the husband of Parvati.  Another story that I liked was the story of Shiva’s Dance.  It was interesting that Shiva asked Vishnu to go down with him to convert the heretical rishis.  In addition, to accomplish this goal of converting the rishi he asked Vishnu to pose as his wife and he was to be a wandering yogi.  They then used themselves to bring in uproar to the hermitage because of the longing of the rishis for Vishnu and the longing of the rishis’ wives for Shiva.  Then the rishi realizing all was not as it seemed tried to curse them but it did not work.  At this point, the rishi should have realized that they were in over their heads but it seemed they did not.  So after the failed curses and two failed summons they summoned a dwarf and Shiva proceeded to dance on it and then the heavens were revealed and the rishi submitted themselves.

Shiva and Parvati (Source: wikimedia)

Reading Diary B: Krishna’s story from Cradle Tales of Hinduism by Sister Nivedita.

For this week, I am reading Krishna’s story from Cradle Tales of Hinduism by Sister Nivedita.  One of my favorite stories from the reading is the story of Krishna returning to Mathura.  I found it interesting that if King Kansa was so worried about the prophecy why did he go and invite all the cowherds to a festival so that he could try to kill Krishna by wrestlers.  Also instead of out-right killing Krishna he instead tried to have him sneakily killed by one of the wrestlers.  Which I found odd because King Kansa was already known as an evil man and a tyrant so I do not think that the people of his kingdom would find it odd if he decided to just go and kill him.  Something else that I found interesting is that King Kansa challenged Krishna and Bolarama to wrestling because Krishna and Bolarama were skilled in wrestling.  In addition, the power of Krishna was well known so it might have been more beneficial if Krishna and Bolarama had been challenged in the ways of war that they had been able to learn because they were from the cowherds and not from the Vrishnas.  Finally, after King Kansa had realized that the crowd was supporting Krishna and Bolarama and the wrestlers were fleeing, it was odd that he tried to have all that Krishna held dear slain.  He knew that Krishna was going to defeat him so it was odd he made the situation worse instead of trying to change his ways and beg for mercy.

Krishna killing King Kansa (source: wikimedia)

Reading Diary A: Krishna's Story from Cradle Tales of Hinduism by Sister Nivedita

For this week, I am reading Krishna’s story from Cradle Tales of Hinduism by Sister Nivedita.  One of my favorite stories from the reading was the story of Krishna and the snake Kaliya.  One of the reasons that I liked the story was that this was one of the first times that Krishna openly showed his power to others.  In most of the previous encounters, no one was there to witness his power.  I found it interesting that Krishna even though he was a baby was able to comprehend what was going on around him and even defeat asaras.  Most likely if King Kansa had attacked Krishna in his early childhood he would have been defeated even then because Krishna seemed to have all the power of Vishnu at an early age.  In the story of Krishna and Kaliya it was interesting that even though Krishna possessed the body of a human he did not seem to be affected by the poison of the lake.  Also it was interesting that Krishna’s companions did not believe that Krishna was alive when he threw up his flute because it was his most prized possession.  But then Krishna appeared and stomped on the heads of Kaliya.  It was odd that Krishna who first attacked Kaliya would then spare the life of Kaliya and force him to go to the ocean.  After the battle, it was interesting to see that Yasoda looked and saw Krishna swallow the flames when she was told not to.  It will be interesting to see were that leads.

Krishna lifting a mountain (source: wikimedia)

Storytelling Week 9: The Beggar God

Sati entered into the grand palace of Daksha Raj on top of Mahadeva’s bull.  She hoped that her father would see the error of his ways and treat Siva kindly.  As she entered the palace, her mother, Daksha Rani, ran out to greet her.

“I was worried that you were not coming,” said Daksha Rani.

Sati’s sisters saw the exchange and were jealous because they had not been greeted as such, so they went and told their father, Daksha Raj, that Sati had arrived to attend the yagna. 

“Sati is at the yagna?  She should not have come.  I will see to it that she does not remain.  Bring her to me,” said Daksha Raj.

Therefore, Sati entered into the palace and came into the throne room.  As she walked towards Daksha Raj’s throne, the thousands of guests all beheld her with admiration at her exquisite dress and grace.  When she arrived at the throne of her father, he began to berate her and Siva. 

“Siva is just a beggar god, he does not deserve to attend a yagna like this,” said Daksha Raj.

After angrily insulting Shiva for a while, Daksha Raj finally ceased to talk then Sati said to him, “While Siva is a beggar; he only cares about the love of his children.  Because such have words have exited your mouth and because such insults towards Shiva do not belong in a human, you shall no longer have the head of a human but of an animal.”

Therefore, Daksha Raj’s head turned into a goat.  Then Sati as she held the audience hall spellbound left the chamber.  As she walked to the stable were Mahadeva’s bull was stabled she marveled to herself that someone so powerful and had so many gods supporting him could be so wicked. 

