Reading Notes: Mahabharata videos, Part C

 

                                                                     Bhima and the Baka

Notes

- Karna had enchanted armor, he knew he was special since he was young.
- Karna's father found him floating in the river, his armor grew onto him as he grew up.
- He then learned he was a Kshatriya.
- Karna sought out the greatest master of arms he could find - Drona. 
- Drona told Karna that he could not teach him because he was not a Kshatriya. 
- Karna did not want to tell him that he was a Kshatriya because he did not want to demean his parents that brought him up. 
- Karna returned home and wept and would continue for the rest of his life keeping his pain in silence.
- Karna came running to his mother one day and was excited that he found a guru.
- His guru was the greatest in all of the land but would never teach him the art of war. 

Bibliography

Mahabharat Episode 18: Karna's Quest. Epified. http://iereadingguides.blogspot.com/2016/01/reading-guide-epified-mahabharata_29.html

Reading Notes, Mahabharata Part A

 TinyTales Part A

                                                                        Vyasa and Ganesha

Page 1

- Mahabharata first came from Ganesha writing it as Vyasa spoke
- King Shantanu married a woman and they had a son. The queen then drowned their child but was never questioned. 
- King Shantanu's wife was Ganga the river goddess who said their children were the eight Vasus, gods of the eight elements cursed to be born as humans
- The eighth child that King Shantanu would not let be drowned became Devavrata, who learned the arts of was from Parashurama
- King Shantanu wanted to marry Satyavati but only could if her son would become the heir but it was already promised to Devavrata
- Devavrata made an oath to renounce all women and gave up his heir to the king, therefore Satyavati married King Shantanu. 
- They had two sons, Chitrangada and Vichiravirya, and Chitangada ruled once Shantanu died

Page 2

- Bhishma was determined that his half brother Vichiravirya would marry King Kashya's daughter so he kidnapped all three to take to Vichiravirya
- Shalva (one of 3 princesses) was rejected everywhere because of Bhishma and wore she would kill him
- Amba went to Parashurama to try and have Bhishma killed, but he couldn't be defeated
- Amba was told to wait until the next life to kill Bhishma but she didn't wait and threw herself into the flames to be reborn as Shikhandini, daughter of King Drupada. 
- Vichitravirya dies and leaves behind two widows leaving Satyavati to summon her son to marry the widow
- Satyavati summons her son Vyasa and he has 3 sons, Pandu the Pale was the one that became king

Page 3

- King Pandu then gets married to Kunti but she had no children so he marries Madri but she also had no children
- Pandu shot a stag named Kindama who cursed him that he could never touch a woman again, so Pandu went to live in the wilderness and Dhritarashtra became king
- Dhritarashtra wanted a son but his wife was pregnant for two years and never gave birth so he had a son (Yuyutsu) with a servant but he could not inherit the throne
- Dhritarashtra's wife then had 100 sons and one daughter that grew from the pots
- Pandu was seized with desire one day and touched his wife and died

- Duryodhana was the eldest son of Dhritarashtra, he tried to kill Bhima and threw him in the river but he did not die - In the river, Bhima met the Naga king who gave him a potion to make him stronger than ever

Page 4

- Bhishma's son engaged Drona to be their guru - Drona then began to teach the Pandavas and Kauravas in warfare (archery) - Drona was attacked by a crocodile one day and Arjuna saved him so he gave him a secret weapon - Eklavya wanted Drona to be his guru, but Drona refused. So he trained under a statue he made of Drona - Drona saw this as unacceptable and demanded Eklavya's right thumb and he cut it off so Arjuna would never be rivaled as an archer - Karna came to the archery tournament and got named the King of Anga to fight Arjuna

- Karna then becomes Parashurama's disciple

Page 5

-Drona never got his guru fee, so for his fee he made the Pandavas and Kauravas attack king Drupada but he didn't have him killed - Drupada then prayed for his own children, a son to kill Bhishma and Drona. The son was born a daughter but raised as a son named Shikhandin - Since Shakhandin was a woman and was marrying a woman, King Hiranyavarna declared war on King Drupada for this - Shikhandin was about to leap into the flames when the yaksha gave her manhood to prove to her father - The Kauravas and Pandavas keep trading insults so

- King Dhritarashtra decides to send the Pandavas away once and for all, then Dhritarashtra, Duryodhana, and Shakuni hatched an evil plot, hoping to put an end to the Pandavas once and for all.

