Jacob and The Epics of India

Ep 48 - Krishna Meets the Pandavas          News about the defeat of the Pandavas in the gambling match made it to Krishna. He left to meet the Pandavas in the forest. He was upset that he hadn't been available to help the Pandavas because he was protecting Dwarka. Krishna urged the Pandavas to fight the Kauravas and take back their kingdom. They did not agree.      The reason Krishna was not able to be there for the Pandavas is that Dwarka was being attacked by King Shalva. Krishna ended the war when he used his Sudarshan Chakra to decapitate Shalva.  Ep 49 - Arjun Receives Shiva's Weapon     Krishna blesses the Pandavas and promises his allegiance. The Pandavas were struggling with little resources. Many sages came and gave them knowledge while living in the forest. Ved Vyasa came to visit the Pandavas. He told Arjun that he needed to acquire Indra's and Shiva's celestial weapons in order to win the war. Arjun left for the Himalay...

 Ep 36 - Subhadra Wins Over Draupadi     Arjun races towards Indraprasth after abducting Subhadra. Balram realized it was Arjun and he was angry. He ordered his army to get ready to go to Indraprasth and destroy the Pandavas. Krishna stopped him and convinced him not to. Balram changed his mind after Krishna told him that Subhadra and Arjun loved each other. Arjun arrived and his brothers were filled with joy. Arjun went to greet Draupadi but she gave him the cold shoulder. Draupadi ended up liking Subhadra. She consented to her marriage to Arjun. Marriage preparations began.  Ep 37 - Birth of Abhimanyu     Everyone in the town attended the wedding. Subhadra announced that she was pregnant with Arjun's baby. Arjun would take Subhadra on walks during her pregnancy. He would tell her stories of being in battle and all of his accomplishments. The unborn child was listening as well. He once was telling her about the procedure for entering and escaping the Chakr...

 Notes for Epified Mahabharata  Ep 31 - Creation of Indraprastha     Khandavaprasth was given to the Pandavas and the land was barren. The land which was forested was cursed by Indra, only inhabited by Asurs, Rakshas, and Nagas. Yudhishthir decided to move into  Khandavaprasth since he did not want war.          The Pandavas arrived at  Khandavaprasth and found the wasteland. Krishna helped design a new kingdom for them. Arjun and Krishna met Agni. Agni wanted to burn down the forest.     A new glorious city was constructed. The Pandavas named it  Indraprastha because it resembled Indra's city.  Ep 32  - Narad visits Indraprastha     On Krishna's way back to the Pandavas, he met Narad and asked him to visit the new city. Narad decided to go. The Pandavas wanted his guidance in the administration of the kingdom. They also introduced him to Draupadi. Narad's face was clearly worried. H...

 Notes for Epified Mahabharata Part C Ep 18 - Karna lived a humble life with his parents. He believed that he was destined for great things. He wore enchanted armor. One day he asked his mother about his gifts and his desire to fight. His mother told him about how his father had found him floating in the river in a basket. His armor and earrings had grown with him. Karna sought out Drona to learn the ways of war. Drona turned him down because he only taught Kshatriyas. Karna decided not to tell him that he was in fact one because he felt it would be disrespectful to his parents. Karna returned home but did not tell his family what had happened. Karna then found a guru. Ep 19 - Karna begged Vishnu to teach him, all Vishnu asked was if he was a Kshatriya. Karna tells Parshuram that he is not a Kshatriya, but rather a Brahmin. He did this because long ago, Vishnu had wiped the earth of Kshatriyas. Karna learned all of the ways of war from him.     When Parshuram was napping ...

 Billy Batson once again found himself in a familiar situation. He was running through the snow-covered streets of Chicago, taking random turns as his bullies chased him. The bullies in question were the Colson brothers, a nasty duo known for picking on the less fortunate kids at school. Following their previous encounters, Billy tried to avoid conflict and lay low at school, but when he saw the Colson brothers picking on a new student and a fellow orphan, he felt he had to intervene.  Billy knew that if he could just make it to the subway station he could easily lose them. So, he took a hard right turn down the alley between Herbert's Diner and Walgreen's, jumping over fences and dodging the trash bags laying on the ground. He weaved his way through the crowd of people making their way down the subway steps and jumped onto the handrail, sliding his way down. Once at the bottom, he took a quick look behind him only to see the Colson brothers rampaging their way down the Subway...

