Reading Notes: Tales of the Indian Epics, Part B (stories I missed)

I somehow messed my reading up last week and read a story that was not in the reading guide, part B for Tales of the Indian Epics by Kincaid. I really wanted to read those stories too but by the time I realized what I had done I had already read a rather lengthy story from the same book. Anyway so here are the notes from the stories I missed in Tales of the Indian Epics by Kincaid, Part B. 

The Front King's Daughter

• King Parikshit ruled Ayodhya
• While hunting one day met a beautiful maiden, fell in love, wanted to marry

              -She said yes under one condition; he can never let her look in water on the ground

• Of course he agreed and they got married
• The Kings minister found out about the condition under which the maiden married the King

            - he made a beautiful garden and put a pond in the far corner
            - The minister made it look like a gift and sent the king and his new wife there,
            - He tricked the king by telling him there was no water to be found there

• While in the garden the King and Queen stumbled unto the pond and the King forgetting his promise on the hot day went swimming and invited the queen in

               - She jumped in but never came up for air
               - the king had the pond drained to look for her
               - all that was there was a big frog and he swore the frog ate her
               - he orders all the frogs to be killed

• The frog king, Ayusha disguised himself as a brahman to demand the stop of frog killing

          - Turns out the maiden the King married was the frog kings daughter, Ayusha
          - She deceived him into believing she was a maiden

• It would be fun to write a story about a deceptive woman, maybe so she could get money from a rich guy (thinking modern times) or maybe like a Maid in Manhattan kind of a theme!
• Turns out the King did not care and took her back
• But the frog King was mad so he cursed his daughters children saying they would hate all Brahman. 
• They had 3 kids; Sala, Dala, and Vala
• Sala became King after his fathers death but made a rich angry so he died
• Daly gave the rishi his Vami horses back so the rishi lifted the curse that was put on the brothers by the frog queens dad.

The Descent of the Ganges

• I did not like this story as much as I thought I would have. The Ganges River  is a very interesting topic to me.
• This story is about before the Ganges River flowed on earth.
• Sagar the King of Ayodhya had an elderly wife, Keshini and a new wife, Sumati
• They went to the Himalayas to get a boon from the holy sage

            - they both asked for sons b/c neither of them had born one yet.

            - Keshini got one son who became king

            - Sumati got 60,000 sons but none of them ruled

             --> eldest of her 60,000 sons named Prince Asamanja but tormented his brothers and was

                        banished, hi son, Aswanedha stayed though and was given a quest to travel the world

                         with a horse

• The god Vishnu disguised himself as an old lady and stole the horse
• King Sagar sent his 60,000 sons after it
• They all died when Vishnu killed them with fire from his eyes
• The king sent his grandson, Aswanedha after his uncles
• Aswanedha found the horse but Vishnu was nowhere to be seen
• On his way back he runs into god Garuda and said if they pray long enough that maybe Vishnu would bring down the Ganges so that they can honor his 60,000 sons properly. 
• it took 3 kings but they finally prayed enough
• The river flowed but it was going to wash over a rishi's house so he stopped it, so Lord Brahmadeva told the rishi that the Ganges could be his daughter so he let if flow

Tales of the Pole Star

• King Uttanpad had two wives:

                  - Suniti, had a beautiful nature --> boy named Dhruv

                  - Suruchi, had a beautiful face --> boy named Uttam

• The king of course spent most of his time with Suruchi with a beautiful face
• The king was careful not to show Dhruv much attention though because Suruchi was jealous and one day Dhruv was sitting on his dads lap and Suruchi pushed him off
• Dhruv went to the forest to pray to Krishna and never returned 

              - Krishna came to Dhruv one day to grant him wish and Dhruv wanted to go with Krishna

                   but he said he had to go back to his father to rule

• Everyone was happy about his return except Suruchi and Uttam of course bc they are jealous
• Prince utter wanted to go with an army and attack a forest tribe, the King let him bc he was making the king angry anyway. He of course made a bad decision and was killed during the first battle
• Dhurv went with a new army to seek revenge and did
• Suruchi was driven crazy with sadness and ran into the woods and never came back
• Uttanpad gave the throne to Dhurv
• After years of ruling he wanted to return back to the forest so he gave the throne to his son and did just that, but this time he climbed up a mountain and went past the sun and moon god and past the 7 rishis and sat at the end of the trail.
• Krishna turned Dhurv and the 7 rishis into stars

                - Sauce pan like constellation that Indians call the "seven rishis silently point is Dhruv"

(The Seven Rishis Silently Point is Dhruv)

Bibliography: Tales of the Indian Epic by C.A. Kincaid. 1918.