So, Sati left the city and returned to her home with Siva.  When Siva heard from Sati, what he had foresaw what would transpire at the palace he was filled with rage towards Daksha Raj.

So Siva went down the mountains to the city where Daksha Raj lived and finding Daksha Raj he killed him and began killing everyone else in the palace.  When his rage finally began to subside, he restored the residents of the palace back to life and granted boons to each of them but to Dahsha Raj he said, “I will restore your voice and head but in your time of greatest need nothing shall exit your mouth but the voice of a goat.”

The yagna (Source: wikimedia)

Author’s Note:

This follows along the same storyline of Sati from the book Nine Ideal Indian Women by Sunity Devee.  I wanted to tell a variation on the story were Sati does not actually decide to die.  So I had Sati return to her home and had Siva go on a rampage in the palace of Daksha Raj instead. 

Bibliography:
Nine Ideal Indian Women by Sunity Devee (1919)

Reading Diary B: Nine Ideal Women by Sunity Devee

I read Nine Ideal Indian Women by Sunity Devee this week.  The women that I read about today were Sati and Uttara.  One of my favorite stories is from the life of Sati.  It was the story of how she came to be with Siva and how she lived with Siva.  I found that it was interesting that Sita was discouraged from marrying Siva.  Even though Siva was a poor god he was still the god of creation and as such Daksha Raj should have been happy to have his daughter marry Siva but instead it vexed him that Sati chose to marry Siva.  Even Siva’s attire should have impressed Daksha Raj.  Cobras formed Siva’s crown, around his should was a tiger’s skin and he held in his hands the earth, sky and seas.  He also could see the past, present, and future.  After the wedding, Sati and Siva lived humbly but they loved each other so much.  They spent time with each other in a garden where nature sang praises about them.  Another story I liked was also from the story of Sati.  It was when she decided to go to her Daksha Raj’s yagua.  It is odd that even though she loved Siva so much she decided to go against his wishes and go to the yagua even though they had not been invited.  Then after she goes to the party, it is sad to read of how her father, Daksha Raj, treated her.  It was also sad when Sati cursed her father then she died.  Siva’s sorrow after that was understandable and it was odd that he could do nothing for her soul after she had died.

Shiva mourns Sati (Source: wikimedia)

Reading Diary A: Nine Ideal Indian Women by Sunity Devee

This week I am reading Nine Ideal Indian Women by Sunity Devee.  The women I read about today were Savitri and Damayanti.  Both of these women had amazing stories of devotion to their husbands.  One of my favorite stories of these two women is from Savitri.  It occurred after Savitri had married Satyaban and was when Satyaban died.  I found it interesting that Yom would go to such lengths to get Savitri to go away but it was not until after the last wish that Savitri got what she wanted.  She first wished for healing for her father in law then a son for her father then she wished for a son as well.  It is odd that Yom did not pay attention and understand the implications of granting the third wish.  But Savitri understood and used the wish to her advantage and told Yom that it would not be good for her to have a child as a widow.  So after that Yom realized what he had granted and gave Satyaban back to Savitri and promised that she would never be a widow.  Then the story ended with Satyaban’s father getting back his kingdom.  One story of Damayanti that I liked was the story of her finding her husband, Nal again.  It was amusing that to bring out Nal she decided to say that she was getting married again.  But she knew that by saying that she would be able to find Nal.  Then when she found Nal again, they remarried again, and then Nal went back, got his kingdom back from his brother, and then forgave his brother.

Damayanti and the messenger swan (Source: wikimedia)

Reading Plan

For week 9 I plan on reading Nine Ideal Indian Women by Sunity Devee. The reading unit I plan on reading is the epic women one.  And for weeks 10 and 11 I plan on reading the stories of Krishna and Shiva in the Cradle Tales of Hinduism by Sister Nivedita.  I plan on finishing for weeks 12 - 14 by reading The Story of the Great War: Some Lessons from the Mahabharata by Annie Besant.

Shiva (Source: DeviantArt)

Bibliography:

Title: Nine Ideal Indian Women
Author: Sunity Devee
Year: 1919

Title: Cradle Tales of Hinduism
Author: Sister Nivedita
Translator:
Year: 1907

Title: The Story of the Great War: Some Lessons from the Mahabharata

Author: Annie Besant
Year: 1899

Reflections: Looking Forward

For the second half of the semester plan on doing my homework earlier in the day so that I can spend more time thinking what I will write instead of quickly thinking and then writing.  I would also like to try to get ahead in my assignments so that I do not have to stress every night.  For my writing, I would like to try to make my writing easier to be drawn into so that the reader can experience the story better.  I am hoping that for my reading that I choose some complex stories because I enjoy challenges.  I hope that I interact more with the other students over the second half of the semester.  I also don’t plan to do growth mindsets or curations unless I want some bonus points.  I hope that this class continues to require me to invest time so that I can learn.

