Indian Epics: A Blog by Trace Youngman

Arjuna and Krishna:  Wikimedia Commons Plot The Pandavas must go live in the forest in exile because of their gambling losses. During their stay they visit many sages and learn a lot. Each of the brothers also embarks on their own journey. Because the Pandava brothers go into the forest, so must Draupadi. At the beginning of their exile, Krishna goes to speak with Draupadi and attempts to make Draupadi feel better about the situation. Krishna succeeds to a point, but Draupadi is still sad. Arjuna goes on his own adventures at this point to secure divine weapons for the rest of the Pandava brothers to help them in the journey. He secures weapons from the great god and spent the next five years in his father Indra’s abode learning dance and song. During Arjunas absence, the other brothers spent their time being visited by great sages who taught them valuable skills. During cattle inspections that the Kauravas had to undertake, the gandharvas and apsaras entered into battle

Davavrata vows to give up the throne:  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bheeshma_oath_by_RRV.jpg Mahabharata is composed by Vyasa with Ganesha being the scribe This epic seems to have a lot more backstory to how it was made than Ramayana. I find it interesting that Ganesha never stopped writing once he started, and I wonder why this was included in Brahma’s instruction. The king Chedi’s semen fell into the river and was consumed by a fish  This is one of the more obscure beginnings to any story I have ever read. I don’t understand why a fish had to consume the semen. It makes sense that a fisherman found the fish, but it would’ve made more sense if the children were born into the fisherman’s family, or something of the sort. King Shantanu meets Ganga while walking along the Ganges and cannot tell Ganga what to do. Why didn’t Ganga tell the King her reasoning for throwing the children into the river? Maybe it was fate that she couldn’t’ tell him or something of t

Bhima, son of Pandu:  British Museum o    Mahabharata was composed by Vyasa and Ganesha was the scribe. Vyasa struggled to find someone worthy of being the scribe, but Ganesha became the scribe as per Brahma’s instruction. Ganesha’s one caveat was that he would not stop writing once he started. o    A king named Chedi’s semen fell into a river and was consumed by a fish. The fish was then caught by a fisherman with two children inside. The king took the boy and the fisherman took the girl. o    King Shantanu and Ganga meet while King Shantanu is walking along the Ganges. He asks Ganga to marry him and she agrees is he doesn’t tell her what to do or speak down to her. Ganga begins to throw her children into the river and on the last child Shantanu speaks up and Ganga gives the king the last child and leaves forever o    King Shantanu then meets Satyavati the daughter of the fisherman. Satyavati is the mother of Vyasa but must stay a virgin forever. King Shantanu asks to marry

Hanumann:  British Libraries      My name is Hanuman and I never thought I was special. I thought I was destined to serve in the Monkey Kingdom as no more than a peasant solider and eventually pass onto heaven. However, I have distinct memories from childhood leaping far into the air to try and catch the wind to fly away from home. These plans never worked out, and I remember not being allowed to leave my home tree for months after my parents found out what I had done. I grew up a lot in that short time, and I forgot about my ability to jump far. The Monkey Kingdom was very stable for all of my life up until recently. Recently, Sugriva, the monkey king, and his brother, Vail, had a big argument. Vail wanted to continue expanding the empire while Sugriva wanted to keep things the way they had always been. Vail and Sugriva began fighting until Vail eventually ousted Sugriva. There were years of infighting after Vail was crowned king, and right as it seemed like the Monkey Kingdom

Ravana:  Abi Skipp ·         Plot o    Rama and Lakshmana meet a monkey king living in exile after his brother mistook him for a traitor. Sugriva goes back to rightfully take his place as king and a battle breaks out because Vail always thinks of him as a traitor. After the battle, Sugriva still mourns his brother’s death. §   This is the back story for the entire set up for the third part of the story. The monkey King, Sugriva, is living in exile at this point. Rama and Lakshmana are incredibly helpful in helping him restore his throne and I believe that is why Sugriva helps them so much. It is also interesting that Sugriva still mourns the death of his brother after his brother exiled him. o    Rainy season is here, and Sugriva says that his now kingdom will help Rama and Lakshmana after the rainy season ends. The rainy season ends, and Rama sends Lakshmana to coerce the monkey king into fulfilling his promise. §   While Sugriva may have helped Rama if he didn’t coerce

