Reading Diary B Week 14

• Bhishma's death was very dramtic. I thought it was cool how Bhishma had a choice on the day he will die. I thought it was very meaningful how he dies on winter solstice which was the shortest day of the year. Another cool thing that happened was that his scars disappear from his body. 
• I wonder what the meaning of Yudhishthira's dream. He had a dream where he traveled with his brothers, Draupadi, and a dog. All of sudden, everybody died, but the dog was with him. Then Indra appeared infront of Yudhisthira and ask him to go to heaven, but he had to leave the dog. Yudhishthira refuses to abandon the dog and find out that the whole thing was a test. The dog was the Lord Yama who was trying to test his son. This event reminded me of the movie Kingsman. In the movie, Eggsy had to either kill the dog or not become a Kingsman.
• Because Yudhishthira is faithful, he was able to go to the heavens in his dream. Later, he woke up realizing that it was just a dream.
• The Pandava line was dead at first. The story was that Princess Uttara gave a birth to a son, who was the only one left of the Pandavas, were born dead. With the power of Krishna, he was able to gain life. 
• I thought it was nice how Krishna was presented with a new chariot from Maya. 
• It was nice reading Buck's version of Mahabharata, but it wasn't my favorite. I'm not a big war fan, but Buck's Mahabharata had a lot of war scene. 

Yudhishthira in his dream

Reading Diary B Week 13

• There were so many characters involved in this week's reading.
• It was a little hard to follow along the story because some of the characters had different characteristics and backgrounds compared to the previous book we read. The characters had similar name or went by two different names
• Karna refused to fight anyone that was a women. I've noticed that the characters were pretty strong in their outlook on gender.
• The story of Amba was so sad. I thought it was sad how she was rejected by King Shalwa and had no where else to go. 
• I enjoyed reading the story of Sikhandini because there were a lot of drama within the story. Drupada wanted a son so he aske Shiva for a son, but when the child was born, it was a girl. I thought it was weird how Shiva did not know if it was a boy or a girl. The most messed up part of the story was that Drupada was going to let Sikhandin marry a girl. Although Sikhandini was raised like a boy, I am sure her body was a female body. I felt bad for Sikhandini because she probably went through identity crisis her whole life. It was nice how the Yaksha traded gender for Sikhandin.
• I thought it was nice how Arjuna got on the same team with Sikhandin
• Death of Bhishma contained so many imagery. The graphic was horrifying and beautiful at the same time. I thought it was crazy how he had so much arrow that his body did not even touched the ground. I thought it was beautiful how there were flower rain and water coming from the ground for Bhishma. 

Bhisma's bed

Reading Diary B Week 12

• I find most of the punishments in the story pretty extreme, but the worst one was shown in this week's reading diary. Because Arjuna did not want Urvashi to become better, she cursed him to become eunuch. I did not know what that meant, so I had to search it. It basically meant that he had to get his testicle removed. 
• The story of Mankanaka was like a little kid's story. I thought it was pretty gross how he bled grass juice. In the story, it mentions that he just ate grass and weed. I think it is pretty unrealistic how he had a great flow of grass juice rather than blood.
• The most fascinating and weird story of all was the story of Rishyashringa. I thought it was disturbing how he ejaculated when he saw Urvashi bathing. I think that does not give enough reason to ejaculate, but it happened. I think it is more weird how the deer drank the water and was able to have a child. With this unusual birth story, Rishyashgringa was born. 
• I like the little love story of Rishyashgringa and Shanta. I was very happy for Rishyashgringa because I thought he would be really weird looking because he is half deer and half human
• My favorite story from this week was tale of Savitri. I really like her character because she is genuine and honest about her feelings I thought it was nice of Yama to listen to her wishes. Yama was a genie to Savitri. With the help from Yama, Savitri was able to help her Father-in-law and her own father. 
  
• Savitri

Week 11 Reading Diary B

• The fire tactic was ingenious.  I thought it was very smart of Duryodhana and Duhshasana to hire Purochana to set a fire-trap and having a way out for themselves to leave. I thought it was even smarter how they hired someone else to do it so that they won't get in trouble later!
• I've noticed many indian epic characters with superpower and Bhima was one of them. Without any weapon or superpower, he was able to beat the demon with his hands. I'm guessing he just has unlimited power which no one can overcome. 
• The birth of Dhrishtadyumna and Draupadi was pretty fascinating to me. I thought it was cool how they were born from a cup of butter. I've noticed that many objects or person transform from one thing to another. Everything is just so magical in the story.
• The Indian epic is always full of drama.  I thought it was weird how Draupadi married all of the Pandava brothers. What was the reason behind it?
• I wondered if Subhadra wanted to marry Arjuna. The book makes it seem like Subhadra married Arjuna because Krishna, Subhadra's sister, wanted her to. 
• The burning of Khandava forest was just another dramatic and graphical portion of the story. It was a constant battle between a fire god Agni and storm-god Indra. Every time Agni tries to set the fire, Indra blocked the fire with rain. When the other Gods just watched what was happening, it reminded me of the Greek mythology because the other Gods do not really get involved and just watch the fight between the Gods. 

