Reading Notes: Sita Sings the Blues, Part B

I think the second part of "Sita Sings the Blues" did a great job of using the parallels between Nina's and Sita's story to show how they were both treated poorly by men and spent too long trying to be perfect for them, only to finally put themselves first in the end.

This was also reflected in the fact that, at the end, it was Vishnu rubbing Lakshmi's feet, not the other way around like in the beginning. I really love the message of female empowerment! It was different than the message I got from the original Ramayana.

However, one thing that stuck out to me was the song that Sita's sons were taught to sing to praise Rama. I at first thought it was weird, but then I realized it was a perfect summary of how Rama is portrayed throughout his whole life. He is treated as divine and perfect and unable to do wrong (he is an avatar, but still!).

I don't have as much to say about this part because it was shorter and much faster paced, but I do think I enjoyed it more than part A. I think if I were to write a story on this part, it would involve something about a girl learning to choose herself over her relationship.

Image of Sita and Ravana from "Sita Sings the Blues".

No Changes Made. By: Nina Paley in 2008. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography:

"Sita Sings the Blues" by Nina Paley in 2008. Link: YouTube

Reading Notes: Sita Sings the Blues, Part A

This is definitely the most unique reading I have done so far for this semester (ignoring the part where it's actually a movie)! While I definitely can't say I would watch this on my own, I still thought it was a very unique retelling of the Ramayana.

One thing I found very interesting, and that I didn't know before, was that Ravana's kingdom of Lanka is actually Sri Lanka! I thought that was very cool. I also thought it was interesting how Nina Paley's story was interwoven with the story of Rama and Sita.

The thing that stood out to me the most, however, was about 30 minutes into the movie, when the narrators argue about why Sita didn't escape Lanka with Hanuman when her first found her. That is such an interesting idea! One of them argued that maybe she was trying to "glorify Rama" but letting him save her. I call bull on that! I hate how Sita is shown as so powerless during the Ramayana, and I think Sita securing her own escape would have been an excellent way to showcase her as a powerful female character.

That also leads into one thing I didn't like about this film so far. I didn't like how the fact that Sita was singing the music meant that while she was just off singing, all of the action in the story happened without her. She sang both while Hanuman burned Lanka, and while Rama defeated Ravana.

For a story based on this reading, I think I would go off from the idea of Sita securing her own escape from Lanka.

Movie Poster for "Sita Sings the Blues".

No Changes Made. By: Nina Paley in 2008. Link: Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography:

"Sita Sings the Blues" by Nina Paley in 2008. Link: YouTube

Reading Notes: Epified: Krishna, Part B

This second part of Krishna's story was even more interesting than the first! I was saddened when Krishna and Radha could not marry, and I was happy when Krishna fulfilled his destiny by killing King Kamsa. I also enjoyed the illustrations in this part as well as I did in Part A.

One part that stood out to me was Krishna's healing of Trivakra. This very much reminded me again of Jesus, who healed many people during his lifetime. I think it is so interesting how Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu, has a story with so many parallels to Jesus, who is a huge part of Christianity. I wonder if that is just coincidence, or if one of the tales inspired the other?

Besides that part, I also enjoyed the story of Krishna taming Hastin and showing the people of Vrindaven the lesson of kindness. It was very sweet to see how Krishna easily tamed the bull by simply feeding him sweets and playing music, though I do wonder why no one else in the village had tried to similarly tame Hastin before? It seems similar to techniques people use today to tame wild animals.

I think for a story on this section, I would maybe want to write about Radha's feelings when she is told she will not be able to marry Krishna. We got to hear about Krishna's feelings on the topic, but not Radha's. I want to give Radha a chance to react to the news and have feelings, either of anger or sadness.

Statue of Krishna at Sri Mariamman Temple.

No Changes Made. By: AngMoKio on 2-15-2011. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography:

"Krishna Episode 13 - The Saviour of Dharma" by Epified TV (India) in 2015. Link: YouTube

"Krishna Episode 18 - Krishna Kills Kamsa" by Epified TV (India) in 2015. Link: YouTube

"Krishna Episode 16 - Krishna Arrives at Mathura" by Epified TV (India) in 2015. Link: YouTube

"Krishna Episode 12 - Krishna rides Hastin" by Epified TV (India) in 2015. Link: YouTube

Reading Notes: Epified: Krishna, Part A

I really enjoyed this set of videos about Krishna's childhood! I do not know anything about Krishna besides his part in the Mahabharata, so it was interesting to learn more about him. I really enjoyed the illustrations that accompanied the stories, I think they helped me to visualize the different facets of Krishna's stories. 

