Reading Notes: Krishna and Shishupala

“For he is destined to die only at the hands of the one born to slay him” this makes it seem like Krishna’s role (or one of his purposes) was to kill Shishupala. This would fit into the Jaya-Vijaya interpretation of these incarnations. Shishupala was a three eyed and four armed baby born to Krishna’s aunt. I think that it’s very interesting how excited Krishna is to see Shishupala and this familial connection will cause problems. Krishna will know that he must kill Shishupala but is forcing him to grow and grants the boon because of this.

Just like the others, Shishupala will get very mad at Vishnu, and stealing Rukmini is a good place to start. Krishna takes Rukmini away from Shishupala at his wedding day. Rukmi and Shishupala go after Krishna and their armies battle. Krishna, however, can’t attack Shishupala there because of the boon. Krishna and Rukmini get away and Shishupala goes back to Jarasandha’s capital. He then offends the Yadavas but Krishna still can’t do anything about it.

Jarasandha dies and they blame it on the Pandavas. When Yudhistira chooses to bless Krishna, Shishupala flips out. It’s important that Krishna pardons Shishupala 100 times so that after 100, he can kill Shishupala. He also knows that it is his destiny to kill Shishupala.

Second half of the story is all about Shalva.

Krishna kills Shishupala

Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography:

Krishna and Shishupala by Kamala Chandrakant, Ram Waeerkar, and Anant Pai. 

Week 12 Lab: Ted-Ed Videos

How languages evolve: I actually really like this video and think that it actually meets its title very well. The concept of languages slowly changing over time is very similar to how biological evolution would occur which is what makes this so cool. Evolution doesn’t only occur with living things, but can affect anything. So long as it’s given enough time to change. The language tree is also very similar to how some species are related to each other with a phylogenetic tree. Just as we try to link and differentiate between species, we try to do the same with languages.

Are Elvish, Klingon, Dothraki, and Na’vi real languages?: I had no idea that these languages were actual “real” languages. They are actual functioning languages because of their grammatical construction, instead of the words they contain. The video has a deeper look into what makes a language, a language. Different characteristics were listed but the fictional conlangs hit those points. Tolkien sounds like he covered all his bases so that Elvish could hypothetically be used.


How to use a semicolon: This is a good video for me because my semicolon usage is subpar. I knew that a semicolon could probably be used in a situation but I was never sure so we stuck with less compact punctuation. I always forget the differences between semicolons and colons, but now I like to think of semicolons as just commas on steroids. They do very similar things but are just much better at doing it. Instead of using a comma and conjunction, the ‘roided out semicolon can do it by itself. The embedded video is from "Semicolon" by The Lonely Island. It might be explicit at times, but it really shows the frustrations of semicolon usage.

Reading Notes: Kubera: The Lord of Wealth

Vishrava and Kubera are some sort of brahmin because Trinabindu was a sage and had an ashram. It’s confusing when some stories mention the time that it takes to accomplish some tasks. It took Kubera a thousand years to complete his penances so it affects the flow of the story in my view. Kubera, of course, could withstand the thousand years because, well, Brahma was his great grandfather. I’m not sure if an ordinary person in these times are every depicted as living that long.

The lineage of Ravana is long and confusing as it leads back to Brahma through Sumali. This story does show why Sumali wanted Ravana to dethrone Kubera and take Lanka. It’s because he always wanted Lanka back after Vishnu took it from him. Unfortunately for him, Vishnu is gonna take it from his grandson again. I didn’t know this, but Ravana actually defeats an attacking Kubera and then takes the Pushpak Vimana. However, this story doesn’t talk about Shiva protecting Kubera so they may just be different versions. Then Kubera is still alive at the end when Rama defeats Ravana and gets the Pushpak vimana back.

Kubera, the god of wealth

Pexels

Bibliography:

Kubera: The Lord of Wealth by Nimmy Chacko, Sundara Moorthy and Reena Ittyerah Pai

Reading Notes: Tales of Shiva

I like how you get introduced right in the middle of the Mahabharata’s story with the Pandavas in exile. This is the penance that Arjuna performed for Shiva, but it is interesting that it had such an effect on the forest. The reward from the penances came not from Arjuna’s direct doing, but from the sages begging Shiva to stop the penances. It’s good that Shiva is testing Arjuna because Brahma seems to just hand out celestial power like it’s candy.

Finally we get to see the main characters, who are either demigods or avatars, be manhandled by someone like they do to everyone else. Not that it isn’t fun to see the good guy win, but the bad guys never stood a chance. It’s just nice to see that Arjuna and others can be put down, granted it did take Shiva to do it.

Shiva’s exile of Parvati is similar to Rama’s of Sita. They both push away their wives even though their wives loved them like crazy. What a name that the fisherman picked for Parvati… So nice that they are back together. My only question is, does Parvati know about marrying Shiva from before? Because she is gonna be mad when she finds out.

Shiva’s power as one of the Trimurti can be seen as he saves Markandeya. Yama kneels and begs forgiveness from Shiva while they are both gods. This shows how much higher Shiva is than the other gods, except maybe Brahma and Vishnu.

Shiva and Arjuna fight

Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography:

Tales of Shiva by Subba Rao, C.M. Vitankar, and Anant Pai

Tech Tip: Weather Widget

Hey everybody! I created a weather widget on my blog with DarkSky. The tech tip shows you how to use Accuweather, but they are actually changing up their weather widget so the site is down. However, the steps are pretty much the exact same with DarkSky, so follow the tech tip, use your noggin', and you'll have a weather widget in no time.

