Indian Epics Blog

 These reading notes are over Part B of Narayan's Mahabharata , which is written by R.K. Narayan.  Plot Notes: Part A contextualized the various characters and the began rivalry between Duryodhana and the Pandavas. Part B progressed the plot significantly and highlighted specific weaknesses with characters, especially with Yudhishtra. Yudhishtra's addiction to gambling and his willingness to lose everything in both games highlighted how clever and manipulative Duryodhana truly was. Many details established in Part A come full circle in Part B, and smaller side plots hold great significance in justifying character motivations or general world-building. One of the major examples of this was Drona's rivalry with Drupada. While the Pandavas assisted in attacking Drupada's kingdom, they are now allies through their marriage with Draupadi. As a result, Duryodhana used these details to advocate to attack the Pandavas and preserve their own kingdom. I had forgotten about these ...

These reading notes are over Part A of Narayan's Mahabharata , which is written by R.K. Narayan.  Plot Notes: I found it interesting how the author of the Mahabharata, Vyasa, is also a character that plays an important role in the narrative. Vyasa explains why Draupadi must marry all of the Pandavas, and he helps guide the Pandavas to refuge. Vyasa is the great-grandfather of these characters, and the Introduction that explains the writing process was also interesting. I've learned that the Mahabharata was primarily a spoken narrative, and the syllables in which the story is spoken can convey different meanings. As a result, certain parts of the epic can have layers of meaning depending on how its spoken, which is just fascinating. It also makes me curious on how difficult it was to accurately translate the story and what details are missing out due to the limitations of translation. The important plot point of spies and secret codes can give us, the readers, insight on how imp...

 I began my Wikipedia trail on F.J. Gould , since he was the author of The Divine Archer . I wanted to learn more about him, and his Wikipedia page indicated he was extensively involved in secularism and humanism. He worked to influence society and focus on rational, secular thought through a variety of institutions. Eventually, he became the Secretary to the International Moral Education Congress , which became my second Wikipedia page. This academic conference was held in Europe from 1908 till 1934 and aimed to create a moral education across many countries. It was a diverse representation of people that were all interested in cultivating a better moral education. I noticed the president of this conference was John Stuart Mackenzie , which led me to my third Wikipedia page. John Stuart Mackenzie was a British philosopher. He studied at Glasgow, Cambridge, and Berlin, and his work was focused on the political economy. He was considered an idealist philosopher and a Hegelian. After...

  King Janak was in possession of Lord Shiva’s bow and demanded that any suitor for his daughter must bend the powerful bow. While many men tried, none could wield the might weapon, until Rama attempted to do so. As Rama ascended the platform, his brother Lakshman prayed, not for his brother’s strength but for the stability of the world. Lakshman asked to hold the earth firm, as his Rama’s strength may snap the bow. As Rama held the weapon, the bow began to glow. When he bent the bow, it was as if the sky was bending too, until it finally cracked. As the bow shattered, the world shook as the sound echoed across the Earth. Elephants trumpeted in fear, and kings grabbed their weapons. Even the gods covered their ears.   Relief in the Hazare Rama Temple showing Rama breaking the bow. Source: Wikimedia   After the boom, the room went silent as a figure approached Rama. A mighty sage, the size of a bull, had appeared with an axe in one hand and a mighty b...

 These reading notes are over Part B of The Divine Archer which is written by F.J. Gould. Plot Notes:  An important detail I noticed in Gould's story was how we, the readers, meet Vibishan relatively early within the story. During Hanuman's first visit to Lanka, he found Vibishan by seeing the name Rama on a building. Vibishan is clear that he's not supportive of Ravana or Lanka, and he wishes to serve Rama and Ayodhya. These details foreshadow how important Vibishan will be in the impending battle, as he leaves Ravana to support Rama within the epic battle. Vibishan plays an essential role, and the foreshadowing was really interesting. I never realized how Hanuman was able to set Lanka on fire until I read Gould's book. It highlights how creative and clever Hanuman is and how brutish and ignorant Ravana can be. By manipulating his size and tricking the soldiers, Hanuman was able to set Lanka on fire and begin the prophecy that will eventually lead to Ravana's demis...