The video that stood out to me the most during Part A was the fact that Yashoda did not even question the fact that she had a baby boy next to him. She was portrayed as seemingly forgetting that she gave birth to a boy, not a daughter like she thought. That is insane to me! It seemed like weak storytelling, honestly, to make a mother just forget the gender of her child. I think I would like to rewrite this and make Yashoda sad and confused at the loss of her daughter. 

Another thing I found interesting is how King Kamsa started killing newborns in the hopes that one of them was his nephew. That totally made me think of the birth of baby Jesus and how King Herod killed newborns and Mary and Joseph had to flee to save Jesus!

Overall, I really enjoyed the format of videos for the weekly reading. It was a nice change of pace!

Statue of Yashoda and Krishna.

No Changes Made. By: Metropolitan Museum of Art on 12-18-2019. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography:

"Krishna Episode 2 - Vasudev Meets Yamuna" by Epified TV (India) in 2015. Link: YouTube

"Krishna Episode 4 - Putana" by Epified TV (India) in 2015. Link: YouTube

Reading Notes: Babbitt's Jataka Tales, Part B

Most of the tales in Part B were ones I had not read before, so I enjoyed this reading more than the first. Because of this, there were multiple tales that stood out to me, but I think the one that stood out the most was "The King's White Elephant".

To me, I could glean no discernable message. The ending was sad! The White Elephant had to leave his friends and the life his father knew all because the king wanted him. Plus, how was is that the king paid the workers for the White Elephant, when the elephant did not belong to them? That made no sense. The elephants had done these men a favor for so many years, and at the first sign of money from the king they gave it up.

I think that if I were to rewrite this story, I would make the carpenters much better friends to the White Elephant than they were in this tale. They would refuse to accept money for the elephant, for they did not own him, and they would not want to sell him since he is friends with their children and he helps them out. Plus, they were close with his father too. I think I would want to write this from the White Elephant's point of view.

Art of a White Elephant.

No Changes Made. By: Sodacan on 04-19-17. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography: "The King's White Elephant" from Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt, pg. 69-73. Link: Internet Archive

Reading Notes: Babbitt's Jataka Tales, Part A

While many of the Jataka tales in this reading seemed familiar to me from the original Jataka tales reading at the beginning of the semester, there were some that seemed new.

One such "new" tale was "The Merchant of Seri". I really enjoyed this tale, not only for it being the first time I'd read it, but also just the tale in general. I enjoy tales about good and honest people getting the riches that bad and dishonest people try to steal. My favorite part was that the good merchant gave the grandmother and granddaughter countless items, so that now they have things.

I did not fully like how the granddaughter kept bugging her grandmother to buy her something and use the only thing they had left to do so. I do not know if the fact it was listed as "the only thing...left of all of their riches" (page 13) meant that they still had food and clothing and other such necessities, but it seemed to me that the girl was a bit selfish.

However, it seems the grandmother did not mind much, and they ended up with many different things that they can hopefully sell to have a better life. And, I also enjoyed how the good merchant was able to escape to a new city and have a better life for himself, too! The only character who did not have a happy ending was the bad merchant.

If I were to tell someone this story as a learning method, I would think the message it imparts is that "honesty will give you more riches than dishonesty", or something along those lines.

I think I'd want to rewrite this story in a more modern setting! It would be interesting to apply the same lesson to modern times.

A Golden Bowl from the Belitung Shipwreck.

No Changes Made. Photographed by: Jacklee on 06-18-2011. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography: "The Merchant of Seri" from Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt, pg. 13-17. Link: Internet Archive

Reading Notes: The Divine Archer, Part B

After finishing The Divine Archer, I think I can say that I like it for different reasons than I liked the Tiny Tales from the Ramayana version. In this version, there are less teachable moments and elaborations, and it is strictly the story. It definitely made for quicker reading, however.

