Epics of India

This sequence of videos got much deeper into what was covered in the PDE Mahabharata. One thing that stuck out to me was the 100 Sons video, where the balls of flesh were stored in vats of oil and they grew into 100 children. They mentioned there were 101 vats of oil, so I wonder what the unused one was for? Maybe I misheard it. I thought this could maybe be part of the Vyasa sperm donor story. This is more stem-cell esque, but the idea of sorting the sperm into 100 different test tubes and then Vyasa having 100 sons is totally possible. The animation brings up a lot of parallels between the ancient epic and modern times that I didn't notice in the first reading of the Mahabharata. One other thing I liked was the snake kingdom that Bhima visits when his evil brother tries to drown him. The artist in the video went all out on the snake picture, and I really liked that. I don't remember the underwater snake kingdom from the Mahabharata (but there were so many characters and se...

I really liked watching the animations of the Mahabharata by Epified. The first few episodes I didn't recall being explained in the PDE Mahabharata, so it was interesting to get an introduction with some backstory about the epic. The added context from this animation will help me understand the story a lot better. The title image for Epified's animated series on the Mahabharata. Source: Epified Assignment Page The story of Bhishma's oath is really important to the story. He also stands by his oath the entire time, which is classic for these epics. Yet again, Indian Epics teach us to not take the easy road. The story of Amba makes a bit more sense now - at first I didn't understand why she was so upset, but now I see that she feels like her life is unfulfilled because she can no longer be married to anyone.  Being able to see the unkempt Vyasa makes me empathize with him more. In the animation he isn't that ugly, but the women absolutely fear him for his...

PDE Mahabharata Sources provided by: Arnold , Besant , Devee , Dutt , Ganguli , Kincaid , Macfie , Mackenzie , Nivedita , Seeger , and Tagore .  #63 I really liked this story because it was a battle that really wasn't a battle. The Kauravas heard Arjuna's oath, but instead of trying to stop him from killing their friend, they simply try to stall Arjuna from killing him for as long as possible. I found it interesting that the Kauravas did not care if Jayadratha got killed, but rather only wanted Arjuna to not achieve heaven. They aren't upset that Jayadratha got killed either, they are just mad their plan was thwarted. Also, people confront Arjuna in his efforts to go after Jayadratha, but he refuses to fight Drona. It is interesting to me that Arjuna can decide who he wants to fight. I think this story shows that value of self-restraint more, but it also shows what happens when you do not follow that value. Looking at Jayadratha, who was supposed to be a slave to th...

PDE Mahabharata Sources provided by: Arnold , Besant , Devee , Dutt , Ganguli , Kincaid , Macfie , Mackenzie , Nivedita , Seeger , and Tagore . #47 This story is interesting to me because the Pandavas help out their enemies by fighting for them. It seems like the Pandavas also are not high in numbers, meanwhile their enemies have a lot of men and women on their side. Despite the numerical disparity, the Pandava brothers are able to beat the gandharvas and save their enemies from capture. This drives Duryodhana to want to commit suicide by starving himself, but his followers prevent him from doing so by abducting him. This establishes that the Pandavas must fight the royal family because even though the Pandavas helped them, the royal family partners with demons and is still focused on fighting. I think it is weird that the Pandavas helped the people who exiled them. This must be like the cultural element in the Ramayana where Rama would help people and refuse to take the throne...

PDE Mahabharata Sources provided by: Arnold , Besant , Devee , Dutt , Ganguli , Kincaid , Macfie , Mackenzie , Nivedita , Seeger , and Tagore . #21 This story is a full story in and of itself. I thought it was strange that the prince who made up the plot to burn the Pandavas and Queen Kunti alive hadn't acted sooner. I would think the oil would lose its effect if he waited such a long time, and the presence of the oil would be detected immediately (like if someone sat on the couch or whatever the furniture was at the time). This is a classic villain move where the evil character takes way too long and could have accomplished his goals had he acted sooner. I also thought it was brilliant that they had a miner dig their way out of the house. Essentially, the main characters in this story have also faked their own deaths by accident, so I am really interested to see how that plays out in the rest of part B. The Pandavas escape. I like how the children all look like tiny ad...

