Mariah's Indian Epics Blog

A version of the Judas Tree one brother saw Image Link Notes: The Crow That Thought It Knew- Not sure what the moral of the story is but I interpret it as don't try anything just because you supposedly aren't the right species. The crow wasn't supposed to try something new I guess. The Judas Tree - Again, not sure what I'm supposed to take away from this. Maybe the sons should've been more curious instead of accepting what was given to them at the surface. The River-Fish and the Money - The brother was messing around and lost the money. The money ends up with the Bodhisattva again and is warned to not give any of it to his brother. He gives half to him anyway because it's the Bodhisattva. The Dreamer in the Wood - The Buddha just wishes for everyone to live simply and happy like him. The Rice Measure- The king was trying to be tricky and hired a fool but in the end only the expert Bodhisattva could properly do the job. This is something our governm...

The Buddha with an Elephant Image Link Notes: The Hawk and the Osprey - The animals created bonds that will help them survive through trials life throws at them. Grandmother's Golden Dish - Some people have so much greed in their hearts, they take out their misfortunes out on those who are unselfish. This was the first time this semester I remember seeing Devadatta. I almost forgot about him. The Elephant That Spared Life- 5 commandments = 5 precepts; someone complained to the king saying people weren't breaking the commandments therefore not buying his sinning products. The king tries to kill the Bodisat but the elephant knows how true his followers and him are and won't follow through. How the Antelope Was Caught- You should not go against your nature to follow something that is unfulfilling to the soul. The Banyan Deer- The Buddha is thought to have reached enlightenment under the Banyan tree so it's interesting that he is born as the king of the Bany...

Wise Elephant Image Link Notes : The Bull That Demanded Fair Treatment- You should not let people walk all over you when you know you are worth way more than that. As the title says, you should demand what you deserve(even though I don't love that word). The Bull That Proved His Gratitude- The Bull thought that he needed to do something extravagant to help his mother out but once he did she didn't think it necessary to exhaust himself for her. She was appreciative and he stayed by her side until her death. The Horse That Held Out to the End- I interpreted this story a lot different than the Master explained it at the end. I was thinking the horse was in it for the good of the team, a good soldier ready to give it all up for the cause. The Monkey That Saved the Herd- Using a bit of innovation and wit, the Monkey King was able to hydrate his team without getting eaten by the water ogre. The Mallard That Asked for Too Much - The mallard wanted to help his family b...

The Buddha in a Tree Image Link Notes: The Hare that Ran Away - This one would be funny to tell from the point of view of the tree the fruit was rustling from. The tree was probably just shaking out its leaves and the hare runs away in fright. Taking a step back from a situation can provide clarity. The Monkey and The Crocodile - Another story my Mango tree could have told in the storybook. I don't understand why the monkey agreed to go across the river if he was already content with what he had. Was all this really to teach the crocodile a lesson? The Spirit That Lived in a Tree - Trees provide life to many organisms around them and when one tree is sacrificed, many more beings fall too. The tree saves itself and the Sal trees by being wholly selfless. The Hare That Was Not Afraid To Die - Another story the Mango could have mentioned. The Hare was the most virtuous of the group and was willing to offer up himself to someone who needed sustenance. The Parrot That Fed H...

A Parijata Tree that went back to the heavens after Krishna's passing Image Link Notes : Surya the Sun God comes down and visits with Satrajit; Satrajit asks to see the Sun God in in its pure form; Surya grants Satrajit a wish which was to have the Syamantaka jewel Krishna said that Satrajit wasn't quite worthy to hold the jewel so Satrajit gave it to his brother thinking Krishna was going to steal it from him The jewel passes through many hands and Krishna is accused of killing Satrjit's brother Krishna goes to clear his name and fights the bear for over 20 days; his warriors think he has been killed and Dwarka mourns Krishna returns with the jewel and the bear kings daughter; Satrajit is so embarrassed that he offers Krishna his daughter as another wife; more strife with the jewel; in the end Akrura keeps it Balarama throws a fit about the river not answering his calls about bathing him Krishna's son Padyumna is eaten by a fish and adopted by Mayadevi I...