The part that stuck out to me the most was Sita's devotion to her husband after having to live and raise her sons in exile for many years. Even though she had suffered and was frail, she still went to Ayodhya and looked at Rama with love. I do not think I would still love Rama if I were in her shoes. I guess it just depends on the person, but I would've felt betrayed by Rama. Especially since he's supposed to be such a great person.

I think it would be interesting to see a Sita who has completely grown independent. She maybe has a fondness for Rama, but I don't think I would want to see her still love him, if only for how she loves herself and he wouldn't trust her. He doesn't deserve her devotions. I would rewrite the ending, and have Sita just maybe not even go to Ayodhya. She would have lived a happy life, instead of suffering, and would maybe have died peacefully or even found a new lover.

I just want to see more strong independent women!

Sita and Hanuman.

No Changes Made. By: Gita Press Gorakhpur on 2-10-2018. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography:

The Divine Archer by F. J. Gould in 1911. Link: Internet Archive

Reading Notes: The Divine Archer, Part A

Since I took a break in Week 5 and enjoyed the Ramayana more than the Mahabharata, I decided to read The Divine Archer by F.J. Gould for this week's reading. At the end of Part A, I think I might even like this version of the Ramayana the best so far! Despite having some holes in it, such as the reason King Dasharatha owing Queen Kaikeyi two boons being unexplained, I thought the story moved faster, which I liked.

The part of Part A that stood out to me the most was the scene where Bharata, Queen Kausalya, and the people of Ayodhya came upon Sita, Rama, and Lakshman on the holy-hill of Chitra-Kuta. I don't remember the exiles being on a hill with peaceful animals in the Tiny Tales version, but I could be just forgetting things. I really liked this part because it reminded me about Shangri-La.

The holy-hill was described on page 33 akin to a paradise, with beautiful trees and rocks around, and all manner of animals living in harmony with the three humans. I think it would be cool to maybe write this scene from one of the animals point of views, maybe one of the tigers or elephants? Or from the point of view of the Queen. She does not have anything from her point of view in the Ramayana, so that could be interesting.

My other favorite parts of this section were how beautifully Sita was described. The imagery by F.J. Gould was really amazing!

View of Shangri-La Resort, on the Lower Kachura Lake.

No Changes Made. By: Monibaba68 on 8-4-2016. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography: 

The Divine Archer by F. J. Gould in 1911. Link: Internet Archive

"Shangri-La". Link: Wikipedia

Reading Notes: Tiny Tales from the Mahabharata, Part D

The ending of the Mahabharata was, I think, more satisfying than the ending of the Ramayana. I remember being angry at the ending of the Ramayana because of Rama's treatment of Sita, but I enjoyed the ending of the Mahabharata (besides the Pandavas and Draupadi ending up in hell) as it seemed most of the characters got a fitting ending. I especially liked how the Mahabharata started and ended with mention of the Mahabharata itself.

In Part D, the tale that stuck out to me the most was Tale 191, "The Pandavas Climb Mount Meru". These tales stuck out to me because they detailed the ending of the five Pandava brothers and Draupadi. As I mentioned above, I really did not life how Yudhishthira was the only one of the six who ended up in heaven. This dude literally gambled away every single one of his brothers and HIS WIFE, and yet because of "dharma" his actions were all magically okay.

Draupadi, who was forced to marry five brothers because of their mothers response to a joke (which I still think was a whole wild situation), has to live in hell forever because she loved one more than the others? That is not fair. Yudhishthira did nothing to help save her when they were in their final year of exile and the queen's brother was lusting for her. Also, it seems vaguely misogynistic that she was the first to fall.

I would think that if the other brothers could not make it because they were proud of certain aspects of themselves or had some flaws, then there has to be something that would prevent Yudhishthira from making it. Based on the choices he made throughout the story, it makes no sense. I think I would maybe rewrite this tale but make it where Yudhishthira also falls, albeit last.

Image of Mount Meru.

No Changes Made. Taken by Woodlouse on 7-15-08. Source: flickr

Bibliography: Part D, Page 20, Tale 191 of Tiny Tales from the Mahabharata by Laura Gibbs. Link: Tale 191.

Reading Notes: Tiny Tales from the Mahabharata, Part C

In this part, the big battle that the whole story has been leading up to has started. However, as of the end of Part C it has not ended, and for the first time I found myself accidentally reading into Part D.