PDE Mahabharata Sources provided by: Arnold , Besant , Devee , Dutt , Ganguli , Kincaid , Macfie , Mackenzie , Nivedita , Seeger , and Tagore . #7 In this story, Vyasa sires three sons - one is blind, the other is pale, and the third is with a handmaiden. I think it is really interesting that Vyasa totally takes himself down with respect to his looks. He basically calls himself disgusting and makes that the reason his son is born blind - because the woman who gave birth could not look at Vyasa. At the same time, Vyasa is writing himself out to be good. He calls himself a mighty sage and praises his own asceticism and devotion. This guy cannot pin himself down, and I think it is pretty funny. A Sadhu, which could be similar to what Vyasa looked like. Source: PDE Mahabharata   # 8 Karna's origin story is like that of Moses from the Hebrew Bible, except his mother was not seeking to protect him. Rather she was ashamed that she gave birth to the sun god's child an...

Notes - Part B Opening this section with Nina getting dumped by Dave is really sad. You can tell she was really into him, but that he did not care about her. It is really interesting how much her story mirrors the Ramayana. It's clear how she viewed the Ramayana through the lens of her own experiences and I think that's important for me to remember when writing stories in general - staying true to my experiences is important and can make the story better. This movie is very trippy with it's flashing color animations and songs in the background as it depicts Sita's struggle. I like the parts that are like this - they are very expressive and somewhat funny. Rama doesn't trust Sita at all, which is unfortunate. The narrators think that he's just doing it for his kingdom, but if he trusted her then he wouldn't have banished her. Meanwhile Sita loves Rama despite not being trusted by him. This film is about her, so it makes sense that she's the protagon...

Notes I liked the idea of animating the Ramayana. I liked the combination of drawings and pictures in the animation. It's like a crash course video with the modifications. I also like how there are multiple narrators who don't know the story perfectly and are arguing frequently in the start. That's an interesting way of telling the story. I also thought it was a good choice to make Rama and Sita to look like their godly counterparts - they are avatars after all. Sita asking Rama to chase the golden deer is like the crocodile and the monkey's heart jataka tale. It's funny how Sita has a shrine to Rama, and really accurately portrays how much they love each other. The movie stays very true to the Ramayana, and I think it's interesting that the author includes herself in the story similar to how we include ourselves in the stories in this class. Nina's boyfriend is a jerk in this story, but I guess this matches the Ramayana and is part of what makes this st...

Ramayana Online: Public Domain Edition from M. Dutt , R. Dutt , Gould , Griffith , Hodgson , Mackenzie , Nivedita , Oman , Richardson , and Ryder . Notes for Part D #61 In this Ramayana story, we learn about a great feat of engineering - building a bridge from the mainland to Lanka (reminder from the previous reading note, this bridge must be at least 345 miles long) entirely out of stones. I thought it was cool to find out that this is an actual place! The real life version is much shorter than 100 leagues long, but it is a former land bridge that was good for crossing. When the Ramayana was written, it probably was the purpose to explain such a land bridge, and the motivation behind building it. Monkey engineering at its finest, building the bridge to Lanka. Source: PDE Ramayana #65 Hanuman has to save the army by getting the medicinal herbs mentioned earlier when Rama and Lakshmana were thought to be dead. Using his jumping ability, Hanuman goes to the Himalayas, ...

