Indian Epics

Duryodhana plans to take Krishna captive but this backfires because Krishna transforms into his divine form. Karna tells Kunit that he will only attack Arjuna A battle takes place. Krishna shows Arjuna a sermon called the Song of the Lord to prepare him for battle. Arjuna fatally wounds Bhishma and Karna takes his place. Arjuna's son is killed in the battle.  Drona is killed. Duryodhana is killed by Bhima and Krishna says its Karma. Yudhishthira becomes king.  Everyone dies and Arjuna's grandson is king continuing the Pandavas legacy. Image source : Bhima and Duryodhana Bibliography:   The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic , R.K. Naraya

Duryodhana makes a plan to humiliate the Pandavas. The plan fails as he is captured by the gandharvas and the Pandavas have to save him. The Pandavas come across a lake and they drink from it and they die because they refuse to answer questions. Yudhishthira answers the test from his father Yama and his brothers are resurrected. They are awarded unrecognizability during their 13th year exile. They spend this 13th year in King Virata's court. Draupadi is raped by the queens brother. Bhima squeezes him to death.  Duryodhana gets suspicious when he hears what happens. His ally Susharman proposes a cattle raid. Prince Uttara learns about it and the Pandava's reveal their identity to him.  Uttara (king Vitra's daughter) and Abhimanyu (Arjunas son) are married. They start preparing for war with Duryodhana. Image source : Bhima and Kichaka Bibliography:   The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic , R.K. Narayan

I chose to watch the crash course videos on Mythology because I thought it would give me more insight into myths and how they are created. One of the things I learned is that myths and religion are often confused. I also learned that although we view the word myth as something that is false, that doesn't mean it is. Myths are significant and have staying power. This is because of the deeper meaning and significance to them. I thought it was really interesting to see how some people use myths as primitive science to explain the creation of the world. There are so many different views and theories about myths and this series helped me understand more about it. I also learned about new stories that I had never heard before. Myth vs. Fact Bibliography:    Overview of Mythology

This part starts with the Pandavas at Indraprashta. Arjuna goes into exile for intruding on the marriage to Draupadi. Yudhishthira is crowned as a king at Indraprastha. The pandavas play a trick using optical illusions on  Duryodhana who is out to get them. He seeks revenge and goes to play a game of dice with them.  Yudhishthira gamblers away his brothers , himself, and Draupadi. Duryodhana Orders her to undress but Krishna replaces her safari with another. Arjuna returns after exile. Bibliography:   The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic , R.K. Narayan

Narayan's Mahabarata is a lot more complex than the Ramayana he wrote. I think this is because there are so many more stories going on in it that it's hard to keep track of all of the characters.  -Shantanu King of Hastinapura, marries a woman who is actually Ganga and she drowns her children to return them to heaven as Gods. He then marries another women, Satyavati. Bishma becomes king after his death. Ambika and Ambalika are supposed to sleep with Vyasa and the are repelled by him. Ambika makes her servant insteadm and her servant likes him Draupai marries the Pandavas, 5 men: I thought this was an interesting story as in this time it was usually then men who had multiple wives. ( Dhritarashtra and Duryodhana ) Bibliography:   The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic , R.K. Narayan

Sita waited by the window every night, looking out at the stars above. She wondered how long it would take Rama to get there. She knew he was coming for her and she just had to be patient. Every night she would get down on her knees and cry and pray to her husband. She was loyal to him and only him. If she could not be reunited with him she prayed that she would die. Life was not worth living without him. Ravana watched Sita from the other room, anger rising up at the sight of her yet again weeping for Rama. What did she see in that blue guy anyways? There was nothing special about him! He was always going on about ethics and doing the right thing. Didn't it get boring? Besides, Rama would never love Sita the way he could. If only she gave him a chance. Angrily, he stormed into her room. "Why are you praying to that man again? Is he a God? Can't you see that he's not coming for you? Even if he was, he's not going to take you back! He cares more about what his p...

Today I finished watching the film Sita Sings the Blues. I liked how the commentators discussed whether or not Rama was in the right for banishing Sita. I also thought it was unfair that even when she passed the test he still sent her away. He should have been more forgiving because she was taken against her will. I like the creativity in showing their relationship in parallel to the couple in present time. We can see how their relationship, like any other, wasn't perfect. Everyone has faults and we could see both Sita's and Rama's. Sita was sometimes too devoted to Rama to the point where she was suffering for him while he didn't seem to care. Rama was too blinded by his responsibilities as King to take his wife back. Rama Banishes Sita  Bibliography: Bibliography: Sita Sings the Blues by Nina Paley. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzTg7YXuy34&t=2171s