the burning of the khandava forest

Week 10 Reading Diary B

• This week's reading was so full of battles and episodes. I've noticed that there were just endless fighting in this week's reading. This week's reading has been most dramatic episodes ever. There were so many family drama, killing, lying, violence, and battles.
• When Krishna showed  the universal, all being and destruction during the fight with Arjuna, it reminded me of Ravana! I thought it was interesting how there are characters who can transform their image to duplicate their heads and arms. I looked up the image  of Krishna and it was similar to Ravana's except Krishna also had several arms
• I thought it was fascinating how Krishna had so much power over nature and other things. Krishna used his ability to adjust the sun so that Arjuna slays Jayadrath thinking that the sun was setting. Sun is one of those things what are not controlled by human, but Krishna's action lets the readers know how powerful he is. 
• I was disgusted when I read that Bhima mutilated Dushasana's body and drank his blood. I would never drink anybody's blood! I wondered why he drank Dushansana's blood and is there a significant meaning behind this action?
• I thought it was very clever of Krishna to substitute Bhima as a metal statue. I was once again surprised by Krishna's action. 
• The term Pandavas made it easier for me to read because of all the characters with long names tend to be confusing to me, but Pandavas sums up to be the sons of Pandu.

Arjuna and Krshna

Week 7 Reading Diary B

• The whole scene of Rama's journey back to Ayodhya is so memorable. Rama tells Sita about what happened at certain places, how he met Hanuman ,and etc . Hanuman reminded me of Abu from Aladdin because they are both monkeys and they help out with the person's life.
• When Bharata heard that Rama was coming back, he was so excited that he cried! Because Bharata was going to kill himself if Rama did not come back, it was definitely a  good news.
• The coronation was just filled with Joy. I thought it was really cool that Sugriva gave collection of water from all world's river to Rama. Also, Sita gave a pearl necklace to Hanuman because Hanuman was the one who told Rama the message about the necklace that he picked up when Sita was abducted.
• I thought it was wrong for Rama to abandon Sita. Although the people were talking about about Sita, Rama should have kept her by he's side. 
• It was nice to find out the wishes Kaikeyi had to send Rama on a exile.Whenever Dasharatha was wounded, Kaikeyi took care of him and that is why she was grated those wishes/
• Sita gives birth to two sons in Ganges. 
• I thought it was crazy how the festival lasted for a year. They sang songs of the Ramayana.
• The friendship between Hanuman and Rama was amazing. When Rama was about to leave Ayodhya, he offered his jewelry to Hanuman to keep. Hanuman ripped opened he's body and showed Rama that his bones have name of Rama. This showed a great significance on how much Hauman respected Rama. 

Image Source

Week 7 Reading Diary A

• I thought it was very interesting for the Time or Kala to threatened Ravana. Because Ravana thinks he is the greatest one, there was nothing that could hinder him. Although time is something that could be stopped, Ravana was not scared.
• I saw it coming, but when Rama cut Ravana's head, it grew back again. Because Ravana had several heads, it was probably no big deal for him if the head was cut. The final between Rama and Ravana was very dramatic. When Ravana paralyzed Rama, I thought Rama could not survive. The suspension that was created during the battle made the story more fun.
• It was nice to see Rama defeat Ravana. Although Rama was paralyzed, at the end, Rama was able to kill Ravana. I like happy endings. 
• I thought it was very unexpecting to find the letter from Ravana to Rama. In the letter, it said that Rama should take Sita back. This was confusing because why did Ravana take Sita  in the first place? 
• I felt really sorry for Mandodari because she seemed like a good women. She was in sorrow because of Ravan's death.
• The significance of jewelry comes out again in this weeks reading. Whenever Sita was brought back, Sita pit Rama's ring on his finger. The whole ceremony had a significant meaning. 
• Because Sita was gone for so long, the fire God Agni came and proved Sita's innocence. All the ceremony and rituals describes how things were in India.
• It was nice to see that Hanuman getting rewarded for the things he had done to help Rama and other people.

