Reading Notes: The Sacred Tales of India, Part C

The Gift of the Ascetic

• A king with 3 wives had no children and this was depressing to him because that signified that he lived a sinful life in a previous existence. No one even liked being in his presence. 
• Even the man who swept the palace who lost his appetite upon seeing the king. 
• The king heard of this and became depressed until one day a holy ascetic went to see him and told him he will be a father if he eats this drug along with his wives.

              - The catch is one of the sons must be his (the ascetics)

• The two eldest wives took all the medicine for themselves bc they did not like the young wife.

              - The young wife heard of this though and resorted to licking the cup

              - The two eldest wives gave birth to 2 sons each, the young wife gave birth to a conch shell

• The boys grew up and the wives and husband forgot about the deal with the ascetic and the young wife realized her conch shell was splitting at night and revealing young man inside.
• The ascetic eventually went back and the king thought he could outwit him by giving him a son of a maid but the ascetic knew and was furious the king eventually gave him the son of the youngest. 
• The youngest wife prayed to Sancta- Narayan, he said her son will come back to her.
• The conch shell son met a beautiful maiden in a cabin in an area the ascetic forbade him to go and they fell in love but turns out him and the maiden are going to be sacrificed. 

            - They devise this plan and it turns out great.

            - the conch shell sons pretends to not understand the ascetics instruction's so he showed him and the conch shell son cut off his head!

• They lived happily ever after

The Sun's Twin Sons

• Very odd story about a woman who was not married 
• A king sent for her to bring sun to his kingdom for just 1 day.
• She prayed to the sun god and said she would give herself to him if he shone the sun on the king for just one day.

          - he did just that but she hid from him so he married her in spirit.
          - she gave birth to twin sons
          -  I don't really understand why the king is so worried about if she has children or not but he
             keeps checking on her to make sure and overtime she hides them.

• Her kids turn into vessels of blood when the sun is out?
• she pours them on a tree one day to hide them from the king

The Consequences of Generosity

• a Brahman woman and a milkmaid were friends
• Obviously the Brahman had more wealth than the milkmaid and the milkmaid one day asked if she could borrow the Brahman's image of Narayana for a year so she might praise her and find wealth too.

            - The Brahman agreed

• Soon the Brahman lost all her wealth and traveled looking for a place to stay but all the people she had cared for previously turned her away, not recognizing her.
• After a year when she retrieved her image of Narayana and her wealth was returned to her approached those people and was like hey, why didn't you care for me

                - all the people (including her own daughter) were all like I'm so sorry I did not know it was
                      you

(Narayana)

A Brahman's Ban

• Indra, king of the gods threw a party
• The party was getting a little crazy and a Brahman showed up and instead of Indra saluting him threw some flowers at him that had just been received by dancing girls.
• The brahman took this as an insult and cursed Indra, saying he has to be a cat for 12 years.

            - Indra died right then and returned as a cat

• Sachi, Indra's wife was unaware of this transition. She went looking for the Brahman who cursed him so she could find out where he was reborn at.
• Sachi found Indra and they slept for 12 years until Indra turned into a man again.

(Cat from pixabay)

The Pir's Power

• A beggar (who worshiped Narayan) ran into a Brahman (who worshiped Satya Pir)
• The beggar decided to worship Satya Pir and found much wealth and his neighbor who was childless worshiped him too after hearing about the beggars wealth.
• He had a daughter who grew up to be beautiful
• She married a wealthy merchant

              - they set sail and landed in a kingdom and bought a stolen necklace (they did not know it
                 was stolen).
              - the merchant was arrested
              - his wife prayed to Satya Pir and he visited the king that held their husbands captive and
                demanded their husbands be released

• The husbands journeyed home with their restored wealth and never forgot to praise Satya Pir

The Gander- Eater

• A poor Brahman widow had a son who went to school with all the other kids and was ashamed that he only ate vegetables and not fish like the rich kids. 

                 - He went home crying to his mom, embarrassed.

• The boy stole  bird for his mom to cook and the next day he was imprisoned. 
• The poor widow praised the goddess Subachani and it worked bc she granted her a wish
• Her son was released from prison and married the kings daughter earning him half the kingdom
• The widowed Brahman never stopped praising Subachani from then on.

Bibliography: Sacred Tales of India. D.N. Neogi. Illustrated by P. Ghose. 1916.

Reading Notes: Sacred Tales of India, Part B

The Bride of Yama

• A poor Brahman lost his bull (The gods were testing him)
• Him and his sister performed a religious ceremony to the goddess of love, Paravati.

           - Paravati enjoyed the devoted people and gave them their bull back and granted them both a
                   boon.
          - The Brahman became King and his sister (now a princess) married Yama, the god of death
          - Now Yama told her not to go near the southern portion of the grounds around the house
         - Of course her curiosity overcame her and she saw women who have sinned burning...
            including her own mother!

• She begged Yama to let her mother go, he said it could only be bought with a  portion of her brothers reward.

             - Of course he said no.

• Her last resort was disguising herself as a Shepherdess and present herself to Gautama who was also reaping benefits like her brother. 

             - She finally agreed and her mother was released from agony. Happy ending.


The Goddess Who Devoured Elephants

(The Goddess who sat upon a lotus holding two elephants) 

• 2 wives married to a rich merchant

            - Lahana, the younger one and Khullana
            - Lahana was better loved the two wives, needless to say did not get along!
            - Lahana got Khullana banned and she was forced to tend to a flock of goats to earn a living.

• Chilean heard a noise from a nearby town and went to check it out. They were performing a religious ceremony to Mangal- Chandi who brings fortune to whoever.
• Chilean then decided to perform these ceremonies with what little she had.

              - It worked! When she opened her eyes, her husband was standing in front of her wanting to
                    bring her back with him.