Dwarka Image Link Notes: Vishnu decides to allow a reincarnation of himself at the insisting of Brahma and Shiva I thought Kansa killed all of Devaki's children but it says that he would let them since they weren't the 8th child (should've kept reading, Kansa does end up killing them) Vasudeva's other wife Rohini gives birth to the 7th child Balarama who is the other reincarnation of Vishnu; he will help guide the other reincarnation throughout different times in life When Kansa learned Krishna was living he order his soldiers and demons to find him and kill all male children Krishna starts his troublemaking early (write a story based on one of his pranks) Balarama and Rohini live with Krishna and his adoptive family Kansa thought if he couldn't kill Krishna maybe he could kill his greatest companion Balarama The gods are so sensitive; Indra throws a fit and makes everyone's life miserable because they worshipped someone other than him Krishna is...

Krishna and Radha Image Source Notes: Brahma stops by and wonders why Krishna can be such a good guy; Krishna is so confident in his own divinity that he can prank Brahma Not sure how 'kindness is the ultimate strength' came up when Krishna was trying to ride a cow Krishna learns the truth of his birth; is told he cannot marry Radha Vrindavan villagers do not want Krishna to leave them; Krishna has to talk to them like they were his children, reminding them why he has to leave with Balram Akrur sees Vishnu in Krishna The brothers make all kinds of friends in Mathura; almost forgot that Kamsa is Krishna's uncle This arena Krishna and Balram are in is very ancient Greece I think it would be nice to read a story about a normal person in India. It's almost not impressive to me that Krishna could lift the divine bow because I have no one to compare him to but all the other great figures I've read about. Krishna and Balram defeat Kamsa Ugrasen was made th...

Krishna being a trouble maker Image Source Notes:  8th incarnation of Vishnu (If Vishnu is in an incarnation is he also still with the other gods?) Vasudev took Vishnu when the entire Mathura was asleep Yashoda's daughter Maya was switched out with Vasudev's son Durga appeared out of the child Maya and tells Kamsa that his fate still awaits him Everyone loves Krishna and they come from far to visit him Putana is a demon sent by Kamsa to kill Krishna, and Kamsa will continue sending demons after Krishna; even baby Krishna is able to defeat evil Krishna was a trouble maker child in the village Krishna holds the universe inside him; Brahmand If anyone was in doubt before they know for certain now that Krishna is an avatar I need Krishna to come to Oklahoma to kill the tornados Even Indra recognizes Krishna (But why did Indra not know Krishna is Vishnu?) Radha and Krishna are childhood sweethearts Bibliography: Epified, Krishna, Source

An Archer like Arjun or Ekalavya Image Link Notes: Durwasa likes to curse people for petty reasons but Kunti is unafraid of him. He gives her a gift that allows her to summon any god. The sun god Surya visits Kunti and she has a child. Kunti has to give him up. When Pandu is cursed by a hermit and cannot have kids, Kunti shares the information that she can summon gods and have their children. Kunti takes the sons back home to Hastinapur after Pandu and his other wife die. The creation of Gandhari's children is very strange and helps shed light on why they were always set out on destruction and revenge. Bheem ends up at the serpent king's home where he is bestowed with gifts. He also decides that it is time to grow up and face the dangers the future has for him. Bhishma is the grandfather to all the boys. Drona becomes the war teacher, Arjun was the perfect warrior. Ekalavya became the worlds best archer just because of his willingness to learn. Drona has him cut ...

Bhishma gives his oath Image Link Notes: King Shantanu marries Ganga and the kingdom lives in relative bliss. Ganga begins to drown her children as a condition of past arrangements. Ganga leaves with the 8th son after Shantanu confronts her. Ganga returns years later with their son Devavrata. Time passed as it always does. Shantanu wants to marry Satyavati but her dad doesn't approve because Devavrat's children will be heirs and not Satyavati's. Devavrata becomes Bhishma after he vows to never have an heir so that Satyavati can marry his father Shantanu. Shantanu is not very happy with Bhishma but grants him the ability to decide when he will die as a gift for his sacrifice. Parshuram fights Bhishma because he will not marry Amba. Another situation that doesn't make a lot of sense when you think about it. Bhishma reminds me of a cool uncle that seems to know a lot but no one really knows why. So many characters being introduced at once is challenging. Wh...

