Epics of India

Hi, my name is Rob, and I hunt quails. I come from a small village where I was very poor. Day in, day out, I survive the day and make the living by trapping and these quails so I can either eat them or sell them for a little bit of money. I have a special talent of catching these quails, as you can see. I've spent a long part of my life training and perfecting the quail calls that would attract these birds. So, as the quails come, I would hide in the bush; and when there were enough of them close together in one place, I would throw my net out and catch them all. One day, however, the strangest thing happened. As I threw the net out and waited for the other birds to fly away, the whole net rose up and flew off to the distance! It was the most bizarre thing I have ever seen! Unfortunately, I came home that night without the quails to eat, and also having lost my net. I went the next day to try again, and again, the net alongside the birds flew off! I figured that it wasn't b...

All readings derived from  The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse Union is Strength Very clever lesson that was incorporated in the story. Here, the trapper knows that, even though his tactics were not working on the clever quails, eventually they would begin to quarrel with each other and get trapped This is a common tale regarding the faults of human nature, even when they are in a good position, eventually conflicts do arise and it can lead to the down fall of the whole group! The dialogue was very fanciful and exaggerated speech For example "A lie, is it? Hoity, toity, how high and mighty we are, to be sure! I suppose it is you life up the net, all by yourself, when the man throws it over us!" This is something that is uncommon in today's conversation but is very prominent in stories such as this. This story does not start nor end with any stereotypical introductions or conclusions (if you consider "there once ... " a...

All readings derived from The Giant Crab and Other Tales of Old India , by W. H. D. Rouse The Crocodile and the Monkey Story is told from 2nd person point of view, with references to the narrator talking to the readers directly with uses of "you." Vivid description of the crocodile, including the size of the animal, the hardness and color of its scales, the length of the jaw, the sharpness of its teeth, and how to refer them to things in real life such as a bed. Animals' names are usually just the name of the animal itself. In this example, the case of the wife and husband crocodiles were with prefixes such as "Mr." and "Mrs." This story was another author's recreation of the "Monkey's Heart" as I've read in previous Jataka tales. However, in this one, there was more emphasis on the point of view and background of the crocodiles and the dialogue between them The Wise Parrot and the Foolish Parrot Starts off with ...

There once lived a King in a beautiful palace. The king was known for his extraordinary kindness throughout the kingdom and spanned even across the nation themselves. However, with all his kindness, he couldn't stop misfortunes from his kingdom. Dark times hit them drastically. Fruits were not blooming, crops were failing, and his subjects became unhappy. He needed to find a way to support his people with food, but he didn't know where to look. One day, one of the fisherman noticed a large fruit, a mango, drifting down the great Ganges river. And, being hungry as the fisherman was, he took a big bite out of the mango. It was the sweetest and juiciest mango he had ever eaten! He knew the kingdom was in dark times, so he took the other half of the mango to the king. "Wow! This is the best mango I have ever eaten! Tell me, dear fisherman, where did you find such a divine fruit?" The King asked. "It was drifting down the Ganges, the spot where I was fishing at...

All stories retrieved from Twenty Jataka Tales  by N. Inayat The Two Pigs Usage of onomatopoeia as the introductory sentence to create curiosity within the readers. This can be a great way to get the readers' attention by using simple sound-like descriptions, such as "tick-a-tack" in this story Also included traditional fairy tale-like ending "... lived happily ever after" to create sense of comfortability and sense of happy ending in a story meant to be read to children Again, inclusion of something mystical that influenced the behavior and thought processes of humans and their faults, which in this case is the power of love to conquer all Also included the instance of royalty, such as a king What is the effect of inclusion of a king and why is it effective? What feelings does this inclusion create? How does it essential to the plot of the story? Ways to rewrite this From the perspective of the drunken men From the perspective of the king Told...

All readings were retrieved from Twenty Jataka Tales , by N. Inayat The Monkey Bridge I've noticed that most of these Jatakas originating from India bear many significant geographical locations. Such as for this story, it doesn't mention some river, but does mention the Ganges, which is a culturally important river in India. Another indication is the Himalayas. Diction is simple and easy to understand, no usage of complex words Senses, such as taste and smell are heavily emphasized and inclusion of exclamation points to start the emphasis of feeling Again, inclusion of some form of leader and/or royalty, which in this case, King of the monkeys. The actions and sacrifices of the monkey King was significant in its effect on how he treated his kingdom after he had found the Monkey King, which in way teaches a lesson for both the readers and the character in the story. The Guilty Dogs Just like the story above, there included the aspect of royalty such as the king of...