These reading notes are over Part A of The Divine Archer which is written by F.J. Gould. Plot Notes: It was definitely helpful to review over the Ramayana and read a different re-telling of the story. It's interesting to see what details are emphasized depending on the way the author narrates the story. For example, Gould chose to include the detail of the angry hermit after Rama broke Shiva's bow. It gives us, the readers, insight on how prominent Rama's actions were as well as how peaceful and noble Rama was as a character. He was able to calm the angry hermit and eventually the man said, "Glory to the mighty Rama!" I also noticed how this re-telling of the Ramayana avoided telling Ravana's background and role. The experience of Rama and Sita is the major plot of the Ramayana, but I believe Ravana's background and experiences help build the narrative world and allow us to better imagine all the different environments. The way Gould describes the marriage...

 Storybook Theme: The main focus of my storybook is to apply Advatia Vedanta ontology in explaining Maya's role in various Indian stories. This storybook should re-tell the stories in a way that explains the diverse ideas around Maya. Rather than restricting the concept to 1 or 2 ideas, such as Maya being an illusion or magical powers, I want to show the various interpretations of Maya and how it connects back with the philosophical approach to reality. Storytelling Styles: I want to retain the original narrative style of these stories, but I want to take the creative liberty to allow for more insight and explanation of Maya. Rather than leaving it up to the reader, I want the characters within the story to employ Advatia Vedanta philosophical ideals to explain the narrative role of Maya and its broader philosophical implications. This would mean keeping the original characters and environment, but I would add more dialogue between the characters in order to explain the ideas of Ma...

  Hello everyone! Welcome to my Comment Wall for my Storybook: The Magic of Maya .   Maya is oftentimes associated with sleep. A wise sage saw Vishnu's Maya as an infant asleep on a fig leaf. Source: Wikipedia  

 The danger of a single story: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's TED talk provided greater insight on the meaningfulness of storytelling. Her speech highlights how one story can dominate our understanding of people and places, although both are very complex and nuanced. It's crazy how limited the conventional American perspective is when discussing Africa. The diversity across African countries is often completely ignored in American discourse, and the poverty and violence are the main focuses of stories told about Africa. It's also interesting how the speaker focused on a classist lens too by recognizing the single story she was told of Fide. Oftentimes, poverty can become the dominating source of identity for lower-class individuals, and it ignores the redeemable and important qualities of these people. Chimamanda was not afraid to critique her own perspective, as she was in the position of power by basing her understanding of Fide's family on one story of their poverty. I a...

 For this week's reading notes, I went to the Wikipedia page on Sita to learn more about the character and refresh myself on the Ramayana. The article mentioned Sita choosing Rama from the crowd of suitors and their exile into the Dandaka forest. I wanted to learn more about this forest, and it led me to my second Wikipedia page on Dandakaranya . This is a historical region in the central-east part of India, and it spans across a variety of states. This area is considered a sacred land for Hindus, and exiled people had to cross it in order to reach the Vindhya Mountains. I was curious on what the Vindhya mountains were as well as their significance, which led me to third Wikipedia page on the Vindhya Range . This article described it as a complex chain of mountains in west-central India, and they play a significant role in Indian mythology. The mountains were described as dangerous and inaccessible, and there were a variety of stories about the mountain. One story that caught my e...

 These reading notes are over Part D of Tiny Tales of Ramayana which is written by Laura Gibbs. One of the interesting things I noticed when reading Part D and reviewing over Part C was that the battles in the Ramayana come in waves, rather than one complete battle. In Part C, the initial battles begin and both Rama and Lakshmana were struck and paralyzed by serpent-arrows, but they survived through Garuda's intervention. Throughout Part D, the battles are close and threaten Rama's life, such as Indrajit's Brahmastra. I appreciate the plot moving past the major battle and analyzing the consequences of the war. It's interesting to see how the rumors affected Rama and caused him to make a mistake in exiling Sita. This post-war narrative adds a lot for world-building, and it avoids the cliche of a "happily ever after."  The Ramayana had a very interesting parallel between Rama and Sita's experience with faithfulness. Sita was initially questioned of her comm...