stylised letter of Devanagari script:  Wikimedia Trace Youngman's Storybook

Death of Maricha:  Wikimedia Commons     I knew from the moment I met Rama that I would never be able to kill him. Recently, my twin brothers were killed in battle with Rama. I escaped as soon as I realized that the battle between us would not be won and I sulked my way back to the camp I am living in. I walked for days thinking about my brothers being effortlessly slain by Rama, and at first, I was angry. I wanted to get revenge, but I lacked the energy and willpower to do so because of the days of walking. As I mourned their deaths, I began to realize that I would be unable to fight him, and I could only hope that someone more powerful than I would defeat him. During my sorrow, a rakshasa more powerful I came through my camp. Alone and in despair, I welcomed him into my home and it was then he told me his plan. He, along with dozens of other rakshasas, would attempt to capture and slay Rama. The Rakshasa, Shiv, needed me to join them in battle. At first, I was hesitant, bu

The Final Demon Part B:  Wikimedia Commons Plot  Bharata and Shatrughna are deeply saddened by king Dasharatha's death and Barata vows to never take the throne. They quickly bury king Dasharatha and Bharata goes to the jungle to convince Rama to return. This part is important because now King Dasharatha is no longer part of the plot he is referenced later, but his main part in the story is over Kaikeyi shows no remorse for the fact that she exiled Rama which is still strange to me  Bharata is unable to convince Rama to return and tries to give him golden sandles for his feet when he refuses. Rama instead tells him to put them on the throne when he returns The Golden Sandles are very symbolic of the story and it is very noble of Rama to refuse  Sita tells the Sage Anasuya about her life from the beginning when they meet in the jungle  Not a very important part, but still a very interesting part about Sita Rama and Lakshmana battle a demon named Viradha who abduc

Feedback:  Wikimedia       Feedback is difficult. Being too difficult has the possibility of discouraging someone to the point that they no longer try, but being too positive about someones work may lead them to not attempt at improving anymore. The first article I read is  The difference between praise and feedback . I found this article interesting because it is harsh about children getting constant praise. I agreed with the article's point that children should be told why there work or school assignments looks good. It should not just be that the work is good itself. However, I disagree with the idea that there should be no positive praise. Telling a five year old that their painting could use more effort doesn't do much for the child in general. It will only discourage them, and make them feel like they should not try at all. The second article I read is  how to give students specific feedback . I agree with most of the points in the article. Developing students shou

Dharma:  Wikipedia      The topic I am doing more research on is the Hindu Creation Stories. The Creation Stories are not just one story that the whole Hindu religion believes, but there are a multitude of different stories about the creation of the Universe. There are stories that the earth was founded only 4000 years ago, stories that the gods came into existence after the universe was made, and stories that the gods created the universe trillions of years ago. This makes the Creation Stories a lot more widespread than they seem, and why they are my top choice for my Storybook this semester.       The first story I am considering writing about is the creation of the universe using one of the myths of the creation as the source. The Creation Story I will most likely use is the Creation Story that the Universe was created trillions of years ago. I will use the Wikipedia page  Hindu views on evolution  as my source, and tell the story from the creators point of view.    

Rama battling the Demons:  Wikimedia Commons  Lakshmana Diary Day 35     My first memory as a child is Rama and I sitting with our father, King Dasharatha, and our other two brothers at dinner. Even as a young child, I could tell that my father greatly favored Rama over us three, but it did not bother me. I have always known that my brother is special, and I figured that I should support him with whatever he does. Even if it means sitting in his shadow. I first figured out that he is different when he fought back demons who were killing off a local farmers livestock. During the fight, he summoned animals from the forest and used the land around him to win the battle: four demons to one Rama. But this is just the beginning. Soon after, we were shopping at a local market when he saw a beautiful woman. She moved gracefully throughout the market with a sizeable entourage following signifying that she was important. Rama caught her eye, and after talking for hours at the bus