All readings were retrieved from More Jataka Tales , by E. C. Babbitt The Foolhardy Wolf Here, the dialogue of the characters in the story developed in a format that is each line is its own separate dialogue, makes it easier for the readers to read and follow along the conversation of the story The theme of the story talks about the reckless and arrogant nature of the wolf, which is another reference of human fallacy Story depicts the wolf first as humble and well-doing, and from there is where the story changes accordingly to the growing arrogance and greedy nature of the wolf, which saw its end. Images in the story is also separated within the context of the story, which allows for the readers to gauge in captivation of the reader's attention (Elephant Kills the Wolf. Source: Gateway Classics )

All notes below are derived from More Jataka Tales , by E. C. Babbitt The Girl Monkey and the String of Pearls Presentation of the story itself is in format of shot paragraphs, usually around 2-3 sentences, creates a sense of the developing of the story The dialogue, whether it was between the guards or the monkeys, was never divided into separate lines, but in concise paragraphs Pictures was inserted between the stories, rather than just the end. Theme in the story showcases the human weakness of arrogance, as in the monkeys showing off the pearls that she had to the other monkeys as a brag, which led to the confiscation of the pearls back The Tricky Wolf and the Rats Alike most of the traditional stories of the faults of humans, this one was showcased in the wolf, where his trickery ended in him being exposed by the Chief Rat Images were also included This time, both images were included between the lines of the story, neither being at the end of the story as usual. ...

What is a Myth? Crash Course Mythology #1 One of the most interesting notions that I've got from this video is how that myths have no definite and clear message intended by the author themselves. Instead, all the myths are up to interpretation. What is it about myths that make them worth telling again? I find it interesting where the one of the general concepts of myths were to explain the questions of the universe and generally how things work. In these day and age, of course, science can take place of myths in explaining the reasons. However, back then, there were no science to back up the reasons for these existential questions, so they propose an explanation for it by the powers of their "gods."  For instance, in the video, the interactions between the Greek gods, Persephone and Hades, were the reasons for the coming and go of seasons like winter and spring.  It does make me wonder, how did the first person come up with these gods and how did a single story o...

The Elephant Girly-face, by E. C. Babbitt Sets apart a preface for the story that showed how the story could possibly change as it progresses. Here, the elephant, Girl-face, was depicted as kind and harmless, which sets the effect that foreshadows how the development of such as statement would change The elephant here depicts human traits, much of that of a small child where will act accordingly to whatever is being taught to them. Shows that humans can be a product of their environment and upbringing, shadowing what they observe. Traditional beginning start with "once upon a time, ..." The Banyan Deer, by E. C. Babbitt Here, there is no deceit found in terms of the relationship between the animals and the humans, however, there is a system of dialogue between the deers themselves that would drive the story The general theme of the story shows the main difference between a good and bad leader, with subtle differences in between The bad leader would tell the m...

How the Turtle Saved His Own Life, by E. C. Babbitt A classical story about how a non-human character, namingly a turtle, outwitted his/her human counterpart in benefit of itself Includes instance of royalty, mainly to underscore that even one of the most powerful and important humans can fall for such trickery and ignorance Usage of easy to understand, modern language  Underlines faults of human thinking, such as ignorance and being gullible The Turtle Who Couldn't Stop Talking, by E. C. Babbitt Again, usage of non-human characters but this time, story is not directly influenced in the story, but instead as accompanying and emphasizing components to the the story between the geese and the turtle Contrary to the first story, the Turtle here is depicted as the ones with fault Fault: talking too much, even in inappropriate situation that is emphasized as life-threatening Usage of the village children almost like the narrators to depict the theme of the story, "...