Inspirational Quote (Source: staticflickr)

                                                           

Reflections: Looking Back

Over the course of the semester, so far, I think I have defined the path I want my writing to take but one of my most interesting pieces was from the earlier weeks of the class.  It is Rama and the Cursed and it is told from the viewpoint and is told in a report style.  One of my most favorite readings so far has been the Mahabharata.  One of my favorite stories in there is how Arjuna got his celestial weapons during his exile.  The interactions in this class are unique.  While I do not have any relationship with other students, I recognize the names.  For this class, I do the homework with all of my other homework throughout the day with priority to whatever is due first.  This schedule has remained the same throughout the semester.  I do some of my homework on campus but most of my homework is completed at my apartment.  After the first couple of weeks, I have not done another growth mindset challenge.  I would say that this class has been a good opportunity to practice the growth mindset activities.  If I do the work, I get a good grade but I also have to revise the work, and continue to improve my writing every week.  Like with the growth mindset I did not do any curation after the first couple of weeks.  I am able to keep track of what I learn each week and find it easily because most information I usually download and save.  

Snail crawling (Source: staticflickr)

Storytelling Week 7: The Disciple of None

When word began to travel around that Drona had begun to train the Pandava and Kaurava princes in war other nobles and princes began to flock to Drona from neighboring kingdoms.  One of the princes that happened to flock to Drona from one of the other kingdoms called Nishadha was Ekalavya.  He was from non-Aryan birth and was of a lower race.  When Ekalavya finally arrived at Hastinapur he approached Drona and said to him, “Guru you are well versed in the arts of war please teach your humble student in the art of war.”

When Drona heard this, he was pleased with Ekalavya and said to him, “Boy what is your name?”

Ekalavya then replied saying, “I am Prince Ekalavya of Nishadha.”

When Drona heard this he was saddened because Nishadha was an enemy nation and Ekalavya was of a lower race than the Aryans.  Therefore, he could not teach Ekalavya the ways of war lest the secrets of warfare be revealed to him.  Then Drona said to him, “Boy I cannot teach you go back to your home.”

So Ekalavya left and went into the forest and made a clay statue of Drona that he revered as his teacher.  Ekalavya then began training in archery day and night hoping that one day Drona may look at him with pride.  However, one day a dog appeared and began to bark so Ekalavya turned and shot seven arrows in the mouth of the dog in an instant.  The dog ran away in pain to his masters who happened to be the princes.  When they saw the dog, they marveled at the skill of the archer and began to seek the archer.  When they finally found Ekalavya, they said to him, “Are you the one who shot the dog seven times in the mouth so that it can no longer close its mouth?”

Ekalavya replied, “I am a disciple of Drona like yourselves, my name is Ekalavya, prince of Nishadha.”

So the princes left and told Drona of what they had seen and heard.  Drona at hearing what Ekalavya had said was filled with anger and rushed to meet him.  When he arrived, Ekalavya prostrated himself and Drona asked Ekalavya, “is it true that you are my pupil?”

Ekalavya replied, “If it is the master’s will I am.”

So Drona replied, “A teacher’s fee is required to become my pupil.  If you have not the money a sacrifice must be made.”

Ekalavya quickly answered, “All that I have will be but yours if you ask for it.”

“Cut off your right thumb” said Drona.

Ekalavya without a look of sadness grabbed his knife, cut of his right thumb, and handed it to Drona. Then Drona said, “I do not train cripples and left Ekalavya.” 

When Drona had left, Ekalavya tried to fire his bow again but when finding he could not he began to weep.

Ekalavya cutting off his thumb (Source: wikipedia)

Author’s note: 

This week’s story was inspired by the story of Ekalavya.  This story follows along roughly the same story but I added depth to the story hoping to generate more understanding into why Drona did what he did.  I hope that as this story is read the reader will feel for Ekalavya but at the same time feel for Drona who most likely would have loved to be able to train Ekalavya.  

Bibliography:

"Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists" by Sister Nivedita (1914)

Reading Diary B: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita

I am reading Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita.  Within the text, I read the story of the Mahabharata.  A story that stood out to me in the text was the story of Amba.  I found it odd that she blamed Bhishma for her rejection by King Shalva.  However, when she was being awarded as a prize at the swayamvara she never told her father or Bhishma that she had promised herself to King Shalva.  Instead, she waits until right before the wedding and then Bhishma releases her to go marry King Shalva.  Also she probably could have gone back and married to the king Vichitravirya but instead she goes and lives in an ashram.  There she fuels her anger against Bhishma and vows to kill him.  Then after Shiva tells her that in her next life, she will kill Bhishma.  So then, she builds herself a funeral pyre, lights it and then throws herself on it killing herself.  It is curious that any of the gods would support her.  If Bhishma had not come and she was given to another king, she would have been angry with him.  Instead, most of the blame should have been placed on her.  After she died, she was reincarnated as Shikhandini who was a princess but was raised as a princess.  Then she makes a deal with a yaksha, turns into a man, and goes into battle as a male to kill Bhishma.  It was very troubling how deep a grudge could go.  If Bhishma had been an evil man and it had all been his fault, it would have been more reasonable.  However, as it was Amba was just shirking the responsibility for her actions.  