 Krishna and Balram arrived in Mathura. People started to know who they were and word got around. A woman named Trivakra was one of the people who gathered to see their deeds. Trivakra was old and had 3 deformities: a twisted neck, a hunched back, and a paralyzed knee. She had been told long ago that the son of Vasudev would return to Mathura and heal her. She approached Krishna and told him that she needed healing. Krishna healed her with a hug. Kamsa, Krishna's tyrant uncle, soon heard that he was in town. Kamsa knew he only had one more chance to kill Krishna before the prophecy came true. Kamsa knew of an elephant named Kuvalayapida who was fierce and deadly. Kamsa planned to use him to kill Krishna. He had the elephant tied to the gates at the entrance of the palace so that it would kill Krishna and Balram if they tried to enter. Soon Krishna and Balram came to the elephant and it attacked Krishna. Krishna grabbed the elephant by its trunk and flung it away. Krishna then hit i...

 Notes for Epified - Krishna The birth of Krishna Cruel King Kamsa. His cousin Devaki married Vasudev. A voice from the sky told him that the eighth child of this couple would slay him. The king decided to kill all of her children to prevent his own death. The 7th child was transported by a goddess from its mother's womb to the womb of Rohini. Kamsa thought she had a miscarriage so he was happy. Then she became pregnant with her 8th child. The animals of the earth and the gods rejoiced because Vishnu was returning to Earth. The guards soon approached to kill the child. Vasudev stood in his prison cell holding his child. He looked out his cell and saw that the guards were asleep. He walked out with his son. The entire city of Mathura was silent and still. He went to the Yamuna river. The voice in his head told him to surrender to the river. He bowed and asked for help. A huge serpent emerged from the river. Vasudev stepped into the river and the serpent protected him from the rain a...

 Notes For Jataka Tales Part B The King's White Elephant     carpenters live on river bank near forest. they go into the forest to cut trees and make lumber. One day, an elephant limps to them on 3 feet. He had a large splinter in his foot. They pulled it out and washed the wound. To repay the carpenters, the elephant helps them in any way he can. They, in return, feed him. The elephant then had a son, whom he took to the carpenters in place of himself because he was getting old. At night the elephant would play with the children of the carpenters in the river. One day, the king came down the river, saw the elephant, and immediately wanted him. The carpenters sold him to the king who took good care of him. Why the Owl is Not King of the Birds     A long time ago the people had a king. The four footed animals also had a king. The fish also had a king. Then the birds started talking and decided that they needed a king. They then decided that the owl should be king...

 Notes for Jataka Tales Part A The Monkey and The Crocodile     I remember reading this one early on in the semester. The monkey fools to crocodile into thinking that his heart is actually a fruit hanging from a tree across the river. The crocodile gives the monkey a ride across, not realizing he has been tricked. How the Turtle Saved His Own Life     I also remember reading this one earlier. A king had a pond made for his sons to play in. They loved the fish, but when they saw a turtle, they were scared of it thinking it was a monster or a demon. The king ordered his men to catch the turtle and bring it to him. They then discuss potential ideas for how to kill the turtle. One man, fearing water, suggests throwing the turtle into the flowing river that goes over rocks and into the ocean. The turtle, being smart, explains that this option scares him greatly and that he doesn't deserve such a fate. The King decides that this is the best option and then they throw ...

 Son of the Sun: Durvasa the sage came to where Kunti was. Most people were afraid of him because he would put curses on people he didn't like. Kunti however befriended him and had great talks with him. Before long, it was his time to go. Before leaving, he told Kunti a mantra that would allow her to summon any god she wished.  After he left, she decided to test the mantra. She looked into the sun and spoke the mantra. The sun god then appeared standing in front of her. She reached out and embraced him. After she stopped, she noticed that a beautiful child was in her arms, and she felt that he was destined to be great. She, not being married, felt that she could not in good faith keep the child as her own. So, she wrapped him up, placed him in a basket, and sent him down the river. I really like this story and I feel like there's a lot of potential here to modify it into something else. Depiction of Drona at Angkor Wat  Wikipedia Commons Bibliography:  Epified Mahabh...