While this part had more of moments that I found odd or funny as did the first two parts, I do think the story is much better now that there is a battle. There were often times that characters did an action that I thought was pointless. I think I can probably safely say that I like the Ramayana more by this point.

One tale that stuck out to me was Tale 144, "Indra Visits Karna in Disguise". I started this tale assuming Indra would finally get Karna to fight with his brothers, seeing as how he's a god and everything, but this dude literally gifts him a crazy weapon just because he was nice to him?? Where did the worry for your son's life go? I do not understand this man. He just gave a Shakti-spear to the person who has decided to face his son in battle just because of some earrings and armor.

Like sure, it is cool that Karna gave his stuff to a random old man (if a bit weird), but I was not expecting Indra to gift him a weapon. I think it would make more sense for Indra's gift that he asked of Karna to be to spare his son's life. That's what I would've asked for! And, it goes along with his whole reason for even going to Karna in the first place.

Statue of Karna fighting Ghatotkacha.

No Changes Made. Taken by: Sarah Welch on 10-19-18. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography: Part C, Page 15, Tale 144 of Tiny Tales from the Mahabharata by Laura Gibbs. Link: Tale 144.

Reading Notes: Tiny Tales from the Mahabharata, Part B

My mixed feelings about the Mahabharata have definitely continued while reading Part B. There were more actions taken that confused or angered me, but I also at times laughed at the foolishness of the characters (usually the male ones). I hope that in the latter half of the epic the women characters have a more interesting story. Draupadi especially seems to have zero agency and I wish that was different.

The tale that stuck out to me the most concerning foolish characters was Tale 80, "The Game Begins". In this, Yudhishthira faced Shakuni at dice, as Duryodhana is jealous of his cousins and wants to take everything from them. Why honor dictated that Yudhishthira had to accept their challenge for dice I have no idea, but that seems like the most idiotic practice ever. Why would honor dictate you have to play a game and keep playing until you have nothing left?? Couldn't he just play one game, lose, and call it good?

The other idiotic part was that he staked his wife and his brothers in the game. But, he especially did not own his brothers so I don't know how that was allowed to fly. I guess back in those days it worked because he was the king. I think it would be interesting to change this story somehow to where Vidura was successful in getting King Dhritarashtra to stop the idiotic game of dice. Maybe somehow the gods stepped in? The Pandavas are, after all, children of the gods.

Image of a Statue of Yudhishthira.

No Changes Made. By: Ahish Bhatnagar on 08-15-14. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography: Part B, Page 8, Tale 80 of Tiny Tales from the Mahabharata by Laura Gibbs. Link: Tale 80.

Reading Notes: Tiny Tales from the Mahabharata, Part A

The thing that stuck out to me the most throughout Part A was the sheer number of characters and changing relationships. I had to consult the glossary multiple times just to remember how a character was related to other characters.

Despite this, I am enjoying the Mahabharata so far, though I think I will end up liking the Ramayana more. There have definitely been many instances in Part A of the Mahabharata that have been different than how they would have been handled today. Ones that struck out to me mainly dealt with the treatment of women, though the actions of the devas were also odd to me at times.

The tale that stuck out to me the most, however, was actually Tale 35, "Drona Demands Payment". This one struck out to me because, nowadays, the trainer in the position of Drona would likely have been honored for his image and personality to have been so revered by Ekalavya to have resulted in his being the most accurate archer in the land. However, here I was shocked that Drona made him cut off his thumb as "payment", just so his "true" pupil could have the honor of being the best archer. I think this just shows that the actual Drona is not as good a teacher as he thinks...

This punishment of Drona's was also sad to me, because Ekalavya did not hesitate to give Drona what he'd asked, even though it meant all of his hard work would come to nothing.

I think it would be interesting to rewrite this story from a more modern lens, one where Drona rewards Ekalavya for his hard work, instead of punishing him for wanting to improve his skills. It would also be cool to see Ekalavya becoming the master and giving Arjuna some pointers to improve his skills. Another cool idea would be to keep the punishment from Drona but to show Ekalavya managing to overcome the loss of his thumb and becoming the best archer in the land once more!

Art of Drona in Battle.