Wikimedia Commons

Famous Last Words: MCAT = Over (...for now)

Boy this was a long week/weekend. Luckily, the beginning of the week wasn't too bad as I was able to get the reading in here done pretty early. This opened up my studying for my molecular biology test that was supposed to be on Friday but was moved up to Thursday. All because I had that little MCAT on Friday all the way in Tulsa. So basically I tried to finish up all my work in other classes so that I could study for that biology test, so that I could take the big one. On Thursday, unfortunately, I was taking a rest day before the test so I basically did nothing. Included in this nothing was my story post because I thought about doing it really quick but also was in a relaxation head space. Therefore, I kinda didn't do it. But, we are doing a little bit of extra credit right now to try and balance that off. I even had a pretty good story idea. Maybe I'll use that for one of the free weeks.

Now I wouldn't say that last Friday was one of my favorite Fridays ever. Getting up a 6 am to take a career defining test that isn't very easy does not match my definition of fun. Sitting down in a chair answering question after question is also no fun, especially when it's for seven hours. For a good amount of people who are in this class, they can probably relate. It seems like it worked out for them for the most part. I walked out halfway defeated, halfway optimistic and it took me the rest of the weekend to want to start doing things again. But we are back now and doing okay. Now I am looking forward to a nice, easy week and then Game of Thrones on Sunday. 

My feeling now. Slightly sarcastic thumbs up!

Pixabay

Week 11 Review

I decided to use this cute corgi (pretty sure it's a corgi) graphic because it makes me feel good, but also slightly sad. The cute doggy is very happy and it being so nice to me because it will eat all my homework. I don't want to do homework so that's nice. However, I know that the doggy can't eat my homework so that's sad.

Online Course Assignments

For my video I watched Why We Worship Trees from Epified's YouTube channel. It's pretty interesting that trees are worshiped like they are considering each tree has been given a different purpose. It makes me wonder how this tradition was started, and how they knew that trees were important for the sustainability of life. It would be very interesting to see if these practices are still used today.

Wikipedia Trails: from Hiranyagarbha to Ashwatthama

Hiranyagarbha: I chose this article to start because the golden theme is present with Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu who are main characters in my storybook. The golden egg has a great deal of importance in the Vedas, but I didn't know exactly what yet. Apparently it is pretty much the big bang and is the source of the universe.

The Hiranyagarbha

Brahma: After reading on the Hiranyagarbha page, I found that Brahma was born from the golden egg. Of course I went to his page because Brahma is a good branching point to a ton of different pages.

Brahmastra: After the Mahabharata, I knew about astras and how they were very powerful weapons that were given to Arjuna. I didn't know much else, so I wanted to see what the weapons actually were. Turns out that one of Brahma's astras is just a missle launcher of Brahma's fifth head and it can destroy the whole world. Fun!

Kurukshetra War: The Brahmastra article said that Arjuna and Ashwatthama almost used Brahma's head missle on each other at the end of the Kurukshetra War but were stopped. I had no idea what the Kurukshetra War was so I went deeper. Apparently, in true Sanskrit literature fashion, it's just a different name for the Mahabharata War. It was interesting to see how the course of the battle was, especially how it took 18 days.



Image source:
Wikimedia Commons

Meme Generator Tech Tip

Source: imgflip

This meme is supposed to fit with my storybook stories. Every time one of Vishnu's avatars kills an incarnation of Jaya, he will call him Jaya. This always leads Jaya to be confused as he doesn't remember who that is. So he thinks "wait a minute, who am I" from the classic vine.

Reading Notes: Krishna and Narakasura

How does one turn into a rakshasa or asura? Is it a predetermined thing or is it due to consequences from actions? I can already assume that Krishna will defeat Narakasura which will probably be less than ideal for Vishnu. Because it’s almost like Vishnu brought Narakasura into the world but then has to destroy him. Why is Naraka invincible to Indra (who is very powerful in his own right)?

Amaravati seems like a Mount Olympus type place where all the gods gather. It might be cool to do a story where Olympus is attacked and one of the demigods saves the devas. It would be very Percy Jackson like. Krishna would pretty much be Percy. His discus could be reused for whoever saves Olympus.

Krishna attacking Narakasura

Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography:

Krishna and Narakasura: Confidence versus Arrogance by Kamala Chandrakant, M.N. Nangare and Anant Pai

Reading Notes: Krishna

I wonder why Kamsa cared about the first seven children. The mysterious voice clearly says that it will be the eighth child of Devaki that will slay Kamsa. It’s also different from the Epified videos as I don’t think that Vasudev and Devaki willingly gave away their children to Kamsa. Why was the seventh child so important compared to the rest of the children? It’s also interesting that both the seventh and eighth children were blue skinned. 

The river story is similar, however, the serpents of Vishnu do not appear to shelter Vasudev. I think that the Epified version had Nanda knowing that Krishna was not their son. It seems like they would have no idea whose son Krishna was, but I think they knew in the other version. Krishna ate straight butter from a jar. That’s disgusting. Balarama also had blue skin when he was a baby, so it looks like he should have it now as well.

Krishna’s cunning will come in handy later. It shows his leadership even when it is used to steal butter. I think it would be cool to implement Krishna’s musical skills later, but highlight them as a great strength. If someone lifted a mountain with their pinky I think that I would just accept fate because there is no way I’m taking him down. Maybe Krishna will get attacked by a whole army of people, but he will just put them to sleep with his tunes. Maybe his skills can be used in a Mahabharata type story. 

Krishna with his flute

Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography:

Krishna: Retold from the Bhagawat Puran by Anant Pai and Ram Waeekar

Reading Notes: The Lord of Lanka Comic

Ravana is born to Kaikesi and Vishrava along with his siblings Kumbhakarna, Shoorpanakha and Vibheeshana. He already has ten heads and is arrogant and ambitious. The plan is to hopefully describe the beginnings of his strength and power. Kumbhakarna will also be described as Vijaya. Ravana performed penances just as Hiranyakashipu did to gain his semi-immortality. Vibhishana must be described as noble through the story as he is the noble son of Kaikesi. Vedavati presents the first conflict between Vishnu and Ravana as she turns away Ravana for Vishnu. When she says no, there will be a flaming flash of hatred in Ravana as the “Reverse Jaya” in him makes Ravana hate Vishnu.