Lord Krishna Image Link Notes: The Pandavas are off to their time in exile. Krishna comes to visit and claims that if he hadn't already been in war none of this losing the game and going into exile would've happened. It's amusing how Arjuna keeps going on these side trips during their exile. He returns a few years later and Indra says the brothers will hold power again. Hanuman and Bhima? The family tree just continues to tangle. Hanuman lays some deep wisdom on Bhima. The Pandavas come to the rescue of Duryodhana but he was so embarrassed he was ready to die. Some of his demon friends came by and renewed their support so he decided to continue on her path of Pandava destruction The Vasava dart has interesting terms and conditions Arjuna and Bhima are dead? The voice asks Yudhishthira questions I thought wouldn't have an answer but he gives answers like no big deal. The voice turns out to be Dharma so he brings Arjuna and Bhima back to life and gives the b...

The Pandavas with Draupadi Image Link Notes: Vidura warns the Pandavas of the danger they are in; they build a tunnel to escape and on the night of the fire a peasant family coincidentally perished and everyone believed it to be the Pandavas killed.  Bhima fights rakshasa in the forest; Bhima and Hidimbi (a rakshasi) marry and have a child named Ghatotkacha who promises to come to the aid of the Pandavas whenever they call Draupadi is to have five husbands; Arjuna wins her first but through confusion and slight bickering the five brothers end up sharing Draupadi (Wife of Five) It is interesting how much Drupada likes the Pandavas considering they helped Droni defeat him Yudhishthira becomes a great and loved king Exile is the number one punishment in every story it seems; Arjuna barely brakes the Draupadi rule but insists he go into exile for 12 years; he meets Ulupi and they have a child named Iravat It just so happens that Ulupi grants him the power to not die at t...

Vyasa Image Link Notes: Vyasa- the Mahabharata writer/creator Ganesha- Vyasa's scribe Devavrata/Bhishma- Shanantu and Ganga's son; the second name came after he made a terrible vow in order for his dad to marry Satyavati King Shanantu wanted to marry Satyavati but he wanted Devavrata to be king and not Vyasa so her fisherman father did not allow the marriage Amba- she will reappear in Bhishma's life towards the end; blames Brishma for her troubles; Shiva gives her the tools to defeat Bhishma in another reincarnation Vyasa is called upon to have children to carry on the throne; he is repulsive enough that his kids are born with abnormalities  Dhritarashtra is born blind Pandu is born pale; becomes king  Vidura is the human form of Dharma Kunti is the wife of Pandu; she had a son before marriage and his name is Karna Madri is also the wife of Pandu Pandava brothers all considered to be Pandu's sons but their fathers were gods  After Pandu died Dhritar...

Sita Sings the Blues Movie Poster Image Link Sita Sings the Blues  by Nina Paley The beginning of the second part is very modern bollywood-esque. It's easy to figure that the beginning sequence is showcasing the inner turmoil that comes from betrayal and heartbreak. The narrators talking about how Sita could be pregnant with Ravana's kids, that would've been quite the twist. A way bigger twist than Rama rejecting and banishing Sita multiple times after getting her back. It makes sense that Rama could've always had some small doubt about Sita's purity. It would help explain a bit why he was so willingly to listen to the common man and banish his wife. I'm not sure if Nina's story was all that necessary to include but I guess it helped show how the Ramayana could be felt in modern times, and give a break from the main storytelling. I didn't notice this before but Valmiki is the author of the Ramayana? And I thought Valmiki was a girl in the st...

Ravana and Sita (I thought it was pretty funny when the movie kept zooming in on Ravana's face as Sita was dismissing him.) Image Link Sita Sings the Blues by Nina Paley The animation is unique and interesting. The movie seems to be moving faster than when I was reading it the first time. I love the narrators. I think I could watch the whole thing with just their narrations. It's kind of podcast like, and I'm a big fan of podcasts. There are all kinds of strange characters attacking Rama. The animation helps my visual learner side; I am better able now to put names with faces. Rama is just as dramatic in the movie as I imagined him while reading the story the first time. Vishnu/Shiva as Hanuman? I didn't catch all that when reading. When the gods reincarnate/reborn are they still in their true form in the heavens? The songs weren't written for the movie? They fit pretty well. Everything is fine and dandy by intermission. Overall Sita is a little ...