• Years passed and Khullana gave birth to a son while her husband was gone trading.. He never returned so her son grew up not knowing his father. 
• Her son wanted to go searching for his father but not without performing a ceremony to Mangal- Chandi. 
• Turns out Khullana's husband saw a lady in a lotus devouring two elephants... the king in that town did not like this and sent him to prison.
• Now when the son went through, he saw the same thing but the king did not believe him and ordered him to die. 
• Now Mangal- Chandi visited the king in his dreams and showed him the woman in the lotus holding the two elephants and bade him he let the son and husband go.
• They arrived home and lived happily ever after

The Slayer of Kangsa

• Kangsa, king of Mathura was a harsh tyrant and Basundhara went to heaven to complain to Shiva.
• The gods assembled together in front of Vishnu to advocate fro Basundhara
• Turns out Vishnu was the one that made king Mathura great bc he had pleased him at one time.

                - his own sons cannot kill him but he never said anything about a nephew
                - So vishnu is going to rise again born to king Kangsa's sister
                - and Paravati be born again as well!

• The king was killing all the babies in fear they were to kill him. Reminds me of the Bible story about Moses and the Pharaoh. 
• Anyway, Vishnu's reincarnated self was able to escape this death with the help of Paravati and Vishnu's reincarnation grew up to slay the king. 

Chand, The Unbeliever

• Mahadeo, greatest god of heaven, visited Earth in human form and met a young girl in a lower caste. Neither cared and she gave birth to a girl but she was already full grown.... they named her Padma.
• Kinda odd. Padma's mother grew jealous of her and clawed one of her eyes out. Mahadeo cried and another woman appeared out of his tears.... he sent this woman and Padma off.

               - they found a place to live and wash clothes... nearby lived a man of equal wealth to Padma
                    but he refused to accept her and not worship her.
                - she was like oh nu uh! and after giving birth to a bunch of snakes had them kill his 6 sons

• The guy with the 6 sons eventually had another son and he got married when he was of age but still refused to praise Padma so she killed him too

                - the wife went searching for Padma to bring her husband back to life because her father-in-law said he would praise Padma if she brought her son back to life.

• The wife eventually found parma and she indeed brought him back to life and the rich guy praised her. 
• and then she brought all his sons back to life!

Bibliography: Sacred Tales of India. D.N. Neogi. Illustrated by P. Ghose. 1916.

Reading Notes: Sacred Tales of India, Part A

The Divine Brothers

• A rich farmer had 7 sons, all of whom were married. 
• Their 7 wives were sitting around one day talking about what their wish would be if they were granted one.

             - The youngest did not talk until called upon to state her's but she was hesitant she finally said
                hers.
          *I could write a story about how since she was patient her wish came true and all the other
            wives were jealous.

• I could write a story about her time spent with the snakes. I would like to do something different though. Not with snakes or if I used snakes they would only have a minor role in my story. 
• I would like to focus more on the 7 wives and how they share jobs and gossip to one another. Maybe the youngest wife is bullied by them or something like that. 

Snatched from Death

(Savitri and Satyavan)

• Savitri is a princess and is able to choose her own husband. She chooses a blind hermit's son, Satyaban. 
• Unknown to him, he is cursed and will die at the end of the first years marriage.
• Savitri knows this and prays to the gods every day to let him live. 
• Yama's messengers went to collect Satyaban when he died but could not bc the chastity of his wife Savitri. 
• I already have one story about Yama I would love to write another one!
• Savitri tricks Yama into giving Satyaban's life back.
• I really feel like I can do something with this story. 
• **In my story I think the messengers will act as the middle men between Yama and Savitri. Neither of them willing to give in.**

By Itu's Favor

• 2 daughters, Isani and Rama, were banished in the forest for eating loafs of bread the wife made. 
• I do not really like this story.
• Their dad basically tricks them into thinking he was attacked but then they still wish wealth for him... so they knew he was alive the whole time?
• After years the girls returned home and, their father was rich due to them wishing this upon him, but he gets mad at them again and says the next guys the pass will be their husbands.
• Isani was married and no longer worshiped the god, Itu Thakur, so every town they passes would go up in flames or an epidemic would break out

                 - People called her a witch 

• Rama continued to worship Itu Thakur on the daily. The towns she passed would flourish along with their crops. Even brought a dead girl back to life with her holy water. 
• **I could write about the fortune of the girls but in modern day** Maybe they won the lottery and one lost her money trying to play the lottery again or she is just flat out unlucky.**
• A lot of banishing going on in this story. 
• Itu has lots of power. 

Bibliography: Scared Tales of India by D.N. Neon. Illustrated by P. Ghose. 1916. 

Reading Notes: Jataka Tales, Part B

I know I said in my Famous Last Words post that I was going to try and read something else besides fairy tales but I could not help myself! I absolutely hate not finishing a book or article or story. I had only completed part A so I have to complete part B now!!

The Wise and Foolish Merchant

(Conestoga Wagon)

• A wise merchant and a stupid young merchant were traveling through the same city and bought a puppy of goods they were going to sell as they traveled the country
• The thrifty merchant did not want to travel together.
• The foolish young merchant decided he would go first
• I could write a story about the demon who tricked the young merchant but not the wise one.      

                   - in my story maybe the demon has dialogue with the merchants or maybe the wise one 

                     convinced the young one to go first because of the demon.

The Elephant Girly- face

• Girly- face is a super kind elephant that overheard some robbers talking about how to show no pity for people they are robbing. Girly-face overheard this and was convinced that is how he was suppose to treat people now
• They sent good people to talk her his stall to convince him to be kind and it worked!
• I think I could make a story up about bullying in school and how when people talk it is so easy to convince a little kid that is how one is suppose to act.

The Banyan Deer

• Deer the color of gold and eyes were like round jewels. 
• This deer reminds me of the one that Sita wanted Rama to catch for her, maybe I could write a story about the deer that Sita wanted!!!!

The Princess and the Water- Sprite

• Story about Prince of the Stars, the Moon Prince and the Sun Prince.

The King's White Elephant

• Kind of  a sad story but the white elephant was always well taken care of. 

The Ox Who Never Envied the Pig

• Ox named Big Red
• Young brother named  Little Red
• Do not be envious of people for what they have because you do not know what will become of them. 