As the Pandavas narrowly escapes the torments of Duryodhana by means of escaping through a secret tunnel from under their homes, they would spend the next couple of years living isolated in a cabin high up the mountains. The five Pandavas lived closely alongside their mother, as their father had died of illness a long time ago. Day by day, the kids would help out around the house with the cooking and housework as their mother would trek down the mountain to the nearby village to buy the necessary food for the day. One day, as the usual housework was happening, Arjuna decided he would help his mother out by going down to the village below to collect the food as his mother was cooking. As he was getting older, he felt like it was his responsibility to help his mother out with the daily chores. "Make sure to be careful and be back before the sunset!"exclaimed Arjuna's mother, Kunti. "I will! I'll be back before you guys know it. Don't worry!" Arjuna r...

The Indian Story Book: The Five Tall Sons of Pandu by Richard Wilson The Young Princes On of the reasons why I chose this version of the Mahabharata to read was due to it having a more focused scope of the Pandavas, which played an important role in the arc of the Mahabharata itself Tells the tale of how the talents of Arjuna matches the talent of Karna, who was from more humble beginnings than that of Arjuna, who was royalty Fascinating in terms of the matter that lineage and royal blood doesn't have anything to do with power or talent. Multiple backgrounds. Draupadi's Swayamvara This is where there is a major change to the story, where in the original story, Yudhishthira became the wife of all the Pandavas. However, in this version, Kunti tells Arjuna that Yudhishthira was to become the wife of the eldest Pandavas even though Arjuna won the challenge. Ongoing battle of skill between Karna and Arjuna, involves the use of disguises for Arjuna who was of royal b...

I think for the moment right now, I would say that I am happy with how the class is progressing and how I think my skills as a creative writer has been increasing. That being said, there are several of my stories that I created that I never would've thought would be another way to write such a story, such as in a different perspective. This strategy overall extends the depth of the story so well. In terms of weekly routine, I feel like I haven't been strict enough with my time and need to work on setting routine and follow it, which is a difficult thing especially at this point in my college career. In terms of the extra credit opportunities, I haven't been doing them as much as I would've wanted to, do to my poor time management and the free time is very limited for me at the moment. In terms of the blog and website, I would say it's one of the few things in college where I've expressed my creative abilities in and something that I like doing, which essentially...

Comments and Feedback In terms of the feedback that I've been hearing and reading from the rest of the class, I feel like for the most parts, it does give me a good understanding as to what I can improve on myself as a writer. I can see that, with the most of the comments given, that one of the things that I should be doing better is the incorporation of more details associated with my stories. For example, for one of my stories titled "The Battle of the Brothers," there was a suggestion of adding more information to an otherwise arbitrary and mysterious timeline of the brothers being alone for the past five years and the commenter was wondering what are the details that happened within those 5 years. There were also suggestions that I should use more dialogue. Both were great, and I think these are the points that I should be incorporating when writing the stories in the future. I would add though, there were little to no critiques as to see if any of my content was co...

Overall, I think the reading and the writing assignments have been ordered and structured in the way that it is easy to remember and access every week. However, I do think that the only think that's been holding me back is the creative energy that is required for me to write the stories each Thursday! Not that it's extremely difficult, it's just that with the schedule I'm on with the rest of the aspects of my life, most of the time I am mentally strained and the words and the ideas never come to me. Plus, when it does, it's never perfect and me being a perfectionist and always wanting to have a great story is difficult. In general, I am perfectly happy with the blog and the website in terms of the design and layout of each one, as well as the story posts for each. I think that my biggest accomplishment with the writing in this class is creating a short moralistic story that is both inspired by one of the stories I've read as well as incorporation from one of th...

Author's Note: This story is a recreation of a famous Jakata, called The Crocodile and the Monkey's Heart , from Eastern Stories and Legends by M. L. Shedlock, which tells of an attempt to deceit the monkey by the crocodile to take his heart and eat it, but of course, the monkey outwits him and escapes the wrath of the crocodile. In this recreation, I told it specifically in the Monkey's point of view, including his initial thoughts as when the Crocodile offered him the proposal of better fruits on the other side of the Ganges River. To make it more relatable, I told it in a more contemporary tone with modern and simple syntax, much like two ordinary people having conversation with one another in modern times! As many of you may, I was a Bodhisatta in a past life, and with this life, I have reincarnated in a form of a monkey. I lived my day to day life as a monkey, making the most of my day. I had the proper education and grew up big and strong, just as my father wanted m...

