Indian Epics Blog

" Nataraja " The Nataraja  is the depiction of Shiva performing his cosmic dance. He poses as the lord of dance and arts, typically holding fire in one of his hands, and is surrounded by a circle of flames. Shiva's dance was mentioned earlier in the semester, and I was interested in it as a possible topic for my Storybook because of how much I enjoy dance myself. "The Nataraja", Shiva as the Lord of Dance. Source : Wikimedia Commons " Agni " Following Shiva's dance, Agni means fire in Sanskrit but also represents the fire deva in Hinduism. Agni is mentioned in the Ramayana when she steps in the flames to prove her purity to Rama, and Agni is who delivers her unharmed from the fire. His mount is a ram, and I just overall like to read about the different deities in the Epics, especially those that represent the elements (like water, wind and of course, fire) " Caduceus " Agni is mentioned to also hold a staff in his hand while on ...

Empathy through a lesson in kindness... I watched the Epified videos on Krishna for my Week 10 readings, and I think the story of Krishna and the bull, Hastin, is a good example of empathy and its importance. Hastin was known as the village's fiercest and most aggressive bull, and everyone refused to go near him. However, Krishna tells everyone that he will ride Hastin by the next full moon and over the course of a month, he slowly gains the bull's trust through small acts of kindness like playing music for him and feeding him sweet treats. In the end, Krishna is able to ride Hastin through the village and he becomes peaceful. Moral of the story: kindness and compassion are some of the best 'weapons'. I think this story also demonstrates empathy because through Krishna's understanding of the bull's situation, and the fact that it wasn't that his ferocity needed 'taming' but he just needed a kind hand like anyone else, he was able to soften the bull...

"Can I tell you a secret?" "Counselling Session".  Source :  Pixabay Saliq looked at me with those sad brown eyes. She always seemed to have something on her mind, and there was no mistaking the slight down turn of her lips, as if there was something more weighing her down now. Perhaps this secret was heavier than the rest of the thoughts she usually hid from me. As I nodded quickly so she wouldn't shy away from telling me, I considered what the quiet girl who had been attending sessions with me for over three months now would say. We usually only discussed trivial items: the latest gossip at school, her archery practice with renowned teachers, and the philosophical readings she was required to complete. She had no problem explicitly stating the things that were going on in her day-to-day life, but never how she was feeling.  There were times it seemed she was be on the brink of showing me a glimpse, but she would quickly pull back. She either sti...

Epified: Krishna, Episodes 11-20 -Online video, narrated with illustrations 11. Krishna Humbles Brahma Cow grazing and Brahma appears; why would a god share food? Brahma tests Krishna by stealing his friends and cows; Krishna tests back  Brahma recognises his divinity 12. Krishna rides Hastin The ferocious bull called Hastin (source of all cows; but very aggressive) Balarama wants to kill Hastin but Krishna says no and says he will ride the bull by next full moon Does this by playing the flute and feeding Hastin, making him docile "A lesson of kindness" 13. The Saviour of Dharma Radha and Krishna became one soul; Yashoda says no Krishna could not marry Radha due to his own destiny (this revelation made him very sad as he realised he had to follow the destiny to be the saviour of Dharma) 14. Akrur Invites Krishna Kamsa could not defeat Krishna Akrur while devoted to Kamsa, still felt warm towards Krishna and believed in his divinity Although the invit...

Epified: Krishna, Episodes 1-10 -Online video, narrated with illustrations Krishna Comes- An Introduction Story of Krishna Enemies before he was born Was not of our world but we were of his His story came alongside the Pandavas 1. Kamsa Same day born as Indra's son w/ Kunthi Kamsa a bad and cruel ruler Prophecy: 8th child of Devaki would be his downfall so Kamsa threw Devaki and her hubby in prison and killed each child as they were born The 7th child was transported to the womb of Rohini and seen as a miscarriage for Devaki When Devaki was pregnant with Krishna, light filled the prison; word reached Kamsa that Krishna, his slayer had been born 2. Vasudev Meets Yamuna Vasudev fears for his son; they escaped but Devaki was left behind (the great sleep) Vasudev went to the Yamuna and surrendered to it; serpent protected him, allowing him to cross Reached a camp on the other side and switched babies with Yashoda's child, Maya 3. Durga Speaks to Kamsa Kam...

"Can I tell you a secret?" "Counselling". Source : Pixabay Saliq looked at me with her sad brown eyes. She always seemed to have something on her mind, and as I nodded quickly so she wouldn't shy away from telling me, I considered what the quiet girl who had been attending sessions with me for over three months now would say. She usually only talked to me about school, extracurricular activities like her archery practice, and philosophical readings. She would explicitly state anything that was going on, but never how she was feeling.  There were times she would be on the brink of showing me a glimpse, but she would quickly pull back. It was clear she either still didn't trust me well enough or was just too used to closing herself off to people. I tried to hide my eagerness to hear what she had to say and gestured for her to go on. Saliq wrung her hands, signalling that she was very nervous. She and her mother shared the same tell tale sign. It was ...