After Ravana loses Vedavati and she becomes Sita, I will have to describe that he continues to torment people and grow his land. Nalkoober’s curse will come back to haunt Ravana when he takes Sita. For my storybook I might deviate from the comic and tell the Narayan version of how Ravana takes Sita. Shoorpanakha reports about Sita and Ravana does the Golden Deer trick. Might tell the Hanuman story where he lights Lanka on fire and then have Ravana react as though he knows that he is Shiva’s avatar. When Rama calls him Jaya he will react as though he has heard the name before, indicates he is getting closer to being back with Vishnu. Kumbhakarna will die by Hanuman’s hand, then Ravana will notice Hanuman. The epic battle between Rama and Ravana will be more detailed than in the comic as the flying chariot battle is iconic in my opinion.

The Lord of Lanka Cover

Indian Epics: Amar Chitra Katha

Bibliography:

The Lord of Lanka: The Rise and Fall of a Demon King by Anant Pai and Pulak Biswas

Week 10 Lab: Crash Course Mythology

All the areas of study and knowledge coming together to make mythology is very interesting and it will be cool to see how they are represented in mythology. When the man talked about one reason why it is hard to talk about mythology which is that there are multiple versions of a story, that hit home. All these different versions and retellings of the Ramayana and Mahabharata make it difficult to keep up. Some names become different in the same story and can be confusing.

The line between myth and religion is also very interesting because I might be reading these stories under the pretense that they are just that, stories. However, to a different person these may be their religious texts and sometimes I have thought about that. Staying power of a story is definitely one the main characteristics that I would prescribe for a myth.

Interesting that the Persephone myth explains how we got the seasons while the traditional folklore theorists explained that folklore describe how the world came to be. This causes a mix between traditional folklore and mythology. Euhemerism makes me think of Star Wars with the “a long long time ago,” where the Force and all the lightsabers may have actually occurred or were retold incorrectly as distorted by time. The thought that myths were used to explain the impossible sounds very reasonable and appears many times.

These theories on the hero story subparts are cool because I can see them occurring with Rama and other mythological heroes. Other heroes will have different mixes of these subparts and it is very interesting to find the subparts when you know what to look for.

Mount Ngauruhoe, the real world Mount Doom

Wikimedia Commons

References:

Crash Course: Overview of Mythology

Reading Notes: Epified: Krishna Part B

Brahma praising Krishna’s divinity is very interesting as this might show that Vishnu is more powerful than Brahma. Their status in the Trimurti makes them seem to be equals. The feeding and flute playing for Hastin by Krishna reminds me of Hagrid and Fluffy. Wow, so apparently Krishna’s destiny is to save the Dharma, which is the nature of reality. His destiny seems to be so different from other avatars.

Vishnu presenting himself makes it seem that his avatars are like a mixture of himself and his children in terms of power. It’s not that Vishnu is locked up as Krishna, and Krishna doesn’t have all the power that Vishnu has. Destiny is destiny. That means it’s going to happen so we know Kamsa is just delaying the inevitable. I feel like when you see the face of a god, you should know that it’s over.

Krishna defeats Kuvalayapida

Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography:

Krishna by Epified

Reading Notes: Epified: Krishna Part A

Kamsa’s rage seems similar to Duryodhana’s with them trying to kill innocent people who have threaten their throne in some way. Obviously the two stories are linked, which may be a reason for this. If Vasudev was so sure that nothing on Earth could harm his son, why was he worried when Kamsa came for his son? If nothing comes to light with the seventh son, I might make a story with him coming back.

The serpent protecting Vasudev and Krishna shows how much power that the gods have given Krishna as he is a powerful incarnation. Why did Putana want to kill Krishna? There could be a backstory there. Rather how did Kamsa gain control of demons? Could do a Game of Thrones thing where Krishna is a Dany, who is exiled but has immense power. Kamsa is on the Iron Throne as Robert Baratheon who sends assassins (demons) to kill Krishna/Dany. It is interesting that Krishna is never seeking to kill these demons but he is simply protecting himself. Radha drinking the scalding milk is similar to Sita walking into the fire for Rama.

Krishna holding up Govardhan Hill

Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography:

Krishna by Epified

Tech Tip: Word Counter

I find word counts to be kind of tedious as I am working. The constant checking of my writing to see its number of words is annoying. That's why this tool is really nice. I don't have to keep copying and pasting into a new window, just a simple highlight and right click. I'm usually okay with hitting word counts, but if I have to meet a requirement, knowing my word count is important.

Week 9 Story: Mjolnir

A shimmering sea was seen from the heights of Valhalla. Odin looked out upon the realm of Asgard with great pride, especially in this two children sparring in the courtyard. Thor and Loki were both formidable fighters, even at their young age. However, Odin could already see the differences between the brothers with Thor progressing slightly faster, with more focus and poise. Loki had shown to be more reckless with his actions inside and out of battle, where he made brash decisions in an attempt to surpass his brother. These types of actions would prove to be important as they had predictive power for Loki’s future personality.

Odin took notice and great interest in the development of Thor’s skills in both his physical strength and tactical abilities. All the strength and power in the world will be of no use if it is employed without direction. Along with the development of these physical attributes, it was important for Thor to be able to control his god given powers. Being the god of thunder, if Thor could focus his powers, his strength would be immeasurable.