Bhishma refusing to fight Shikhandi (Source: wikipedia)

Reading Diary A: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita

I am reading Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita.  Within the text, I read the story of the Mahabharata.  One of my favorite stories in the reading was the story of Ekalavya.  I found that it was interesting that Drona rejected him.  Considering what had happened to Drona in the past, it seems like Drona would be more sympathetic with Ekalavya.  Instead, when Drona finds out that he had claimed to be his pupil he had Ekalavya pay a teacher’s fee and he cuts of his right thumb and loses his ability to shoot the bow.  This was all because he was a low cast prince of non-Aryan birth and it would be bad if he became better than the princes and learned all the secrets of military science.  Another story that I liked was the story of the princes attacking King Drupada at Drona’s bequest.  I found it amusing that after all the training that the Kaurava princes received, they still rushed in and did not have a good strategy, and as a result, the princes were routed.  However, when the Pandavas attack the use strategy and are able to easily defeat King Drupada.  In addition, after Arjuna had captured King Drupada the Kaurava princes were angry and wanted to sack the Panchala capital even though the Kauravas had first received the chance to capture him.  Another oddity about that was that King Drupada was able to wound both Duryodhana and Karna.  The reason this was odd was the fact that Duryodhana and Karna were almost as powerful as Bhima and Arjuna respectively.  

Ekalavya cutting off his thumb (Source: wikipedia)

Storytelling Week 6: The Regret of a Future King

Yudhistira wept over his fallen family members.  He and his brothers had committed fratricide on a grand scale because of the wickedness of a few individuals.  “What will I do now that the war is over, that our family has been nearly destroyed?  I wish that I had known that Karna was my brother.  I would have gone to him and had him become our king.  How shall I repent for this?” thought Yudhistira.

His brothers were with him and Yudhistira said to him “Our family, who had become our enemies, which we killed, has been granted the right to go to heaven.  However, it does not grant me peace.  Arjuna I will go out into the wilderness and seek renunciation.”

At these words Yudhistira’s brothers were frustrated and rightfully so they thought.  They had endured years of misfortune and they had steeled their resolve to kill their family members.  Now, Yudhistira wanted to shirk his duty and go into solitude.  Arjuna said to him, “We have sacrificed so much for this; we cannot turn back from the path before us.  To turn back now would make those that had died die a worthless death.” 

Then Bhima said to him, “If you speak so about what we have done, it would have been better not to have waged war against Duryodhana.  We should have let Dhritarashtra have his way with us instead.  If not for Dhritarahtra, Duryodhana and all our family would be at peace.  You have a duty to your family and all of your followers; your cast that you were born with cannot be changed.  You have to take up the crown and rule this nation. 

Then the younger brothers, Nakula and Sahadeva, spoke to Yudhistira saying, “We have stood by your side all these years and we went into battle for you knowing that we would be fighting our family.  Do not dishonor those that have died by running away.  Dhritarashtra is probably happy thinking that he was able to defeat you in the end.”

After all this Yudhistira was still did not think that he should be king and that he should go into the forest and seek renunciation.  Therefore, Krishna spoke to Yudhistira, “Disregard your own feelings on this matter.  You have wallowed around for long enough.  You cannot think about only yourself you have to act for all that have fought and died and you have to think about all the people that need to be led.”

So Yudhistira decided to become king and led the kingdom for years.

The five Pandava brothers and Draupadi (Source: wikipedia)

Author's Note:  I read The Mahabharata by R. K. Narayan.  For this week I decided to do a variation on the scene were Yudhistira does not want to become king anymore and is saddened by the loss of his family.  For my version I followed the original version for the most part and added in my own version of the conversation which I think got to the root of the problem.  I also added a little spin to the tail by making Duryodhana a good person.

Bibliography:

The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic by R. K. Narayn (1978)

Reading Diary B: The Mahabharata by R. K. Narayan

I am reading The Mahabharata by R. K. Narayan.  One of my favorite stories from this section of the reading was the story of the battle.  I found that the battle was interesting in that leaders of the two armies knew each other well.  Most of the issues could have been solved if the leaders had turned over Duryodhana and his cohorts.  Instead they remained loyal to him even though they knew what he was doing was wrong.  During the battle, it was interesting in how well some of the people fought against the Pandavas even though they were sons of gods.  One of the saddest moments was when Arjuna’s son, Abhimanyu went into battle knowing that he would probably die because he had not learned how to escape a formation on how to enter the formation.  Then he did die after being trapped and Arjuna is heart-broken and vows to kill the person responsible.  Another sad moment in the battle is when Bhishma is defeated.  Then he was left on a bed of arrows for days until he died.  If Bhishma had permitted it, he could have probably been saved.  Instead, he decided to die.  At the end of the battle, I found it interesting that Duryodhana remained obstinate until the end.  After the battle, it was odd that they did not remove Dhritarashtra from power.  It was due to his hypocrisy and his inability to keep control that the situation arose in the first place.  In addition, he tried to kill the Pandavas on more than one occasion.