Grannie's Blackie

• I could write a story about the encounter black, the elephant, had with the man trying to pass the river with his wagons. 
• Blackie was a smart elephant and would not leave until the merchant gave him what he promised him. 

The Crab and the Crane

• The story about the crane tricking the fish in a shallow pond to be carried to a big pond to only be eaten by the crane
• The crab did not fall for it though!

Why the Owl is Not King of the Birds

• Apparently owls and crows do not get along which is why the owl is not king but the turtle dove is. 

Bibliography: The Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt. Illustrated by Ellsworth Young. 1912.

Reading Notes: Jataka Tales, Part A

The Monkey and the Crocodile

(Wild Crocodile) 

• Monkey lived in a tree next to a river full of croccodiles
• The mama croc wanted a monkey's heart, she asked her son to get her one
• The young crocodile thought he would trick the monkey into going to the middle of the lake to an island full of fruit
• The greedy monkey jumped on the tricky crocs back
• The crocodile tried to kill the money  by drowning him
• The monkey said he left his heart on the shore. The crocodile was stupid. 
• The crocodile wanted the heart so he took the monkey back to the bank of the shore
• The monkey of course took off left down the river to live another tree but the crocodile found him and tried to trick him again but it did not work!

How the Turtle Saved His Own Life

• A turtle tricked men who were afraid of him to throw him into the water bc they thought it would kill the turtle. 

I'm thinking about combining a few stories into one. Like a  couple of animals with some good dialogue. 

The Merchant of Seri

(Ancient Gold Bowl)

• Basically a story about greed.
• An old poor lady and her golden bowl and the 2 merchants

The Turtle Who couldn't Stop Talking

• Two geese and a turtle became good friends. 
• The geese wanted to talk him with them so they said as long as you can keep your mouth shut and hold on to this stick you will make it
• The turtle did not and died

These stories are very similar to Giant Crabs and Other Tales. which I just read but it is fun to see the different styles and how some of the gory ones could be turned into nice ones. 

The Ox Who Won the Forfeit

• This is a story about being nice
• The man made a bet but was mean to the ox so the ox did not cooperate until the man said he was sorry

The Sandy Road

• wow. This story was about a desert and how they found/ dug a well.
• I think I like the grim stories better than the happy ones. 

The Quarrel of the Quails

• Tale about the quails that learned to get away from the hunter but quarreled and got caught anyway. 
• Maybe I could make a tale about two children who gets caught stealing candy or something like that. 

The Measure of Rice

• There was a dishonest king
• Maybe I could write a story about the one king who was too kind and this king. They would not get along very well I have a feeling. 
• The valuer on his court was very honest and set the price of things
• Obviously the King wanted to cheat so he found a random person to become his new valuer but he made a laughing stock of himself bc of course he new the value of nothing!
• I hope the king learned his lesson

The Foolish, Timid Rabbit

• There was a rabbit who thought the world was breaking up and stated to run when he heard a loud noise. 
• Rabbits began to follow him then deer then a fox then an elephant
• The lion stopped them and made the original rabbit go back to the tree and see what has happened, that is when they saw a coconut and knew that is what scared him.

Bibliography: Jataka Tales. Ellen C. Babbit. Illustrated by Ellsworth Young. 1912. 

Reading Notes: The Giant Crab and Other Tales from Old India, Part B

Birds of a Feather

• Horse named Chestnut was kind of restless and always hurt other people and horses. 
• The King wanted to buy some horses but was cheap so he had Chestnut let out so he would hurt the other horses and lower the price. 
• The next time the dealer went to sale the King horses he made sure to bring another wild one to occupy Chestnut, turns out they like each other
• Long story short, the King felt bad and gave the dealer double the money. 

Spend a Pound to Win a Penny

• A strange story about a monkey and some peas
• Basically don't be greedy.

The Cunning Crane and the Crab

• Crane wanted to eat the fish in a drying up pond so he thought he would trick them
• Fish did not fall for his trick at first bc they knew he wanted to eat them
• The crane convinced them that he would take them to a beautiful cool lake

             - They fell for it, and the crane ate all the fish

• The crane tried to trick a crab after he ate all the fish but the crab knew better
• he had him carry him but only if he let him secure himself with his claw around his neck
• The crane took him to the lake with the intent to eat him but the crane clipped his head off
• Revenge

Union is Strength

• There was a quail hunter and he would catch many quails in a net every day
• One smart quail said when he catches us we will all fly together and lift the net
• This worked for a while until the quail started to quarrel then they fought so much the quail hunter caught them all one day when they were too busy arguing with each other

Silence is Golden

• This story is kind of sad bc it is about a lion who sounded like a jackal so all the other lions made fun of him. Reminds me of Rudolf the Red nose reindeer. 

The Quail and the Falcon

• There was a quail and he lived on the land of a farmer with a plough 
• One day he decided to venture out but while he was out a Falcon saw him and swooped down do grab him
• The quail convinced him to take him back to his own farm so the falcon could see it but when they landed the falcon stumbled and died

The Bold Beggar

• Story about a King who ate his fine meal in front of everyone
• One day a beggar came running and pretended to faint so the king let him eat some of his food
• When he was done and asked what the news was he said I was hungry and now I am not
• The king laughed

The Jackal Would A- Wooing Go

• A jackal fell in love with a lioness with 3 brothers
• he waited to propose to her until her brothers went off hunting
• The lioness was surprised and wanted nothing to do with the jackal, in fact she was disgusted. 
• He left all sad with his tail bw his legs
• When the brothers came home she told them this outrageous story and they one went to kill the jackal but he was behind a crystal wall and the two eldest cracked their skulls
• The youngest roared so loud it gave the jackal a heart attack and he died
• The sister wasn't even sad her two eldest brothers died. 
• Geez, kind of reminds me of Varuka from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

The Lion and the Boar

(Lion)

• Boar and Lion at water hole drinking
• Boar challenges lion to a fight
• Lion agrees to fight in a week bc he was full
• Boar goes back home and tells everyone what is going to happen, they freak out

“Dirty Boar, I want no more,

You’re saved from being eaten;

If you would fight, I yield me quite,

And own that I am beaten!”