In order to facilitate this, Odin decided to visit the dwarves of Nidavellir to have them fashion a hammer of great power. Because of the progress that Thor had made in training, Odin felt that it was time to grant Thor what would be his famous hammer, Mjolnir. It would help the god focus his celestial powers and attain new strength. This kind of power was not given lightly with only the most disciplined receiving a gift of such power. Loki was one that showed too much ambition and brashness, so he couldn’t be trusted with this weapon.

Loki had felt slighted by the news of Odin giving Mjolnir to Thor. Even if he wasn’t Odin’s direct son, it was known that he cared for Loki deeply. This lead Loki into a fit of rage which further showed Odin that he wasn’t ready. Mjolinr wasn’t the only source of supposed favoritism for Thor in Loki’s mind. As these perceived experiences continued, it pushed Loki further and further until he made a plan to rid Thor of his hammer. When the god of thunder was suddenly found unworthy of his hammer and his godly power, Thor was banished from Asgard. The cunning god of mishief, Loki, had succeeded in fooling his father. 

Thor and Mjolnir

Flickr

Author’s Note:

This story is intended to highlight the development of Thor and Loki as warriors in Asgard. I decided to use the Marvel counterparts of these gods because my knowledge of the actual Norse gods is lacking. It was intended to describe the acquisition of devastras by Arjuna (Thor and Mjolnir), but not by Duryodhana (Loki). This lead to Loki using a suspect method to get his brother banished, just as Duryodhana got his cousins banished. I chose not to finish the connection to the Mahabharata, but Thor would come back just as the Pandavas did.

Bibliography:

Mahabharata Episode 16 - Drona Trains the Pandavas

Reading Notes: Mahabharata: Karmic Revolution Part B

The mantra seems like it could have been used later for different purposes. I don’t really know why Kunti got rid of Karna, unless it was simply because she was unmarried. Pandu seemed to get some rough karma even though he didn’t mean to shoot those people. It’s odd to me that Pandu was so happy that his wife could have a child with someone else, even if it is a god. I always thought that Yama was the god of death so Yudhistira would be very powerful. It seems that Yama is better known as a god of judgement and truth which would make Yudhistira a good leader for the Pandavas.

The two Pandavas that were not Kunti’s sons, Nakula and Sahadeva, seem like the least important of the Pandavas. When I think about the story, these two didn’t show the level of responsibility or power as the other three, and even Karna. The music for the birth of that lump of flesh was very appropriate and kinda terrifying. I don’t remember the birth of the lump and the splitting of it into 100 sons from Narayan’s Mahabharata and I feel like I would remember something so disturbing.

Seeing the arrogance of Duryodhana again really hurts me, why does he think he can defeat his demigod cousins. This story of the underwater realm sounds like a snake filled Atlantis and this is also a new story, unless I forget. If Drona was a brahmin, how did he know so much about combat and warfare? Didn’t Drona also teach the Kauvaras? The astras are some of the coolest parts of the Mahabharata when it comes to weapons. (After the thumb is cut off) Wow Drona sucks.

Ekalavya cutting off his thumb

Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography:

Epified: Mahabharata, Part B

 

Reading Notes: Mahabharata: Karmic Revolution

I like how the Mahabharata is going to be shown in a different view. Using karma as the main driver will be interesting to see in the stories. Karma seems to appear when Ganga put her children in the river to release them. I really like the animation for the telling of the story because it can be helpful in distinguishing who a character is between the all the names.


The vow of Devavrat is presented with much more significance than in the Mahabharata by Narayan. That must be part of the benefit of telling the story in this way because the narrator can break out of the story telling to discuss a topic. In hindsight, I know how important this oath is because I already know about the Pandavas and Kauvaras, while when I first read this, I didn’t know how important this oath would be.


It’s nice to see this again because I had forgotten the earlier lineage of the cousins and didn’t really understand it the first time through. Now, I can remember a little bit so it’s good to hear it again. The Amba story is one that I definitely forgot and might be a depiction of karma to come. I don’t see how Vyasa’s children would become the heir because they would not be descendents of Shantanu. I have to say I completely forgot who Vidura was when reading the story. This makes a lot more sense for him being in the Mahabharata. Now I also know where Sakuni came from as well and it seems like he is the main issue.

Bhishma coming back to his father

Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography:

Epified: Mahabharata, Part A

Tech Tip: Embedding YouTube

I embedded a video for a song from Rocky into my Week 7 Story.

Tech Tip: Favicon

I wanted to change my website's favicon because the blogger logo just isn't that appealing. So I went to look for an image that would work well. I decided against using an image as the source because I didn't like the compression of the existing images. The favicon I have know is the outline of India with the Indian flag's colors and I think that it matches this class pretty well. Plus it was made to be low in pixels so it looks better. It was a task to get it to actually show up and I had to do some external searching, but it all works now!

Basically what my favicon is

Pixabay

Week 8 Progress

My progress has been pretty steady so far. I started early and was a week ahead for about two weeks until I realized that I needed the deadlines to give me the drive to finish, hehe. Now I am on pace with the class and usually do okay with the assignments during the week, but could do better with the weekend ones. Because I have those extra days, it's just more time for me to procrastinate away.

I don't think I fit to my old schedule from the beginning because I usually do the same thing each week now. Start on Monday with the first reading, then Tuesday is the second, and so on until Sunday is a free day, unless I procrastinate. I really want to work on finishing up my project posts earlier so that the feedback came come back a little quicker.