Bhima and Duryodhana's battle (Source: .wikimedia)

Reading Diary A: The Mahabharata by R. K. Narayan

I am reading The Mahabharata by R. K. Narayan.  My one of my favorite stories in this section of the reading was the part of the story where The Pandavas are hiding in the kingdom of King Virata.  When Duryodhana hears that Kichaka was killed, he only hesitated for a moment then he decided to attack King Virata’s Kingdom.  I found that it was interesting that the kings allied with King Duryodhana were fine with King Duryodhana attacking another king.  It was amusing that Bhima was able to save King Virata and capture King Susharman, who had been the one who advised King Duryodhana to attack King Virata.  Another interesting part of this story is when Prince Uttara had Arjuna become his charioteer and Arjuna acted like he had no idea how to put on his armor.  Then after they leave, Prince Uttara became frightened and wanted to return so Arjuna had him become the charioteer and had Prince Uttara retrieve his weapons from the tree in the graveyard.  Then Arjuna reveals his identity to Prince Uttara.  After that, Arjuna and Prince Uttara go into battle.  When Arjuna meets the enemy, he fires arrows past Drona’s ears and at his feet.  I found that very interesting that Arjuna saluted his former mentor in such a manner.  Then Arjuna defeats Karna and put the rest of them to sleep.  I found it interesting that Arjuna did not kill them and be done with the whole affair because King Duryodhana was with them.  If he had done that, the war could have been avoided.

King  Virata at his court (Source: wikipedia)

Thoughts About Comments

I think that for a good comment it needs to be substantial.  It should include specific details about the readings.  For instance, talk about specific problems in the writing or what was good about the writing.  Also it should include what the reader liked about the theme.  After the good and bad parts of the writing have been addressed, the reader should then focus on how to fix the problems and make the writing better.  I do not always leave comments like this.  I usually leave comments saying what I liked about the story but not its problems and how to fix them.

Storytelling Week 5: Weapons of War

Arjuna receiving weapons from Shiva (Source: wikimedia)

Arjuna was aggravated; he had already spent seven years in the wilderness.  “When will we have a chance at exacting our revenge against Duryodhana?” he thought.

Fortunately for Arjuna, change was in the wind for him and he was about to receive and special knowledge and a mission by Yudhishthira. 

“Arjuna,” said Yudhishthira, “Come, walk with me.  I have an important matter to discuss with you.”

Therefore, Yudhishthira and Arjuna began to walk along the mountain stream that was near their camp and they came to the small waterfall that the brothers regularly used to meditate at.

“Arjuna, I know that you are angry about what has happened, but once again I tell you that it was the will of the gods and they shall allow us to have our revenge in due time.  However, for now I have a special task for you to undertake.  I will teach you a mantra that will allow you to get weapons from gods and you are to go and gather weapons will we are still in exile,” said Yudhishthira.

“I will do as you say,” said Arjuna.

So Yudhishthira taught Arjuna the mantra and Arjuna went and gathered his belongings and said goodbye. 

Arjuna journeyed deep into the Vindhya Mountains to meditate.  He then after meditating for a period spoke the mantra and once again began to meditate.  Then one day a hunter appeared before Arjuna. 

“Greetings,” said the hunter, “I am seeking a deer that has fled onto this mountain, have you seen it?”

“I have not seen it but you are welcome to eat and rest here,” said Arjuna.

Then the hunter transformed into Shiva who then gave to Arjuna the astra, pasupatha, and left.  Similar events then occurred with the gods Varuna, Yama, and Kubera and they all spoke of victory of the kauravas.  After these events occurred, Arjuna decided to travel to another mountain to meditate and while he was traveling on a mountain path, a chariot suddenly appeared before him.

“Get in,” said the driver, “and I will take you to Amaravathi.”

So Arjuna got into the chariot and rode to Indra’s city.  When he arrived, he was greeted with a great celebration, as he was Indra’s son.  Then after the parties had finished, Indra imparted his weapons and the secrets of them to Arjuna.

“Arjuna, I give you me weapons and the secrets of them.  Use them wisely and you will achieve victory in your coming battles.  But it is not enough to just know of battle so I will have you learn also of the arts of music and dance,” said Indra.

So Arjuna spent his time learning the arts and one night when he was meditating, Urvasi came into his room and offered herself to him because she had fallen in love with him.  But he could not break his ascetic vow and viewed her as one would view their mother.

“For ignoring me and my advances may you be treated as a eunuch by women,” said Urvasi.