 I really enjoyed watching these videos. The pacing was really good and the illustrations were quite helpful. Shantanu having to watch as his wife kills his first 7 children was really tragic and dark. His wife then tells him about the eight celestial spirits that he had promised to take into the world and immediately free them of mortality. She then left him and took the eighth son with her. 16 years later, King Shantanu was riding near the river, when he saw a mighty archer tame the river with arrows. The archer was his long lost son, Devavrat. The king brought him back to his kingdom as the prince.  Shantanu then fell in love with a fisherman's daughter, but her father refused. He knew that their children would always be second to King Shantanu's children. Prince Devavrat visits the fisherman having seen his father's sadness. Devavrat swore an oath that he would never marry or father any children so that the fisherman would allow his daughter to marry Shantanu. He became...

 I am very happy with my progress so far. I didn't expect to have enjoyed this class and the writings so much. My routine isn't the best but in the end, I still manage to get everything done. In the second half of the semester, I want to get better at sticking to my schedule and not waiting until the last minute. I think in the past few weeks I have done better, but there is still room for improvement. I really want to finish the semester strong so that I can feel proud of my stories and the final portfolio. I really like where my portfolio is at right now and I think the stories have come together much better than I anticipated. I'm looking forward to a great second half of the semester. Procrastination  Wikipedia Commons

 So far I have really appreciated the comments and feedback that I have received on my stories and portfolio. On top of being very useful for revisions, it's really fun to see what people thought of my stories and see what they enjoyed. The feedback people have been leaving has been actually quite useful. I wasn't expecting to use the comments as much as I actually do. I must admit that I'm not a huge fan of leaving comments on other stories or portfolios. I've always felt awkward giving my peers feedback, especially when it ends up being negative. However, I understand the need for leaving comments and reviews. I find these assignments to be the ones that I put off the most, even though they really don't take much time to complete.  Moving forward, I'm not sure much needs to change regarding comments. The comments that I have received thus far have been very useful, and I feel that the comments I have left have been well thought out. Optimizing Feedback  Daily ...

 I am actually quite proud of the blog and website that I have created so far. Every reading and writing assignment has gone pretty smoothly. I've impressed myself so far with my ability to write creatively because prior to this class most of my writing (possibly all of my writing) has been research-based. I have had a hard time motivating myself to do all of the commenting assignments, but the reading and writing assignments have been very enjoyable. My favorite reading so far has definitely been the Ramayana. I found it much more engaging than the Mahabharata although both were interesting reads. Moving forward I want to try to get more ahead with my assignments and be more consistent so that I don't have to do big chunks of work all at once. I would have to say that my story "Abduction" about Pennywise has got to be my favorite story that I have written so far.  Ravana Slaughtering Jatayu  Wikipedia Commons This is probably my favorite image that I have used so far...

Notes for Tiny Tales from the Mahabharata pages 151-200 The war wages on.  Ghatotkacha, son of Bhima led the Rakshasas on an assault of the Kauravas. Karna launched his celestial spear at Ghatotkacha, killing him. He fell to the ground, crushing many soldiers. The Pandavas plan to tell Drona that his son, Ashwatthama is dead, thus destroying his will to fight. They decide that Yudhishthira will tell Drona of his son's death, and Dhrishtadyumna will kill him once his guard is down. Bhima kills an elephant and names it Ashwatthama so that technically they are telling the truth. The plan works perfectly and ends with Dhrishtadyumna cutting off Drona's head. Ashwatthama, still alive, plots revenge. Ashwatthama then launches the Narayana-Astra which launched fire across the sky. Krishna tells everyone to put down their weapons and bow and that it will spare them. Bhima runs toward Ashwatthama with his mace. Krishna and Arjuna run to him and get him to put down the mace so that he s...

