Reading Notes: Babbitt's "Jataka Tales" (Part B)

Here are the notes for my favorite stories in the second half of Babbitt's "Jataka Tales"!

The King's White Elephant

• A big elephant with a splinter in her foot limped over to some carpenters that were cutting down wood.
• Upon seeing the splinter, the men took it out and washed the sore carefully so it would heal.
• The elephant was very grateful, and in returned, helped them cut down trees, roll logs, and brought them tools.
• The men took very good care of the elephant and feed him well.
• One day, the elephant gave birth to a beautiful white elephant, and she decided to bring him to the carpenters to teach him how to help them.
• The men also took very good care of the white baby elephant, and after they were done for the day, the baby went to the river and played in the water with the carpenter's children.
• The king passed by and noticed the magnificent white creature, and paid the carpenters a lot of money for him.
• The white baby elephant looked at everyone one last time, and finally went off to live with the king who took very good care of him as well.

This story kind of took me by surprise because I was expecting a sad ending, especially when the baby elephant was taken away from his mother and his new playmates. I was surprised that the mother elephant didn't really throw a tantrum either. BUT! I'm glad that things turned out well, and the king does not mistreat the baby elephant.

The Elephant & The Carpenter

Granny's Blackie

• In a village, there was this elderly woman who was given a baby elephant by a rich man, and she took very good care of him throughout his life.
• The village people called the elephant "Granny's Blackie," and they played with him every day.
• One day, Blackie wanted Granny to go with him to the forest, but she kindly told him no since she had to go to work and make money.
• Blackie was upset and starting noticing that Granny was becoming a little more older and frailer by the day, and he didn't want her to work anymore so he went out to search for work for himself.
• As he went to the river, Blackie noticed a man and his oxen struggling to bring wagons over through shallow water.
• The man offered Blackie two silver pieces for every wagon he helped bring over. So, that is what Blackie did all day.
• After all the wagons had been pulled, the man counted out one piece for each wagon, and Blackie retaliated by not touching or accepting the money whatsoever and blocking the man from his wagons.
• The man finally gave up and went home to grab more silver pieces for the elephant.
• That night, after worrying Granny and the children of his whereabouts, Blackie came home and showed Granny all the money he's gained.
• From then on, Blackie began working for money, and Granny rested. Both lived happily ever after.

I was intrigued by the title of this story compared to the other titles because of its vagueness, and I was even more intrigued by its storyline. I love the message behind it, and the overall story kind of reminds me of an adoption story. Even though Granny was not Blackie's original mother, they loved and cared for each other like mother and son, and when the time came, Blackie became the breadwinner of the house to take care of his mother.

Granny & Blackie

Bibliography: Ellen C. Babbitt's "Jataka Tales"

Reading Notes: Babbitt's "Jataka Tales" (Part A)

For these last two weeks of the semester, I decided to keep with the theme of children's stories except this time from Jakata Tales! Again, I will choose two of my favorite stories that I could potentially use as the week's storytelling post. Here are this week's favorites:

How the Turtle Saved His Own Life

• A king loved his young princes so much that he made a lake from them to play in and later filled it with fishes so they can see it.
• A turtle was among the fishes, and since the princes have never seen a turtle before, they were fearful of it and thought it was a demon.
• The princes then went to their father for help, and the king sent out men to retrieve this "demon."
• In the court, the king commands the men to kill the demon. Then, all the men and princes talk among each other deciding on what horrible death the turtle will go through.
• One said to bake him to death. One said to pound him into dust. An old man said to throw him into a lake so he'll float into the rocks and be killed.
• At that last comment, the turtle used reverse psychology, saying "Friend, what have I done that you should do such a dreadful thing as that to me? The other plans were bad enough, but to throw me into the lake! Don't speak of such a cruel thing!"
• And so this is how the turtle saved his own life.

I kind of went a little deep in my analysis of this story. From a surface perspective, the lesson could be to never judge a book by it's cover since the men thought the turtle was a demon and later, did not realize he would do perfectly fine if he were thrown into a lake. From a deeper perspective, the lesson could be to not jump to conclusions about someone or something and immediately hate them because he/she/it was different.

