Epics of India - MLLL 4993-996

Author's Notes I have based this story off of the Mahabharata reading Draupadi's Swayamwara 1 . In this story there is a contest for which suitor will be able to take Draupadi as their wife. In this challenge the suitors had to "bend the bow and shoot an arrow through the wheel which will strike and bring down the golden fish shall obtain" the right to marry Draupadi. I decided to make the setting a different planet in order to give me more freedom in the difficulty of the Swayamwara. Also I swapped the gender roles to make things more interesting. Nus' Five Wives On the planet of Zognar there lived a civilization of warriors. There was a city named Taht, where the sovereign leader Traeh ruled. Traeh has reached the age where he is becoming old and senile, and he desired for his lonely son Nus to take over the kingdom. However, there is a prerequisite that Nus must be married prior to becoming the new leader. In order for this to be accomplished, Traeh sent o...

Story 1 - The House of Fire 1 This story is interesting to me because of the plot whole that exists within it. If the desires of Prince Duryodhana were to kill of the Pandavas and Queen Kunti by burning them in the house, why was this not done on the first night that they lodged at the lac palace? Not only was it not done on the first day, but also they provided a sufficient amount of time to allow Prince Vidura to alert then and the miner Varanavata to dig an escape tunnel. There is also a bit of misfortune in the story, as the beggars happened to enter the palace at the wrong time, well wrong for them and great for the Pandavas. Duryodhana went through some much effort to think that his plan has succeeded. The Pandavas escaping the burring palace. Shows Bhima carrying the others to safety. ( Source ) Story 2 - Bhima and Baka 2 This story is a very stereotypical one of an unjust ruler demanding too much over his citizens and ultimately facing his own demise because of i...

Story 1 - Amba 1 The story of Amba was interesting because most of the problems that arose out of it could have bene resolved had there existed better methods of communication between the princesses and the King. However, that was not the case and she was forced to go with Bhishma. Even though she was permitted to leave the damage had already been done. The King of the Shalwas had been embarrassed and defeated in contest. The theme of irreversible decisions appeared once again in the sense that Amba was unable to return to Hastinapura, for she had abandoned them and was not welcome. Amba, Source Story 2 - Kunti and Her Son 2 One common theme that has shown up in the Mahabharata is the birth of sons and daughters from the gods. In most of these cases the children are not wanted. In the case of Kunti, her son was born with an appearance that was not keen on the eyes. However, this did not get rid of her son Karna forever. Eventually he came back into the story, causing mo...

Author's Notes This story was based on the story of Jatayu and Sampati. The two eagles were very competitive in seeing which could fly the highest over the mountain. It ended with Jatayu flying too close to the Sun. It would have burned him and killed him if Sampati had not flown above him and shielded him by casting a shadow with his wings. The younger brother doesn’t die in this story. I wanted the competition and danger to be things that were easy to relate to. Life on the Edge Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. “Ugh. What is that noise? Why is it so bright?” I gently try to open my eyes, but all I see is a white overhead light and a bleach colored room. As my eyes adjust I realize that I am laying on a bed. The noise was coming from my side. "Oh, a hospital", I said in bleak acknowledgement of where I was. Feeling dazed I try to sit up. My head is ringing and the room gently turns around me. As I lean forward I feel a hand on my chest, it was my mom. She says gently to me...

Style Notes As this reading covers the contents of the Ramayana that were covered in the previous readings, there is not much to take notes about content wise. So instead, in this section I intend to write about the stylistic differences I saw between the two different versions. As well as any differences in the stories that grabbed my attention. One notable part of the Marriage of Rama was the sheer amount of gifts that were sent home with Dasharatha's sons. King Janaka gave a hefty "100,000 horses, 25,000 chariots, 10,000 elephants; wagons of gold and jewels; buffaloes and cows without number", all for the princes to marry the princesses! Another bit of additional information I saw was this helpful map! It is taken as a page from the Divine Archer 1 . Foreshadowing Reading this prose, I noticed a large amount of foreshadowing for the journeys that were to befall upon Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana. This one is a bit of a spoiler if you catch it as it happens, b...

A picture of Ganesha. Source If you have any questions or comments about my storybook post them here! Storybook: Ganesha's Home Life

Author's Notes This story was primarily inspired by a part in the Ramayana titled 'The Bridge' 1 . However, this story does contain a lot of the background information from the rest of the Ramayana. I had already typed up a majority of the background before realizing that is was not really on topic, but it did not make sense to delete it. I envisioned that most of the Gods from the Ramayana would take the forms of animals. Rama himself is the commanding ant, and those who follow him are the rest of his friends and allies. It is not correct for ants to have mates in the case of Rama and Sita's ant versions; this has been ignored to simplify the story. Additionally, there is no love interest between Ron and the queen, which is different from the dynamic between Rama and Sita. The Madhya Pradesh is the largest forest in India 2 . Here is a picture of it! Source The Journey of the Ants Background It was a normal day in the Madhya Pradesh forest. The wind ble...