 Notes for Tiny Tales from the Mahabharata pages 101-150 The Story of the lakes at Kurukshetra: The brahmin warrior Parashurama dug five lakes. Samanta-Panchaka. They were filled with the blood of kshatriyas he had killed. There was a solar eclipse before the war at Kurukshetra and kings had come to the lakes to bathe and purify themselves. The pandavas were not there because they were in exile. Krishna, watching the kings bathe, had a vision of them all covered in blood which indicated that a war was coming. The story of Vishnu and Bhudevi: The earth goddess Bhudevi was in the form of a cow long ago. She gave her milk to the people of earth (mother nature?). The kings were greedy and milked her until her udders hurt which caused her to cry out. Vishnu heard these cries and vowed to punish the kings who did this to her. He said that he would return in the forms of Parashurama, Rama, and Krishna and spill their blood. I really liked these stories because they gave some backstory to ...

 Notes for Tiny Tales from the Mahabharata pages 51-100 The Pandavas arrived at the gambling hall in Hastinapura. Draupadi went towards the women's area to greet Queen Kunti as well as the other royal women. Dhritarashtra asks what Yudhishthira thinks and he replies that the palace is beautiful. Yudhishthira already knew what was going on when he saw  Duryodhana  being joined by his uncle Shakuni. then asked Yudhishthira if he was ready for their gambling match. He replied that he was.  Prior to this,  Duryodhana  had become jealous of Yudhishthira and his amazing palace at which he made a fool out of himself by falling into a pool. He had plotted revenge with his uncle Shakuni and they decided to challenge Yudhishthira to a game of dice. Shakuni would play and beat him if all went according to plan. Yudhishthira had been warned about this plot by Bhima who said that the invitation was probably a trick.  They then played their dice game and Yudhishthir...

 Notes for Tiny Tales: Mahabharata pages 1-50 The Story of Satyavati: King Uparichara was laying under a tree thought about his wife and...ejaculated :/. He apparently wrapped the semen in a leaf and gave it to a parrot to fly it to his wife. Then, a falcon attacked the parrot and the leaf fell into a river. A fish (that poor fish) then ate the leaf. The fish happened to be an apsara who was cursed. A (probably very confused) fisherman caught the fish and found twins inside. He took the twins to King Uparichara who accepted the boy but gave the girl back to the fisherman. The girl became his daughter named Satyavati.  Not to make fun of this story, but I absolutely love the apparent absurdity of Satyavati's birth. You really never know what is going to happen next. It also kind of reminded me of some Greek mythology birth stories. King Shantanu then marries Satyavati after asking her father for permission and promising that their son would be heir to the kingdom. Harivamsa, Ma...

 Hanuman was having a largely peaceful afternoon surrounded by his fellow monkeys. Having just stopped his chaotic brother Vali from antagonizing Sugriva, he deserved it. Shortly after, Sugriva fetched Hanuman and told him that two strangers were approaching and that he should go check them out to make sure that they aren't coming to cause trouble. He then met Rama and Lakshma who said that they wanted to speak to Sugriva. Thrilled that they weren't dangerous or evil, he carried them on his shoulders to meet Sugriva. Rama and Sugriva agree to help each other and they go off to kill Vati. Later, Sugriva is crowned king of Kishkindha. It was now his turn to hold up his end of the deal. Sugriva gathered Hanuman and the monkeys and sectioned them off into groups. He sent the groups into the four directions to look for Sita and report back. Hanuman went to the south along with Angada, and Jambavan.  Hanuman and the southern search party soon reached the beach. They were all very up...

 Notes for Tiny Tales from the Ramayana pages 151-200 Ravana rides into battle with Tamasa "bringer of darkness" which incinerates many of Rama's soldiers. Lakshmana fires an arrow which destroys Ravana's bow. Vibhishana kills Ravana's charioteer and horses. Ravana retreats back into the city. Rama and Ravana battle. Rama keeps cutting off Ravana's heads but each time a new head grows. Matali tells Rama to "use the Brahmastra" and to "fire at his navel". Rama does that which destroys the pot of immortality that Ravana had in his navel. Ravana dies. Ravana's brother and his wives mourn for him. Rama sends Vibhishna to fetch Sita. Rama is all weird about Sita because of the scandal involved with her living in another man's house and at first, he basically tells her to do her own thing. Sita prays to Agni the fire god after telling Lakshmana to build a fire. She then enters the fire to prove her faithfulness to Rama and the fire doesn...