Bibliography

TinyTales from the Mahabharata, Laura Gibbs. https://sites.google.com/view/tinymahabharata/home?authuser=0

Reading Notes, Ramayana Part D

 Notes

Page 16

- Rama is alive
- Rama kills Kumbhkarna
- Indrajit defeats Rama and Lakshmana and goes back to Lanka
- Hanuman heard of this and went back to war in the mountains 
- Lakshmana came back to fight Indrajit and killed him
- Rama then battles Taranisen and Ravana's (Virabahu) son and defeated them both

Page 17

- Ravana threatens Sita because of his failures
- Ravana rides into battle after challenging Rama again
- Rama finally kills Ravana
- After Rama receives Sita after the battle, Indra grants him a boon
- Rama then returns home

Page 18

- Rama is crowned the king and Sita becomes the queen
- Hanuman is rewarded by Sita and honors Rama
- The Story of Ratnakar
- Ratnakar renounced his bad deeds and became Valmiki the poet
- Valkami composed the Ramayan about Rama's journey

Page 19

- Rama makes the decision to get rid of Sita
- Sita is left in the forest then stumbles upon Valmiki
- Sita then has twins
- Rama wants her back but she vanishes into the Earth making Rama sad
- Rama then embraced his sons acknowledging them as princes of Ayodhya

Page 20

- Rama makes a statue of Sita that starts speaking to him
- Rama enters Ayodhya where Lakshmana beheads himself leaving Rama in grief
- Rama then departs leaving Bharata and Shatrughna to be kings
- Story about Tenalirama, Ramayana murals all of the palace that told the story
- Story about Shiva about birth and death

                                                                       Rama Departs
                                                       (British Library: Mewar Ramayana)

Bibliography

TinyTales from the Ramayana, Laura Gibbs. https://sites.google.com/view/tinyramayana/home

Reading Notes, Ramayana Part C

 Notes

Page 11

- Vali tormented Sugriva enough until he finally had enough
- Hanuman carried Rama and Lakshmana to meet Sugriva
- Rama and Sugriva became allies to try and kill Vali
- Sugriva went to fight Vali and lost
- Rama was able to fatally wound Vali though
- Sugriva then gets crowned the king upon Vali's death
- To make peace Sugriva sent monkeys to search for Sita led by Hanuman
- The monkeys receive help just as they are about to fail

Page 12

- Sampati finds out his brother Jatayu is dead
- Sampati then pointed the monkeys in the right direction
- Hanuman was the only one who could reach the island needed to continue
- Hanuman finally makes the jump to the island and climbed the top of the mountain to go to Lanka
- On his journey, Hanuman gets attacked by a sea monster named Surasa and Simhika but he escaped
- Hanuman finally reaches Lanka and hears Ravana threaten Sita

Page 13

- Hanuman finally gets to address Sita right before she is about to hang herself
- Hanuman shows Sita the ring that Rama will give her
- Sita says Rama must come to her and so Hanuman starts a war on the way back to Rama and kills Aksha
- Hanuman gets captured and taken to Ravana and his life was spared
- Hanuman is punished by his tail being lit on fire but he runs around while this is happening and burns down the palace and the houses of Lanka
- Hanuman then returns with good news about Sita for Rama

Page 14

- The monkeys and bears celebrated the good news and got drunk on the honey
- Hanuman goes and tells Rama the good news and he wept with joy
- Ravana grew angry at the news and captured Sita
- Rama then led his army to the ocean god, Varuna for help to cross to Lanka
- Varuna says to build a bridge so Rama seeks out Nala and starts building a bridge to Lanka
- A woman that appeared to be Sita washed ashore but it turned out to be Benjakai