• The boar rolled in mud so the lion would refuse to fight him.. it worked.

The Goblin City

• story about female goblins
• Maybe my story could be about this for Halloween
• Ship wreck

“Man’s meat, man’s meat,

That’s what Goblins like to eat!”

• The women goblin tricked the ship wrecked men into marrying them like they had others
• The captain found out they married goblins though 
• A magic horse saved them 

Lacknose

• Basically a story about a go with no nose but these kids who want a flower from his garden do not have a filter and offend him with their poems so he does not give them a flower
• The last little boy tells the gardner how it is and he gets a posy.
• Maybe I could make a rhyme about a posy

The King's Lesson

• A wise, good king named Godfrey.. this is ironic bc it reminds me of King Geoffrey from Game of Thrones... & he is not nice.
• This is a strange story about two kings who basically fight bc they are both too nice

Bibliography: The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India. W.H.D. Rouse. Illustrated by W. Robinson. 1897. 

Reading Notes: The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India, Part A

The Giant Crab

• I could write a story on the base of the giant crab but make it humans instead of animals. 
• Maybe a story about greed, we'll see.

The Hypocritical Cat

• Well this was a surprisingly scary story. Maybe with Halloween coming up I can make a story about a cat and mouse

The Crocodile and the Monkey

• This story ends up having a happy ending but mine could end badly. Maybe the monkey is the one that gets fooled by the croc wife

The Wise Parrot and the Foolish Parrot

• I didn't like this story bc she plucked the birds feathers! I had a pet bird, so this made me sad.
• I could write a story about to parrots though, that could be fun. 
• Maybe some kind of rhyme. 

The Dishonest Friend

• I like this story. I could go a few different directions with this story. 
• There is a lot of trickery in these stories, I need to think of something clever.
• Maybe modern day, borrowed a mower or something like that.
• Honesty is the Best Policy.. or maybe not
• maybe I could tell a story how one lie just rolls into a bigger one and a bigger one

The Mouse and the Farmer

• This is kind of another mouse and cat game story
• It reminded me of the latest Walking Dead Episode
• I could make it where the mouse makes an entire village of mice bring him food in exchange for their lives.

The Talkative Tortoise

• Wow. 
• I could write a story about how sometimes talking can get you into trouble, kind of the same with lying. 

The Monkeys and the Gardener

• This story kind of reminded me of the monkey on the Night at the Museum for some reason.
• my creative juices are not flowing.

The Goblin and the Sneeze

• I could write a story about a goblin for Halloween. 
• It could be a nice goblin but no one knows he's nice bc everyone is afraid of him.

The Goblin in the Pool

• Another story about a Goblin but this one lived in the water
• Maybe I can combine the Goblin stories

(Goblin in the Pool)

The Foolish Farmer and the King

• This reminded me of Game of Thrones
• Except this King was nice... I could make him not nice.

The Pious Wolf

• The fairy taught the wolf a lesson

Bibliography: The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India. W. H. D. Rouse. Illustrated by W. Robinson. 1897.

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. 

Reading Notes: Kincaid. Tales from the Indian epic, Part B

Notes: 

Ruru and Pramadvara

• Ruru is the grandson of Vrigu
• Dancing girl, Menaka, from god Indra's court fell in love with Visvavasu and they had a baby girl but hid her from the god Indra so she put her baby girl by a river.
• Sthulokesha, a rishi, took the the girl and raised her

            - He named her Pramadvara

• Ruru saw her and instantly wanted to marry her

           - before their wedding Pramadvara got bitten by a poisonous snake and died
           - Ruru agreed to give half the span of his life to Pramadvara to bring her back

• Story of the rock snake pg 51

Nala and Damayanti

• Bhima's daughter is named Damayanti after the rich who promised him 3 sons and a daughter. 
• King Nala of the Nishadas heard of Damayanti's beauty and longed for her. 

          - they're using a golden swan to talk back and forth

          - maybe I could make a story between 2 young kids who like each other but are talking by 

             dropping notes in each others lockers or something.  pg 56

• Bhima is hosting a Swayamvara of Damayanti so she can choose her husband
• All the princes and kings forgot to worship Indra
• I could write a story about how Narada, a sage, visited Indra and how he, Agni, Varuna, and Yama became infatuated with Damayanti like King Nala had. pg 57
• The gods even went as far to disguise themselves as King Nala to confuse Damayanti

               - I could have fun with his story.

• Nala and Damayanti lived happily for 12 yrs. and had a son named Indrasena and a daughter named Indrasena
• god Kali wanted Damayanti so badly he waited 12 yrs for Nala to slip up

           - I could also write a story about this 

          - Kali controlled Nala

            - I'm thinking Harry Potter imperious curse!!

(Nala leaving Damayanti)

• There's this whole story line about how Kali controlled Nala to lose everything he had besides Damayanti b/c of course kali wanted her. 

           - Kali got Nala to leave Damayanti and now she is wondering around and getting attacked by  

    snakes and men grabbing her for themselves. 

• I could make a story about Damayanti dreaming the whole thing.  pg 70

                - the tiger

                - the oasis

                - the old men

• Damayanti met some merchants and is traveling with them. 
• She ended up at a royal palace. 

• Meanwhile Nala is just wandering around until he runs into the snake king

         - Nala saves the snake King and the snake bites him to torture Kali out of him and tells him to 

             go to Ayodhya where the King Rituparna will befriend him. 

• There's this big ol' long story about how Nala and Damayanti find each other; not that interesting to me. 
• Now Nala is going to win back his kingdom b/c he knows the art of dice now. 
• He won! Now he rules Nashada again,

Bibliography: Tales from the Indian Epic. C.A. Kincaid. 1918. 

Reading Notes: Kincaid. Tales from the Indian epics, Part A

Notes:  

The Churning of the Ocean

• Could write a story about Mount Meru

             - Lesser gods met up there
             - They want to obtain the ambrosia which will make them immortal like the three supreme
                   gods, Vishnu, Brahmadeva, and Shiva.
            - but the ambrosia layed at the bottom of the ocean.

