Indian Epics 2018

Source: Seven Secrets of Vishnu by Devdutt Pattanaik 2011 Mohini's Secret -Spiritual growth should not exclude material -Female form of Vishnu -Material reality is tangible -Perceived through the senses -Female form -Spiritual reality is intangible -Cannot be perceived through the senses -Male form -Apsara enchants to distract humanity from spiritual reality -Mohini draws attention to spiritual reality -MR is known as prakriti, SR is known as purusha -Human couple -Interdependence of woman and man is the mix of realities -Cease pleasure to the mind -Causes negative results -Unborn state child is innocent -Nothingness The part about an unborn child the most interesting because it was my first time to hear about what the Indian's view this topic. Throughout the semester, we have explored the role of men and women or even the complexity of relationships. To see that an unborn child is equated to the likes of nothing is a...

Title : Seven Secrets of the Goddess Author : Devdutt Pattanaik Year : 2016 Source Chapter 2.1 Kali's Secret "Nature is Indifferent to Human Gaze" -Kali is a part of Hindu mythology -Devi worship -Devotion to gods is important -Kali's tongue is seen as wisdom and shame -Woman are more put together -Wild vs Tame -Stories of long tounges -Long lives, happiness, and wealth -Sumita tries to kill Dirgha during sex -Buddism reject impulses -Puranas can be found in the epics -Goddess with flames for hair; rage and violence -Kali is a goddess that is very primal Chapter 2.2 -Kali is seen standing or sitting on Shiva -Sex and Violence -Popular -Women are sexually liberated -The woman is seen to be on top of the man during intercourse -But, sex is to reproduce -Compassion to Buddha -Everything is controlled -The human ability to be sensitive -'Everything and everyone has a soul that needs to be respected' ...

Title : Seven Secrets of the Goddess Author : Devdutt Pattanaik Year : 2016 Source Chapter 1.3 -Urbanization was a masculine idea -The Earth is feminine -Confucious ideas say that culture is more important, which instills a more masculine society -Culture domesticates nature, ie men domesticates women -Women=demons, men=humans -In Japanese mythology, women are of lower status compared to men -The story of how a brother and sister god take each other's items and produce offspring, the woman produced fewer men and the brother produced more females. The sister thought that she won because she produced men -There is a masculine rivalry, where women are the prize -Men should be aware of women -Women were eventually seen  as property -Women were put into isolation -'untouched by the rays of the sun' -Swift from material to patriarchy in mythology -The honor of women is brought to Indian epics -Rama rescued Sita to protect the honor of the ...

Title : Seven Secrets of the Goddess Author : Devdutt Pattanaik Year : 2016 Source Chapter 1.1 -Gaia is the earth mother -The only way she would have a son, she had to castrate the father -Gaia saved one son -Primal -Story of a girl that wanted to go back home by boat. The father kicked her off the boat and each time she tried to climb back he would cut her fingers and hands. Her limbs sunk to the bottom of the ocean and turned into animals -Brama thought that Adya was his mother -Stories around the world compete for women -Low status of women, even in Indian culture -But, in the stories, women are powerful -Culture revolves around the idea that a group of women only need one male to survive Chapter 1.2 -Rejection of sex = god of death -Humanity is at the mercy of goddesses -But, women were not seen highly -Men would turn to celibacy for strength -Reject women gives men freedom from suffering -Men are supposed to have children before they b...

Here are some other stories that I enjoyed reading this week: Source 1. The Penny-Wise Monkey -The monkey stole peas -He dropped one on the ground -He gave up everything to get that one pea -The king said that he should be grateful for what he did have, "he gave up a lot to gain a little" 2. The Hawks and their Friends -Family of Hawks -The north part of the island: Lion, south: turtle, east: Kingfisher -The Hawks are in trouble -Hunters came and settled under the hawk nest -The turtle came to help, but the hunters tried to eat him -The lion came and scared away the hunters -"friends are friends" 3. Prince Wicked and the Grateful Animals -The Prince was cruel -The people tried to let the prince drown in the river -The prince could not be found -The prince was taken downstream -The prince was on a log with 3 animals -A poor man saw the prince and animals in the water -The poor man saved them -The animals and the prince told the man that i...

My Top 3 Readings: Source How the Monkey Saved His Troop -mango tree by the river -the monkey take from the tree -the fruit fell in the river -the king tried the mango -the king wanted to kill the monkeys too -the monkey cheif saved the rest of the monkeys -the king took care of the cheif the rest of this life The Foolhardy Wolf -a lion wanted to kill the buffalo -the wolf became a servant to the lion -the wolf beame stronger -he wanted to kill an elephant himself -the lion said it was not possible because only lions kill big animals -the wolf missed his aim -the elephant killed the wolf The Elephant and the Dog  -the dog went to the kings stable for the elephant -they became good friends -a farmer bought the dog -the elephant became depressed -the two were reunited at the end Title : More Jataka Tales Author : Ellen C. Babbitt Illustrator : Ellsworth Young Year : 1922  

My top 3 readings for the week:   Source The Girl Monkey and the String of Pearls   -The king went on a walk -When he came back, the royal family wanted to go for a swim -they left their jewerly with the servants -a monkey wanted to steal the pearls -the gaurd fell asleep -the monkey got the pearls -the cheif gaurd found the monkey -the king thanked the gaurd  Do your work to the best of your ability   The Golden Goose   -there was a poor family -the golden goose gave his feathers to them to sell -the mother became greedy -they plucked all of the gooses feathers -they turned to normal feathers -the goose never came back Don`t become geedy   The Red-Bud Tree    -there were four princes -they all wanted to see the tree -they went at different times of the year -they all thought that it looked different than how the other one saw it Story Taken From: Babbitt. More Jataka Tales

Top 3 Readings of Part B: EXTRA CREDIT Source 1.  The Wise and Foolish Merchant -A Merchant bought goods to sell -A younger merchant was going to sell the same -One of the merchants had to travel first -The foolish merchant went first -The old merchant thought it was better for the young one to go to create a better path for him -The demon was going to take the fool merchants water -The wise merchant comes to save the day and is able to make it to town 2. The King's White Elephant -The carpenters live near a river and get lumber every day -They saw an injured elephant -They helped it -The elephant would stay and help them -The elephant's son also helped the carpenters -The kind bought the elephant 3. Why the Owl Is Not King of the Birds - Owls vs Crows -The owl was chosen as the king of the birds -But the crows didn't like that choice -They became enemies -The birds decided to not pick either Title : Jataka Tales Author : Ellen C. Babbitt ...