Shia LaBeouf telling you to just do it

Do It! Shia Labeouf (Super Pack)

Week 8 Comments and Feedback

The comments are hit or miss for me from everyone else. Sometimes the comments have a healthy amount of criticism and sometimes they are just way to nice on me. Obviously the nice ones just feel really good to read but probably don't give as much to improving the writing as the "means" ones. But I don't really like those either because at some point you want to feel like you're doing okay. I guess a mix of both criticism and praise would be best for my progress and morale. I hope that I do an okay job of providing this balance and I try not to be too hard or soft on someone. Using the WWW method helps me to give this balance as you can be wow'ed but also suggest something in the same comment. 

You can really see someone's personality if you wade through enough of their posts and if you were to see what they have commented. The introduction really hits the big points but you can only get the nuances from their stories. I want to keep giving comments with a healthy mix of criticism and praise so that people can get new ideas in case they are looking for some. I know that I got some cool ideas from other people's storybooks this weekend that I might use to help write my stories. 

cheezburger 

Okay so I just really liked this cat when I was scrolling through the images. I guess I might also be surprised when seeing super good feedback. But the real reason is that this is a good lookin' kitty.

Week 8 Reading and Writing

In the beginning of the semester I didn't think that I would fare all too well with the reading and writing. I have managed to slightly change my mind. The reading went really well even though I am not the best or quickest reader out there. I think it was because I actually started to like the readings. If they were just some bland topics, it would have been the end of me. However, I really got into the Mahabharata at some points were I was just reading a story for fun. I got physically mad when Yudhistira kept losing at the dice game, I mean come on man. Stop being dumb. It was like yelling at the character in a horror movie so that they don't go in the dark house. 

Writing was my other concern and it has gone okay so far. The assignments for storytelling usually take me a little longer than those for other people, but I get them done. I also feel like they don't completely suck, which I am proud of. The website introduction and story are the ones that are my favorite because I easily put the most time into them. It's also really cool to read about these characters (the comic books really make this enjoyable). My blog is also gonna get some aesthetic changes soon, but those are for the tech tips. 

This was definitely my favorite picture by far from my Sita Sings the Blues Part 1 post.

(Image created with imgflip)

Reading Notes: Prahlad Comic

I remember reading about rakshasas and asuras earlier in the semester and they, specifically asuras, were described as being good or evil. I'm not sure that I have seen either be labeled as a "good guy" yet.

Interesting. So I wanted to read this comic as a way to get some backstory to the Hiranyakashipu incarnation of Jaya as he faces off against Hopefully I can learn more about Hiranyakashipu because Vijaya's incarnation was dead in the first page. Prahlad will be an interesting element to use in my story but he can't be the main focus of the story. Making it so that Hiranyakashipu has no recollection of his time with Vishnu as Jaya is very important. Vishnu's avatar may get to know his true identity as it seems that Krishna was omniscient presence. 

Prahlad is a sleeper agent for Vishnu and his faith cannot be stirred. His father has an arrogance to him that will be exploited. However, Prahlad still appears to love his father. This long story of how they tried to kill Prahlad might be omitted. Seeing the hate of Hiranyakashipu is great to see as it shows a complete reversal from his time as Vijaya. There is a direct hatred of Vishnu. 

There is our Vishnu avatar. Narashimha. I might want to get him more involved into the story, maybe a little bit more dialogue. Perhaps it will relate to the gatekeepers and all of Vishnu's avatars are aware of the situation. I think that having each one of the incarnations be purified of their sins will be good for wrapping up the story and having them all come back to Vishnu.

Prahlad Cover

Indian Epics: Amar Chitra Katha

Bibliography: 

Prahlad: A Tale of Devotion from the Bhagawat Purana by Kamala Chandrakant and Souren Roy

Week 7 Story: Rocky VII

Rocky was on top of the world. He was heavyweight champion and had no plans of stopping anytime soon. With Adrian by his side, he would continue to build his legacy as The Italian Stallion. There was only one person who could have come close to stopping him and that was Hans.

Hans was Rocky’s best friend back when they practiced together with Mickey in Philly. Rock was prepping for his first big fight against none other than Apollo Creed with Hans as a sparring partner. Eventually Rocky took down Apollo Creed and became a household name while Hans started his own successful career, albeit not at the level of Rocky’s. However, Hans did have a unique fighting style which could exploit Rocky.

This lead to animosity between the two friends, but mainly from Hans’s corner as he couldn’t bear to see the success and friendship between Rocky and Mickey. WIth Hans being with MIckey first he believed that Mick would come train him.

One day, Hans decided it was time to challenge Rocky and take all of the fame that he so desperately desired.

“What do ya think, Mick?” Rocky asked his old friend.

“You’re the Italian Stallion! The champion of the world! You gotta do it kid.”

Rocky accepted the challenge as a champion should. Rocky didn’t think much of Hans at this point and didn't practice adequately for the fight. Two met for the fight and round after round went by with Hans taking each. His unorthodox fighting style caused trouble for Rocky and after the full 15 rounds, Hans won by unanimous decision without losing a single round.

Adrian pleaded, “Please Rocky what do you have to prove? He knew all your weaknesses and used them. Why risk what you have already accomplished?”

“Adrian I have to go fight him again. I know what I did wrong last time and won’t lose this time. I won’t lose everything.”

The rematch was just as swift as before. Rocky tried a few new things but Hans still knew everything that he would do. Again 15 rounds for Hans and the unanimous decision.

Fans across the world decided that Rocky was washed up. Given more time to prepare and with full knowledge of his opponents capabilities he still went and fought Hans and lost easily. The (former) champion of the world doesn’t just get outclassed in back to back matches.

“Mick we’re gonna go harder than ever before. This can’t be how it goes for me. Hans helped me so much, but has taken everything.” Rocky and Mick left their premier boxing facilities and headed out for some really inspiring training. The montage of rolled boulders, scaled cliffs, and logs chopped was what really gave Rocky the weapons to take down Hans. This took years until they asked for the third rematch.

