Reading Notes: Week 9 Part A

 YUDHISHTHIRA'S GAMBLING

Duryodhan, the eldest among the Kauravas was constantly meddled in jealousy towards his cousins- the Pandavas. He devised a plan with his uncle Shakuni, to destory the Pandavas. They challenged Yudhishtira to a game of dice and knew that he wouldn't refuse. Yudhishtira's pride and a curse from King Drupad drove him to lose stake after stake against the masterful gambler Shakuni. After losing everything, Shakuni aksed Yudhishtira to gamble his wife Draupadi. Yudhishtira lost again and Draupadi was summoned to the court. She pleaded to the king and begged to be free from slavery as promised to Duryodhan. Prince Dushasan tore off  Draupadi's garments and tried to undress her. However, she folded her hands and started praying to Lord Krishna. As she was getting undressed, the lord clothed her and Dushasan ceased. Bhima now fueled with vengeance against his cousins, exclaims that he would drink the life-blood out of Dushasan and break Duryodhan's thighs in half. Even though King Dhritarashtra freed the Pandavas from slavery, they lost another round of gambling. They had to be exiled for 12 years and give away their kingdom to the Kauravas. When the events of the Kurukshetra war unfolded, Karma came full circle and Bhima slayed Dushasan and Duryodhan exactly like he claimed. 

HIDIMBA AND BAKA

As the Pandavas were in exile, they constantly moved from place to place on foot and this was especially exhausting to Queen Kunti. She asked her son Bhima to find her water before she died of thirst. When Bhima returned, all his brothers and Queen Kunti were asleep. He guarded them from any wild animals or beasts. After a while, a young beautiful woman approaches him and introduces herself as Hidimbi. She claims that her brother had sent her to find the people who had ventured into his territory. She was smitten by Bhima's looks and fell in love with him. She warned Bhima of her brother and that he would slay all of them. When Hidimba tried to attack Bhima, he easily defeated the monster. Queen Kunti advised Bhima to go with Hidimbi and meet them later on. Bhima spends several days with Hidimbi but has to leave to continue his exile. Southward, in a town called Ekachakra, a monster Bakasura had gained control. He would order the town to send him a cart full of rice, two buffaloes and a man/woman every week. Queen Kunti, at the request of a Brahman asks Bhima to slay the demon. The next week, Bhima goes to the demon with the cart and starts eating the rice from it. Enraged, Bakasura attacks Bhima and meets the same fate as Hidimba. Throughout the Mahabharata, we see tales of Bhima slaying monsters as a feat of his strength. 

Hidimbi approaches Bhima

The image above depicts the form Hidimbi adopted while approaching Bhima.

Notes from The Indian Heroes by C.A. Kincaid.

Week 8 Comments and Feedback

This has been the most innovative process for feedback in a class. So I do not have much criticism. The comments are very helpful especially when I'm working on future stories and reading assignments. My delivery for stories needs to change and I discovered this through the comments that I recieved on my blog. Looking forward I want to work on writing stories with a similar theme to build up to a bigger plot from the Mahabharata. I noticed this after leaving comments on a few blogs from the class. Like I've mentioned in my previous blog, I need to change my introduction and I'm working towards that. 

You can learn from criticism

I picked this image because it looks like my cat in India and I relate to the idea of learning from criticism. But mainly because of that cat acting all jugdy 

Week 8 Reading and Writing

The reading and writing assignments are picking out memorable stories from the Mahabharata. My blog needs a revamp and I'm working on a story to add and make it interesting. 

Overall, I like most of the stories that I have picked but need to work more on thr delivery. A comment on my previous story pointed that out and I've noticed it since. 

My favourite story perhaps has been the one where Bhima gains extraordinary strength from the Nagas. Atlantis ? But with snakes! What's not to love ? 

The reading assignments have helped me write stories and given me a good direction. I'm considering using notes for most readings in the future for other classes

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This image of Hanuman grabbing the sun is my favourite. It captures how unique young Hanuman was. Immideately after, Hanuman is incapacitated and has to rely on the gods to bless and revive him.

I want to contribute more by reading more stories and writing them in a better style. I'd be interested in watching more videos in the class and perhaps share more memes too! 

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part B

     Draupadi is perhaps one of the most fascinating female characters in Mahabharata. Married to all the Pandavas, she spent years of exile with them. She was born to a powerful king Drupad, who intended to get her married to Arjuna. A Swayamwara was organised to find the ideal fit for her. The Pandavas, Kauravas, Krishna and Balarama were all present. Drupad set up a bow that only a powerful and skilled archer could lift. It turned out to be quite a challenge for everyone. Karna decided to give it a try but was called "lowly born" by Draupadi. Ultimately, Arjuna lifts the bow and wins Draupadi's heart. Karma works in mysterious ways, as Karna was the one to ultimately help in Abhimanyu's killing ( Arjuna and Draupadi's son). This story cuts into the caste system and questions the idea of privilege at birth. 