The Turtle & His Conviction

The Ox Who Won the Forfeit

• There was a man bragged about having the strongest ox ever.
• One day, he decided to go into the village and bet 1000 silver pieces if there was a wagon his ox cannot move.
• When the ox was attached to the first wagon, the man whipped the ox and called him "wretch" and "rascal" to make him move.
• Offended and fairly passive aggressive, the ox decided not to move because his owner had never treated him like that before, and was disgusted by the behavior.
• So the man had to pay his forfeit to the people and became the laughingstock of the village.
• That night, the man asked the ox why he didn't move the carts when he'd seen him move 100s before! The ox, in turn, asked the man why he had treated him badly today when the man had never done so before.
• The man apologizes and says he'll never treat him that way again, and so the ox promises to move the carts for him.
• The next day, the man and ox go back into the village and bet 2000 silver pieces, and the village people laughed and took the bet based on yesterday's performance.
• Unfortunately for the village people, the ox moved each and every wagon.

I think the lesson learned in this story is to never treat people horribly and they will do what you want. Treat people with respect and you get respect back. It's better to gain authority by respect anyway rather than through brute force and fear.

The Man & His Ox

Bibliography: Ellen C. Babbitt's "Jataka Tales"

Reading Notes: Rouse's "The Giant Crab & Other Tales from Old India" (Part B)

Continuing on from last week, I am writing notes on my favorite stories from Rouse's Indian fables. Here are two fables I liked:

The Quail and the Falcon

• The Quail had no trouble looking for food because he just ate all the worms and seeds that came up from the farmer's plough.
• One day, he decided to try to find food for himself in the forest so off he went to search for worms. Meanwhile, the Falcon was in search for food as well and immediately caught the Quail. 
• The Quail mourned, saying that he should've stayed home because then he would've never gotten caught by Falcon. Then, Falcon took this as a challenge, thinking that he could catch the Quail anywhere! So he let the Quail go and chased after him at the farm.
• Once back home, the Quail challenged the Falcon to come get him, and when the Falcon swiftly dived down, Quail immediately and flawlessly avoided, causing Falcon to die from shock and from hitting the ground too hard.
• Moral: "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."

I thought this was an interesting storyline, especially when the author decided to use legitimate birds as his characters to describe the moral. I could write a story and base the characters off this, but maybe keep out the death part.

Quail

The Bold Beggar

• There was a king named Dainty who liked to spend 1000 pounds on his meals, and allowed anyone to watch him eat for free.
• One day, there was a man who wanted to try the king's food so he came up with a plan to trick the king into giving him food.
• The man cried out "News! News! News!" multiple times while running through the watchful crowd and to the king. Then, upon arriving in front of the king, the man collapse in fake hunger.
• The king give the man part of his own meal and a cup of wine to refresh the man. Once the man ate and drank his share, the king asked him to tell him the news.
• "The news is, your Majesty," said the man, "that an hour ago I was hungry, and now I am not!"
• Surprisingly, the king laughed at the boldness of this beggar and did not punish him; however, he did warn the man and everyone else that this is the last time he'll do such a thing.

I thought this story was brilliant and the ending was far more generous and nicer than I thought it was going to be. I love how the king had a sense of humor and was kind, unlike many other stories which shows the king in a more foul light. I could basically rewrite this story but add more details to develop the character of the king and the beggar a little more.

Beggar

Bibliography: Rouse's "The Giant Crab & Other Tales from Old India"

Reading Notes: Rouse's "The Giant Crab & Other Tales from Old India" (Part A)

For this week and next week, I'm going to be reading Rouse's "The Giant Crab & Other Tales from Old India," which is a collection of stories and Indian fables for children. For each reading note, I'm going to select a few of my favorite stories to discuss, which will be potential idea for writing my own stories! Here are two stories that caught my eye:

The Giant Crab

• There was a Giant Crab that lived in a lake in the mountains. He would use his giant claws to nip anyone who would come drink from the lake. Crab became so big from eating the animals that came by, and all the animals became fearful of going to the lake even though they were thirsty.
• The Elephants wanted to retaliate and stop Crab. Some Elephants would watch out for Crab while the rest of the herd drank. Unfortunately, Crab nipped Mr. Elephant and dragged him under. In order to save her husband, Mrs. Elephant flirted with Crab to distract him (successfully), and once he loosened his grip, Mr. Elephant stomped on his back. Then, the Crab "mincemeat" with only his claws left.
• Mr. and Mrs. Elephant became King and Queen of the animals and mountains. Later, a flood washed Crab's claws to a city where the King's sons found them and made them into drums to play at war.

I thought this story was a little morbid and brutal, but still very interesting. I like how they decided to choose Elephants as the saviors of the animals even thought they were among wolves, lions, tigers, and foxes (all of which could have defeated crabs).