After a period had passed and Arjuna was preparing to leave Indra said to him, “The curse is actually a blessing in disguise and it will be needed in the thirteenth year.”

So Arjuna left Amaravathi, returned to his brothers, and prepared for war.

Author's note:

The source material for this is The Mahabharata by R. K. Narayan.  This story is based of the original story of Arjuna going and receiving weapons from the gods.  I decided to stay close to the source material and focus on expanding on it.  I thought it would be interesting to learn more about Arjuna and the events surrounding his time acquiring the weapons.  

Bibliography:

The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic by R. K. Narayn (1978)

Reading Diary B: The Mahabharata by R. K. Narayan

I am reading the Mahabharata by R. K. Narayan.  One of my favorite stories in this section of the Mahabharata is the section with the dice games.  I found it interesting how Yudhishthira knew that gambling was dangerous and that he should not partake in it but he still did because Kshatriyas do not refuse a challenge.  Then Yudhishthira allowed himself to be caught up in the game and bet everything that he had.  Then after he lost what he had it was given it back by King Dhritarashtra after he granted two wishes to free Yudhishthira and his four brothers.  Then as Yudhishthira was returning to his home he is called back to play more dice and he accepts again.  Then as was expected he lost again and was forced to go into exile for twelve years and the go incognito for one year.  The fact that later he says he thought he could win the dice game and take Duryodhana’s kingdom is ludicrous especially considering the fact he was terrible at the game and the person he was playing was good at the game.  In addition, it is odd that he continued to bet in the second game after the first round.  He could have played a round with a minimal bet and when he lost, he could have retired and gone back to his home.  However, he instead continued to bet and lose.  I think there was a lesson to be learned from this about excesses, about knowing your limits, about gambling, and about being level headed.  

Yudhishthira gambling (Source: wikimedia)

Reading Diary A: The Mahabharata by R. K. Narayan

I am reading the Mahabharata by R. K. Narayan.  One of my favorite stories in this section of the Mahabharata is the story of Drona training the Pandavas, the Kauravas and his son.  I found that it was interesting that Drona spent time secretly training his son, Ashwatthaman, in additional methods of war that he did not teach the Pandavas or the Kauravas but Arjuna saw them training and secretly learned the techniques.  Karna when he was found out by the Brahmin who was training him that Karna was not a Brahmin was cursed but Arjuna was never discovered watching Drona and was not cursed as a result.  Later when Drona has his life saved(a test) by Arjuna when he is being attacked by a crocodile in a river and Drona then teaches Arjuna a secret weapon but no indication is given that he also taught his son.  Prior to this event Drona had set up an artificial bird as a target as a test and when Arjuna is the only one to pass he is praised.  It makes me wonder if Arjuna had to some degree become something like a son to him because Drona spent extra time training him and the Pandavas.  The story of Drona and Drupada was also interesting that Drona wanted get revenge on Drupada because he betrayed him in a time of need.  Drona, once Drupada was brought to him by his pupils, had Drupada’s kingdom split in half, gave half to Drupada, and said that they were still friends.  

Drona testing his pupils (Source: wikipedia)

Storytelling Week 4: The Voice of Queen Mandodari

Queen Mandodari hurriedly entered the royal court.  As she ran to appeal to Ravana to quit his fight against Rama, she thought back to the words that a servant had told her.  The servant had told her that one of the other servants had had a premonition that spoke of a monkey that set fire to the city, Ravana being humiliated, then Ravana being killed.  The first event had already occurred and she was worried that the other events would come to pass.  She saw Vibhishana and ran toward him.

“Vibhishana!”  Queen Mandodari yelled, “one of the servants told me of a premonition and it has been true so far.  If Ravana continues to desire Sita and starts a war it will mean his death.”

“We must convince him to not go to war,” said Vibhishana, “but do not mention the premonition, for if he hears of this he will discredit it as gossip of women and will desire to prove it false.”

Therefore, Vibhishana and Queen Mandodari entered the audience chamber of Ravana.  Queen Mandodari threw herself at the feet of Ravana and said to him, “Abandon your fight with Rama, and return Sita to him, for he will destroy us all.”

“Hahaha” said Ravana, “I will prove to you that Rama is just a puny human.  I will kill Rama and make Sita my queen.”

So Vibhishana then approached Ravana during the war council.  “Ravana, we should not go to war.  Rama is no ordinary human.  He broke the bow of Siva and he leads a mighty army to take back his wife that you stole from him.  Return his wife and let us end this matter.”

“No!  I will not return Sita, who should be my queen, I will never submit to this Rama.  Get out of my sight” said Ravana.

So Vibhishana left Ravana but before he departed Lanka, he visited Queen Mandodari.  “My Queen, I have been abandoned by Ravana.  I now depart to join Rama’s camp.  I pray that we can meet again when this war is over” spoke Vibhishana.