Epified: The Mahabharata, Episodes 9-17 -Online video, narrated with illustrations 9. Son of the Sun "the secret of Kunthi's past" The legendary sage w/ a temper comes to her father's kingdom and everyone is frightened, except her For her kindness, he gives her a mantra that allows her to summon gods Sun god came when she tried it out of curiosity and blessed her with a son; a son born already in armor and with gold earrings She could not keep him and sent him down the river 10. Pandu's Curse Same idea- Pandu takes wives to the forest and there he is cursed (by a hermit this time) for shooting them while they were having sex Because of his curse he decides not to return to Hastinapur and is dismayed he will not have sons Kunthi tells him of her secret mantra 11. Sons of Pandu Same story- the sons, known as the Pandavas  are born from the mantra uttered by both Kunthi and Madri Bhima is dropped by Kunthi and breaks a rock with his otherworldly s...

Counting the words per minute... For both tests I tried my average was about 74 words per minute. I thought the first test (KeyHero.com) was harder than the second one I tried (typingtest.com), especially because on KeyHero the whole thing turns red when you make a mistake and I think it made me more nervous haha! I don't really spend time on my typing speed but I think I would like to improve my typing accuracy for sure, because in the first test I had to actively try not to make mistakes and it made me go slower. It was cool though to see how fast I type and how it compares across the board. I was curious so I did a little search and apparently the fastest typer in the world can do about 212 wpm! Typing. Source : Flickr

Epified: The Mahabharata, Episodes 1-8 -Online video, narrated with illustrations An Introduction "foundation of a culture" Vyasa narrates the Mahabharata  to Ganesha (the Lord of beginnings) The Mahabharata is a story of kings and queens, heroes and villains  Contains the "spirit of India" 1. Shantanu the Unfortunate Looking at The Mahabharata  and specifically following all of the stories, as an "account of how Karma happens" Here the story of Ganga and Shantanu is told again; how Ganga must drown her first seven babies to release them from mortality as they are actually the Vasus The last baby, Devavrat, she takes with her when Shantanu finally stops her 2. Devavrate Returns Shantanu sees an archer taming the river Ganges; Ganga appears and tells her it is actually his son and leaves Devavrat with Shantanu His son had been taught the art of war and religion by many of the great sages and deities Later on, Shantanu falls in love again...

Looking back... I think I made good progress in the first few weeks and kept up with the material. However, in the last two weeks I haven't managed my time as well I would have liked, and so I haven't been able to make the progress I wanted to by this point. So far though, I think I'm most proud of the fact that I have been able to write a story each week (except for Week 5 where I tried the Story Lab), because I've really enjoyed writing the stories. I've tried some of the extra credit assignments, but I particularly like the ones where we make graphics like the MemeGenerator and the Motivator. Looking forward... I'm going to try to do a better job of keeping up with the assignments and I want to especially start working on weekend assignments earlier. I definitely want to also experiment with other styles of writing, like a play or putting a story in the context of a TV show, movie and so on. I might also try changing up the layout of my blog and background...

Feedback in... I think there have been some genuinely nice comments left on my blog so far, as well as very helpful feedback. I find the feedback that include suggestions and questions especially useful, such as when people have suggested I use spaces between paragraphs when telling my stories which I have actually begun to do because I think it does read better overall. I especially enjoy when people leave comments where they relate what I've read to their own experiences, or their own interpretations of the readings, because it helps me get to know others in the class as well as help stir more ideas for future work.  Feedback out... I have really been using the WWW strategy for most of my feedback, and I especially think about it while I'm reading as well. I try to also take note of certain things while I read it, and then when I read the author's note, I try to compare and see if I've understood what they were trying to convey. I find this particularly useful for ...

I think I've enjoyed the writing assignments for this class the most so far. Regarding the reading and making notes, it has been tricky to keep within the word limit, and ensuring that I write down all the parts that I find interesting or important. However, when I've actually made my own comments in the reading notes as a style choice, I find this has been helpful. Many of my stories are inspired by little comments I've made alongside the summaries for each reading. So far, my favourite reading has been "Sita, Daughter of the Earth", the graphic novel by Nagpal. I think that the story I wrote from this graphic novel has also been my favourite to write as well. For my storybook, I am still trying to figure out how to change the design and layout of the google sites so that it looks nicer, but I think I have a good idea of how I want my storybook to go with each story, as well as look overall. My Favourite Blog Image, "A warrior of the earth". Source...

The Mahabharata, Pages 131-179 POV : Narayan's translated version of  The Mahabharata  Favourite Sentences/Phrases: "The waves of violence never cease. Victory creates animosity; hostilities lie dormant, but continue."- Yud "One should accept food only if one is desperate or loves the person who offers it." - Krishna to Duryodhana  "...the importance of performing one's duty with detachment in a spirit of dedication."  Section Summaries: Action Yud pleads with Krishna to ask one more chance at peace from the king and his sons; when he arrives he is well received but Duryodhana plots against him to try to take him prisoner; he assumes his godly, universal form and frightens everyone; here Ghandari, his mother even attempts to dissuade Duryodhana from war but to no avail; Krishna tries to also dissuade Karna from his loyalty to Duryodhana but this doesn't work either. Hesitant Hero Arjuna is hesitant to do battle (in fact most of the...