The Giant Crab

The Dishonest Friend

• A man had a dishonest friend. When asked to take charge of his plough, the dishonest friend sold it. When the man came back for his plough, the dishonest friend said a giant rat ate it. The man accepted the lie.
• The man then took the dishonest friend's son out for a walk, leaving him at a friend's house. When the man came back to the dishonest friend, he claimed that a hawk took the son. The dishonest friend called him a liar and a murderer and brought him to court.
• The judge figured out the dispute between the friends, concluding that if the dishonest friend wanted to find his son, he had to find the lost plough.
• Moral of the Story: Honesty is the best policy.

I thought this story had an interesting twist at the end, and I was kind of taken aback at how the writer decided to promote honesty between these characters. Out of all the short stories I read, the title of The Dishonest Friend caught my eye the most because it was more vague than the other titles, which made me curious as to what it would be about.

The Dishonest Friend

Bibliography: W.H.D. Rouse's "The Giant Crab & Other Tales from Old India)

Reading Notes: Pattanik's "Seven Secrets of Vishnu"

Chapter 6: Krishna’s Secret

“Know the thought behind the action.”

• In Bhagavata, Krishna is a flute-playing, playful, lovable, mischievous, romantic cowherd who loves butter.
• In Mahabharata, Krishna is a conch-blowing, city-builder, warrior, leader, philosopher, statesman, and charioteer covered with the grime of war.
• Both versions of Krishna create the Purna-Avatar, the most wholesome manifestation of God.
• Name translate to "black"
• Krishna is an unusual god because he challenges everything conventional.
• Story of Yayati, an ancestor of Krishna
• Cursed by his father-in-law to become old and impotent when he is discovered having a mistress
• Begs his sons to suffer the curse on his behalf so that he can retain his youth
• Yadu, the eldest, refuses because he feels father should respect the march of time.
• Puru, the youngest, accepts.
• After many years of youthfulness, Krishna is happy and declares Puru to be the heir instead of Yadu.
• (Descendants = Pandavas and Kauravas)
• Krishna also curses Yadu and all his descendants will never be king.
• Krishna has two mothers because prophecy says that his mother's 8th child (him) will kill his mother's older brother. Therefore, the uncle killed all her babies once they were born, but when Krishna was born, his father put him in a river basket.
• Natural disposition is Varna - AKA birth mother - nobleman
• Cultural indoctrination is Jati - AKA adopted mother - cowherd
• Butter (which is churned out of milk) is the symbol of love

Krishna

Bibliography: Devdutt Pattanik's "Seven Secrets of Vishnu"

Reading Notes: Pattanik's "Seven Secrets of Vishnu" (Part E)

Chapter 5: Rama's Secret
"Outgrow the beast to discover the divine."

• Vishnu's stories can be divided into two sets:
• Those who function in a timeless realm
• Devas and Asuras
• Battle deals with wealth, creation, emotional security, and intellectual growth
• Devas live in sky - Asuras live under the earth (which means battle is aligned vertically).
• Between celestial realms and nether regions
• Those who function within time
• Manavas and Rakshasas
• Battle deals with appropriate social conduct, ethics, and morality
• Both Manavas and Rakshasas live on earth (which means battle is aligned horizontally)  
• Between culture and nature, between dharma and adharma
• Rama - the only avatar of Vishnu to be worshipped as king
• The story of Prithu and his father Vena
• Vena - a king who plundered the earth so much that the earth ran away in the form of a cow
• Nature mourned, and the sages decided to pick up a blade of grass, chant magical hymns, turned the grass into a potent missile, and use it to kill Vena
• The Rishis removed all savageness in the dead king's corpse, creating a new, purified king Prithu (who is a form of Vishnu).
• Prithu went to the earth-cow to ask to get milk for his people. When she refused (because she was still upset at Vena), Prithu threatened to shoot her with an arrow.
• "If you kill me," said the earth-cow, "then all of nature will be destroyed and so will all life."
• Prithu argued that he couldn't feed humanity without domesticating nature (EX: turning forests to fields to farm)
• Cow said to do so in moderation, and he promised to institute dharma as well.
• Prithu is named the first responsible king of earth.
• Four Stations in Society:
• Brahmana - involved with spiritual activities
• Kshatriya - involved in administrative activities
• Vaishya - involved in wealth generating activities
• Shudra - involved in service providing activities
• Four Stages of Life (Ashramas):
• Brahmacharya - the student stage
• Grahastha - the householder stage
• Vanaprastha - the retirement stage
• Sanyasa - the hermit stage
• Vishnu has make sure everyone is following the four stations/stages

Rama

Bibliography: Devdutt Pattanik's "Seven Secrets of Vishnu"

Reading Notes: Pattanik's "Seven Secrets of Vishnu" (Part D)

Chapter 4: Trivikrama's Secret
"Ignorance breeds insecurity and arrogance."