Queen Mandodari began to prepare for the arrival of Rama’s army.  “If Ravana wants to desire other women and bring about his own ruin I will have nothing to do with this,” said Queen Mandodari. 

When Rama’s army entered the city Vibhishana went to Queen Mandodari and said “Rama is going to spare Lanka and make me king over the land.  Will you be my queen?  Let us rekindle our love for each other that Ravana forced us to abandon all those years ago.”

Queen Mandodari mourning Ravana's death (Source: wikimedia)

Author’s Note

I got my inspiration for this story from The Divine Archer by F. J. Gould.  I decided that while I would follow the lore of the story for the most part I wanted to tell the story from Queen Mandodari’s point of view.  I decided to make her similar to Vibhishana.  While she was a raksha, I made her not needlessly violent and one of the voices of reason to Ravana.  I also wanted to make her a more approachable and a character that the readers’ could identify with.  Because Queen Mandodari would later marry Vibhishana, I thought that it would be interesting to have Vibhishana and Queen Mandodari love each other but had to abandon their love because Ravana desired Queen Mandodari to be his wife.  The reason it was at the end and not at the beginning of the story was that I thought that it would be more interesting for Queen Mandodari to play the role of a loving wife rather a queen with a lover.  I wanted to make them both loyal subjects to Ravana until Ravana’s folly of desiring Sita spelled their doom.  Which I hope was shown when they both try to make Ravana return Sita. 

Bibliography

The Divine Archer By F. J. Gould (1911)

Reading Diary B: The Divine Archer by F. J. Gould

I read The Divine Archer by F. J. Gould.  One of my favorite parts of the reading this week was the events leading up to the battle between Ravana and Rama.  This rendition of the story seemed to go more into the details of the events that occurred with Ravana.  I enjoyed seeing details about what was going on in his kingdom.  I found it interesting that several of the rakshasa were afraid of Rama and want Ravana to return Sita to Rama.  Queen Mandodari was interesting because I figured that she would be going along with Ravana but she instead tries talking to Ravana to persuade him to not go to war with Rama.  I think she had a few reasons for this was the size of army that Rama had gathered was said to be eighteen thousand billion.  Another reason was that she had heard of his exploits with the bow and knew that he was no ordinary man.  Something else that I found interesting in this version was that Vibhishana was an ally of Rama from the beginning.  In the Narayan’s version, he became an ally after he left Ravana’s kingdom.  When Rama arrived in Lanka, I found it interesting that he could see Ravana’s crown and Queen Mandodari’s earring from a great distance.  Then it was odd that he shot the crown and earring and took them instead of shooting Ravana.  If he had shot then he might have been able to end the war without having very many casualties. 

Hanuman's visit to Lanka (Source: wikimedia)

Reading Diary A: The Divine Archer By F. J. Gould

I read The Divine Archer by F. J. Gould.  One of my favorite stories in this reading was the story of Rama arriving in Videha.  I enjoyed how the story went into detail at what Rama and Lakshmana did in the city.  In comparison to Narayan’s version of the Ramayana, this version includes more about the events surrounding Rama’s wedding to Sita.  This version for instance includes the part about the hermit coming and wanting to kill whoever broke Siva’s bow but on seeing Rama string Vishnu’s bow by touching it, the hermit clasped his hands and said “Glory to the mighty Rama!”  In addition, it goes into detail at what happened when Siva’s bow broke talking about how the earth shook.  Then it talks about how heaven and earth both celebrated.  Another section that I liked was Sita and Rama married.  In Narayan’s version, it is just his wedding but in this version of the story, all four of the brother’s are married.  Also, the dowry that was given to them was massive.  I found it odd however, that Lakshmana was said to be married but later it said he was not.  When Raksha tries to woo Rama she is rejected by Rama, Rama tells her that he has a wife and that he does not like the food of Rakshas.  Then he tells her that Lakshmana does not have a wife.  The only things that I can think of is that Rama was lying, Lakshmana was fine with pologamy, or he was no longer married.  Nevertheless, whatever the reason it does not matter because he turned Raksha down and she transformed and he cut of her nose and ears. 

Rama breaking Siva's bow (Source: wikimedia)

Styles Brainstorm

Topic:

My storybook is going to be over Vishvamitra.  It will tell the story of his life.  It will start at his birth then it will go into the stories of his time in solitude.  Then it will go through the story in The Ramayana.  I will use The Ramayana by R. K. Narayan and it will include stories from the comic book Vishwamitra: The King who became an Ascetic.  I struggled to find stories of Vishvamitra because most of the articles were either not sourced or were an analysis of his life through science.

Bibliography:

1.  The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic, by R. K. Narayan (1972)

2.  Vishvamitra (Amar chitra katha Comics), by Anant Pai (January 1, 1980)

Possible Styles:

One style is that is a viable option is for the story to be told in first-person style and have it in present tense.  This would allow me to focus on Vishvamitra and his viewpoint.  Which would cause the viewpoints of other people to be neglected but would allow me to focus on Vishvamitra and his strengths and weaknesses and allow a bond to be developed between the reader and Vishvamitra.  This style would also be written in the style of a frametale to link the individual stories together.