Sita Sings the Blues Poster For this week I decided to watch the film Sita Sings the Blues.  I really enjoyed this version of the story because of the colorful animations and representation of the story. When reading the Ramayana I got the idea that everything was very vibrant and extravagant and this retelling was what I imagined the stories to look like. I really liked the humor in the story and felt like it made it more interesting to watch. It was also easier to understand so parts where I was confused in the book were made more clear. I think by watching this film I have a more creative perspective on the book going into making my story. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to know more about the Ramayana because its a fun and easy way to get the general idea of it. Bibliography: Sita Sings the Blues by Nina Paley. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzTg7YXuy34&t=2171s

Life of Mandodari

This part begins with Hanuman on his journey to find Sita. He mistakes Ravana's wife Mandodari to be Sita because of her great beauty. Hanuman is captured and taken to Ravana. In an attempt to kill him Ravana sets his tail on fire but this burns Lanka to the ground. It's rebuilt by Maya. Ravana refuses to release Sita Rama builds a bridge to cross the street A huge battle takes place Ravana is warned against it as he is not protected against humans. Ravana and Rama fight and finally Rama is able to kill him with a special arrow - Brahma-astra. Sita jumps in the fire to prove her purity. Shiva sends Dasharatha to earth to grant Rama a wish and he asks that he forgive Kaikeyi and Bharata Finally Rama is able to return to Ayodhya after his exile and he becomes King. Sita's test by fire Bibliography: Vālmīki, & Narayan, R. K. (1972).  The Ramayana; a shortened modern prose version of the Indian epic by R.K. Narayan. Suggested by the Tamil version of Kamban...

This section begins with Sita being captured by Ravana who is disguised as a hermit. He takes her to Lanka. When looking for her Rama and Lakshmana meet Hanuman in the monkey kingdom Kiskinda.  They go to help defeat Valli who put his brother Sugriva in exile and took his wife. Sugriva gives Rama Sita's jewelry and agrees to help him. Rama helps defeat his brother and get his wife back. Sugriva puts together an army to help Rama. Hanuman goes looking for Sita. He is trapped in a deserted underground kingdom in the process. He meets Jatayu's brother Sampathi who tells him that Ravana took Sita to Lanka. Hanuman grows so that he may cross the ocean with one footstep. Hanuman Meets Rama. Source: Wiki Bibliography: Vālmīki, & Narayan, R. K. (1972).  The Ramayana; a shortened modern prose version of the Indian epic by R.K. Narayan. Suggested by the Tamil version of Kamban . New York: Viking Press

When doing more research on Lanka and Ravana's family, one character that caught my eye was Ravana's wife, Mandodari. She was said to be very beautiful and extremely loyal to her husband despite his flaws. She didn't give up on him and always tried to help him be a better person. I felt like she would be an interesting character to focus on given her strength and all the circumstances she had to endure.  Story 1: This will be an introduction to Mandodari and her background story. This will also be the story where she meets Ravana and is married to him. Story 2: This will talk about her marriage to Ravana and how she dealt with his faults. This is the part of the story where Ravana falls in love with Sita and abducts her. I would like to go into more detail on Mandodari's thoughts during the whole thing. It will probably go up until the death of her husband. Story 3: This will be her life post Ravana's death. Many sources online didn't go very in depth...

One of the articles I read was How to Give Feedback Without Sounding Like a Jerk. Something I always struggle with is giving someone constructive criticism without offending them. Because of this I end up sugar coating things and not giving useful feedback. An important step is to explain to the receiver you're reasons for feedback. Make it clear that it is for their benefit. You should also make the person feel as if you're equals and both have something to learn. It's better to be transparent and direct rather to risk someone misunderstanding or feeling manipulated. The other article I read spoke of the problems with giving praise and how to properly give praise. The author used American Idol as an example of this. Contestants always awaited Simon's vote, considering it to carry the most weight. Despite his harsh criticism, his thoughts were the ones that mattered the most. We must focus on praising an effort not the person. If we use vague terms like "amazing...

Mithala was a lively and cheerful city. People crowded the streets, dancing and singing.  Everyone seemed to be enjoying their lives without a care. The buildings were covered in gold and the streets in jewels. Everything seemed to glitter as the light reflected off of it. That's why Sita loved this city. It always felt like there was something to celebrate. This morning she was up in her balcony playing cards with her friends as she looked upon the people of her father's kingdom. She was proud to be the princess of a place like this, but she wondered if she would ever stop feeling so alone. As she looked out over the balcony, something caught her eye. Two young, handsome men were walking through the streets. Sita was sure she has never seen them before. At that moment, one of the boys looked up at her and his eyes met her. Sita had never believed in love at first sight but as soon as she made eye contact with that boy, the breath was knocked out of her lungs. She felt like...