Meanwhile, Hans wasn’t too worried about Rocky. He had beaten the “Italian Stallion” soundly, twice in a row. World class training was new for Hans and he made okay use ot it, but didn’t train for as long as Rocky.

The days approached for the fight and Rocky had a calm confidence. Mickey had trained him well and Rocky was ready. A new feeling was in the air.

Gonna Fly Now

Hans and Rocky bumped gloves at the center of the ring as the bell chimed. This time Rocky was the one in command. Almost every punch thrown from Hans was dodged or deflect and it seemed as though Rocky couldn’t miss. It was a slow affair as Rocky did take some hits but it only lasted until the 8th round. At this point Rocky ducked a right cross from Hans and followed up with his own southpaw left cross and dropped Hans. 

Rocky's Statue

Scott Welch Flickr

Author’s Note:

For my story, I focused on the Mahabharata as a whole from the dice game to the end of the battle. Rocky was intended to serve as the entire group of Pandavas and Mickey became a sort of Krishna character. Hans was the Kauvaras and I just really wanted my villain to have a German name. Maybe it has something to do with Rocky fighting a similar version of Ivan Drago. Putting Apollo in for Krishna was an idea that I had but it probably would have been too quick. It would have been Rocky’s supernatural boost. With Rocky’s first two matches are supposed to resemble the dice game and Rocky’s triumph at the end is the triumph of the Pandavas.

Bibliography:

The Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part D

Yudhistira obviously still cares for his family. It's good to see that he is not blinded by jealousy unlike the Kaurvaras. This story seems to be founded on that distinction. He is almost Rama like in this way but Krishna would easily be Rama's equal because of course they are the same person.

Duroyhana's arrogance is a very important characteristic and it can be seen again with him thinking he can imprison Krishna. Karna's story is especially intriguing as he has ties to both sides but thinks he owes some loyalty to the Kaurvaras. This is misplaced and is only serving to hide his real agenda against Arjuna. Or so I believe.

Krishna’s power as a god with both of his transformations to the actual multidimensional god is much different from the characteristics of Rama. It is interesting to see that Krishna seems to have more of a connection with Vishnu than Rama did. The war between family is hard to read, I don’t want Bhishma to die or for him to kill any of the Pandavas. Karma being brought up for the first time is interesting as it hadn’t been mentioned in the Ramayana. Reading about their tradition with the caste system is very interesting because they believe they must do something just because of who they were born to.

Arjuna kills Karna

Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography:

The Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part C

So I was sitting there reading the story of how Duryodhana got captured by the gandharvas and thought about Karna and the game of dice. First it would be interesting to put Karna into some sort of double agent role. He still doesn’t like the Pandavas so he would work for the Kauvaras.

My better idea was for a continuation between parts of the Mahabharata. The Pandavas would be represented by Rocky Balboa and get beaten in their first match (dice game) they will have a montage of getting stronger (getting epic weapons) and then, I’m assuming, come back and beat the original boxer, the Kauvaras.

Even thirst wouldn’t be enough to voluntarily kill yourself and these brothers must have been smarter than to not connect the death of the others with the water. My thought is that there must have been a curse or something placed on them which made them so thirsty that they would risk death. Yudhisthira's wisdom comes through again as he didn’t drink the water early. That yaksha just saved him.The trials of Yama and gift from him to Yudhistira make me remember some of the interactions between Percy Jackson and his dad Poseidon.

I love a good bit of irony from the interaction between Uttara and Arjuna, who does a good job of keeping up his disguise. I’m not really sure how this is all going to work out in terms of the exile because Arjuna clearly reveals himself.

Karna's role in the coming battle will be interesting considering it looks like he left the battle. I wonder if he will keep that up.

Yudhistira with Yama

Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography:

The Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan

Week 6 Lab: Twine Game of Dice

So I decided to recreate the Game of Dice in Hastinapura in my Las Vegas of Las Hastinapura. You will notice similar outcomes from the choices you make.I could easily have put more options in because boy did Yudhisthira like to lose his stuff. Twine: Las Hastinapura

Shakuni playing the dice game

Wikimedia Commons

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part B

I agree with the Pandavas, even if Dhritarashtra wasn’t plotting with is sons to take out his nephews, the Kaurava’s may still attempt to kill the Pandavas against their father’s wishes. Krishna is an unknown entity and is the incarnation of Vishnu but seems to have powers that are different than those of Rama. It is inferred that he could see the past, present, and future while I don’t think Rama every knew what was going to happen. But why is Krishna helping them?

The 12 year penalty for invading the privacy of one of the other cousins and Draupadi may cause problems later or could be used. Oh I was right, poor Arjuna, just needed some help. The favor of the Gods is very interesting, I wonder if one of them could somehow lose it and see everything crumble around them….

Duryodhana is a brat. That is all.

Sounds like the prophecy came true for Yudhistira. However, I feel like someone should have been able to stop him from losing everything. This part actually got me upset because I’m firmly in the “Draupadi wasn’t Yudhistira’s to give” camp and Krishna came in the clutch there. However, when Dhritarashtra just started handing boons out like candy I was confused. Why are they letting this happen all over again. Most frustrating story ever.

I got sucked into the story for a little bit there and didn’t take as many notes as I should have. However, I am very happy that Arjuna went and got more weapons so that they can take their revenge on the Kaurava’s. Reading about Krishna has given me a little bit of information for my storybook, but seeing more of him would give me a better idea.

Dushasana unwrapping Draupadi's sari

Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography:

The Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan

Wikipedia Trails: From Mahabharata to Mahatma Gandhi

Mahabharata: I decided to start my trail with our second Sanksrit epic and reading topic for the next two weeks. After reading part A, I was interested in reading more about the epic because I had some questions about what the main conflict would be and who wrote it. I wanted to see the attributed author because it was actually mentioned many times in Narayan's version that so and so was the author. After a little bit a reading, the war between the cousins is the main conflict and Vyasa seems to be the poet.