The final battle ( image source)

Week 6 Reading Diary A

• My favorite episode was when Hanuman was swallowed by Rakshasa Sinhika. The content was fully described and it was fascinating how Hanuman was able to come out from her ear. This episode reminded me of one biblical study. When Jonah was inside the shark's belly, he was eventually brought out. Although Jonah did not come our through the ear, the story seemed pretty familiar. 
• I thought it was very cool that Hanuman was able to change into a cat. It was a very smooth move.
• I loved the character Hanuman. He is very adventurous and spontaneous. I enjoyed reading over what he did in Lanka. He made a mess of  Ravana's house and destroyed the temple. It was nice seeing Hanuman giving revenge to Ravana. 
•  It was interesting to see the jewelry as a significant item. I thought it was interesting seeing Sita giving Hanuman a pearl to give to Rama.When ever Ravana captured Sita, she droped ehr jewelry too. I've noticed that jewelry has a lot of meaning in the Indian Epics because it happens redundantly. 
• For this week's reading, I think Hanuman plays the biggest role. He goes to Lanka and found Sita. Hanuman also sets Lanka on fire and brings back the pearl for Rama.
• I felt so great seeing Ravana mad because everything that was happening was a karma. Ravana have been evil since day one and I felt like Hanuman was punishing him for what he have done. Hanuman was the hero of this week's reading.

Image Source

Week 5 Reading Diary B

• The fighting scene between Jatayu and Ravana was very dramatic for me. While I was reading the detail description from the book, I was able to imagine the scene in my head.
• Reading for this assignment made me realize that Ravana was truly evil. There were events before where Ravana seemed evil, but the story of him taking Sita away and killing Jatayu was just too  cruel. Also, When he saw Rambha , he raped her. I was surprised by the fact that other women had given into Ravana's trap. I felt so sorry for all the women and how unfortunate it was for Rambha.
• I thought it was very smart for Sita to leave her mark so that Rama could come and find her. Whenever Jatayu was wounded, Sita knew that she had to do something. Whenever she saw the two monkeys, she let her jewelry fall so that the monkeys could come and grab it. This portion of the story was similar to the Nayaran's Ramayana.
• Thank God for the monkey brothers! I thought the monkeys had a interesting birth story. 
• I really liked the picture that Dr.Gibbs posted of the Hanuman and the sun. I thought it was very random, but interesting that Hanuman thought the sun was a mango.
• Here is a repost of the picture

Image Source

Week 4 Reading Diary B

• It was interesting to see how Buck's Ramayana differ from Narayan's Ramayana. The story had more details and character compared to the Narayan's Ramayana. Although the story slightly corresponds to each other there were many differences between the two books. I personally thought the Narayan's Ramayana was easier for me to read.  
• The story of Kaikeyi reminded me of how evil and selfish she is once again. Because she was scared of Rama becoming a king, she demanded Dasharatha to make Bharata the king. She also demands Rama to be sent out to the forest for fourteen years. Kaikeyi's actions showed insecure and greed as her characteristics. Kaikeyi also tried to ask Dasharatha to teach her the language of animals. When I read this, she reminded me of the women from the bible name Delilah. Delilah was a women who Samson loved and she led Samson into downfall because Samson told her his secret. I feel like if Dasharatha had a better wife, he would've had a better overall life. I was glad to see that Dasharatha did not tell Kaikeyi the language of animals because she probably use it against him. The character of Kaikeyi made me mad because I felt like she was controlling Dasharatha. 
• I was glad to see that different people and sage were willing to help Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana. When they were sent to the forest, they had Sage Bharadwaja and Guha to help help them in various ways.  It was nice how housing was provided by Bharadwaja and that Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana had place to stay.

Image Source: Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana 

Week 3 Reading Diary B

• I think there was a significance of jewelry in the story. I thought it was symbolic how Sita was able to have Rama's ring when Hanuman appeared in front of her. I remember reading about Sita throwing her jewelry because she wanted to leave a mark so that Rama can come save her. I thought it was interesting for the two characters to use similar way to find each other. 
• My favorite scene from the reading was the fight between Rama and Ravana. The whole chapter was filled with so many details. I thought it was interesting how they had a battle circling the globe. Also, because Ravana had many heads, no matter how many times Rama cut his head, he would grow it back. the Image of Ravana helped me understand more how he looked like. Although Ravana was insensible to pain, I thought it was amazing how Rama was able to win the battle. To defeat Ravana, Rama had to change the tactics several times.