Sita with her sons Image Link Notes: The story is starting to take a dark turn. Ravana tries to trick Sita into thinking Rama is dead but his tricks don't work as usual. Indrajit fights dirty. Kumbhakarna is supposed to be this big bad warrior but he is easily defeated by Rama. Indrajit seems to be the better warrior. Hanuman brings back a whole mountain to help heal the monkeys. Vibhishana gives advice that would've been helpful many battles before. They are finally successful in defeating Indrajit. Rama was ready to join Lakshmana in the afterlife, something I don't Ravana wasn't doing as his brothers died. But Lakshmana is healed by Hanuman. It's interesting how the gods decide when and when not to intervene with Rama's mission. Sometimes I just don't understand why the advise and weapons needed to kill Ravana show up way later when they should have been around to help Rama. I don't think Rama is being fair to Sita. I do like how Sit...

Hanuman finds Sita in the Ashoka Grove Image Link Notes: It is nice to find a friend in these stories. Hanuman will be an interesting character to look into. Sugriva and Rama are like kindred spirits. Vali was upset with Sugriva because he assumed his brother dead and made it very difficult for him to return with the living. Once again people have heard of Rama's power and some want to make the right decision to keep the peace. It is not all that surprising to me that Rama kills Vali in a non valiant way. Throughout the story he goes back and forth on whether or not he is really that great of a person. It is kind of sad that Vali died because it was all a great misunderstanding from the beginning. Rama is venting about his exhale and losing Sita. Not sure how great Sugriva is either. It takes some pushing for him to get working on helping Rama rescue Sita. After a month of searching, Sugriva's crew still hadn't found Sita. Sampati gives the search party a cl...

The God Brahma Image Link Notes : Bharata returned from a trip to find his father dead and brother banished. Kaikeyi tries to tell her son all the great things she has done for him but he is very angry with her. Bharata tries to get Rama to return but Rama believes he must follow through on what his father told him. Rama won't leave the jungle and now Bharata won't return home either. Rama's sandals are used as an object placeholder for Rama on the throne. Sita impresses an ancient priestess. Viradha steals away Sita. It is interesting how mad Rama gets because he usually is very calm and boring. Rama and Lakshmana put Viradha in a hole where Viradha says that Rama has broken his curse and he goes up into the heavens. Agastya tells Rama to take special care of Sita. Shurpanakha, Ravana's sister, decides she is in love with Rama. (It doesn't make a lot of sense to me that Lakshmana should be with Shurpanakha if he is also already married. Just because h...

A painting of the goddess Ganga Image Link Notes: A horse sacrifice is made in order to have an heir that is a son. Vishnu breaks himself into 4 parts to become the four sons of Dasharatha. (Ravana bad- Rama good) Rama and his brother go out to help protect sacrifices from Ravana supporting trouble makers. The brothers were successful and the sages gave them gifts. Ganga was a goddess who came down to earth in the form of the Ganges River to bring the ashes of 60,000 men to heaven. (Story) Guatam curses his wife, Rama breaks the curse, then Guatam gets back with his wife. Would be interesting to know more about how Rama is involved in this. (Story) Rama and Sita meet and Rama wins her after bending Shivas bow. Parashurama did not believe someone like Rama could exist and gave him another bow to bend. Rama was again successful. Rama is to become king but Manthara does not like Rama and begins to cause trouble. Kaikeyi listens to Manthara and works to banish Rama. The kin...

A turtle that could either be wise or foolish according to the Jatakas. Image Source Two Turtle Jatakas The people were afraid of what they did not know and the turtle took advantage of their ignorance. The turtle did not plead with them when they were brainstorming what they should do to it but once he realized how stupid the king and his men were he took his chance. The story is simple enough to understand in one read but complex enough to force some continued thinking long after finishing the story. I think the theme could be relatively easy to transform into my own story. Bibliography: "Jataka Tales" by Ellen C. Babbitt. Source Almost all of the stories are very similar to each other in my opinion. It sometimes seems the animals and the situations changed but not the underlying theme. Do not be sly and evil hearted because it will eventually catch up to you in some way. The smart, clever ones win in the end. I don't think most people are so clever to get ou...