Reading Notes: The Indian Story Book: The Five Tall Sons of Pandu Part B

Arjuna and Karna

Main Character 
Arjuna
Yudhishthira
Karna

Setting
On the battlefield

Plot
Arjuna and Karna are finally at battle with one another. During the battle, Karna manages to break Arjuna's bow. According to the rules of war and out of respect, Arjuna asks for time to retrieve a new weapon, but Karna continues with his attack. When Karna was about to attack, Arjuna manages to fix his bow and launches his bow. Karna's chariot wheel gets stuck to the ground. Karna asks Arjuna for time to fix his chariot well, but Arjuna continues on with his attack just like Karna did to him. Eventually, Arjuna shoots an arrow right into Karna and ends the battle

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(Arjuna and Karna - Image Source)

Bibliography. "The Indian Story Book: The Five Tall Sons of Pandu" by Richard Wilson, Illustrated by Frank Pape in 1914. Book Source.

Reading Notes: The Indian Story Book: The Five Tall Sons of Pandu Part A

The Gambling Match

Main Characters
Yudhishthira
Duryodhana
Prince Shakini

Plot
Yudhishthira is now a king of a kingdom. Duryodhana is jealous so he decided to trick Yudhishthira in a gambling game of dice with the help of Prince Shakini. When they play the dice game, Prince Shakini cheats and Yudhishthira loses everything. He even gambles his brothers and himself. Finally, he loses Draupadi, his wife. Dhritarashtra is so surprised on his gambling addiction. He vows that the Pandavas will not be slaves and will go to the forest for exile. Draupadi refused to go to the point Prince Dushasana has to drag her out by her hair. She pleas for her husbands to avenge her but they do nothing. They offer Draupadi a wish. She wished to go into exile with her husbands. They spend 12 years in the forest and another year in disguise.

Story Idea
I have read several stories about this topic. I think I would write a story in the perspective of Yudhishthira. It would be a story about his gambling addiction and how he could not stop himself from losing everything. Prior to the gambling match, he probably was not tempted to gamble. However, when Duryodhana convinced him to gamble, it went downhill. Duryodhana probably knew exactly what to say and then that got the ball rolling. It did not help that Prince Shakuni cheated in order to win.

(The gambling match - image source)

Bibliography. "The Indian Story Book: The Five Tall Sons of Pandu" by Richard Wilson, Illustrated by Frank Pape in 1914. Book Source. 

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part D

Arjuna and Karna

Main Characters
Arjuna
Karna

Setting
The Battlefield of Kurukshetra

Plot
It was finally between Arjuna and Karna. They began by shooting arrows at each other. Arjuna told Karna that he could not fire at a disabled warrior since it would be unfair. However, Karna did not care about honor at that point. Then, Karna's chariot wheel sank into the ground. Karna pleaded to Arjuna to pause while he was at the moment helpless. Krishna chimed in and said that it was Karna who did not pause in the first place, even before the battle with Arjuna started. Arjuna filled with rage, he killed Karna.

Story Idea
I think an interesting story idea of this would be to retell the story in third person with more detail. More importantly, I think the story should come full circle and tie the knot between how the word "karma" came to a legend from the warrior Karna. Because of Karna's actions and attitude, he became the example of karma. Karma is the meaning of what comes around, goes around.

(Arjuna and Karna - Image Source)

Bibliography. "Arjuna and Karna" from the Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan. Web Source.

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part C

Krishna and Karna

Main Character
Krishna
Karna
Vidura
Kunti

Plot
As the war with the Pandavas lurk around the corner, Karna is still clueless about his siblings. Krishna tells Karna about his birth and advised him to go to the Pandavas. He reassured Karna that the Pandavas would accept him and respect him as their older brother. Cant told Karna that he will become a king like his Pandavas brothers. But Karna can not forget the kindness of Duryodhana while his own mother was not there for him. Therefore he choose the side he grew up knowing over blood.

Setting
Pandava's kingdom

Story Idea
I think an interesting story idea would be to do it in Karna's point of view. Here is this man who was about to go to war with his unknown brothers. At least the Pandavas have each other to support one another during this surprise information, but Karna does not have that support system. It is also interesting to see how Karna is the outsider looking in. The Pandavas grew up together, but Karna had a complete different childhood. I can only imagine the shock that Karna is going through. It would also be interesting to address the conflicting thoughts of whether he should go through with the war or make peace.

(Karna and his mother - Image Source)

Bibliography. "Krishna and Karna" from the Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan. Web Source.

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part B

Wife of the Five Pandavas

Main Character
Draupadi
The Pandavas
Vyasa
Drupada

Plot 
Arjuna won himself a bride by the name of Draupadi - the daughter of Drupada. However, by accidental command from his mother, so has his other four brothers. All the brothers wanted to have Draupadi as their bride. Vyasa told Drupada that Draupadi was a reincarnated woman who prayed to the god Shiva  for a husband. She prayed five times and the god rewarded her a promised of five husbands in her next life. He also revealed that the Pandavas brothers were five incarnations of the god, Indra. Drupada gave consent for his beloved daughter to marry the brothers.

