Epic Observations About Indian...Epics.

In a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I'd find me and I'd choose me . Al filo by Diego Lopez

She had been clear. She was not to be questioned. Ever. But he questioned her, and so she ran away with his eighth daughter, with the promise to return her in a time. She raised her daughter as a goddess, despite her humanity. She raised her daughter to be as she was. Unflinching. Unforgiving. Unstoppable. King Shantanu, of course, had wanted sons before, but now all he wanted was his dear daughter back. He wanted one of his offspring to survive. When Ganga returned with his daughter and said that her name was Devavrata and she was to be respected in the utmost and inherit his kingdom, he agreed. He would have agreed to anything. He was a desperate man. As Devavrata grew, she was afforded every luxury. She excelled in everything. Then, her father fell in love with a fisherman's daughter, and he promised away her throne and her chance to bear children. Devavrata had been raised by Ganga, and she remembered her upbringing. She wanted her throne. She disappeared, and her f...

I'll marry you, but you must never question anything I do. Vows to be celibate, but urged to impregnate widows. "First pray to Yama, the God of Death and Ultimate Justice. He is the most judicious among the celestial beings. The son born to him will always lead our Kuru race along the right path at all times." (9) Giving back half of the kingdom because they're friends. Five godly sons versus one hundred human ones secret code SECRET TUNNEL "Remember that the jackal emerges from many outlets underground" One wife married to five brothers Why must wives always be tested? Six Cats by Robert Skorek Source:   Narayan, R. K., The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Version of the Indian Epic.

The dim dive bar was smoky. Sita knew her throat would be dry tomorrow. The dark wooden paneling on the walls made the room feel smaller; it wasn't a comforting smallness until about four drinks in, usually. Ahalya and Sita went to the bar on Saturday nights to watch other people karaoke, stumbling drunkenly through lyrics they only half knew. It was endearing, watching people put their all into something that had no reward, other than the joy of belting into a microphone. "You could do that, you know," Ahayla commented after a particularly drunk man had powered through a spot on rendetion of a Taylor Swift song. The shouting coming from his table was deafening. They were obviously enjoying themselves. Sita shrugged. "We come to watch. You know I'm really not a performer." Still Ahayla persisted. "Come on. You finally got rid of Rama. We're not just watching tonight. We're celebrating. If you sing something, you can pick a song for me t...

Cave by Sheep"R"Us Argument about Rama's motivations and doubt Sita banished while pregnant Ice castle Literally walks all over her Skeleton covered in flower vines River Sita's sons are taught to sing Rama's praises She's still not over him. Crazy. Rama finds his sons, and wants to take them back but not Sita. "If I have always been pure, may mother earth take me back into her womb because fuck you." Source: Sita Sings the Blues by Nina Paley, 2008.

woman warrior 2 by Shavawn The sun and the moon are being pulled by chariots. (I can't watch this movie full screen. It's so wobbly, it's making me nauseous.) "Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out" Sita singing. (Post-Ramayana Sita singing in a smoky old bar or something about her blue man.) Ravana wasn't all bad? According to the narrators the only bad thing Ravana did was steal Sita. "The only reason I don't destroy you with my own divine power is because Ramma has not ordered me to" Honey he's not there he can't say nothing. Something about fire Sita is happily struck by lightning (Is the static just on my computer or does everyone hear that? Because that's unbearable.) Source:   Sita Sings the Blues by Nina Paley, 2008.

Ravana's owner had just brought home two new kittens. He could smell them through the bedroom door. His owner had cooed to him about keeping them separate until they got used to each other's scents, and fed him near the door, so that he would be near them. It wasn't going to work, though. This was his house, and he didn't want to share. It was a few days before his owner scooped him and carried him into the living room, scratching him under the chin the whole way. It was enough to temporarily distract him, that is, until she set him down next to two frolicking kittens. They paused their play to watch him with wide eyes that were too big for their little heads. They abandoned their toys to sniff Ravana. "Ravi, this is Sita and Rama. They're going to live with us, okay? You be sweet to them." Ravana refused to make eye contact with his owner or the kittens, who were now circling him curiously. He would bide his time, then he would teach these newco...

Hamuman watches Sita awhile before he rescues her and sees Sita refuse Ravana. Sita's about ready to hang herself. Hamuman let's himself be captured to tell Ravana about Rama and urge him to change his ways? Hamuman sets everything but the trees that Sita sits under on fire. Vibishana betrays his brother Ravana and goes to seek Rama. They all throw crap into the sea, even the little squirrels, and the god of the sea arranged it into a bridge so they can cross to Lanka. The sleeping brother and the invisible son. Omens: his bow strings suddenly snapped, mountains shook, thunder rumbled, horses cried, elephants moved dejectedly. "Sita was overjoyed. She had been in a state of mourning all along, completely neglectful of her dress and appearance, and she immediately rose to go out and meet Rama as she was.  But Hanuman explained that it was Rama's express wish that she should dress and decorate herself before coming into his presence." (161). And she told hi...

