Week 6 Storytelling: A Father's Pride

Author's Note:
 My story was inspired by the Pandavas during their period of exile in the forest. It is set just briefly after Arjuna had prayed for a long period to several gods receiving many magnificient weapons, and it is just prior to their interaction with Yama at a small lake. In the lake scene, the Pandavas are told one by one not to drink from the lake before answering some questions, but they are each overcome by their thirst, only to die immediately after drinking. Except for Yudhishthira who resists, answers the questions, and finds that he was being tested by Yama.
This bit of story comes up very unexpectedly in the text I was reading, and I was wondering why Yama felt the need to test the men in the way he did. Since Arjuna had just done some amazing things, I thought it would be interesting if Yama had gotten jealous of Arjuna father, Indra, and decided to test them to prove a point. My story goes through this scene, leading up to Yama's test of the Pandavas.

~~~

Indra walked into the room, a smug look across his face. Yama rolled his eyes, he knew what was coming next. Indra had been bragging to the rest of the gods ever since his earthly son, Arjuna, had learned those mantras and started gathering weapons and boons.

Indra walked over to Yama. "Guess what?!" he exclaimed as he looked on at Yama expectantly.

"What is it?" inquired Yama in a dull, disinterested tone.

"He's done it again! My boy, Arjuna, has done it again," stated Yama. "He has proven once again that he is the most devote and disciplined of the Pandavas."

At this, Yama came to full attention. "He may be devote, but he is by no means the most disciplined," replied Yama. "That title would go to my son Yudhishthira, who has demonstrated time and again his deep understanding of the old ways and, even now, stands by his word, living a life of exile."

"Ha! Of course, Yudhishthira is the epitome of discipline. He would never over-indulge in the vices of man, like drugs or gambling..." Indra trailed off his last sentence with a strong note of sarcasm.

Yama was beginning to become visibly annoyed by Indra's jesting. "One mistake!" He cried, "One mistake, and he's labeled an addict. You know as well as I do that he was tricked into that game by those devilish cousins of his. If I hadn't been busy in the underworld at the time, I would have struck down those buffoons myself, on the spot. By resisting his own urge to do just that, Yudhishthira demonstrated discipline of mind and body far beyond that of a mere mortal."

"Sure, your son held back his hand and agreed to go into exile. But, he dragged his brothers and wife down with him. What has he done since then? Nothing! Meanwhile, my son has been spending days on end meditating in preparation to regain their family's honor. Why now, he just resisted the temptations of one of the finest women in my city because he needed to honor his vow of exile."

"Yudhishthira has simply been biding his time, quietly planning for the future. He need not constantly demonstrate his strong control over both his mind and body. But, if you must continually insist that Arjuna is his better, I shall prove you wrong. Let's test the Pandavas, one at a time, to see who is the most disciplined. I'll even conduct the test personally."

A wry grin came across Indra's face at the thought of another chance to demonstrate Arjuna's greatness, and a contest at that. "Very well," he replied,"However, we must ensure that the trial is fare. Since you are running the test, Yudhishthira would normally have an advantage. You must conduct the test outside of your domain, in an open space, and they must be completely unaware of your presence."

"I agree to your terms. Now watch, as Yudhishthira outshines the others with his extensive control of himself." At that point, Yama stood up and began heading in the direction of the forests of Dwaitavana.

As Yama left, Vayu and Surya looked on from their seats across the hall. They had begun following the conversation as it became more heated. Vayu spent a moment in thought, then stated, "I've got 50 gold pieces on Arjuna going down first."

"You're on," replied Surya.

The Lake Questions Yudhishthira
courtesy of Wikipedia

Bibiliography:
Reading: The Mahabharata by  R. K. Narayan (1978)

Week 6 Reading, Continued: Narayan's Mahabharata

Reading: The Mahabharata by  R. K. Narayan

I like how Duryodhana goes out to embarrass the Pandavas and is immediately shot down by the Gods. Not only do they send someone to stop him, but he is taken captive and embarrassed himself. This is probably my favorite example of karma at work so far.

I think interaction at the lake between Yama and Yudhishthira could be very useful for my story book. It's the most interaction that the two have had up to this point. Why did Yama come to help them? Whey did he do it in this way? This bit of story leaves a lot of questions. I wonder if he felt he needed to interfere to keep up with Indra who had already helped out his son immensely.

The whole situation with Draupadi in Virata's palace just makes me think of video game escort missions. She's running around all over the place while Bhima follows killing everyone else before they can reach her.

To me, Uttara is a hilarious character. He's the class knight in shining armor wannabe. Him jumping from the chariot and running away was a great picture, especially with how Arjuna would've looked at that time.