• Could write a story about Vishnu and how he told the lesser gods to churn the ocean with the demons aide. 
• Could write a story about Mount Mandara

           - They use this mountain to actually church the ocean.

• Could write a story about how Brahmadeva begged lord Vishnu to give the gods and demons greater strength to churn the ocean. 
• What if the immortal gods wanted to lesser gods to fail and not obtain the ambrosia. 
• I could write a story about everything that came out of the water. 
• I could tell a story about Vishnu

           - and how he drank the poisonous fluid which overlaid the ambrosia
          -the demons tried to steal the ambrosia but Vishnu took it back and only gave it to the gods
           and gave none to the demons who are still mortal to this day.
          - One demon disguised himself as a god and tricked Vishnu into giving him some
          - Vishnu cuts his head off before it passes his thoat
          - The Sun god is the one who warned Vishnu about this.

(The Churning of the Ocean)

Veda's Pupil

• A sage in India named Veda took on a Brahman boy named Uttanka as his pupil
• When the boy grew up he wanted to give Veda something kind in return

            - Veda's wife wanted King Paushyas wife's earrings.

• I could write a story about how Uttanka encounters a giant and eats a meal in haste.

            - At first he is afraid to eat the food but does anyway when he finds out Veda has eaten it
              before too.
            - My story he could turn into something or he passes out and winds up at the palace

• He has a strange altercation at the palace with the King. 

           - I could write a whole story on the dinner and how they cursed each other.
           - Maybe turn the characters into children at lunch in elementary school

• Of course Uttanka gets the earrings stolen by Takshaka, the snake prince, like the queen warned. 
• Indra saw him weeping by the snake burrow and sent a thunderbolt to the stick he was digging with.

           - turns out all his help was aided by gods.
           - the giant was Indra and the was his mighty elephant
           - the horse that gave him a ride home was Agni, the god of fire
          - god who burned the snake city down was Parjanya, the god of rain

King Janamejaya's Snake Sacrifice

• King Prajapati had 2 daughters
• Gave them to King Kashyapa to marry; the queens name's were Kadru & Vinata
• He granted them 2 wishes;

         - Kadru, the eldest, wished to be the mother of a thousand snakes
        - Vinata wished to be the mother of 2 sons who were = in strength to the thousand snakes
      * What if I made a story and they wished for different things like to be the mother of something
           else, maybe wolves or lizards or something like that.

• Instead of Vinata being jealous of Kadru maybe I can have Kadru being jealous of Vinata. Maybe over a boy instead of their children and the horse that rose from the ocean. 

            - Maybe Kadru took Vinata's clothes from her closet without asking; the typical sister fight.

• Vinata lost the bet to Kadru and now Vinata has to be her slave. 

        - But the only reason she won is b/c Kadru had her snake son's lie for her; she cursed them about
          being burned in a  fire.... like in Veda's Pupil!!!
          * I could make some kind of story out of this! More modern day though with 2 sisters fighting.
             Maybe the sisters always made bets to one another until one day it got our of hand.

• Garuda, Vinata's son was finally born but into slavery.

            - Kadru's snake sons told him that if he brought the ambrosia from Indra to give to them then
               they would set him & his mom free

• I could write a spin off story about the brothers Vivavasu and Supratika

          - Supratkia was being greedy and wanted to divide their wealth but Vivavasu wanted to share it
          - Supratika turned into an elephant; Vivavasu turned into a tortoise

• I could write a story about how the god Indra protected the ambrosia jar

          - Vayu, the wind god blew dust into the eyes of any oncoming foeman
          - ring of fire
          - 2 poisonous snakes

• god Vishnu stopped Garuda

            - granted him a boon; Garuda chose to drink some of the ambrosia

• Indra stopped Garuda after that and encouraged him to not give the snakes the ambrosia

           - Garuda gave them the ambrosia but Indra took it before they could drink it

• I don't want to write a story about all the snake drama and the Bharatas. 

        - Janamejaya ruled after Takshaka killed Parikshit the Bharata

• Could write a story bout how Aruna became the charioteer of the Sun pg. 44

Vrigu and Agni

• Vrigu was a mighty rishi
• Puloma was a lovely maiden and her father offered her in marriage to Vrigu
• Demon King Paulama was originally promised the beautiful Puloma but the promise was broke when she married Vrigu

            - Agni told Paulama that Puloma is not his since he never married her
           - Paulama did not care and took Puloma anyway

• This is a story about why Agni can tell if someone is pure or not and why people walk through his flames to prove their purity

             - Like when Sita walked through the fire to prove her purity to Rama.

• I could write a story about the time period of the absence of Agni

             Bibliography: Tales from the Indian Epics. C.A. Kincaid. 1918.

Reading Notes: The Indian Heroes, Part B

Notes: 

• This version of the Mahabharata does not focus on the Pandava's 12 years of exile but say's, "Many adventures came to the Pandava Princes in the forest." 

         - An entire series of stories could be written about their adventures!

• The 13th year is the one in concealment in one of the cities

         - they decide to live in Biratnagar, the capital town of Virata
            --> the King of the Matsyas
            Yudhishthira = Kanka (gambler)
             Bhima = Ballaba (cook)
             Arjuna = Vrihannala (dancer & Singer)
            Nakula = Granthika (groomer for horses)
             Sahadev = Tantripala (cowherd)
             Princess Draupadi = Sairandhri (waitingmaid)

• They hid their weapons in a thorn tree on the outskirts of town. 
• They all entered the town at different times speaking to King Virata (he had no clue who they were) 

              - they did their jobs for 12 months

• Then Queen Sudeshna's brother had to show up, Prince Kichaka. 

             - he forced himself on Princess Draupadai (Sairandhir) and almost ruined their disguise when Bhima killed him with his bare hands.

• The King ordered Draupadai to be burned on Kickaka's pyre. 

          - Bhima heard of this and went and killed all the soldiers trying to kill Draupadai

• Now everyone is afraid of Draupadai and wants her to leave but she convinces them to let her stay
• Now that Kickaka is dead all the neighboring cities want to overtake Virata, including evil Prince Duryodhan.