Ravana gets to Sita by taking care of her charity. They have fairies of the woods? The younger monkey, Sugreeva, asks Rama to help him kill his brother who is unjustly murderous. Rama does, and when Vali is shot he has to be explained to why Rama wasn't unjust. "When the Rains Cease" -- "Yes, later. The rainy season is coming. At the end of it, come with an army. There will be time enough." (116) "Women can lead one to death," (115). Wow, what a crock. Manmatha, god of love. Lakshmana, upon meeting the women of Sugreeva's court, is reminded of his mothers, and nearly weeps. "I will not describe to you her waist, which is, as it should be, delicate and unseen." (126) No, nu-uh, no bueno. snmky-009.jpg by Koji Ishii Narayan, R. K., The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Version of the Indian Epic.  (Reading Guide)

The idea of feedforward outlined in Try Feedforward Instead of Feedback by Marshall Goldsmith is an interesting one. I especially admire how the theory allows groups to get together and help each other even if they don't know a lot of background information about the others around them. They can simply be told what the person hopes to achieve in the future, and receive a few tips on how to achieve that. It seems like a foolproof method. Though this may not help when simply reading and commenting on posts, it may be helpful in the wider scope of life. In Presence, Not Praise by Maria Popova, the importance of process and progress is exemplified, something perhaps even more important than the concept of feedforward. Popova talked about how praising children for effort rather than innate skill was significant. This should, perhaps, be applied to all praise, and perhaps I can find a way to apply it to my commentary this semester. Cheerleader by pecanpieguy

Really, with the way that Sita, Rama, and Lakshmana interact, they would be a lovely Star Trek bridge crew, like Kirk, Spock, and Uhura. They could be lost, or exiled, on some planet somewhere. Or, they could live in modern day New York, and have weird adventures in Central Park. Either way, Sita is going to be the POV. Story one: Sita saves herself from Ravana, because she's awesome. If I go with Star Trek, she can defeat her alien captors through pure cleverness, whether she knows how to hack their system to trigger her release or she can speak their language and talks her way out of it. If they're in modern day New York, Ravana will be her stalker, and she'll mace him in the face then kick him in the crotch. Story two: Sita refuses to undergo some test to prove her purity. If Star Trek, then Sita refuses the medical scan and berates Rama for not trusting her. If New York, then Rama suggests she go to the clinic and she refuses, and they yell at each other. They k...

It was cold. Always too cold. What had it been like...to be...what was it? Too hard to remember. Too hard. Then suddenly, light. As the stone crumbled away from Ahalya's form, everything came rushing back. She had been tricked, then punished. Now a beautiful man was talking to her, and old habits kicked in, stretching her lips into a courteous, humble smile even as her hands curled into fists. " May you seek and join your revered husband, and live in his service again. Let not your heart be burdened with what is past and gone. " Rama was saying, and then he was walking away. Even before he had left, though, Ahalya had decided for herself that she would not be going back until she was ready. Ready to make him pay. That had been a year ago. Every night she woke from that nightmare again and again. She had found out by asking around that Indra's sentence had been lessened, which only fueled her more. It fueled her as she learned to aim throwing stars, hol...

Lakshmana is ready to fight everyone on Rama's behalf, which is excellent. Everyone needs a bff like Lakshmana. But also, a key part of the dynamics of this interaction is that Rama soothes Lakshmana because he's cool with Bharatha ruling. They even consult the palace astrologer before leaving on a long journey. "And he listed a series of the blackest sins for which people were committed to hell." (62) Bharatha puts Rama's shoes on the throne and rules as regent. Ravana has ten heads? And falls in love when Soorpanaka describes Sita? Ravana's uncle Mareecha says not to go near Rama. Sita wants the pretty gold deer, and Rama agrees to get it for her without thought, when he would usually think about it. Bracken House - London by Remko van Dokkum Narayan, R. K., The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Version of the Indian Epic.  (Reading Guide)

A full moon ritual needs to be done, but evil spirits are preventing it from being done in the sacred place. The practitioner asks for the help of the younger, not the older, which frustrates the older. It's stupid that Ahalya is turned to stone for the sins of Indra, who is covered with vaginas, then eyes. Gautama doesn't seem wise for a sage. It would interesting if Ahayla was released by Rama in the modern day, and became some sort of Black Widow fighter assassin and made Indra pay. "Rama said to Ahalya, 'May you seek and join your revered husband, and live in his service again. Let no your heart be burdened with what is past and gone.'" (22). And Ahalya laughed in his face and went off to seek her justice. Rama said her heart was purified, but it was never impure in the first place, for no man's hands had the power to sully her glory. I need a bed on a slab of moonstone. There's a lot of good stuff about auspicious stars. "I dream of com...