Vyasa: Alright so it would appear that Vyasa definitely is in the epic which is very interesting. This holds many comparisons to the authors of the Bible when I think about it. Both are religious texts and the writers of both were involved in actual story as it was unfolding. Although they may not have been the focus, their presence was made known in the story.

Guru Purnima: This is a celebration/tradition for Hindus, Buddhists and Jains where they honor the spiritual leaders of the past. Many Hindus use the celebration to honor Vyasa as he was believed to have been born on that day. There are dances, songs, recitations and offerings all done for this celebration.

Mahatma Gandhi: I found my way to Gandhi from the Guru Purnima as he revived the celebration to honor his old spiritual guru. Like most people, I knew of Gandhi before this trail and thought he would be a good place to end. However, I didn't now exactly why he was assassinated or who did it so reading that section was enlightening. Because a Hindu nationalist, the people he had helped for years, thought he was being too inclusive. He was someone who was just trying to be helpful to all people and paid inappropriate price.

Vyasa

Wikimedia Commons

Tech Tips: Canvas Gradebook

The Canvas gradebook has always been something that I have a love-hate relationship with. On the one hand, I like how simple and accessible it can be to look at your grades, which was not as true of high school. However, because a good amount of professors have not jumped on the wagon for Canvas or their grading system just doesn't fit with Canvas, using gradebook can be more of a hindrance.

For this class, I think that it is helpful when using the Weekly Totals at the bottom of the page. I had never tried out the sorting options before, while they can be useful, I am okay with scrolling really fast and sticking with the status quo. Maybe it gives me motivation by seeing all that I have already done which gives me the boost I need.

The traditional gradebook of elementary school, it made no sense

Flickr

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part A

Devavratha is the incarnation of a vasu and has powerful skills, similar to Rama. I'm not sure that he has a goal on the earth, unlike Rama. His attitude is similar to Rama in that he willingly gives up the throne for his father. Could do a story about the actual stealing of Sage Vasishtas cow.

Wow Bhishma just took a wild turn, when taking those girls. It's odd that the two sisters ended up marrying the same guy. Could turn into some family drama later…

I'm not sure I understand the whole Vyasa deal. Are these children going to succeed the throne? Even though they don't have the lineage? So Kama is a demigod and could have some interesting powers. Also of the sun god, that could be interesting.

Could have had Arjuna and Kama fight in their first meeting. Where is Kama in all of the struggle between the cousins?

I wonder how the Drupada didn't notice the Pandavas when they came back. I assume that they were involved in the initial attack that was ordered by Drona.

The Pandavas

Wikipedia

Bibliography:

The Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan

Famous Last Words: Tests Round 1

This week and last week were midterm weeks for me, so that was fun. I must say though, having only one midterm in one week and the other in the next week is better than having everything crammed. While studying for them was not the most fun thing, it all went pretty well and I got good grades (yay!).

Reading for this class was nice because of the video option. I thought that Sita Sings the Blues was pretty fun with those three narrator characters who just showed how crazy The Ramayana can get with all those different versions. The other things that was pretty helpful about the video option was that when I was running out of time before class, I could just turn that video speed up to 1.5x speed. This can definitely get out of control like when the regular speed is already pretty fast. But when the tempo lulls, cranking it up can get you the same content in less time. If you haven't tried this out with long, slow videos that you just to get done with, you might see how helpful it is.

As for outside of school (but still inside of campus), College Bowl registration as opened! I am pretty excited about it, but am also dreading when I have to make all these schedules. If any of you OU people stumble upon this, you should make a team! It's super fun and you don't have to be good at trivia I promise.

During the past few weeks when I have worked on stuff for this class I have noticed/figured out that a new plan of mine has been working out. I try to get one of the assignments done on each day of the week and couple that with an extra credit assignment. The extra credit assignments aren't that time consuming and it's good to get ahead of things. As long as I keep doing that, it shouldn't be to hard to manage.

Some Last Words

Wikimedia Commons

Week 5 Story: Vali's Fall

Vali’s power was boundless. Even a brief interaction with the gods gave him incredible power. Churning the ocean to save the gods using nectar was no small feat and because of this the gods gave him his gift. No one dared challenge him now and this lead to his formidable control on man and even the gods.

But one day Vali was challenged. Not by a human or a god, but by a demon named Mayavi. This demon was just like all the others, strong but impulsive. His quick temper shined when he came out of his cave to take all that Vali had gained. Due to Vali’s power there was no threat that he would back down from or that would be too small for him. Especially a demon.

So Vali met the test of Mayavi, but Mayavi soon realized that what he had done was too quick. Vali wasn’t alone and was surrounded by all of his vassals, including Sugriva. Focusing too hard on Vali causes most to forget about his brother. Even though there was no way that Sugriva could match the power of Vali, he was still a force to be reckoned with.

With this, Mayavi retreated to his abode, deep in a cave. A part of him didn’t expect Vali to follow him, but that was wishful thinking. But before Vali left, he entrusted his kingdom with Sugriva. Informing him to keep the cave and to keep the kingdom.

Vali ventured throughout the labyrinth that was this cave until he found Mayavi. Although he was in the demon’s realm, the strength of the gods was enough to overpower Mayavi. Vali was clean but a single scratch from Mayavi’s claws.

“Oh foolish Vali.” Mayavi whispered with his dying breath. “You may defeat me here in this cave. But you have lost everything. Sugriva has probably already entombed you in this cave.”

“You speak nonsense demon. A dying plea. Sugriva needs me and he could never seperate himself from his brother.”