Another style would be for me to write the story as an anthology and when writing it to use first-person, third-person, and third-person style to lead the reader in the direction I wish.  This would encompass giving limited information to the reader, to using emotion, etc.  By doing this I can give the reader different perspectives, which in turn cause the reader to see different characters and situations in new lights that, would otherwise have not occurred. 

Telling the story in third-person style and in a frametale style is a standard option but still allows the reader to experience the story.  I like this style because it gives the reader the most knowledge so that the reader can see what is coming but the same time the reader will have the suspense at not knowing what is going to happen.  I would use the omniscience to my advantage by focusing on the emotional aspect because the reader can see what is happening but cannot do anything about it. 

One style that I do not know if it would work would be to tell the story in third-person with a frametale style.  Within the story, though I would include a few sections of first-person style.  This would allow me to focus emotions and information that I then could then use later on.  I do not know if this would work in practice but I believe that it would effectively guide the reader in a direction that I wish.  

Vishvamatri being addressed as Maharishi by gods alarmed by him (Source: wikipedia)

Reading Diary B: The Ramayana by R. K. Narayan

I read The Ramayana by R. K. Narayan.  One story that stood out to me was the battle between Rama and Ravana.  It is odd that Ravana after being bested by Rama once did not try and submit to Rama instead he sends his generals and his family.  Then when they are all defeated he dresses in fine armor and goes out to battle.  But before the battle there are negative signs all around him that spell of his defeat.  Instead he does not believe that Rama, who he believed to be just a mortal, could defeat him in battle.  Rama’s skill shows in this battle because he is able fight against Ravana who was able to fire ten bows at once because of his twenty arms.  In addition, Ravana had other weapons like a trident and astras.  But Rama is able to counter all of the weapons.  One oddity is that Rama was unable to protect his chariot driver, Matali, and an arrow pierced him in his heart but because he was a god, he was able to be revived by Rama.  Another story I found interesting in this section was the story of Rama testing Sita.  I found it odd that he was so cold to her before she proved her purity.  Because he had to have known that Sita was pure but whether or not the world believed it should have not have mattered.  I was happy when Rama accepted Sita after she had proved her purity by stepping into the fire and Agni carried her out.  

Rama and Ravana fighting (Source: wikimedia)

Storytelling Week 3: The Imprisonment of Sita

As she sat in the garden, Asoka Vana, Sita contemplated on her state and mourned. 

“Why did I ask for the golden deer?” She pondered, “why was I not content with what I had.  If only I had not told Lakshmana to go and save Rama.”

A period of time passed and Ravana approached Sita and said to her, “surely Rama has abandoned you.  Would it not be better to come to me and become my queen?”

Sita replied, “I would rather spend an eternity of eternities away from Rama then to become your queen.”

Ravana was angered at her response and had his rakshasa women harass her daily until she would change her response.  But no matter how much she was abused by the women, yelled at by him, or cajoled by him, Sita would not change her response to him.  Therefore, Ravana sent spies out to find Rama so that he could battle Rama and remove Rama’s head. 

“For surely,” said Ravana “She will love me if Rama is obliterated by my hand.”

When the spies came back they reported of a massive monkey army led by Rama and that the army was searching for Sita. 

Ravana then declared, “Gather our armies and prepare for a war.”

A few weeks after this transpired Sita was being to lose hope and was contemplating suicide when her daily abuse from the rakshasa began.  Shortly after that, Ravana appeared and tried to convince her to become his queen.  She as usual spurned all of his advances. 

After Ravana had left and the rakshasa had finished their abuse, Sita said to herself “I shall end my life before I waste away here and lose all hope of rescue.  O Rama!  Have you forgotten me?”

As Sita was preparing for her suicide a Hanuman slowly appeared in front of her, he explained to Sita all that had been occurring, and that Rama had been preparing and searching for since the moment she disappeared.  When he had finished explaining he produced Rama’s ring and showed it to her.

Sita was overcome by emotion and said to Hanuman, “that surely is Rama’s ring.  I am the most blessed of women that he is still searching for me after all this time.”  Then she produced her last piece of jewelry that she had hidden away in a knot in her sari-end.  Sita then said, “I shall wait her for Rama to save me for I could not sully Rama’s honor by returning with you.  Please tell Rama that I breathlessly await his arrival and rescue.”

Hanuman meeting Sita (Source: wikipedia)

Author's Note:

This story is based off of events in The Ramayana by R. K. Narayan.  I took the story of Sita's capture and retold it from a viewpoint that focused more on her and the events occurring in her area.  My goal was to focus on Sita plight and draw emotion from it.  

Bibliography:

          "The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic" by R.K. Narayan, 1973.