• Saraswati is the goddess of knowledge, music, arts, wisdom, and learning.
• Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth, fortune, and prosperity.
• When Lakshmi walks into the room, both devas (gods) and asuras (demons) give her attention and ignore Sarawati repeatedly.
• Sarawati becomes jealous, and leaves.
• Alakshmi, Lakshmi's sister, accompanies Lakshmi after Sarawati leaves.
• Alakshmi arrives --> strife --> no peace --> waning prosperity --> Lakshmi leaves
• Vishnu's always gives Lakshmi AND Sarawati equal attention. 
• Lakshmi connects him with the earthly needs of man.
• Sarawati connects him with the spiritual needs of man.
• Because he knows they do not get along, Vishnu hides Sarawati in his mouth and Lakshmi at his feet.
• Hiranyaksha (an asura) drags Bhu-devi (the Earth goddess) to the bottom of the sea and claims her - Devas complain to their father Brahma who becomes enraged.
• Brahma's nose flares and out comes a large boar with large tusks - This is Vishnu's 3rd avatar Varaha who challenges Hiranyaksha.
• Vishnu rescues Bhu-devi, and she claims him and names him the lord of the earth.
• This is why he is blue (like the day sky) and black (like the night sky).
• Varaha and Bhu-devi's intercourse was so strong it made mountains and valleys. Earth becomes "impregnated" with plants.
• A child, Naraka, was also born - He was an asura who craved power and asked Brahma for immortality - Brahma refused, and then he asked to be invulnerable on only can be killed if he attacked his mother.
• Naraka overtook the devas. - Krishna challenged him to a duel. (Krishna and his wife Satyabhama were the mortal incarnations of Vishnu and Bhu-devi AKA his parents). 
• Naraka hurled a weapon at Krishna, but it hit Satyabhama - Naraka was now vulnerable, and Krishna defeated him.

Trivikrama

Bibliography: Pattanik's "Seven Secrets of Vishnu"

Reading Notes: Pattanaik's "Seven Secrets of Vishnu" (Part C)

Chapter 3: Kurma's Secret
"Wealth eludes the insecure."

• Lakshmi = goddess of wealth, provides sustenance for beings
• Does not discriminate, restless
• Described as coming from the ground - lives in Patala
• Subterranean realms = realm of Asuras
• Grandfather (Brahma) - Father (Kashyapa) - Mother (Diti)
• Demons who withhold Lakshmi under the earth
• Devas (gods) help release Lakshmi - halfbrothers of Asuras
• Acts of mining, hunting, fishing, farming, and harvesting (which generate wealth) are so violent because it basically symbolizes Devas killing Asuras to release Lakshmi from her subterranean prison.
• Indra was Lakshmi's husband.
• She brought him a wish fulfilling tree, cow, and gen. 
• Insecure that she will leave him for a worthier husband - acts out as hedonist
• She leaves him and turns into the "milk of the ocean"
• Asks Vishnu for help - he says to create a beautiful mandala and churn the ocean of milk
• Thought it was impossible for it to stay together/afloat
• Kurma (AKA Vishnu) appears as a turtle to help circle the mountain - Indra also had to make the Asura help churn the milk as well.
• Devas and Asuras work together to get back Lakshmi because both need her - two opposing sides working together for a common goal
• Milk - represents the material world full of possibilities
• Vishnu demands butter or ghee - Shiva is content with raw, unboiled milk
• After Lakshmi appears, the Devas and Asuras wait for her to choose who she wants to be with.
• She declares Vishnu because he is enterprising, gets enemies work together, and does not attempt to control her.
• Vishnu does not chase her, but she always follows him - her character completely changes from her original restless, random movement self.

Kurma the Second Avatar of Vishnu

Bibliography: Devdutt Pattanaik's "Secrets of Vishnu"

Reading Notes: Pattanaik's "Seven Secrets of Vishnu" (Part B)

Chapter 2: Matsya's Secret

"Only humans can empathize and exploit."