Story Idea
I think an interesting story idea would be in the perspective of Draupadi. It is not in the norms that a woman has many husbands, let alone, princes! I would also like to incorporate a flashback scene to when her past life prayed to Shiva. I would also maybe include a conversation of Draupadi and her father. I would also add another conversation of what Vyasa's knowledge of the situation to bring the story full circle.

(Draupadi and the five Pandavas - Image Source)

Bibliography. "Wife of the Five Pandavas" from the Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan. Web Source.

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part A

Drona's Revenge

Main Characters
Drona
Pandavas
Kauravas

Plot
After training the training the royal sons received from Drona, he is now seeking payment. The price that Drona requires from Ekalavya is to take revenge against King Drupada, a childhood friend who treated him poorly. When the warriors captured Drupada, Drona proposed a proposition to Drupada - to give Drona half of Drupada's land that he ruled in exchange for friendship.

Setting
Pachanchalas

Story Idea
I think a good story idea for this passage is to retell the incidents of Drona's and Drupada's childhood. It must have been traumatic for Drona to remember after all these years and articulate a revenge plan that would require his whole lifespan. While recounting their childhood, it would be interesting to do it in Drupada's perspective since he is viewed as the victim of this passage, but I believe he did something to provoke Drona's lifetime revenge plan.

(Drona and Drupada - Image Source)

Bibliography: "Drona's Revenge" from the Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan. Web Source. 

Reading Notes: Ramayana Part B

Sita and the Twins

Main Characters:
Rama
Sita
Kusha
Lava
Valmiki

Plot:
Even though Sita passed the test of fire, the people were not happy. Rama felt that his only choice was to exile Sita. A sage named Valmiki takes Sita in where she births twins, Lava and Kusha. When Rama decided to do a horse sacrifice, people come all around, including his family. Lava and Kusha recite a sanskrit version of the story, Ramayana. When Rama asked the boys where they heard the story, the boys tell him it was from Valmiki. The next day, the boys are out playing and the villagers notice that the twins look very similar to Rama. Valmiki told Rama that the twins are his and then offers to bring Sita the next day.

Setting:
The town plaza

Story Idea:
A story idea that I would like to explore is the perspective of Rama when he sees his twins. I know that Rama deeply cared for Sita but exiled her for the best interest of his people. But, people change when they view their children. I could only imagine the amount of emotions that rushed through him when he met his kids that he didn't know. It would also be interesting to do the story in Sita's or Valmiki's to the horse sacrifice and knowing that the possibility of Rama seeing his children would be high.

(Rama, Sita, and their twins - Image Source)

Bibliography: "Ramayana" from Divine Archer by F.J. Gould. Web Source.

Reading Notes: Ramayana Part A

The Death of Dasharatha

Main Characters:

Rama

King Dasharatha

Kaushalya

Plot:

As the King laid on his death bed, he recounted to the moment that caused his son to be exiled which fulfilled a curse. He tells his wife, Kaushalya, that when he was a young hunter, he was called Shooter in the Dark, because he was able to kill a creature with just his sense of hearing. While he was waiting one night, he heard a splash. He assumed it was an elephant and shot his arrow. Sadly, it was a boy. The boy told him to tell his parents of what had happened. His parents weeped and the father cursed Dasharatha to feel the agony that he felt of losing a son. From all that happened, his son, Bharat, assumed the throne as king from the help of Mantra and his mom who drove his other brothers away. Bharat's heart is not as selfish as Mantra and his mom, therefore he sets to bring back Rama. 

Setting: 

The death bed of King Dasharatha

Story Idea: 

For this story, I think it would be interesting to either retell the story as a flashback moments before King Dasharatha's death as he thinks about the wrong doing he had done and what happened or I would tell the story in the poor, blind parent's point of view. I could imagine that the parents would be devastated to know that their son, probably their only pair of eyes, passes away due to someone they already think is arrogant. 

(Death of Dasharatha - Image Source)

Bibliography: "Ramayana" from Divine Archer by F.J. Gould. Web Source.

Reading Notes: EC Buddhist Jatakas

The Lion and the Doe
A sad love story for the lion. If you think about it, if the lion was not labeled as "the king of the jungle" no one would care about his sinful affection for a doe. If the lion was an average joe animal, like a gazelle, no one would be so concerned. But the Jataka has relevance in modern day. It is similar to the lion and the lamb story. Love can make people do just about anything. An unquestioned trust can lead to an unfortunate ending as well. I think in this story, the plan to kill the lion was by using his biggest weakness and vulnerability, his lover. This plot can be seen in many movies. For example, super heroes are hesitant to love someone in fear their lover will be harmed.

One of the statements at the end of the Jataka, I am still trying to decipher:

             "Trust not the trusted, nor th’ untrusted trust;

             Trust kills; through trust the lion bit the dust."

I think it means to not be so trusting in others. For if you do, it could be your greatest down fall.

(The Lion and Lamb - Image Source)

Bibliography: "The Lion and the Doe." by Robert Chalmers. Web Source