Week 10: Reading Diary B

The Pandavas are so mighty, yet they make countless offers for peace. Their foe has been stubborn from the beginning, and I am not surprised that he wants to go to war. Duryodhana has never been an honorable man, and his plans to take Krishna captive while he is serving as an emissary should have been expected by the Pandavas. Unfortunately for Duryodhana, Krishna turns on god mode at the assembly and thwarts Duryodhana's plans.

I found the first part of the battle to be quite confusing. People are coming out of nowhere. This seems like a complicated way to bring about the death of Bhishma. I don't understand why Drona would listen to his enemies about the death of his son. I would think the supreme commander of an army would not let himself keep be affected by anything that comes out of his enemies mouth. Furthermore, he just gives up and sits down after they tell him his son is dead. I was very surprised by Bhima drinking the blood of Duryodhana's brother after he had killed him. Then the systematic elimination of Duryodhana's leadership continues with the death of Karna. I like how Duryodhana called out Krishna for all the deceit he used so far, but Krishna drops a karma bomb and tells him he had it coming.

Week 9 Storytelling: King Duryodhana and the Pandavas

A messenger had just returned to King Duryodhana with news that the Pandavas were approaching the House of Joy. King Duryodhana became excited at the thought of his enemies walking into his trap. "Those Pandavas are fools," Duryodhana proclaimed "Messenger, ride to the archer hiding near the House of Joy and tell him to launch a fire arrow once the Pandavas are asleep."

King Duryodhana and his army. Source: Wikipedia

The messenger quickly departed for the House of Joy. As he rode towards the House of Joy he thought about the situation. "How cowardly of King Duryodhana to slaughter the Pandavas in their sleep. Why would anyone want to do this to the Pandavas? They are friends of the people." The messenger decided that he would change the course of events this evening. He rode around the camp where the King's archer was waiting for the signal to fire, and rode straight to the House of Joy. Upon seeing the magnificent house for himself, he understood why the Pandavas could be lured here so easily. He presented himself at the door and said, "Pandavas, I am an agent of King Duryodhana, and I request your audience." The Pandavas gathered at the door and received the messenger. "Pandavas, you are in great danger. King Duryodhana built this place as a trap. This place is meant to be your grave, not your home. There is an archer waiting in the forest to loose a fire arrow on this house while you are sleeping. Flee this place and I will order him to fire, then you may plot your revenge against Duryodhana. I will tell nobody that you have survived."

The Pandavas were shocked by this news of treachery from King Duryodhana. They thanked the messenger for saving their lives and quickly gathered their possessions. They then fled into the forest outside of the House of Joy and waited to watch it go up in flames. Meanwhile, the messenger rode to the archer in waiting. He arrived and showed the King's seal to the archer. "The Pandavas are fast asleep inside the House of Joy, send them to their graves." The archer sent the fire arrow flying and after a brief moment the House of Joy exploded in flames. "Our work here is done. Let us return to King Duryodhana and tell him that the Pandavas have perished." They returned to the king and told him that the House of Joy was in flames. The king was relieved by this news and retired to his chamber.

Author's Note: This story was inspired by Narayan's The Mahabharata. I wanted to tell an alternate version of the story where King Duryodhana is betrayed by his own forces. The Pandavas are loved by the people and would not want to see them killed by Duryodhana.



Bibliography: 

• Narayan, R. K. (1978). The Mahabharata.

Week 9: Reading Diary B

I bet that Duryodhana was shaking in his boots when he realized the Pandavas were still alive. Luckily for him, his son decided to take the diplomatic approach and make peace with the Pandavas. I'm surprised that the Pandavas needed a sage to tell them of the dangers of sharing a wife between five brothers. I can't imagine sharing a significant other with one person, let alone five. At least they take yearly rotations.

Duryodhana seems like a very jealous and petty man. I'm sure this will end up haunting him, for karma cannot be avoided. Playing dice seems like a strange way to settle the score and take revenge, but I suppose if they stakes are high enough then a game of dice is a bit more than just a game. Yudhishthira and I have something in common, we are terrible gamblers. I can't believe he gambled away his brothers and wife. Druapadi seems like a woman you don't want to mess with, not to mention her powerful husbands. Duryodhana is really digging himself into a deep hole.

I don't understand how Yudhishthira can gamble on behalf of the other Pandavas, especially after the first time. If I were a Pandava, I would have called a family meeting and removed Yudhishthira from a position where can has the power to gamble my life away. Yudhishthira may be a terrible gambler, but he does understand that revenge is a dish best served cold.

Week 9: Reading Diary A

As soon as the woman by the river agreed to marry Shantanu on the condition that he would never question her, I knew something was fishy. I guessed many things, but I did not guess that she would drown her own children. I thought this was extremely messed up, but of course there is more to the story than that. So it turns out that she is a god, who has been giving birth to gods and then killing them so they can become gods again. From this perspective it seems that the eighth child is the unlucky one, for he has to endure his human incarnation.

Bhishma seems like a pretty selfless person in renouncing his claim to the throne and letting his father marry another woman. I could not imagine letting my father get married again if it meant that I would never be able to marry a woman. I don't think Bhishma deserves the revenge that amba is seeking, after all he let her go to the person she wanted to marry. The King of Shalwa proves to be a jealous man for no good reason, Amba should be plotting against him. I love how the birth defects of Vyasa's children were brought about because of things like the mother closing her eyes while conceiving the baby.