• Matsya = avatar of vishnu in form of fish
• Larger Brain = transform pashu (animal) to purusha (human)
• Creates Brahma who seeks Brahman.
• Physical manifestation of spiritual real
• Born of vishnu to realize him
• Manavas = Humans
• First human is named Manu.
• Jungle Rule (Matsya Nyaya): Might is right.
• Only humans can overturn this rule.
• Mighty humans can help weak ones.
• Manu interferes with nature because of empathy, transforming nature.
• Saves little fish by putting him in pot.
• When fish grows, Manu gives him bigger pot.
• Notion of property - from empathy/compassion or fear/greed
• Dharma = artificial construct to create a secure world
• Imagination + Empathy = Inclusive Property --> Dharma
• Imagination + Fear/Exploitation = Exclusive Property --> Adharma
• Rama = Dharma, Ravana = Adharma
•   King Shibi rescued dove from hawk.
• When hawk asks what he will eat, King replies he should eat another dove.
• Hawk questions why King would save one dove but sacrifice another.
• King changes mind and says to eat a rat or serpent.
• Hawk questions why they should die for the dove to live. No answer.
•  Vishnu draws attention to imperfect culture.
• Culture is built on the destruction of a natural ecosystem.
• Law of Karma = Ever action as a reaction.
• Newton's third law??
• Flooding (death of the world) - Manu creates boat by horned fish's instructions
• Similar to Noah's ark

Matsya

Bibliography: Devdutt Pattanaik's "Secrets of Vishnu"

Reading Notes: Pattanaik's "Seven Secrets of Vishnu" (Part A)

For the next three week, I'm going to read Devdutt Pattanaik's "Secrets of Vishnu" (or watch the videos) to learn more about Vishnu. Here are some notes from Part A:

Chapter 1: Mohini's Secret
"Spiritual growth need not exclude material growth."

• Mohini is Visnhu's female form who is an enchantress.
• Hindu mythology uses gender as a vehicle to communicate metaphysical ideas.
• There are two realities in Indian mythology:
• Material (tangible) reality is represented in female form.
• RED - color of blood; sustains life
• Spiritual (intangible) reality is represented in male form.
• WHITE - color of bones; upholds life by being still
• Interdependence of the two realities is represented as a male-female couple.
• EX: Vishnu and Lakshmi
• Reasons for gender assignment:
• Males/Spiritual reality trigger observation.
• Female/Material reality embodies observation.
• (Think of pregnancy)
• Unborn child - innocent, ignorant of the world
• May be represented as Narayana who sleep on a serpent in water.
• Serpent is named Adi-Anatna-Sesha (Primal-Infinite-Residue), which represents the stages of time.
• Adi - represented by 1 - "awakening"
• Anatna - represented by infinity - "awake"
• Sesha - represente by 0 - "asleep"

Mohini

Bibliography: Devdutt Pattanaik's "Secrets of Vishnu"

Reading Notes: The Five Tall Sons of Pandu (Parts A & B)

This week, I read The Five Tall Sons of Pandu, which is Richard Wilson's version of the Mahabharata, and I'm combining the reading notes from parts A and B into one blog post since this version is fairly short. Part A consisted of the introduction of the give Pandava brothers, Arjuna winning Draupadi as his wife in a contest, Yudhisthira's gambling match, and the exile of the brothers and Draupadi from beginning to end. Part B consisted of the war between Duryodhana and the Pandavas and the battles won and lost by each character.

What I thought was interesting in Wilson's story is his style of writing and his changes from the original story. The writing style was more like a SparkNotes summary where each sentence was concise and only dealt with the direct storyline plots without much straying. The story changes was a defining characteristic of Wilson's version of Mahabharata because he does not have any supernatural aspects in the story and changes some plot lines in order to fit with a typical story of royal conflicts between regular, mortal people. For instance, in the original story, Draupadi is supposed to be a shared wife between the five Pandava brothers, but Wilson made it so she was only Yudhisthira's wife although it was Arjuna who won her in the first place.

For this week's storytelling, I was thinking about using the non-supernatural aspect of Wilson's story in retelling a specific part of Mahabharata. Here are some writing ideas:

• A continuation of my story last week --> The Night I Gambled My Life Away <-- except now I can discuss how the family felt and how "Dominic" is their jealous distant cousin
• Arjuna's perspective on how unfair it was that he won the contest yet Yudhisthira is the one who gets the girl (AKA Draupadi)
• A background story on Duryodhana's jealousy and furiousness of the Pandavas
• The perspective of Karna and Arjuna's mother on her two sons fighting without Arjuna knowing their blood relation

The Five Pandava Brothers & Draupadi

Bibliography: Richard Wilson's The Five Tall Sons of Pandu

Reading Notes: PDE Mahabharata (Part D)

This is my last reading note for PDE Mahabharata, finishing up the story with Part D. Most of this story consists of battles, deaths, and aftermath. I'm not really one for battles and gore so I might skip those parts during my brainstorming for story ideas. Here they are:

• Bhishma thought process as he falls in battle and decides he's going to officially die on the solstice. 
• Yudhisthira's afterlife journey in hell and then the heavens.
• A background story on how Ashwatthaman received a supernatural jewel on his forehead that protects him from danger.