Top 3 Readings:  1.  The Turtle Who Couldn't Stop Talking -A turtle became friends with two geese looking for food -They invite the turtle to visit their home -The geese made a deal to take the turtle if he keeps quite -The kids started to make fun of the turtle because he was on a branch -The turtle broke the promise and talked back to the kids -He fell and died Source 2.  The Sandy Road -A merchant goes to a desert -It was soo hot outside that people could only travel by night -The first man on the path was a pilot to guide the rest of the travelers -The merchant thought that they were near the city -The pilot grew exhausted -They get lost and are without water -They beat a rock to find water -They do not give up and reach the city 3.  The Foolish, Timid Rabbit -A rabbit takes a nap under a tree -He thought to himself "what if the world breaks up?" -A coconut falls -The rabbit runs in panic -He tells all of the animal...

EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENT My Top 2 Readings from Part D from the Public Domain Edition of  Mahabharata : 1. Horse Sacrifice -The wandering of the horses have ended - Yudhishthira was pure -   Arjuna  and Arjuna's Son brought a horse -12 days after the arrival, there was a big ceremony -They bathed in the Ganes -There was a sacred alter -Animals were scaraficed -Kings and other royals were to be blessed -They were to sarfice a horse  - "Pure indeed is the horse; verily the gods will accept the sacrifice. Strike now, O strong one." -The horse was very pure and full of "light" -For Vishnu This story was nice because it described a ritual. It was intresting to see the importance of horses or what it defined as "pure" in the epic.  Source   Source .  Indian Myth and Legend  by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913). 2. The Afterlife -The final section - Yudhishthira reachs complete bliss - Duryodhana  has the throne -Ev...

Source My Top 3 Readings from Part C from the Public Domain Edition of  Mahabharata : 1.  Krishna's Visit -Krishna went to the forest -Krishna talked with Draupadi -Her husband did not save her -"A Queen over kings" - Yudhishthira, "Anger is sinful; it is the cause of destruction. He that is angry cannot distinguish between right and wrong. O fair Draupadi, one should forgive every wrong. Forgiveness is holiness; it is Truth; it is  Brahman ." -   "The gods are shrouded in mystery; who can pierce the cloud which covers the doings of the gods? Although thou canst not perceive the fruits of goodness, do not doubt thy religion or the gods." Overall, this story was a hard read because it was talking more about how life operates in general, versus something that is said in daily conversation.  Source .  Indian Myth and Legend  by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913). 2.  The Court of King Virata -Pandavas ...

---I missed the Part B Reading for this week. So, I will use this assignment as my extra credit reading.--- My Top 3 Readings from Part B from the Public Domain Edition of  Mahabharata : Source 1. The House of Fire - Prince  Duryodhana  was plotting against  Prince  Vidura   -Vidura's mom was a slave -Could not rule the kingdom - Prince Yudhishthira and his brothers were in danger - Prince Duryodhana was trying to kill Yudhishthira -Vidura came up with a plan to dig a hole in the place for everyone to escape from a fire - Prince Bhima set fire to the house, killing  the guard and Purochana -The fire accidentally killed a poor woman and her children This story, so far, has been the most interesting for me. I liked how this section had action and a moral to it as well. Although the fire could have been seen as a good act, they were just being played by evil. Innocent people lost their lives, while everyone though...

My Top 3 Readings from Part A from the Public Domain Edition of  Mahabharata : 1. Vyasa and Ganesha -Vyasa is an important character and influence, author -Nobody was worth enough to write down the story -Ganesha the god would be the scribe for his story -Birth Story -  Uparichara, king of  Chedi  dropped his semen into a river -A fish became pregnant  -The children were taken in by fisherman -The boy was given to the King This is the first section of the epic, so it holds a lot of importance to set up the story. I thought that this origin story was quite interesting and complex from the start.  The first part is from  Indian Myth and Legend  by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913), and the second part is from the  Mahabharata  translated by K. M. Ganguli (1883) 2. Kunti and Her Son -King Pandu had 2 wives, " Kunti , who was chief  rani , and  Madri , whom he loved best." -Kunti and the Sun God gave birth to ...

Extra Reading Assignment: I was not able to finish up the last part of Ramayana in time this week, so I will finish the last assignment for my extra credit. Source My Top 3 Readings from Part D from the Public Domain Edition of Ramayana: 1. Rama Attacks -Rama is in Lanka -Trying to find Sita -Ravana has spies on Lanka -Sita is told that Rama is dead  -Ravana is enraged that Rama is on his way This story serves as a point when Rama and Sita are separated. Rama has been trying to do whatever it takes to get her back. Although Ravana has spies, that does not protect him from the power of Rama. Source .  Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists   by Sister Nivedita (1914). 2. Sita and Rama -Rama looks for Sita -Hanuman found her -Sita says "I desire to behold my lord" -She is brought to Rama - "O gentle one, I have subdued thy foe and wiped away the stain upon my honor. The work of Hanuman, in crossing the deep and harrying...