 These reading notes are over Part C of Tiny Tales of Ramayana which is written by Laura Gibbs.  Plot Notes: Part C connected previous a range of previous storylines and “loose ends” to the larger battle between Rama and Ravana. Hanuman’s backstory was solved as he learned of his true powers and Jatayu’s sacrifice was contextualized through his brother, Sampati. Hanuman’s adventure across the ocean produced a smaller narrative within the larger goal of reaching to Lanka. His journey reminded me of Odysseus, with various temptations and monsters threatening him. Part C was dominated by Hanuman’s journey, and it’d be interesting to re-tell one of Hanuman’s many stories and experiences in his travels of reaching Lanka. As previously noted, shapeshifting continued to play a role within the larger narrative. For example, Benjakai shapeshifted as Sita’s corpse to trick Rama, but her plan failed. When Hanuman warned Ravana, it was typical of Ravana to respond with violence by ...

 I began with the Wikipedia page on Hanuman since I previously read through it for this week's storytelling. It was an interesting read, and one part that caught my attention was how there was limited archaelogical evidence of the worship of Hanuman. Even though the deity played a prominent role in the Ramayna, movements dedicated to the god emerged about 1,000 years later. One of the first movements that worshipped him with significance was the Bhakti movement , and it lead me to the second Wikipedia page. This movement was influential in the social reform for Hinduism and was the catalyst for Sikhism. I was reading through the history of the Bhakti movement, and American Indologist Wendy Doniger suggested that this movement was significantly influenced by Islam, especially with the idea of surrendering to god. I was curious to learn more about Wendy Doniger , and this led me to the third Wikipedia page. Dr. Doniger was born in New York City and attended both Radcliffe College an...

 The first article I read was titled "The Difference Between Praise and Feedback" which described the importance of avoiding generic praises. Instead, the article advocated for parents to process praise by recognizing their children's hard work and effort, rather than just the results. Furthermore, the article described the double-edged sword of praise, as it can make the affection feel conditional and become sugarcoated control. Instead, the article advocated for parents to provide feedback by asking specific questions and listening to their responses. These lessons can also be applied to classroom settings; rather than giving out compliments or just recognizing the effort put into work, feedback through questions can be a lot more valuable. Questions can demonstrate the thinking process behind the work and allow for more effective and helpful critiques. I don't think it's a detrimental thing to give out compliments and praise, but asking questions is an importa...

After brainstorming potential topic choices last week, I feel like I'd be most interested in making my project about Maya. There are plenty of stories and examples of Maya throughout the Indian epics, but I'm also interested in analyzing the meaning of Maya through these narratives as well as comparing the ideas to contemporary philosophy. The first story that I found relevant to Maya was with Narada and Vishnu. Narada directly experienced maya as he realized his experiences were an illusion. When re-telling this story, I'd be interested in adding more details to highlight how powerful the illusion can be, and I'd want to include a section that analyzes the story's connection to specific philosophical ideals. The narrative can show how illusion grips us into a false world, which parallels the reader's experience with reality itself. The second story that I would use described Shiva's perspective of Ravana's birth and death. While the experience was sim...

There was once a teenage boy named Varun, and it was rumored that he ran faster than the wind. An expert sprinter, Varun told all that his speed was due to his loyal German Shepherd, Hanu. As a young boy, Varun adopted Hanu when he was a puppy. Both Varun and Hanu were inseparable; whether it’s playing fetch or taking a walk, Varun always spent his time taking care of Hanu. As they grew older, they fell in love with racing, and the duo would run across the winding roads. Their sprints were a sight to behold, with the whole town holding their breath in anticipation to see who won the race.   One day, Hanu woke up with a hunger to run like no other; he was pacing around the house and could barely contain his excitement. He roamed around the town searching for Varun. When he finally found him, Hanu barked and begged to race, and his excitement was infectious. After what felt like hours of whining, Varun said,   “You want to race, boy? Let’s go for a quick run. We’ll make ...