Ramayana Online: Public Domain Edition from M. Dutt , R. Dutt , Gould , Griffith , Hodgson , Mackenzie , Nivedita , Oman , Richardson , and Ryder . Notes for Part C #49 After learning about Sampati, Jatayu's brother, we get to learn more about him. Sampati lost his wings because he and Jatayu flew too close to the sun, and to save his brother, Sampati shielded Jatayu with his wings. Sampati sacrificed himself for his brother. This story has parallels with Icarus flying too close to the sun, but doesn't end in the death of Sampati. A common theme in the Ramayana is redemption, and it seems like Sampati might get his chance at that by helping Rama. It is interesting how much of the story is set up for Rama to meet all these cursed people and creatures, especially those who are told to wait for someone similar to Rama. It seems like time passes but everyone lives a really long time, and they are all waiting and waiting for Rama to restore them. #50 So now we come to the p...

Ramayana Online: Public Domain Edition from M. Dutt , R. Dutt , Gould , Griffith , Hodgson , Mackenzie , Nivedita , Oman , Richardson , and Ryder . Notes for PartB #21 My initial questions about Bharata were immediately answered in this first page - Bharata wanted nothing to do with his mother's plans. He, like his father and Rama, is honorable and upstanding. The Ramayana values the characters who are compassionate and respectful. Even though Bharata could have killed the Queen an his maid, he knew this was not a good response to the situation and showed restraint. This is a common virtue of the story, and something I am always interested in reading in this epic. I think I like this component of the Ramayana because I feel like I have less restraint than the characters and admire their calm approach to these difficult life events. #23 and 24 Bharata wants to make things right with Rama, so he brings the army and a counsellor into the forest to find Rama. My favorite par...

Ramayana Online: Public Domain Edition from M. Dutt , R. Dutt , Gould , Griffith , Hodgson , Mackenzie , Nivedita , Oman , Richardson , and Ryder . Notes for Part A #10 and #11 Rama breaks the bow of Shiva, and draws the bow of Vishnu in these parts. The interesting thing to me is how a show of strength is needed to gain Sita's hand in marriage. I think it's interesting that the king is basically posing a strength challenge to make sure his future son in law is strong enough to protect his beloved daughter. Even more intriguing to me is how Parashurama just appears suddenly to apprehend Rama and Lakshmana. In each part of the Ramayana it seems like time isn't important, with things and people just appearing at the right moment. Parashurama just shows up immediately on cue and has a new challenge for Rama - to draw the bow of Vishnu. Rama is Vishnu's avatar, so this is an easy task and this is how he confirms Sita's hand in marriage #15 I think this part...

The Cunning Crane and The Crab from The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse. Notes The Crane is very clever in this story. He identifies a population weaker than himself in the fish, who struggle to survive in their tiny pond. The Crane also identifies a solution to their problem - a nice cool lake nearby. If this were a story with people, the Crane might take this as a business opportunity and make some money by offering the only safe passage to the lake. However, the Crane is driven by hunger and greed. At first, the Crane is smart enough to overcome his greed - he successfully shows the one eyed fish the lake and brings him back. This is critical for the Crane's plan - a product demo if you will - to encourage the fish to get a ride in his mouth. Ultimately, this is how the Crane succeeds in eating all the fish. The fish are helpless, and it is relatively unclear if they would survive in their current situation. Would patience have helped them? Wh...

I am going to choose the Public Domain version of the Ramayana. The main reasons I am choosing this anthology are because it is free, it has pictures, and it is broken down into pages and reading sections. It looks like the older language style will not be challenging for me, so I think this route is worth pursuing. I started reading the first pages of the Ramayana, and I liked the picture of the capital city of Ayodya (posted below) - pictures definitely make stories better. The city of Ayodhya, from the first page of the PDE of the Ramayana ( Link ) I took a look at the comic books and videos. For the comic books, the first one that caught my eye was Hanuman to the Rescue . I think this would be a really good comic book because of the plot and because of Hanuman's character growing large to defeat enemies. Sounds like the Hulk to me - maybe Marvel should include Hanuman in its cinematic universe. The second comic book I found on the comic book website I had to look at be...