Bhisma Falls; Indian Myth and Legend by D. A. Mackenzie In the descriptions of the war, there were passages where there was no inclusion of dialogue, but just about how there was general happenings inside the war. As a reader, we know how war is not all entirely standstill, but it's moments like these that allows a rest before the storm. There was also inclusion of the aspect of "fate" derived from the death of Bhisma, which cna be told from a wise man or someone that can foresee the future. This adds on to the mystery of the story and allows the reader to continue reading to see if there ever was an end to the prophecy. Abhimanyu and Jayadratha;  Indian Myth and Legend  by D. A. Mackenzie There are emotionally taxing moments in the war, especially about Arunja's son and how he was "slain," which traumatizes Arunja to the point where he had to weep on the battlefied Scenes like this projects the humanity aspect of a story that is mismatched with...

Life in the Forest by Indian Myth and Legend by D. A. Mackenzie I like the inclusion of sages, which is a form of wise men that offer wisdom and knowledge that is useful for the main character to use I like the dialogue that the brahmin talks to the heavens, which includes the god's name and title in traditional words of praise, this can be something that I would want to include in my general stories Arjuna and Shiva, Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita  I liked the passage of the adventures of Arjuna in the Himalayas, without any inclusion of quotes. The passage all around, only includes only description about the mountains and forests around him along with his own general description  There was also mention of the "Great God" whose name was never included in the beginning; this insinuates a sense of curiosity that is instilled in the readers and makes the readers want to read more about the story and to find out who the "Great God"...

Author's Note: This story was written in the similar style and parts inspired by " The Foolish, Timid Rabbit " in Jakata Tales by E. C. Babbitt. I've reorganized the story to fit another moralistic notion that was told in a story heard by Dan Western, called " The Wise Man ." Once upon a time, there was a happy Rabbit, living under a log in the forest. The Rabbit spends his days scurrying around the forest, looking at rocks, flowers, the skies. The Rabbit was ever so enjoying his life. Wherever he went, his smile and ecstatic attitude spread to whoever he talks to! His neighbors, the fox, the squirrels, never quite knew why the Rabbit was so happy all the time. But they can't help but to be happy whenever he comes along. The Rabbit has a special place inside his log where he kept his supply of food. He wasn't a hoarder, but it was his happy supply, and he was willing to share with those who needed it. One day, after a tiring day of frolicki...

Bhima and Hidimba. Indian Myth and Legend by D. A. Mackenzie In the introductions of the story, the environment that was created by the author to set up the scene was filled with vivid terminologies There were also inclusions of animals and even supernatural beings, such as the asuras that were considered "demigods" and that they preyed on humans I think that adding the numerous different backstories of supernatural humanoids and demons would add more danger to the story and thus excitement. The demons and other humanoid beings of the stories should also each have their own individual names, alongside with their own set of unique powers as well. Characters such as Bhima showed confidence in his own strengths that can add dimensions to an otherwise non-described character. (Bhima Wrestling Hidimba. Source: Wikimedia ) Bhima and Baka. The Indian Heroes by C. A. Kincaid In the carefully described battle scenes, the author used a number of prepositional ph...

Vyasa and Ganesha. The Mahabharata , A Summary by J. M. Macfie. This is prime example of a creation story, which I liked in terms of the inclusion of divine beings as well as absurdity in the content of the creation of the child itself.  Most stories, along with the inclusion of gods and goddesses, also have inclusion of high-ranking social figures, such as kings and sages, which is something that I think I should include in my stories as well. Also, there is always some sort of myths and legends itself that the readers have yet to know about in depth yet. For example, there is the mention of the "Five Pandu Brothers," which I feel induces curiosity within the readers themselves. King Shantanu and Ganga. Indian Myth and Legend by D. A. Mackenzie For the most parts, the main characters of the story always have the creation story that is related to, or created from, a king and/or a god/goddess which makes them stand out from any of the other characters in the storie...

Author's Note: The story that inspired this was Rama and Sita chapter of The Divine Archer by F. J. Gould . I repurposed the story based on the competition aspect, and based it off a story about two brothers fighting to be the heir to the throne, instead of one character competing with suitors to marry a princess. There once was a king who lived in grand palace. Everyone in the kingdom loved the king, even in the neighboring rival kingdoms. He was the kindest king that there ever was However, as time passed, the king was getting older and older. Being that he knew that in a short time, there will be the time where he will pass and leave the kingdom to his successor. The king had two sons, Cha and Sha, and he devised a competition to see who he deemed fit to sit on the throne and rule his kingdom with love and compassion for the people. Cha was the younger sibling, and Sha was the older sibling. Cha was a quiet child, he never spoke unless spoken to, and he always tried to re...