There are a lot of politics after the Pandava's finish up their exile. Talking back and forth, everyone seems to be determined to avoid the inevitable. Although, I will say that Arjuna was recognized early, and although it was only a couple of days, with the way these characters stick to their words, I'm surprised they're letting slide, especially Krishna the "omniscient."

Ok, I found the character that Uttara reminds me of the most. His name is Whisper, and he's from the new King's Quest game, a real ladies' man. *cough*

Who is this?
Source

Week 6 Reading: Narayan's Mahabharata

Reading: The Mahabharata by  R. K. Narayan

 Yudhishthira is said to be the most judicial of the brothers, but then, according to this account, he seems to make the poorest decisions. I understand him agreeing to the gambling match in order to avoid the prophecy, but he doesn't need to keep going like he did. He definitely didn't need to go back after that close call either.

The gambling match might be a good point to through this bit of mythos off the rails in my storybook.

Arjuna actually seems to be the best example of a kshatriya so far in the epic. He goes through trials and tribulations after walking in on Yudhishthira and Draupadi. Then, he goes through a period of hard training after being exiled with his brothers, and it sounds like he might be the key to the coming war. He seems to be the hero of the story.

It's interesting that Krishna couldn't interfere in the gambling matches. He's demonstrated the ability to know the future, present, and past at once. So, he must have known that the events would lead to the destruction of an entire race. To me, that seems like something worth preventing, so what was he doing that was so important?

The twins haven't been very important to the story at all up to this point. They've been mentioned on the side every once in a while, and that's the only reason I remember they even exist. I'm wondering if Narayan has skipped anything in the story about them or if they'll become more important later.

Ok, so the story of Arjuna praying to the gods for weapons and boons reminds me of one of my favorite scenes from the Matrix. When Neo and Trinity are about to take on the agents, Neo ask for guns, "lots of guns".

"lots of guns" from the Matrix
Source

Week 5 Reading: Narayan's Mahabharata

Reading: The Mahabharata by  R. K. Narayan

There are so many characters in this story! I've never actually felt like a family tree was necessary at the beginning of the story to help me keep track before. That said, it seems like every character, even the minor ones, seems to have a story. It's just that Narayan seems to be skipping large portions of them in favor of time.

Yama is Yudhistra's father. He's mentioned briefly before Yudhistra's birth. He is apparently very fair and just, "the most judicious of the gods." He always knows the right path

I think Drona would get along well with Mel Gibson's character from The Patriot. They both have the same policy on marksmanship. "Aim small, miss small."

During the graduation ceremony for the princes after their training with Drona. Most of the ceremony is told through the perspective of another person addressing a blind man. It's a very interesting way of telling that situation. There's a lot more focus on action and less on appearance.

When Bhima took on Baka, it was almost hilarious. It was like a big game of cat and mouse, except Baka thought he was the cat and not the mouse.

Bhima fighting Baka
Source

There is an apparent double standard between men and women. There are questions about Draupadi having multiple husbands. But, one of the princes actually kidnaps 3 young girls to give his brother wives, and it's completely okay.

Supposing Vyasa actually wrote this story, it has a very unreliable narrator. Any time he is mentioned, it's almost like they worship the ground he stands on. I also find it interesting that whenever it's not sure how the story will continue, Vyasa just forces it.

Tech Tip: Google Website

I've got a google site! Here's a link to it. It wasn't too difficult to set up, but it's still pretty bare. I'll be adding to it over the next few weeks for my storybook, though.

The one issue I've notice with google sites is the inability to do much custom HTML and very limited scripting capabilities. This is a little annoying for me because I'm trying to do an interactive storybook. However, I think I can get around this by using a separate host for the interactive sections.

Cat Meme
made on LOLBuilder

Week 4 Storytelling: Congratulations

Bibliography:
 Ravana: Roar of the Demon King, A graphic novel detailing Ravana's life from his own perspective, Author: Abhimanyu Singh Sisodia, Artist, Sachin Nagar

Author's Note:
This story is set about midway during the war between Rama and Ravana, from the Ramayana. At this point, Ravana has been losing severely to Rama's army, and it's not looking good for him. It's told mostly from Ravana's perspective. The letter in the beginning goes over the current state of things, and the following CV lists the highlights of Ravana's life, according to him.
I wanted to have a little fun this one. My story is given in the form of a hiring letter and CV. I got the idea from the interview storytelling style. Ravana actually has a lot of achievements in his life, both good and bad. I thought this would make for an interesting resume. I wrote a CV because (in the US) it's a bit more detailed than a resume.
I came up with the letter in the beginning while I was about halfway through the CV. I was looking for a good story to wrap around the CV, and I thought it would be great if it was part of a hiring letter. I was going for a kind of dystopian style with the letter, giving it a very polite tone over a very unsettling idea.