            - karna and Arjuna got into it because Karna recognized Arjuna in the carrot.

• Yudhishthira admits to King Virata they are the Pandava brothers. 
• I could write a story about how King Dhritarashtra is his sons, Prince Duryodhan, puppet.  pg 113
• The Pandava's decide on war!

          - I could write a story about their decision

• Most of the support was on Duryodhan's side because they were afraid of him. 
• They feared 3 main people:

              --> Prince Bhishma, uncle of King Dhritarashtra
             --> Drona, taught Duryodhan archery
             --> Karna, sun gods son and a great bowman

• The trick arjuna pulled to kill Bhishma is very interesting, it would be fun to write about! pg. 116
• I could write a story about the death of Bhishma, Drona, and Karna
• I could write a story about the wizards palace at the bottom of the lake pg. 121
• Bhima and Duryodhan have a final battle

             - Duryodhan dies

(Final Battle Between Bhima & Duryodhana) 

• King Dhritarashtra almost killed Bhima with his grip but tore down a statue instead. 

           - but King Dhritarshra still ruled till the day he died
           - Yudhishthira was crowned king of Hastnapura

• Krishna was killed by a hunter

         - I could write a story about how his city was not allowed to drink wine. pg 132
           -Arjuna was losing his strength
         - Yudhishthira knew death was coming so he stepped down from the throne and him and his brothers accepted death

• They walked into the forest where the fire- god commanded them to throw their weapons into the sea (Bay of Bengal) 

          - They then walked to the Himalaya's where one by one they died off
          - The house of Bharata were all reunited in heaven, even Duryodhan.

Bibliography: The Indian Heroes: Mahabharata- The princess of Elephant City by C.A. Kincaid.

Reading Notes: The Indian Heroes- Mahabharata, Part A

Notes: 

• Could write a story about the moon god (would need to do some research)

            - or about Sun god (but that's from the Ramayana) 
           - maybe do a story about both Sun and Moon god

(The sun god)

• Hastinapura = Elephant City
• People whispered that Prince Yudhishthira's father was Dharma, the god of justice. He was also the wisest and eldest bring

                                               Prince Bhima's father was Wayu, god of the winds. most cunning with
                                                     mace
                                              Prince Arjuna's father was Indra, who rules over the broad sky. the best
                                                        Archer.

• King Drupada hates the Pandavas because they helped their teacher Drona defeat him.

               - King Drupada wished the Bharata line be destroyed
              - a young girl, Krishna, rose from the flames and King Drupada raised her as his own.
                I could write a story about how King Drupada raised Krishna. People called her Draupadi.

• I could write a story about the house Prince Duryodhan had built for the Pandavas and their mother, Queen Kunti, burnt down.
• I could write a story about the Pandava brothers and Queen Kunti about when they made it to the shores of the Ganges, queen of rivers.
• I could write a story about how Prince Bhima went looking for water
• I could write a story about Prince Bhima and his conversation with Hidimvi (the monsters sister)

                        - or about the fight with Prince Bhima and the monster Hidimva.

• I could write a story about how Prince Bhima and Hidimvi wandered in the forest together

                 - eventually Bhima wanted to see his mom and brother again so they sadly parted ways

• Bhima's family had been living as beggars in the town Ekachakra ruled by the evil Vaka

                - Bhima shows up just in time and kills Vaka

• I could write a story about how King Drupada's archery contest to win his daughter Draupadi. 

                      -gigantic crowds
                      - at first Karna went to shoot the bow but Princess Draupadi said no
                     --> I could write a story about how that angered him and where he is really from pg 60

• Prince Arjuna wins Princess Draupadi. 
• King Dhritarashtra learned that the Pandava's were not dead 

           - Prince Bhishma (his uncle) was on his council
            - his mom, the mighty ganges river
          -Bhishma thought the pandavas should be invited back to the Elephant city

• I could write a story about Arjuna and how he was banished 

              - The Ganges river and Ulupi the water- nymph pg. 66
             - The alligators and nymphs
            - the fire- god Agni asks for Arjuna's help in burning down the Khandava forest pg. 69
               - he married the maiden of Panchala, King Krishna's sister

• Bhima and jarasandha have a wrestling match 

              - Bhima kills Jarasandha

• I could write a story about how Prince Duryodhan fell into a tank of water because he could not tell where the floor ended and the water began.
• King Shakuni challenges Yudhishthira to a dice game

            - Yudhishthira lost everything including himself, brothers and Princess Draupadi.
            - The curse from King Drupada called down on the Bharatas came true
            - Draupadi, as an Aryan Princess had wishes and she wished her husbands be freed and they
                gain their wealth back

• Second dice game

            - Prince Yudhishthira lost again this time they are exiled for 12 years
            - most of the town followed them into exile but there was to enough food to eat
            - I could write a story about how Prince Yudhishthira prayed to the sun- god and was given
              a warrior clad in golden armour, a copper pot (endless food supply)

• Vyasa told Yudhishthria to send Arjuna to the god, Indra (his father) and he would give him celestial armor. 

            - He walked to the highest summit of the Himalayas
            - met a Brahman who turns out to be god Shiva who he needs to meet face to face into order
                to see Indra.
            - I could write a story about how Arjuna got into a fight with a young man on the mountain
               over a bour. Turns out it was an immortal.  pg. 92

• Brim doesn't come back from a hunting trip so Yudhishthira goes and looks for him. He finds him in a cave with a snake wrapped around him

             - Yudhishthira must answer questions to free Bhima or both of them will get devoured
              This is like the pond form Narayan's version
            - The snake is really King Nahusha who had been cursed by an ancient sage to become a
               snake

Bibliography: The Indian Heroes: Mahabharata- The Princes of Elephant City by C.A. Kincaid.

Reading Notes: Narayan's Mahabharata, Part D

Notes:

• Yudhistira really does not want to go to war but keep peace within the family.

             - Krishna is going to Duryodhana to make one last plea for Yudhistira.