Page 15

- Once the bridge was halfway to Lanka, sea-monsters destroyed it but mermaids agreed to help rebuild it
- Rama reaches Lanka at last
- Ravana tried and tried again to stop Rama's army but failed
- A war starts between Rama and Ravana
- Rama and Lakshmana get killed on the battlefield and Sita sees and bursts into tears
- Rama is found to be still alive so the war is not over
- The goddess that healed Rama bestowed victory upon him

Hanuman Carries Rama and Lakshmana

Bibliography 

TinyTales from the Ramayana, Laura Gibbs. https://sites.google.com/view/tinyramayana/home

Reading Notes - Ramayana, Part B

 Ramayana, Part B

                                                              Dasharatha and Rama
                                                            circa 1700
                                              (Victoria and Albert Museum)

Reading Notes

Page 6: Tales 51-60

• Kings wants Rama to succeed him
• Worried Rama would renounce the world
• Kaikeyi turned Dashratha against Rama
• Rama is exiled
• Bharata will become king
• Rama did not protest exile
• Lakshmana went with him
• Goddess of sleep appeared
• Dasharatha feels grief for Rama
• Can't leave his bed
• King died
• Bharata and Shatrughna didn't know what happened
• They learn about Rama's exile
• Bhrata and Shatrughna go to find Rama
• Bhrata wants Rama to return
• Returns with Rama's golden sandals

Page 7: Tales 61-70

• Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana visit Sharabhanga
• Sharabhanga told them where to go on their journey 
• He rose to heaven
• Sita is carried away
• Slashed off Viradha's arms with swords
• Mandakarni was besotted
• Rama visits Agastya
• Agastya gives Rama weapons
• Kakshmana tries to strike boar but missed
• Indra appeared
• Sita mets Anasuya, wife of Atri
• Sita receives gifts

Page 8: Tales 71-80

• Lakshmana tempted by a beautiful apsara sent by Indra
• Eagel: Jatayu
• Tells of their father's death
• Shurpankha wants to marry Rama but he refused
• Lakshmana sliced off her ears and nose
• Khara and Dushana attack
• Ravana is informed of what happened
• Maricha is needed to kidnap Sita
• Turns into golden deer
• Sita tells Rama to capture it
• Sita is left alone
• Jatayu fights Ravana
• Sita drops jewelry to leave a trail

Page 9: Tales 81-90

• Ravana tricked Jatayu
• Ravana brought Sita to Lanka
• Deer used Rama's voice
• Jatayu died
• Gooses got a long neck from Rama grabbing it
• Looking for Sita
• Lake Pampa: Shabari dwells here
• Kabandha: monster, head was in stomach
• Sugriva fled to Rishyamuka Hill

Page 10: Tales 91-100

• Anjana: Hanuman's mother
• Wanted a mango, bit into the sun
• Fell and broke his jaw: Hanuman (Big-Jaw)
• Brahma came to heal Hanuman
• Indra gave him thunderbolts as protection
• Hanuman grows up to be a monkey
• Hanuman asks Surya to be his guru
• Vali: King of Kishkindha
• Vail smashed Dundhubi into ground
• Matanga curses Vali
• Mayavi wanted to avange his father
• Vali fought with Mayavi
• Vali tried to kill Sugriva Sugriva fled to Rishyamukha Hill
• Hanuman joined Sugriva in exile

Bibliography 

TinyTales from the Ramayana, Laura Gibbs. https://sites.google.com/view/tinyramayana/home

Reading Notes: Ramayana, Part A

 Reading Notes - Part A - Tiny Tales

                                                                         Lord Rama
                                                                       (Web Source)

Page 1 1-10

-Dashagriva is Ravanas real name -Dashagriva’s parents we Vishrava and Kaikasi -Dashagriva was born with ten heads and ten pairs of arms -Dashagriva had 3 siblings -Dashagriva became immortal after Brahma granted him immortality  -Dashagriva's brothers Vibhishana and Kumbhakarna also prayed for boons. -Vibhishana was granted his wish but Kumbhakarna was not because he was a giant and feared. -Dashagriva got the name Ravana from Shiva after screaming under the mountain -After this Ravana became a devoted servant for Shiva -Shiva granted Ravana a beautiful woman named Mandodari -Ravana and Mandodari had a son named Meghanada -Ravana’s father then had another son named Vaishravana and he became the guardian of the world. -Ravana claimed the city of Lanka back

Page 2 11-20

-Ravana went and defeated Yama, the God of Death. 