No Changes Made. By: Skumarm on 10-28-2017. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography: Part A, Page 4, Tale 35 of the Tiny Tales from the Mahabharata by Laura Gibbs. Link: Tale 35.

Reading Notes: Tiny Tales from the Ramayana, Part D

Okay, up until this final part, I was really enjoying this epic. I thought it was interesting, funny, and a great story. However, the moment Rama started acting like the idiot Gautama and made Sita prove she was faithful to him while she was kidnapped, and then exiled because of gossip while she was pregnant, I immediately lost all respect for him and did not enjoy the ending. I also thought Lakshmana had a bad ending--he killed himself just for trying to save the kingdom from a self-righteous rishi? How ridiculous.

As imagined, the tales that stuck out to me the most in this reading were Tale 166, Tale 167, Tale 180, Tale 182, and Tale 194.

Tales 166, "Vibhishana Fetches Sita", and 167, "Sita Rebukes Rama", stuck out to me because of the ridiculousness of Rama planning to send away the woman he (supposedly) loves because she was "in another man's house". Like, she was kidnapped by an evil man because of YOU, so maybe get down on your knees and grovel for her forgiveness? If this was modern day, the tables would definitely be turned and Sita would be contemplating banishing Rama. Also--he ordered Sita to "bathe and adorn herself" before seeing him?! Ridiculous!

Tales 180, "Gossip Spreads", and 182, "Lakshmana Takes Sita to the Forest", stuck out to me because of Rama's idiotic act of banishing the wife he loved so much that he spent every afternoon with her just do to simple dumb gossip that he, as king, should be above. If anything, as king he should punish the people speaking wrong about his wife! To me, the fact that he banished Sita would have be admitting he was at fault, or that Sita was. I know times were different then, but that is still ridiculous.

Finally, Tale 194, "Kala Comes to Rama", stuck out to me because I was annoyed at the bad ending Lakshmana got from the hands of Kala. Even though Kala is a god, the fact that Lakshmana died just from admitting a rishi who threatened the entire kingdom into a room. He was with Rama throughout his whole exile, never sleeping, and he was a hero of the story! Yet, his death was his own beheading. I was sad.

Maybe with all of this I'll rewrite the ending where Sita dumps her husband for his horrible behavior and lives the rest of her days best friends with Lakshmana, who got saved as he and his wife left with Sita after she was freed.

Artwork of Sita in Exile.

No Changes Made. By: Raja Ravi Varma. Source: Wikipedia

Bibliography: Part D, Pages 17, 18, 19, and 20, Tales 166, 167, 180, 182, and 194 of the Tiny Tales from the Ramayana by Laura Gibbs. Links: Tale 166, Tale 167, Tale 180, Tale 182, and Tale 194.

Reading Notes: Tiny Tales from the Ramayana, Part C

When reading Part C of Tiny Tales from the Ramayana, there were two tales that stuck out to me the most.

The first that stuck out to me was Tale 139, "A Squirrel Wants to Help". I enjoyed this tale because I have a fondness for all stories involving the efforts of the "little guy", which this one surely seemed to be. I like how the squirrel was able to make a difference just by rolling in sand and then shaking the sand out on top of the bridge to fill the gaps. Surely if the squirrel had not done this then the bridge could have collapsed. I think it also shows something about Rama's character that he was able to appreciate the squirrel's efforts.

The second tale that stuck out to me was Tale 144, "Ravana Summons a Magician". The reason this story stood out to me was because the ending seemed like something that could be in Romeo and Juliet. In this, Sita is attemptedly fooled into thinking Rama was dead, and she responded by telling Ravana to kill her too. I imagine if he had gone through with her request, we could've had an ending to the story similar to Romeo and Juliet in that one of the couple thinks the other is dead, they then kill themselves, and then the other finds them actually dead and also kills themself. I might rewrite the ending of this tale to something along the lines of the ending to Romeo and Juliet.

In the actual ending to Tale 144, however, all that is stated is that the conjured head vanishes and Ravana's plan failed. But, what did Ravana actually want to accomplish with his plan? Is he so idiotic to think Sita would fall in love with the man who killed her husband?

Artwork of Juliet Awakening to Romeo's Dead Body in Romeo and Juliet.