• Out of the 4 brothers, Sahadeva wants war and tell Krishna to provoke the Kauravas. 
• It would be fun to write a song like the 14 days of christmas but instead have the days of Krishna on his way to Hastinapura. page 136
• I could write a story about Duryodhana and a moral of the story is you are not alway right.
• I could write a story about a family fight at like the Christmas table or Easter dinner or just a family gathering

              - one crazy cousin causes all this drama by taking all the turkey legs and not sharing then
                takes all the pecan pie and whip cream. At this point the family is fed up but the dad just
                sits there and does nothing.  page 140

• I could write a story about he preparations for the war. How they chose Dhrishtadyumna as Supreme Commander. page 146
• Arjuna see's his kinsmen on the other side of the war line and losses heart.

              - He cannot kill his kin folk he admits to Krishna his chariot pilot.
              - It was just a lapse of judgement. Krishna gives him a pep talk
               - maybe I can write my story of Krishna's pep talk but this time it would be to the whole
                   army...... or maybe football team.

• War raged for 18 days

         - at sunset each side retreated and recouped, I could write a story about what the troops did in
           the evenings between battles page 148-149

• Abhimanyu, Arjuna's son, targeted his great- grandfather, Bhishma. 

            - Arjuna pierced him with arrows. So many when he fell down he laid in a bed of arrows
              - Bhisma was able to decide when to die. Its kind of grim but I could write a story about
                being able to choose when to die. Like some deadly ill people are allowed to do in a few
                states

Bhisma dying pierced with many arrows from Wikimedia

• Duryodhana thought now that he could have victory if Yudhistira was captured alive

           - I could write a story about how two cousins got in a fight and they never meant any harm but
            someone always gets hurt in the end. page 156

• Arjuna cuts off karna's head with an arrow. 
• Duryodhana has lost everything and goes to a lake with his mystic powers

         - Duryodhana fights Bhima to try to be a King a gain
          - I would like to write a story about this fight and his thought process on choosing who to fight.
              --> kind of like pick your poison page 165
        - Duryodhana lost

• i could write a story about Narada and Vyasa visiting the Pandavas after war

Bibliography: Narayan's Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic

Reading Notes: Narayan's The Mahabharata, Part C

Notes:

• Dhritarashtra has spies following the Pandava brothers so he knows how well they are doing and about Arjuna's weapons.

           - as always he is torn between his nephews and sons

• Duryodhana wants to keep closer tabs on the Pandava's b/c he knows his father is iffy. 

            - Duryodhana sent a messenger to invite the Pandava brothers to the festivities he was having
                but the messenger was denied passage by a watchman (a gandhrava) sent by the gods

• Fight broke out and Duryodhana was taken prisoner

           - Bhima and Arjuna go and rescue him

• I can tell a story about Yaksha the god who killed Yudhistira's brothers

           - the dialogue between Yaksha and Yudhistira. All the questioning.
           - The Yaksha revived Yudhirstira's brothers after answering the questions
           -The Yaksha was actually Yama
           - He also gave them the power to remain incognito for their last year of exile

• They decide to live in Matsya

           - each of them are taking on an alias
          - but Draupadi was molested by the Queens brother, Kichaka <--The Maury show story
           - Bhima killed him

(The Pandava brothers)

• Duryodhana wants to find the Pandava brothers because he is afraid they will bake the thirteenth year.

         - he figures out the Pandava brothers are probably  in Virata
         - he wants to wage war on them

• Arjuna takes Uttara to the Kauravas but stops to get the Pandava's weapons
• I could write a story about the proud father of Uttara page 110
• Story about the wedding of Uttarai and Arjuna's son, Abhimanyu.

• The Pandava brothers and Duryodhana both prepared for war after the 13 year exile was over

            - I could write a story about how Duryodhana tricks all of Yudhistira's allies into becoming

               one of his pg119

• I could write a story like kids fighting on a playground with the two groups sending messengers back and forth. 

Bibliography: Narayan's The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic

         

Reading Notes: Narayan's Mahabharata, Part B

Notes: 

• It is now known the Pandava brothers did not die in the house fire but it must have been another family with 5 sons. 

            - this news made Duryodhana very uneasy
            - Duryodhana fears now that the Pandava brother has married Drupada's daughter they will           find a common enemy in him.

• Drona, Vidura and Bhishma agree the Pandava's come out of exile.

• Dhritharashtra lives with his son Duryodhana in Hastinapura.

             - his cousins are the Pandava brothers who have married a single wife

             - he invites them back to Hastinapura

             - they are given land and they create a city with a palace to live in called Indraprastha

• I could write a story about Narada narrating the story of Sunda and Upasunda.

              - page 45

• Duryodhana envied the Pandava's brothers new city of Indraprastha

                - Duryodhana feared too many people liked the Pandava brothers

                    (Sakuni thinks Duryodhana should leave the Padavas alone because they have a lot of 

                      allies)

• I could write a story about how Arjuna (a pandava brother) was given with his great bow, Gandiva, and with the gift of an inexhaustible quiver.

                     - it was a gift of Agni 

                     - Arjuna is favored by the gods

                     - page 48

• Duryodhana says the servants made un of him while he was at Indraprastha.... but he is just making it up
• Sakuni suggests to Duryodhana that instead of challenging the Pandavas (Yudhistira) to war to challenge them to a dice game in order to humiliate them. 
• I could write a story kind of based on Varooka from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. 

              - Dhritarashtra would give anything to his son Duryodhana. 

              - page 51

• Sakuni (for Duryodhana) plays Yudhisira during the first dice game.

             - the stakes in the game keep getting higher and higher and Yudhisira keeps losing and losing 

             - I could write a story about a rigged dice game

• Voider suggests to Dhanajaya to to kill Duryodhana in order to keep peace.

                 - he refuses

• The wife of the Pandava's (Draupadi) refused to go to Hastnapura. She is forced

             - I could write a story about Draupadi 

              - page 61

Draupadi is presented in the dice game after Yudhisira has gambled her away from wikimedia

• Dhritarashtra feels bad for Draupadi and gives her wishes

1. Yudhistira is freed
2. his brothers are freed 
3. nothing 

          - he gives all their possessions back

          - instead of Dhirtarashra giving them wishes maybe it was a genie like in Aladdin (pg 66)

• The Pandava brothers are summoned again for a dice game and Yudhistira accepted... again!!!