Side Note: It was a little hard for me to figure out what I would want to write about in this section of Mahabharata. I didn't find much inspiration from the readings, so this week's story may be from my reading notes from Parts A-C! I had a lot more inspiration and motivation for story/character development so stick around for Week 6's Storytelling post!

Yudhisthira in Hell

Bibliography: PDE Mahabharata

Reading Notes: PDE Mahabharata (Part C)

Today, I finished reading Part C of Mahabarata, which including Draupadi and the five Pandava brothers finishing up their exile, meeting of interesting characters, trying to make peace to prevent an all-out war (but failing), and finally, ending with the beginning of the battle. This entire story seems to have a theme of being everywhere trying to include so many stories and situations. On the down side, the story isn't really too cohesive. On the plus side, it allows for great storytelling potentials! Here are some of mine:

• Hanuman (as my favorite character in Ramayana) was included in this section, which is absolutely fantastic. I could have a story in his perspectives about the similarities and/or differences between Arjuna and Rama! Or I can have him be a little tired of having to come across Arjuna. ("Oh no... Not another exiled prince...")
• Karna and Indra's trade was pretty interesting to me (because who trades golden armor/earrings that make you invincible for a single dart, which arguably is powerful but you are still vulnerable because of your lack of armor). I could elaborate on this interaction, but maybe create a modernized version where they are trading something else... Maybe Yu-Gi-Oh cards vs. Pokemon cards?
• The Riddles at the Lake was another chapter I really liked in Part C. All five brothers hear a disembodied voice telling them not to drink the water, and all but one died after drinking. Yudhisthira, the only sane one in the group, was left to answer the voice's riddles, completing them all and wishing his brothers back to life. I was thinking about writing this one in Dharma's point of view and reveal his thoughts as 1) the four brothers unheeded his warning regardless of seeing the other brothers' deaths and 2) Yudhisthira answered ALL of his riddles correctly and without hesitation even though he made it as hard as possible.

Karna & Indra's Trade

Bibliography: PDE Mahabharata

Reading Notes: PDE Mahabharata (Part B)

So I just finished reading part B of Mahabharata, and I like the stories but I feel like it's just kind of everywhere at the moment. To me, it seem like the storylines and twists are just sprinkled throughout. Anyway, continuing with my theme of using reading notes as mainly story suggestions, here are two ideas I really liked and thought about for a story:

• A group therapy session with both Arjuna and Rama to recover from their years in exile.
• They could be competitive ("Who got it worse?") and try to one-up each other!
• Both should act reluctant at first because their wives forced them into therapy.
• One of the gods should play the therapist.
• In the end, they realize that both situations were horrible anyway.
• Arjuna and Rama become best friends (?)
• OR they hate each other and go complain to their respective wives, saying they never want to go back again.
• AU (Alternate universe) where Yudhishthira is a gambling addict at an underground casino.
• Yudhisthira should go by a different name or at least have a nickname/code name.
• Yoshi, Y, Thira, Ty, etc.
• He runs out of money and the only thing the owner of the casino wants is Draupadi.
• Yudhisthira doesn't want to bet her just yet so he bets his brothers instead.
• They play an all-or-nothing game, which Yudhisthira ends up losing.
• Because he doesn't like to lose, he finally bets Draupadi but still loses...
• The story should end with his inner monologue of his nervous anticipation about how he's going to bring up the news to Draupadi and his brothers.

The Gambling Match in Mahabharata

Bibliography: PDE Mahabharata

Reading Notes: PDE Mahabharata (Part A)

This week, I started reading the PDE version of Mahabarata, which was fairly entertaining and similar to Ramayana in its storytelling prose. Instead of summarizing this part in this section as I have done in the past with my reading notes, I just want to highlight some storytelling potentials! Here are some ideas:

• Elaborate on the birth of Davavrata from King Shantanu and Goddess Ganga
• An unknown citizen's fascination with Arjuna and his strength as he hits ever target possible
• Maybe make this a young child who wants to be like Arjuna when he grows up
• Make a mashup between Rama and Arjuna, where they fight each other for fun
• Dorona's inner thoughts as he is training the princes

Ganga, Devavrata, and Shantanu

Bibliography: PDE Mahabharata

Reading Notes: W. D. Monro's "Rama & Sita" (Part B)

Today, I finished W. D. Monro's "Rama and Sita," and I completely loved it. Monro made it feel like a classic fairytale. The most interesting change I saw from PDE Ramayana was the ending. The ultimate end of "Rama and Sita" was the reunion of the royal couple, and everything was happily ever after, which is a fantastic change in my opinion. The drama when Rama decided he couldn't trust Sita's purity after trying to save her for so long was completely unnecessary. By having a simple, happy ending, Monro was able to let the tale come to a nice conclusion without sparking more conflict, only to end in the same conclusion as before.