So far this story has featured a lot of sex. Even the deer was getting it on. But of course the deer was actually a god so Pandu is totally going to die if he has sex again. Pandu wants sons, and finds a clever loophole to get them without having sex. Of course these aren't really Pandu's sons, but he will be their father.

Reading Diary Assessment

I didn't catch any new information from reading the instructions again. My reading diary strategy is that before I do the readings I read the reading guides. This give me a general overview of the story so I know what is going on. Then as I do the reading I write down thoughts as they come. After I'm finished with the reading I may go back and add some afterthoughts. For other students that do not read the reading guides prior to the readings, I would highly recommend it. That is unless you don't want any plot spoilers. I approach the reading diary assignments with the same strategy every time. Most of my reading diary posts are at least 400 words, so I would say most of them are a good length. I could have written a few more words on some diaries, but on some readings I didn't have as many thoughts to write down.

I have never included images or quotes in the reading diaries, but after looking over them I see places where I could have. Perhaps I will include them during the next reading diaries. I have made connections to other books and epics throughout the semester so far. As I read I sometimes take notes, but do so on the reading diary blog. I will either expand upon these notes or delete them when I am done. The reason I delete them is because sometimes they wouldn't make sense to anyone else, or even myself if enough time passes. Looking back on my posts, I think they are pretty useful. I can use them to keep track of my thoughts throughout the story and I can see where some of the inspiration for my stories came from. Overall, I think I have done a pretty good job so far with the reading diaries.

Week 7 Storytelling: Sita's Innocence

As Rama realizes that Kusha and Lava are his sons, Sita makes her way through the crowd. She had been trying to make her way through the large crowd for several hours. Rama wondered how this could be possible. He could not deny that these boys were of his blood, but he could not understand how they stood before him. As Rama stood in disbelief, Sita broke through the crowd and saw her children and Rama. Sita froze in place at the sight of him. Rama could not bring himself to do anything, and Valmiki stepped forward to break the silence. "Sita has lived here in the forest since you sent her away," Valmiki explained to Rama. King Rama replied, "I banished Sita from my sight many years ago. Nothing has changed, She must leave this place until the festival is over."

Sita fell to her knees and cried out to Rama, "Please let me prove my innocence for the sake of our children, so that they may grow up with a mother and father. Let my mother, Bhumi, come forth and bear testament to my innocence."

Rama considered her proposal and then replied, "Your innocence is not disputed. However, nothing has changed. You must leave this place until the festival has ended. My sons will return to the city with me, and you will spend the rest of your days here with Valmiki."

A statue of Bhumi. Source: Wikipedia

Upon hearing this Sita collapsed to the ground in despair. She could not bear the thought of losing her children. She cried out to Bhumi and appealed to her for help. As Rama's men came to take Sita out of Rama's sight, Bhumi burst forth from the ground and demanded the men release Sita. Rama's men looked to their king for approval, and he only nodded at them. Everyone stood in silence and stared at Bhumi, who walked to her daughter and picked her up from the ground. Once Sita was back on her feet, Bhumi turned her attention to Rama. "You sent my daughter away after she had remained faithful to you. Now you seek to take away her children. I will not allow this," Bhumi proclaimed. Several Nagas came out of the ground and tried to take Kusha and Lava. Rama took out his bow and shot each Naga in the heart. Rama then turned to Bhumi and said, "Leave with your daughter now and you may live."

Author's note: This story was inspired by Buck's Ramayana: King Rama's Way. I wanted to write a story where Sita ends up leaving Earth the same way, but where her path is different. Here Sita's mother becomes angry at Rama and tries to keep him from taking Sita's children.

Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way.

Week 7: Reading Diary B

I like how Bharata has Rama's sandals waiting for him after all this time. He placed them on the throne when Rama was exiled, and it seems they have been sitting there the whole time waiting for Rama. Sometimes the hyperbole in these stories in a bit much for me; as it is here with Hanuman collecting water from every river in the world as a gift to Rama. Personally I wouldn't want water from every river in the world, but I guess this water can't hurt Rama.

I don't understand Rama's decision to banish Sita at all. It seems like Rama is letting the town gossip get to his head. The fact that Sita is now pregnant makes the banishment even worse. Even stranger is the fact that this banishment could be the result of the royal priests' curse on Vishnu. How can a priest curse a god? Also I'm a bit confused by Sita's disappearance. She summons a deity which proves her innocence, only to take her away from the Earth. 

The strange events continue as Kala sets up a meeting with Rama where anybody who intrudes on the meeting must die. Lakshmana intrudes on the meeting on behalf of Durvasa and therefore must die. Was he aware of the consequences for intruding on the meeting? It would seem only fair to warn everybody of the dire consequences for intruding on the meeting. Durvasa seems to be something of a terrorist in demanding to see Rama or he will destroy his whole kingdom. 

The strange ending caps off with Hanuman ripping open his chest to show Rama that his name is inscribed on his bones. Rama, his friends, and followers get to ascend to heaven.