              - he lost of course and they are all banished for 12 years

               - the Pandava brothers all promised revenge in their own way

• Sun god gave Yudhistira a copper bowl that gave him an inexhaustible supply of food

             - maybe write a story about the Sun god and the copper bowl!!! pg 72

• Vidura is banished as well 

             - could elaborate more on his banishment page 73

Bibliography: Narayan's The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic 

Reading Notes: Narayan's Mahabharata, Part A

Notes:

• Would be interesting to write a story about how Santanu (the Ruler of an ancient kingdom, capital at Hastinapura) met the maiden by the river who turns out to be Ganga the deity of the river. 

                   - do more of a dialogue type of a story

Santanu and the maiden by the river from Wikipedia

• Could write a story about how Prince Devavratha steps down as successor of the throne to please his dad.

                   - there had to be drama with it

                   Devavratha changed his name to Bhishma because he vowed to never marry and have           children. 

                  - maybe base the story on a father, son fishing dream.

• I could write a scene from a soap opera explaining who slept with who and had who's baby.

               - refer to page 5 for further explanation of who is who. 

• I previously wrote a story about Yama and Vayu so it would be cool to write a story about their children
• I could write a story about the Pandava boys

               - it could be from when their dad dies

               - about their quick get away in the tunnel from the fire.

               - One of the Pandava brothers (Arjuna) wins Draupadi as his wife but has to share her with his 4 other brothers.

• I wanted to do a day time drama kind of show with who is married to who since Draupadi is shared among the brothers. It is also very confusing just like a soap opera is about who's child is who's. 

Bibliography: R.K. Narayan's Mahabharata

Reading Notes: The Divine Archer, Part B

Notes: 

VII Bali and Sugriva Battle
Rama shoots Bali with an arrow while he is fighting his brother Sugriva.

The search for Siva begins after the rains.
Hanuman found out Siva was in Lanka over the sea so he must pass it.

I could write a story about Hanuman and his army getting caught in a cave that turned out to be a snakes mouth then how they got out of it.

Maybe do a play on Sita being in a garden and Hanuman eating a piece of fruit which got him caught.
Kind of reminds me of the Garden of Eden.

Hanuman lights Lanka on Fire
takes a token of Sita's back to Rama and they gather an army immediately.

Hanuman catches spies in camp sent from Lanka. --> I could write a story about the spies and their journey

Bridge Construction
I could write a story about Nala and Nila's construction of the bridge over the sea. 

Nala and Nila directing monkeys to build the bridge to Lanka Source: Wikimedia

I could also write about the incident where Rama sent an arrow and knocked the crown off Ravan's head and the gold ring out of his wife's ear. I can write a story about the argument they had on whether to yield to Rama or no. 

The Battle Begins
I could write a story about how Lanka, son of Ravan, killed Lakshman in battle but was then brought back to life.
              -Elaborate on the fight though.
Rama kills Ravans brother, Kumbha- Kama.

Rama kills Ravan in battle.

Sita proves herself
sita escapes the flames because she has been true to Rama.

I could write a story about Rama, Sita, Lakshman, and Hanuman journeying back to their home, Ayodhya.

After the Battle
I could write a story about Lava and Kusa, the sons of Sita and about their bringing up.
With the old hermit Valmiki telling the story.





Bibliography: The Divine Archer by F. J. Gould, 1911. 

Reading Notes: The Divine Archer, Part A

Notes:

The Divine Archer
King Dasaratha was overjoyed and gave presents to the holy priests and the Brahmans.
People everywhere brought jewels to the city of Ayodhya to celebrate the birth of King Dasarathas four sons.
One son, Rama born from Queen Kausalya.--> Rama was the noblest b/c his feet had a thunderbolt &             the flag & the goad w. drivers to urge elephants.
One son, Bharat born from Queen Kaikeyi.
Two Sons, Lakshman and Satrughna from Queen Samitra.

The hermit, Visva- mitra
Demons would not let the hermit rest in the forest.
He asked Dasaratha for Rama's help because he has heard great things of him and asked for Lakshman to accompany Rama as well.
Rama and Laskshman killed a couple of demons floating around with arrows.

The Ganges
on their journey they stopped in Janak and the king offered them lodging.
I could write a story about Rama and Lakshman's adventure in the city where Rama met Sita.

Rama marries Sita
Rama bends the bow.
could write a story about all the men who tried to break the bow and could not.
How did the other 3 brothers find wives to marry????

I could write a story about the party that lasted for days from the weddings.

Dasaratha finds a grey hair
He wants to crown Rama King
Write a story about Queen Kaikeyi , her son Bharat, and the hump- backed Manthara.

I could write a story about the rein of Kaikeyi while Rama was away. Maybe instead of sandals something else he took as a keep sake.

Write a story about the Ganges River they had to pass

Descent of Ganga form Wikimedia

Write a story about how Dasaratha killed a blind hermit's son in the woods at night near a watering hole.

Saint Agastya
Gave Rama the magic bow of the lord Vishnu, glittering dart of Brahma, and the quiver of Indra that never lacked arrows.

The Demon Maid- Raksha
Wanted to marry Rama or lakshma but they said no and Lakshmi cut off her nose and mutilated her.
The Raksha army came to take Sita away but Rama fought them off.
Raksha got away though.

In this version Ravan wants to put his strength against Ramas.

The Deer
I could write a story about a different object catching Sita's eye.

Maybe a version about what happened when Rama went after the deer and the moments that Lakshman had left Sita and what he was doing.

In this version Ravan could touch Sita.

I could write a story about Rama and Lakshman looking for Sita in the days before they meet the monkey clan.

Sugriva is the King of the Monkeys and Hanuman his comrade.

They make a deal, Rama gets Sugriva's kingdom back and they help Rama find Sita.


Bibliography: The Divine Archer by F. J. Gould, 1911.