No Changes Made. By: Colechap on 10-06-2017. Source: Wikipedia

Bibliography: Part C, Pages 14 and 15, Tales 139 and 144 of the Tiny Tales from the Ramayana by Laura Gibbs. Links: Tale 139 and Tale 144.

Reading Notes: Tiny Tales from the Ramayana Part B

For Part A of the Ramayana, I wrote about Ahalya, which you can read about here. As she appeared again towards the end of Part B I considered taking notes on her again, but I was much more interested about the tales centered around Hanuman.

In Tale 93, "When Hanuman Was Hungry", Hanuman's mother leaves him as a baby and he grows so hungry he flies up and tries to eat the sun, mistaking it for a mango. Indra becomes so angry over this that he throws a thunderbolt at Hanuman and breaks his jaw. In Tale 94, "The Devas Bless Hanuman", Hanuman's father Vayu is angry over Hanuman's injury that he stops the air from moving until Brahma arrives and heals his son.

While reading this story about infant Hanuman, I was reminded of the story in Greek mythology of Daedalus and his son, Icarus. In this myth, Daedalus makes wings for him and his son so they are able to escape the Labyrinth. Icarus, however, falls victim to his hubris and flies too close to the sun, and the wax holding his wings together melts and he falls from such a height that he drowns when he falls into the sea. The story is told on Wikipedia on a page over Icarus. I think it could be interesting to retell this Greek myth using the characters of Hanuman and Vayu.

While continuing the story of Hanuman, I thought it interesting that he was blessed by multiple devas and was given not only protection against any future thunderbolts but also radiance and invulnerability to sickness and weapons. While I don't know much about the story of Hanuman in the second half of the Ramayana, I think it might be interesting to write a story about how these gifts come in handy. Though, it is definitely privilege that Hanuman is given all of these gifts just because his powerful father was angered.

The end of Tale 94 was especially interesting to me as there was heavy foreshadowing, and I liked how that made me even more interested in Hanuman's story.

Artwork of Hanuman.

No Changes Made. Created by Kru Tony Moore on 04-30-2013. Source: Wikipedia

Bibliography: Part B, Page 10, Tales 93 and 94 of the Tiny Tales from the Ramayana by Laura Gibbs. Links: Tale 93 and Tale 94.

Reading Notes: Tiny Tales from the Ramayana Part A

For this reading, I enjoyed many of the tiny tales (honestly, all of them), but the ones that struck me as the most interesting were tales 34 and 35, dealing with Ahalya.

In Tale 34, "The Story of Ahalya", Vishvamitra tells the story of a woman created by Brahma to be the most beautiful girl in the world. She is "given" to a rishi named Gautama to be his wife.

Gautama is so busy with his prayers and such that he ignores his wife. And yet, when another deva, Indra, wanted Ahalya and disguised himself as Gautama so that he could "take her to bed", Gautama finds out and curses them.

Not only does he curse the man who raped his wife, but he also curses Ahalya! She did nothing wrong! Putting myself in her shoes, I am sure she was happy that her husband was finally showing her attention, and she perhaps thought that she could finally provide him with children. Instead, she gets turned into a stone for doing literally nothing wrong.

It's not until the 35th tale, "They Come to a Deserted Ashram", that she is freed when Rama's foot brushes against Ahalya's rock. The cherry on top, is that after she is freed she takes her husband's hand and forgives him. I was shocked!

Reading the story of Ahalya, I was reminded of tellings of the birth of King Arthur. Oftentimes the story is told that Uther Pendragon uses Merlin's magic to transform into Gorlois, the wife of Igraine. Igraine, believing Uther to be her husband, sleeps with him and later gives birth to Arthur. Wikipedia details this version of the story on a page over Igraine.

My biggest issue with the story of Ahalya is that she has been victimized by both Indra and Gautama, and in the end does nothing but forgive her husband. I want to see her standing up for herself! If I had written her story, I think she would definitely not easily forgive her husband, and maybe she would find a way to curse him back. Maybe I'd incorporate something based off of Uther and Igraine, and have Ahalya give birth to a son who helps her curse Gautama?

Artwork with Ahalya and Indra in the Background.

No Changes Made. Created by Raja Ravi Varma. Source: Wikipedia

Bibliography: 

Part A, Page 4, Tales 34 and 35 of the Tiny Tales from the Ramayana by Laura Gibbs. Links: Tale 34 and Tale 35.