The other thing I found interesting was that Monro decided to end "The Tale of Rama & Sita" with a verse translation from Valmiki's "Ramayana" by R. T. H. Griffith.

"Ten thousand years Ayodhya, blest

With Rama's Rule, had peace and rest.

No widow mourned her murdered mate,

No house was ever desolate.

The happy land no murrain knew,

The flocks and herd increased and grew.

The earth her kindly fruits supplied,

No harvest failed, no children died.

Unknown where want, disease, and crime:

So calm, so happy was the time."

The verse was a great ending because it added to the happily-ever-after mood of the story. Each line was describes good fortune all throughout Adyodhya and under Rama's reign as king, which simply reinforced the prior ending in prose.

In my story for this week, I was thinking about writing in an old-fashioned English fairytale style in prose OR verse in reference to Monro's work. I really liked how he executed the story from beginning to end, adding narrator commentary every once in a while. Another story idea may be to discuss these events in a perspective of a third party (not Rama and Sita) who is telling the story at an older age. OR I could potentially choose one perspective (either Rama or Sita) and have them tell their twins about how they met and how their father bravely fought to go save their mother. 

Sita & Her Children

Bibliography: W. D. Monro's "Rama and Sita"

Reading Notes: W. D. Monro's "Rama & Sita" (Part A)

This week, I decided to read W. D. Monro's "Rama & Sita" because I am planning on using his book Stories of India's Gods and Heroes to reference in my storybook (webpage to be announced soon!). While reading Part A of this section, I noticed that the writing style had old-fashioned storytelling in prose while PDE Ramayana was more small episodes with old-fashioned wording in either prose or verse style. Monro also decided to have the story told from different perspectives more in depth, too. For instance, he includes the interaction between Ravana and Sita as she continues to deny and reject him.

Monro's style also made the story of Rama & Sita more interesting and intense by building up a heroic suspense, which made the epic more... well, epic! I imagine an old wise man telling a story while reading this version. In a different way than I've done before, I'm thinking about writing my story this week in a old-fashioned prose. I might write it as more of a fairytale, too! The story of Rama and Sita fits the basic mold of hero-saving-the-damsel-in-distress. I could make Rama a prince, Sita a princess, and Ravana a fire breathing dragon! But that's for a later decision.

At the end of Part A (and the middle of the "Rama and Sita" section), Monro includes "The Tale of Pururavas & Urvasi" as a parallel love story to Rama and Sita's. I thought this was an interesting inclusion because it shows a different take on the power of love with a happier ending before the story of Rama and Sita ends. For this week's story, I could focus more on Pururavas and Urvasi instead, and have both of them thrown into the prince-princess rescue mission, too!

Rama & Sita

Bibliography: W. D. Monro's "Rama & Sita"

Reading Notes: Ramayana (Part D)

The plot of Part D is fairly action-filled compared to the previous three parts. In an abridged summary of the events, Rama and his allies barge into Lanka, and have to face Indrajit (Ravana's son) and Kumbhakarna (Ravana's brother). While it was as very tough battle for Rama and friends, Garuda appears to heal their wounded so they all can fight once more. Watching from above, the gods watch the battle, and Indra decides to send Matali and his chariot to help them in battle. After an eventful and destined battle between Rama and Ravana, Rama is able to defeat Ravana by slaying him with a weapon of Brahma, and all is supposedly well and Rama becomes king of Ayodhya. However, once Sita is rescued, Rama begins to deny her faithfulness and pureness because of her time in Lanka, although she went through a fire to prove herself. Rama exiles her, she gives birth to twins (sons of Rama), and the boys somehow find their way back to Rama. When he figures out they are his sons, he sends for Sita to return because he cannot live without her. Ramayana ends as Rama returns to the gods in the form of Vishnu.

            As I read this part, I thought it was interesting how intense the battles were, and the helpfulness of every character Rama had come across throughout Ramayana. The most interesting part of this section, in my opinion however, was the aftermath of the destined battle between Rama and Ravana. After wanting to rescue his beloved wife Sita for so long and going through so much trouble, Rama was so quick to deny Sita's loyalty and her exile made his fight for her seem pointless. He realized his mistake of exiling her only years after he comes across his two sons he did not know about because Sita gave birth to them after her exile.