Arjuna and Krishna defeating the lord of the heavens ( Indra) is one of my favorite stories. It holds much significance to me as we grew up worshiping the Nagas. Agni ( the lord of fire ) had grown weak and pale due to hunger and wanted to consume the Khandava Vana ( a dense forest ). However, Indra would constantly extinguish the fire to protect the animals. Arjuna used a celestial bow from Varuna that had inextinguishable flames. They defeated Indra and Agni finally consumed the Khandava Vana, killing all animals except six. Ashwasena ( a naga ) and the son of Takshaka ( king of the Nagas), wanted to avenge the deaths. In the Kurukshetra war, Ashwasena sat in Karna's quiver to kill Arjuna. Krishna manages to save Arjuna with a quick insight. Another instance of Karma getting back.

Map showing the location of Khandava

Takshaka ( King of the Nagas) was away from the forest during the burning of Khandava. Instead his son- Ashwasena tried defending it. 

Week 7 Story: Bhima in a crossover

Bhima was one of my favorite characters in the Mahabharata due to his incredible strength. Born to a boon from Lord Vayu, he was a skillful in "malla yuddha"( mace fighting). The Kauravs tried to kill him several times, but it ended up making him stronger.  The eldest among them Duryodhan tries to murder him by poisoning and drowning him in a lake. However, the mighty warrior Bhima drowns to the underworld and is encountered by the snakes (Nagas) that inhibit it. The King of the Nagas- Vasuki, impressed by the might of Bhima, bestows him with the power of a thousand Nagas. 

Before the war in Kurukshetra, Bhima was idling around and sometime too confident of himself. He happened to encounter a monkey on his way to a mace tournament. The tail of the monkey was blocking Bhima's path, so he asked the monkey to move it. The monkey replied that it was old and unable to do so. It asked Bhima to do it himself. Annoyed by this behavior and egoistically, he uses his left hand to give it a slight push . It doesn't move an inch . Surprised by this, Bhima uses some might and still fails. After several attempts with all his might, Bhima folds his hand and apologizes to the monkey. The monkey reveals itself as his half brother (through Vayu) Hanuman and blesses Bhim with more strength. Hanuman advises Bhim to not be prideful and be cautious about the future. 

The progression of Bhima's powers thoughout the Mahabharata gave him an edge over Duryodhan in the end. Bhima cheats the rule of mace combat and kills Duryodhan with a strike to the thigh. The reason Bhima did this was to avenge his wife Draupadi's insult. 

Author's Note

I read stories about Bhima in children's books growing up in India. It is interesting to see a contrast in comic book characters to certian characters like Bhima in the Mahabharata. He is seen as prideful and someone who eats a lot. Something that led to his death early on his way to Kailasa ( heaven) at the end of Mahabharata. This reminds me of Hulk from Marvel comics. Including being incredibly strong , Hulk is constantly potrayed as brute. 

I picked this story because it touches my favorite aspects in comic books. Crossovers! And what's better way than two half brothers across different epics having an encounter. This is one of the stories where we see Hanuman as an immortal strolling through time. It makes us question if he's happy staying alive forever 

Amar Chitra Katha Storybook

Above is a link to a comic style storybook that depicts stories like these from the Mahabharata. These stories are better said this way. It lets you to visualize these characters 

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part A

 The story of Bhima's extraordinary power is fascinating. One of the five Pandavas, Bhima's original source of power comes from being a son of Lord Yama ( from a boon to Kunti). However when his cousin Duryodhan tries to murder him, it works to his advantage. Duryodhana tries to poison Bhima and drown him in a lake. However, the mighty warrior Bhima drowns to the underworld and is encountered by the snakes (Nagas) that inhibit it. The King of the Nagas- Vasuki, impressed by the might of Bhima, bestows him with the power of a thousand Nagas. Returning stronger than ever, Bhima uses his power to strive for Dharma and play an important role in the victory of the Pandavas in the Mahabharata. 

Perhaps the most tragic story alongside Karna's upbringing would be that of Ekalavya. Part of legend and lore in modern day India, Ekalavya was born into a minority community during the Kuru kingdom's prime. Ekalavya was born into a community outside the caste system and hence was rejected by Dronacharya as a student. He chose to worship Drona;s statue instead and teach himself archery. When Drona found out about his prowess, he asked for his thumb as gurudakshina ( payment for teaching in Hindu tradition ). Dronacharya did so because of his own insecurity towards his student Arjuna ( the best archer in the world). Karma later worked it;s course, as Drona died at the hands of his own student. 

Naga Idols 

The Nagas are worshipped even in modern day India. My family in India worship the Nagas as their prime deity 

Works Cited

Alexander Mackenzie, Donald. “The Project Gutenberg EBook of Indian Myth and Legend, by Donald A. Mackenzie.” Www.Gutenberg.Org, 29 Oct. 2014, www.gutenberg.org/files/47228/47228-h/47228-h.htm.