Image Source Rama slays Ravana

• Once again, Sita's character fascinated me. After Rama defeated Ravana, Sita comes back to Rama. When Sita came back, Rama wasn't excited to see Sita because Rama believe that Ravana had touched her. Because of this accuse and doubt, Sita jumps into the fire to prove that she was pure, clean, and untouched. This  action was too extreme for me to understand because throwing yourself into a fire is something I will never do. Sita's action described what kind of person she was and that she loved Rama very much.

Week 3 Reading Diary A

• I really enjoyed reading the book for this week. There were a lot of drama and action involved in this week's reading 
• I thought is was smart for Sita to throw her jewelry down. In the book, it quotes that Sugreeva said " long ago we saw Ravana carrying off Sita in the skies. we were attracted by her screams as as we looked up , she bundled her jewelry and threw it down. Perhaps to indicate the way she passed." When Rama heard this, he teared up and was determined to find Sita. This indicates the  true love between Rama and Sita. This was my favorite part of the reading because I think it was very wise of Sita to leave marks of her path so that someone could rescue her. 

Image source  Sita and Ravana

• I enjoyed reading the story of Dundubi. The visual image of the story was fascinating to me. When I visualized what was going on the story of Dundubi and Vali, it was fascinating I thought it was amazing how Dundubi and Vali fought for a whole year without a break. This story showed how strong and fierce Vali was.
• Following up with the battle with Dundubi and Vali, Sugriva fights Vali. Although in the previous story, its showed how strong Vali was, the battle with Sugriva was different. With Rama's help, Sugriva was able to defeat Vali. When I was reading this, I thought it was not fair for Rama to assist Sugriva in the battle. Although Rama just helped, I thought it was slightly unfair for Vali because it was 2 people against one. 

Week 2 Reading Diary B

• While reading the part B, I thought it was interesting how the women who appeared in the stories are evil. 
• The episode of Rama's exile was my favorite. I think it is amazing how he was loved by everybody. Everybody was telling him to not leave and hated the evil women.
• When Lakshmana was so eager to kill the women, Rama calmed him down.
• On page 51, Rama quotes "Sometimes a river runs dry, and then it cannot be said to be the fault of the river - it's dry because the heavens are dry. so also, our father's change of mind, or the apparent hardheartedness of Kaikeyi,... some higher powers have decreed them." These words sounded like wise word. Because sometimes in life, we have to take the road that we do not want to, but I believe there is a higher God who leads my life.Also, if something was destined, no one can stop it. There are many times when I blame myself for a lot of things that happen in my life, but not I believe that somethings are not under my control.

Bharatha and Rama

Bharata and Rama; note also the sandals on the throne; by Raja Ravi Varma

• I found that Rama's sandal was a random object to represent his throne. When Bharatha came to see Rama, Rama insisted Baharatha to rule the land for fourteen year. Bharatha promised Rama that he will not rule the world for more than fourteen years. I thought it was very unique for Bharatha to take his sandal as a symbolic object for Rama.

The second part of the book seemed pretty dramatic, but I really enjoyed reading the stories. 

Week 2 Reading Diary A

• " A seed that sprouts at the foot of its parent tree remains stunted until it is transplanted. Every human being, when the time comes, has to depart and seek his fulfillment in his own way." (PG. 9)
• I like this quote because I think it is so true. I believe that when people reach a certain age,they have to move out of their parent's shadow and become independent. I have never left my parent's house because my parents wanted me to stay with them, but I believe I need to leave and become more independent.

Image Source: Vishnu Wikipedia (Bali)

• I enjoyed the scene where Mahabali offered the three strides of land to Vishnu. The whole scene was very unusual. The first step measured out the entire Earth, the second step was the heavens, and the last step was very unexpected. "Vishnu raised his foot, placed it on Mahabali's head, and pressed him down to the netherworld which he disposed the tormentor of the worlds." I found this scene very dramatic and interesting. (pg.15)
• The ceremony of "Horse Sacrifice" seemed very interesting to me. I believe that the horse ceremony described the culture of India a little better. It says" anyone attempts to hold up the horse, it is taken as a challenge and causes a war." when I read this, I knew that the horse sacrifice ritual was very serious.(pg.17) 
• I wondered if the appearance of Ahalya was significant. She appeared from a stone that was half buried and was transformed into a beautiful women.Also, the story of Ahalya and Indra reminded me of the story of King David and Bathsheba from the Bible. Indra and King David both loved the women so much for their beauty that they lie to the women's husband to make love with the women. (pg.20)