"Igraine." Link: Wikipedia

Reading Notes: Week 2 Anthology

Hello!

While reading the anthology for this week, my favorite story was The Monkey Who Gathered Lotuses, also known as Tayodhamma Jataka from The Jataka: Volume 1 translated by Robert Chalmers.

Photograph of a Pink Lotus Flower.

No Changes Made. Taken by Hong Zhang (jennyzhh2008) on 07-15-2015. Source: pixabay

This story involved the Bodhisatta being a monkey son of Devadatta, a monkey king. The monkey king feared being overthrown by his children, and so he would castrate them to ensure that would never happened. Unbeknownst to him, however, was that the mother of Bodhisatta hid her pregnancy and fled the king, giving birth to her son and raising him in secret. When Bodhisatta journeyed to meet his father, he managed to overpower his father's attempt to crush him in a hug and outwit his father's attempt to have him killed by an ogre. After the second, his father died from anguish over failing to kill his son. The story ended with Bodhisatta being crowned king.

The first thing that struck me about this story was the obvious cruelty of the father in castrating all of his children. This cruelty, similar to much cruelty in this world, stemmed from fear. I liked this aspect because it made the story seem very realistic to me. While I was reading this story, I was reminded of the backstory of Desmond Flynn in The Bargainer by Laura Thalassa, whose king father murdered all of his half siblings and ruled as a tyrant until Des defeated him and became the new king.

Another aspect I liked was the ogre. I'm sure his notoriety did not come from nothing, so the fact that he so obviously respected and adored the Bodhisatta just shows even more how strong and respectful this character is.

The theme of the Bodhisatta having to face a challenge in order to gain power reminded me of certain Greek myths, such as the Labors of Hercules. Facing near insurmountable challenges, the heroes of the stories manage to defeat the odds and step into their rightful places. The hero's journey is one of my favorites, so I enjoyed reading it in this Buddhist story.

The final thing of note that I enjoyed in this story was the dramatics of how the king saw the ogre following his son and instantly his heart burst into pieces. I'll admit, that got a laugh out of me.

Bibliography: The Monkey Who Gathered Lotuses, or Tayodhamma Jataka, from The Jataka: Volume 1 translated by Robert Chalmers.

Week 2: Reading Overview

Hello again,

Today I decided to read the Tiny Tales version of the Ramayana! I decided this for a few reasons: it's free, I can download it onto my Kindle (which I just got last month so I love that I can use it for this class!), and its written by Laura! The reason I chose this version over the Public Domain edition that was also free was that this edition is written in modern language instead of an ancient style. But, honestly, the main reason I chose this version is that I can download it onto my Kindle (at the time of writing this I've already downloaded the free mobi file and sent it to my Kindle). 

As I have mentioned in my introduction post, I read several different Marvel comic runs, so I think it is really cool that there are comics for this class and I am very excited to read them. Also mentioned in previous posts, I am most interested in the goddess Durga due to the Tiger's Curse Saga by Colleen Houck. Thus, when I started looking at the available comics I migrated to Tales of Durga: Tales of the Mother Goddess. I read over the summary, and I can definitely tell that I would love to read this comic. Another comic I found interesting was Shiva Parvati: A Story of Divine Love. This story was also referenced in the Tiger's Curse series, so that is why I initially looked at it. Having read the summary, I also think I would like this comic series as I do love a good romance.

For the videos, the first one I watched was Harry Potter Meets Hindu Mythology by Epified. I looked at this video because I love Harry Potter, and I really liked how this video drew connections from Harry Potter to all of the different Indian readings we will do this semester. It described some of the concepts in a way that was easy for me to understand. For the second video, I watched Avengers, Gods, and Superheroes by Epified. The reason I watched this video is due to my love of Marvel, and I liked how the Avengers were compared to Hindu gods. It made for an interesting video!

Below, I have included an image of artwork for the Ramayana. I chose this art because we will start the Ramayana next week, and also because I like how it clearly depicts two characters on a journey. 

2D Artwork of Rama and Lakshmana Searching for Sita as Hanuman Observes Them.

No Changes Made. By Sarah Welch on 10-30-2018. Source: Wikipedia