“You underestimate the pull of your old position. That much power is even strong enough to break the bonds of family. Soon you will see.”

With that Mayavi passed and Vali headed out of the cave, back to his kingdom. When Vali saw the boulders blocking the entrance he knew. All of his hatred manifested as the words of Mayavi rang true. Sugriva had become drunk with the power of the kingdom and was determined to keep Vali out. Vali couldn’t let this stand and became determined to destroy his brother, plagued by the thoughts of betrayal.

The Monkey King, Vali

Wikimedia Commons

Authors Note:
I made this story to go a little bit more in-depth with the story of Vali and Sugriva. Their relationship appeared to be similar to Rama and Lakshmana’s where one was stronger than the other. However, because their relationship evaporated so quickly after Vali returned, it made be want to go a little further. So I decided to highlight what may have happened in that cave before Vali made his way back. Showing how Mayavi infected Vali’s mind was the way that I attempted to explain how Vali lost faith in his brother so quickly.

Bibliography

The Story of Vali and Sugriva in The Ramayana by R. K. Narayan

Reading Notes: Sita Sings the Blues Part 2

Omg Dave. What a way to break up with someone. Email. Alright so this now starts a story that I haven’t seen yet as Sita gets pregnant. Interesting that Rama is now turning his back on SIta because he needs respect. I thought that the fire proved to Rama that she was pure. Kind of cold that they are going to abandon a pregnant woman in the woods. Oh, Rama thinks that there is a little Ravana waiting in Sita’s belly, yikes. Oh Lakshmana is sad as well. Yay Sita had her kids and they grew up very fast. The sing along graphics are hilarious regarding how the story has been told thus far. But really where is Dave right now? Rama seems to have no idea what is happening. I also have no idea what is happening with mother earth. Well I guess she was pure? I’m not sure if there was meant to be a parallel with the modern day story and Sita’s story. Maybe this actually happened but was coincidentally related which sparked the idea for the film. Anyways the three narrators were my favorite part. The humour they had was intriguing.

The Titan Gaia (Mother Earth)

Pixabay

Bibliography:

Sita Sings the Blues by Nina Paley

Tech Tip:Kindle Overview

I used Kindle way back in the early days before it turned it a tablet like the Kindle Fire. The easy access and screen without sun glare were the biggest selling points that I can remember. Audible was then pushed heavily a little bit after the Kindle was introduced as Amazon had bought the company. So I have actually used both methods to read books. But most recently I found a new method of Kindle when I was trying to setup how I was going to read the Ramayana. There happens to be a Kindle app for Windows 10 computers which you can download off of the Kindle website. This allows you to download the books straight onto the computer so that you don't need internet like you would when using the browser based app. I usually use my phone though but would love to get my hands on the actual device again at some point.

Gen 2 Amazon Kindle (I had this)

Wikimedia Commons

Reading Notes: Sita Sings the Blues Part 1

The animation at the beginning with the couple and the cat was kind of distracting because of the constant movement. Use of humour is really good when they are trying to decide what year the story is from. I wonder who the three people are that seem to be narrators. Their commentary with each other is fun as they mess stuff up. Why is Rama the only blue person?

Interesting that they skipped straight to Kaikeyi and Rama becoming king. This animation continues to be funny, I'm actually lol. Maybe I could incorporate some humour by using modern dialogue and being blunt.

Not exactly sure what the record player's role is. Maybe it displays Sita's point of view and feelings through songs.

Ravana's only bad deed was stealing away Sita. It seems like they think he also followed the right gods. Cool that Rama's bridge still exists. It's also interesting to see how far Ayodhya is from Lanka.

Shurpanakha doesn't seem to have her nose cut off. Oh singing Sita I'm so sorry but you're gonna be taken away from Rama. Ravana just picked her up and didn't use earth. There also wasn't an appearance by Jatayu. That's a lot of jewelry. I also didn't know that Hanuman was the incarnation of Shiva.

Ravana is just like the shocked Pikachu meme. Well Hanuman just lit the whole place on fire. That is an interesting idea, why didn't Sita just get on Hanuman's back. All three narrators made good points.

Dave's reaction to Nina is similar to Rama's to Sita when he rescued her. But why is Dave so cold? Rama had his reason.

Shocked Pikachu meme representing Ravana

(Image created with imgflip)

Bibliography:

Sita Sings the Blues by Nina Paley

Comment Wall

Vishnu

Here is my Storybook website: Vishnu's Deja Vu


Image: Wikimedia Commons

Wikipedia Trail: From Vishnu to Vedas

Vishnu: I started here because the Ramayana is focused on Rama and his destruction of Ravana. However Rama is basically just Vishnu which is stated throughout the epic. It was interesting to see that Vishnu is the deity that is mainly associated with avatars as he has the most avatars. The Ramayana did also say that Rama's brothers were also avatars of different gods.

Avatar: These people are physical incarnations of the gods where it is reinforced that avatars are commonly associated with Vishnu. However, Shiva and Brahma also have avatars such as Lakshmana for Shiva. It was odd for me to see Buddha on the list of Vishnu's avatars so that is where we go next.

Gautama Buddha: I went to go find Buddha's connection with Vishnu as his avatar and it seems that there are different opinions on the history of Buddha. Some Hindus do believe that Buddha is the ninth avatar of Vishnu, while he is also a prophet for a small sect of Muslims. It is interesting to see such overlap between religions.

Vedas: It said on the Buddha page that the Hindus believe that Buddha is an avatar of Vishnu but that Buddha's teaching went against the Vedas. So the Vedas are the religious texts of Hinduism, similar to the Bible and Quran. It looks like the Vedas are split into different categories which was different.

Statue of Rama

Wikimedia Commons