First Indian Epics Blog

Reading Notes Source:  Public Domain Edition of the Mahabharata The Court of King Virata Finally, the 12 year exile of the Pandava's has ended and they begin their one year disguise. They spend this disguised in the court of King Virata. Ironically, Yudhishthira's role is as the kings dice companion, Bhima is disguised as the cook, and Nakula and Sahadeva play roles with cattle. Arjuna takes the name of Brihannala and lives as a eunuch, and Draupadi is the queen's hairdresser named Sairandhri. While in disguise, Draupadi is raped by Kichaka, the queen's brother. Bhima avenges her by squeezing Kichaka to death, almost ruining the groups chances of completing their year in disguise.  Brink of War Once again, the Pandavas find themselves on the brink of war and are bidding for peace. All Yudhishthira asks Hastinapura is that he be given 5 villages (instead of half of the kingdom which was the originally negotiating terms) in order to avoid war. The section ends wi

Mahabharata, Part B: The Pandavas at Indraprastha: Duryodhana's hate for the Pandavas only grows when he finds out they are still alive, yet, Dhritarashtra does not share the same level of hatred for the Pandavas as Duryodhana does. Dhritarashtra is given two different kinds of advice; make peace or go to war. The conflicting advice confuses Dhritarashtra, so he decides to give them part of his kingdom so they will return.  The Dice Games: During a game of dice, Yudhishthira loses everything that he owns to Shakuni. This not only includes his possessions and property, but also his brothers as well as himself. He then gambles, and loses, Draupadi, although she argues that she could not be gambled by someone who just lost ownership of himself. As Draupadi is ordered to undress, she calls upon Krishna for help. Help arrives in the form of layers of sari's that Draupadi is now wearing. Every time she takes one off, another appears. Later, Duryodhana invites Yudhishthira t

Mahabharata, Part A Shantanu and Ganga: Shantanu is the king and ruler of the city of Hastinapura, and he falls in love with a women that he meets along the Ganges river. [In a bold move] Shantanu asks this woman to marry him and she agrees, as long as he never questions what she does [yeah, that's a great idea]. Then, she begins to drown their new born babies. Before she can drown the eight baby, Shantanu finally interjects. His wife then reveals that she is the reincarnated form of the river Ganga, and is tasked with giving birth to eight children, who are the reincarnated forms of the Vasus, who are gods. They are being punished with this reincarnation and immediate death for stealing Vashishtha's cow. Drowning them returns the gods to heaven. Ganga takes the eight baby and disappears in the river. Later, she returns the child as an adult to Shantanu. The child's name is Bhishma. Shantanu and Satyavati: Shantanu meets a fisherman's daughter named Satyavati a

Narayan's Ramayana Part D: Hanuman find Sita: Hanuman searches for Sita across the ocean and finds himself in Lanka. He finds Sita guarded by demons. Hanuman then allows himself to be captured and is brought before Ravana. Hanuman tells Ravana that Rama is looking for Sita and that Ravana should just give up. This leads to a fight, which no one really wins (Hanuman destroys the city, but it is almost immediately rebuilt). Ravana is advised to release Sita, but like all bad guys, he rejects this advice. Rama Crosses the Sea: Rama orders the sea god to help him cross the ocean to Lanka, where Sita is held captive. Rama launches an attack on Lanka, and with the help of other gods like Indra, Rama is able to gain the upper hand. Finally, Rama and Ravana fight each other. Rama and Ravana circle the earth in battle and they use supernatural weapons against one another. Rama finally wins the battle, and Rama orders a massive funeral for Ravana. Rama Tests Sita: Rama tests Sit