Here are some ideas that I could write about:

• The outrage Sita feels after being accused of not being pure after her time in Lanka
• Vishnu's return to the heavens and being celebrated by the other gods
• The perspective of the gods watching the events of the battle, after waiting so long for it to happen
• Ravana's last thoughts as he is killed by Rama
• Bharata's thoughts as he sees Rama return, and his relief when he realizes that he doesn't have to kill himself
• Rama's coronation day

The Reunion of Rama & Bhrata

Bibliography: Public Domain Edition Ramayana

Reading Notes: Ramayana (Part C)

The plot of Part C continued with Rama and Lakshamana's search for the monkey king Sugriva to ask him to help them find Sita. Along the way, the brothers were able to ally with Sugriva, Hanuman (the monkey god), Jambavan (the bear leader), and their followers. After sending four armies to look for Sita, one group found her location on an island in Lanka. As Hanuman went in to retrieve Sita, he was captured and Ravana decided his punishment was to set his tail on fire. Hanuman then retaliated by setting half of Lanka on fire with his tail, and then went back to the rest of his army to tell them what happened. Meanwhile, Ravana's loyal followers are willing to wage war with Rama but Ravana's younger brother Vibhishana thought he should return Sita to him instead. However, after being refused by Ravana, Vibhishana decides to leave Lanka and ally with Rama.

            As I read this part, the end was interesting where Vibhishana, a rakshasa AND Ravana's younger brother is the voice of reason and sides with Rama against his own brother. I also thought it was interesting that Ravana simply decided to set Hanuman's tail on fire instead of having him killed or something more torturous. There is also a character development of Hanuman during this section of the Ramayana. He is a devoutly, courageous follower of Rama, who risks his life to find Sita and revolves his actions around what he should do to protect both her and Rama. Something new I could do this time around is to write in a verse style and/or have a first point of view of one character.

Here are some ideas that I could write about:

• Hanuman's thought process during Ravana's court deciding his punishment, which leads to his burning of Lanka
• Vibhishana's perspective and his last straw with Ravana, causing him to team up with Rama
• His story could correlate to Week 2's story with Shurpanaka
• Sita's perspective awaiting her husband, and her annoyance with Ravana as he tries to seduce her
• Backstory on how the monkeys and bears allied together (maybe a love story?)

Hanuman

Bibliography: Public Domain Edition Ramayana

Reading Notes: Ramayana (Part B)

The plot of Part B started with Bharata’s returning to Ayodhya to find out his father’s death, mother’s betrayal, and brother’s exile. After conducting his father’s funeral, he went into the jungle to find Rama and have him un-exiled to take throne again, but Rama stubbornly declined because he wanted to fulfill his deceased father’s wishes. As he, Sita, and Lakshamana continue their exile, they face more rakshasas, defeating all of them. Shurpanakha, Ravana’s sister, falls in love with Rama and transforms her deformed figure to a beautiful woman in order to seduce Rama. However, Rama remains faithful to his wife, and jokingly tells her to go seduce Lakshamana instead. Enraged with rejection, she gathers her brothers (not Ravana) and 14,000 rakshasas kill them all. They all get defeated by Rama. Shurpanakha is mutilated, returning to her king brother, Ravana, with a request to take Sita away from Rama. Ravana takes Sita back to his kingdom by having Maricha form as a golden deer to distract Rama and Lakshamana. Jatayu, a vulture king, attempts to save Sita, but is killed in the process, and later tells the royal brothers that they must find Sugriva, a gorilla king, in order to fight Ravana. Along the way, they find Shabari, who has been waiting for their arrival for years.

            As I read this part, I thought it was interesting that there were many gandharva who were cursed to become rakshasas and Shabari’s destiny to wait in a hermitage until the arrival of Rama. I also found the development of my findings in Part A to Part B interesting. For instance, the fatal flaw of needing to please leads Rama into another predicament: trying to get the “golden deer” for his wife despite any warnings. The curses and destiny for people to meet Rama also calls for a pre-planned destiny from the gods.

Here are a few possibilities of what I could write about:

• Like in my reading note for Part A, I like the idea of a story about the gods trying to come up with details in Rama's life.
• Entries from Shabari's diary awaiting Rama.
• Sita's thoughts on constantly being the damsel in distress.
• A flasback to Shurpanakha's childhood and being rejected by everyone, which leads to the present where Rama rejects her.
• Bharata's mindset when he came back home and how to get his brother back.

Rama Chasing the Golden Deer for Sita

Bibliography: Public Domain Edition Ramayana