Greetings,

      If you are reading this letter, you have received the honor of being called upon by the almighty Ravana to serve in his army. As you may know the King of Lanka has engaged in a military campaign against the warrior Rama. Regrettably, there have been losses sustained by our great army, thanks in large part to the betrayal of our nation by the monkey people of Kishkindha. Due to this, we have had several openings come up in the Lankan army, and you have been selected as one of our candidates. If you are interested in the position, please bring your resume to the Palace of Lankapura no later than next Monday. We have attached Ravana's curriculum vitae for your perusal so that you might become familiar with his military exploits and experience. If you have any questions please direct them to the guards' office at the palace gate. Please have a nice day.

Sincerely,

Indrajit

1st Lankan General 

Note: All recipients who fail to comply with the aforementioned recruitment will be investigated for treason, punishable by life imprisonment and/or death.

---

Curriculum Vitae

Headshot of Ravana
From Ravana: Roar of the Demon King

Personal Details:

Name: Dashananda a.k.a. "Ravana"

Address: Palace of Lankapura, Lanka

Birth date: c. 1560 BCE

Webpage: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravana

Nationality: Lankan, formerly Bisrakhan

Education:

1556 - 1542 Studied under the great Brahmin, Vishrava, the mind-born, son of Pulastya.  Materials studied included martial arts, music, literature, language, and religion.

Honors and Achievements:

1493 Utilized clever strategy to capture the beautiful Sita from the warrior known as Rama, in order to make her my wife.

1513 Negotiated a valuable treaty of alliance with Vali, the ruler of the Kishkindha nation.

1523 Seized the Pushpaka Vimanana from the city of heaven for my personal use.

1525-1523 Launched a successful campaign upon the city of heaven, defeating several of the gods and obtaining untold riches.

1529-1526 Conquered the underworld after a long military campaign covering much of the Earth's surface. I granted the domain to one of my most valiant generals, Ahiravana.

1530 Created the rudra veena out of my own flesh and veins so that I might play music in honor of the god Shiva.

1530 Lifted the mountain of Shiva in order to bring him to the home of my dying mother, so she might worship him directly.

1535 Peacefully seized the kingdom of Lanka from the former ruler, Kubera, through powerful persuasion

1534 Granted several boons by the god of creation, Brahma, after cutting off own head ten times to show devotion. Boons include: a potion of immortality, a book of shape-shifting mantras, and supremacy over gods and beasts alike.

Professional Experience:

1535  - Current Title: Lankeshwar, absolute ruler of the Kingdom of Lanka. Current holdings include: Balidweepa, Malayadweep, Angadweepa, Varahdweepa, Shankhadweepa, Yavadweepa, Andhralaya, and Kushadweepa

1542 - 1535 Served as a Daitya Prince under the rulership of the mighty rakshasa, Sumali.

Additional Skills:

Military strategy
Kshatriyan combat
Extensive knowledge of the four Vedas and the six Upanishads

Musical Instruments:
Veena
Ravanahatha

Week 4 Reading Diary, continued: Ravana: Roar of the Demon King

Reading:
Ravana: Roar of the Demon King, A graphic novel detailing Ravana's life from his own perspective, Author: Abhimanyu Singh Sisodia, Artist, Sachin Nagar

I loved the art style of this book. It has one of my favorite depictions of Hanuman, shown below. There was also a great picture of Ravana roaring with his ten heads at the end, but I wasn't able to get a picture while I had the book. I'll have to try and get it later.

Character Depictions from Roar of the Demon King
Source

For the second half of the story, Ravana acted a lot more in character, from the perspective of the Ramayana. As they quoted, "Pride comes before the fall." And, he was extremely prideful. Every time he was defeated, he acted as if he had let it happen on purpose, and he never listened to warnings from anyone else.

The story of him capturing Indra and displaying him in the city, only to be captured himself and given the same punishment was a really good demonstration of Karma, I think.

In Ravana's version of his war with Rama, a lot of the characters seem to have much more respect for Rama. Kumbhakarna seems to be very much against fighting Rama, and he is only coaxed into doing so when Ravana says it's for his family, something that seems to be extremely important to Ravana and his siblings.

Also, Lakshmana's defeat of Ravana's son seems very dishonorable in this version. He takes a small army and invades a temple where the son is worshiping to kill him while unarmed. On top of that, the gods drop in to help as well. It seemed very out of character for Lakshmana, and if it was mentioned in the Ramayana, it was definitely glossed over.

I think it was interesting that Ravana has actually been worshiped as a deity, according to the notes. I didn't expect that at all. That and the (supposed) fact that he made an instrument, which would eventually lead to things like the violin, paints a very different picture of him.