-After this, the Gods disguised themselves as animals to hide from Ravana

-Ravana moved onto the Himalayas to defeat Kubera and then he returned triumphantly

-Ravana got into trouble in the woods and was cursed and promised to be destroyed

-Ravana then went to fight the monkey king (Vali) but ended up becoming his ally.

Page 3 21-30

-Vibhandaka finally got a son (Rishyashringa) that was to be kept hidden

-Rishyashringa defied his orders and left isolation to find a woman and have a son

-King Dasharatha got a son after Rishyashringa conducted his ritual

-Rama was born

-Rama revealed his true cosmic form

-Dasharatha was saved in battle and promised Kaikayi two boons

-Dasharatha was cursed for killing a son in the woods

-Tataka defiled sacrifices and it was up to Rama to kill her now

Page 4 31-40

-Rama was given many weapons to prepare

-Rama then kills Tataka from an arrow to the heart

-Rama then went on to face Tataka’s sons

-Their journey still continued and the sons still were in trouble

-Sita has many origin stories, all very different, so whichever one you believe can change how you view other people.

Page 5 41-50

 -King Janarkamade sure Sita knew how to cook

-Sita lifted the impossible bow and that was her new marriage test, whoever else could lift it.

 -Ravana came to try and lift the bow but was unsuccessful and stormed out of Janarkas court

-Rama fell in love with Sita and was able to finally lift the bow but ended up breaking up

- Ramas three brothers married Sita's three sisters since he was able to lift this bow

- Sita and Rama then lived together

 Bibliography

TinyTales from the Ramayana, Laura Gibbs. https://sites.google.com/view/tinyramayana/home

Week 2 Reading Anthology

 My Favorite Story

    The Foolish, Timid Rabbit, Ellen C. Babbit. https://sites.google.com/view/jatakas/rabbit

The Animals Depicted in The Story

                                                                       (Ellsworth Young)

Reading Notes - One Character Strategy (Rabbit)

• The rabbit is the main character in this story
• Because of him, everyone else starts to run
• All he had to do was turn around and the whole thing could've been avoided
• The rabbit would still be running had the lion not stopped him
• The lion has the respect of every animal
• What if the lion played a joke and told them to keep running to keep the story going
• How did the elephant keep up with the rabbit when they were running?
• Has the rabbit never heard a coconut fall before if he lives around them?

Week 2 Reading Overview

 Choose your Ramayana for Week 3

    So the Ramayana I chose to read was the Tiny Tales. I clicked through a few and they seemed pretty interesting. I chose this one mainly because it was free and there was an audiobook option. Sometimes hearing it can make me understand it better. Also, I like how each section is short and not one big chunk of text. It can be a little overwhelming sitting down and staring at a big chunk of text on a screen. 

Explore the comic books and videos

 Comic Book - 1; This comic book interested me because it is about a powerful giant who has to go into battle and try and defeat an army. It has more action than other comics so it grabbed my attention. 

Comic Book - 2; I chose this comic because it also has more action in it. The story involves a rescue mission for someone in trouble and that seemed pretty interesting.

Video - 1; I chose this video because it relates to life today and can give you another way of viewing life. Going into the four aims of life may help someone find what drives them every day.

Video - 2; I chose this because it's another video that makes you think about life and just our daily existence. It goes deep in this short video and tries to explain the concept of dying. 

Finish the blog post

                                                            Hayagriva and Brahma
                                                                     (Wikimedia: Mahabharata)

    To finish up this blog post, I chose this image. This image really stood out to me just because of what is pictured in it. First off, there is a person with four arms and a horse head that is some sort of god. Being worshipped by someone with four arms as well as faces all around their head. It just reminded me that Indian epics come in all shapes and sizes.