Reading Notes: Ramayana Part C Ravana abducts Sita: After Sita hears Rama call for help while hunting the golden deer, she sends Lakshmana to go help him, leaving Sita all by herself. Ravana then approaches Sita disguised as an old hermit, reveals himself (for some dumb reason), and then steals her away. Jatayu and Ravana: Jatayu, and old friend of Dasharatha, tries to rescue Sita, but is defeated. When Rama and Lakshmana return, Jatayu is dying and fills them in on the events that they have missed. However, Jatayu dies before he can tell them where Ravana has gone. Rama and Sugriva: We learn that way before the events in this story, Vali had helped churn the nectar from the ocean, earning the gratitude and gifts of the gods (fighting powers). The demon Mayavi challenged Vali, which Vali won. After this, a fight broke out between Vali and Sugriva, Vali won and took Sugriva's wife, and Sugriva went into exile in the mountains. Rama feels compassion for Sugriva, and is

The Samudra Manthan Storybook Comment Wall By Taylor Blackwell Source Link:  The Holiday Spot Storybook link:  https://sites.google.com/view/taylorblackwellindianepics/home

Sita and the Golden Deer Rama stalks the demon Maricha, who has assumed the form of a golden deer 1597-1605 Fazl, Northern Indian Gift of Charles Lang Freer As Sita wandered through the forest, picking wild flowers, she heard what sounded like soft hooves on the grass from a distance. She slowly began to approach the sound when she found herself in a clearing, gazing at one of the most beautiful creatures she had ever seen. The creature was a golden deer with silver spots, and its horns were tipped with magnificent sapphires and its eyes were a beautiful blue color; blue like lotus blooms. Upon hearing Sita approaching, the deer looked up and made to dart off, but it stopped and stared at Sita. Sita and the golden deer locked eyes, and Sita felt as if she was slowly drifting through the sky, mesmerized by the hypnotic gaze of the deer. Unaware that the deer was really Maricha in disguise, Sita desired nothing but to touch its beautiful golden skin. She called to Rama, &

Ramayana, Part B Notes: Rama's Exile: After Rama goes into exile, his people become distraught and Lakshmana becomes angry at their sudden exile. Soon after Rama, Lakshmana, and Sita depart from the city, Dasharatha dies. Bharata: During all of the previous events, Rama's brother Bharata is away in his grandfathers kingdom. Messengers are sent to get Bharata, but he isn't given any reason as to why he must now leave. Bharata soon finds out about Rama's exile, his fathers death, and his mothers plan to make him king; this enrages him. He begs Rama to return, Rama refuses, and Bharata reigns as regent until Rama's return. Ravana's Sister: While hiding in the forest, Rama meets Shurpanakha, a beautiful women who lies to Rama and says her name is Kamavalli. She declares her love for Rama and takes on her new rival, Sita. Lakshmana mutilates Shurpanakha and brings her to her step-brother, Kara, who commands the demon army of the forest. Battle ensues but

How to Give Students Specific Feedback That Actually Helps Them Learn I have always loved valuable feedback from academic papers that I have written. Regardless of my grade, I always want to be able to go back through the paper and see where I excelled and where I lost points. However, I've never really been the one to leave feedback on papers, seeing as how I am not the grader. But this article was a good insight into my graders head and could potentially help me see things through a different perspective. Preschoolers and Praise: What Kinds of Messages Help Kids Grow? I picked this article because I simply enjoyed reading it. I'm not a preschooler, so I'm not sure this article will really help me, but I love learning about how kids should learn. I do think that the "power of 'yet'" is something that everybody can benefit from though. Instead of saying "I can't do it", saying "I can't do it yet " can be highly motivatin

Hindu Origin Stories: Samudra Manthan The Samudra manthan is the story explaining the origin of amrita, which is the drink of immortality. The creation process involved both the gods and the demons of the Hindu world. The churning of the Ocean of Milk , in a bazaar art print, c. 1910's; the Suras or gods are on the right, the Asuras or demons on the left Purusha Purusha was a cosmic man that was sacrificed by the gods to create life. Later, the Purusa concept would change, but I like the cosmic man sacrifice angle. Prajapati In the Shatapatha Brahmana, Prajapati takes the form of an egg and evolves into the cosmos. He then later emerges from the egg and creates the earth and the heavens.