The Divine Archer by F. J. Gould Birth of Dasharatha's Sons The inclusion of the objects on Rama's feet, that included the vajra, dhavaja, and ankusha, which translates to the thunderbolt, the flag, and the elephant goad. These were significant as each one of them was representative of culture. Vajra being a weapon of ritualistic purposes that symbolizes both the thunderbolt and the diamond.  Shows the skills of Rama, such as the mastery of the ancient religious texts, known as the Vedas, when he was only of a young age. Rama and Sita Shows the love between Sita and Rama, the author expressively portrays this through activities that each participated in, in order to show their love. For example, Sita prayed for Rama to the Bhavani, which translates to the "giver of life." and Rama often dreams about Sita. There was also included a contest to win Sita's hand in marriage by bending the Bow of Shiva, which Rama impressed the crowd with. The inclusion of ...

Author's Note: The formatting of this short story is a derivative of " Indra's Chariot " from  Ramayana, the Epic of Rama, Prince of India , condensed in English by Romesh Dutt. The story is written in couplet form, painting the story of the clash between Yerdua, the Queen of Demons and The Hero. There the demon laid, with nothing to conceal him but the odor of defeat There the demon queen, Yerdua, laid, with blood and tears from the her nose to her feet Arms outstretched, seeking only for the mercy of the hero who conquered her Slowly drifting away, the once lively spark in her eyes have stumbled to merely a blur The hero stood over her, with nothing but distaste on his face But he knew he must continue forward -- for this was nothing more than an obstacle in his race But all in sudden, before he could continue, the gods acted with such rash Lightning struck. The clouds darkened. The sounds of the birds stopped. A flash! Yerdua's body rose with such...

For this storybook, I'm thinking to tell tales about how a character receives a sacred weapon, and then will have spin-offs has to what the legends of those weapons are and where they came from, who wielded them, etc. Some of the sources that I will be using will be: About the Asi in the Mahabharata , the general Wikipedia overview for it, and of course the PDE Version of the Ramayana . Some stories that I might want to use would be " Rama's Attack ", The Asi , and " Viradha" . Many of which in here have valuable details about battles and description about how to use such weapons against their foes! The story I'm thinking of will be in third person narrating the battles and how the weapons came into existence as part of a spin-off informational story. Therefore, with such a collection of stories and background information about such weapons, I think the structure would be more towards an anthology. To the readers, I want them to be intrigued by the co...

(Adele Quote. Source: Makeameme ) Hello, here is the link to my storybook ! Thank you for the feedback :^)

Author's Note: The formatting of this short story is a derivative of " Indra's Chariot " from Ramayana, the Epic of Rama, Prince of India , condensed in English by Romesh Dutt. The story is written in couplet form, painting the story of the clash between Yerdua, the Queen of Demons and The Hero. There the demon laid, with nothing to conceal him but the odor of defeat There the demon queen, Yerdua, laid, with blood and tears from the her nose to her feet Arms outstretched, seeking only for the mercy of the hero who conquered her Slowly drifting away, the once lively spark in her eyes have stumbled to merely a blur The hero stood over her, with nothing but distaste on his face But he knew he must continue forward -- for this was nothing more than an obstacle in his race But all in sudden, before he could continue, the gods acted with such rash Lightning struck. The clouds darkened. The sounds of the birds stopped. A flash! Yerdua's body rose with such ...

The Bridge , Indian Myth and Legend by D. A. Mackenzie In terms of characterization, the story included appropriate and extravagant names for the powerful characters in the story.  For example, God of Ocean was the name of the being that was in control of the body of water that Rama was trying to get across to Lanka. In addition, all of the characters, especially godly and/or ones that the readers are yet to know, are followed by with their lineage title. For example, the author of the story included Nala, "son of Vishwakarma, the divine artisan ... " This is something that I could add to the extravagance in the description of the characters I will use in my story. Notice excessive usage of commas and long and visually descriptive sentences. Rama Attacks , Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita With the frequency of powerful enemies that Rama comes across during his journey, each one has their own characterization and division of power. In "Rama ...