Elephants of Indian Epics: Styles Brainstorm

Elephants of Indian Epics: Styles Brainstorm

Topic: My Storybook will be about Elephants in Indian Epics. My goal is to look into four different elephants in Indian Epics and write stories about each. I know that I want to write about Ganesha, Airavata, and perhaps about some elephants from the Buddhist stories known as the jataka tales. One story from the jataka tales I would like to use is The Patient Elephant, and perhaps The Kings White Elephant. It should be easy to find stories about different elephants considering how important they are in Indian culture. I believe the Mahabharata is another source I can use to find such stories. The stories I choose will be the ones that I find to be most interesting.

Bibliography: 

1. Narayan, R. K. (1978). The Mahabharata.
2. Buck, William (1973). Mahabharata.
3. Stories about elephants from Bhuddist Jataka tales

Possible Styles:

1. Animals as storytellers - I think this would be a great style to write the storybook in because it gives access to the elephants thoughts (especially if they cannot speak). It would be very interesting to peer into the minds of the various elephants.

2. Bedtime stories told to children - I think there is something powerful about a bedtime story heard by a child with an open mind. Perhaps I could even have some commentary from the child interrupting the story as it's being told! The stories could have morals to them that help the child, or could just simply be for entertainment.

3. Written by Ganesha - For someone else to tell the stories about elephants, it seems appropriate that an elephant headed God do the telling. If I end up choosing this style I could give Ganesha's point of view on the specific elephants and their actions, but I wouldn't necessarily be able to choose a story about Ganesha.

4. Adventure/Journey - A neat storytelling style would be to devise a journey that takes place involving several different elephants. The elephants I choose could all end up crossing paths and partaking in an epic journey. The central character of the journey would most likely be Ganesha, who would encounter other elephants along the way!

Ganesha, the elephant headed god  

Week 3 Storytelling: Hanuman’s Plan

Week 3 Storytelling: Hanuman’s Plan

There she is. I have finally found Sita, but she is unkempt, undecorated and obviously in a state of despair. As I looked on I watched the vile rakshasa women torment her and attempt to weaken her spirit, but to no avail. Ravana approached Sita hoping she would finally choose him, but she rejected him. I know now that this woman is worthy of Rama, and does not deserve the treatment she has received from Ravana and the rakshasa. They will pay for this. I slipped down to let her know that Rama continues to fight for her, and I believe I saved her life as she attempted to take it herself. I cannot believe the mental torment Ravana has brought upon this precious woman! He must pay!

            In my rage I find myself desiring to destroy the kingdom of Ravana. Perhaps I can devise a plan to stir up strife within his kingdom. As I grow to a massive stature I am tearing through the Asoka Vana and destroying parts of Lanka. Ravana has sent an army of rakshasa against me, but they are nothing for my enormous strength. I feel as if I could take on Ravana himself! One by one the rakshasa attack, and one by one they fall before me. As they attempt to take me down I find myself wishing I could come face to face with Ravana himself, and then it dawned on me, “I need to allow them to capture me!” I had already destroyed the entire army, but knowing Ravana he would send more. I continued my destruction of Lanka, but began decreasing in size and strength to allow for my capture.

Hanuman destroying Lanka

            At last, more rakshasa have come for me. None other than Indrajit, Ravana’s son, bound and captured me (only because I allowed him to do so). I cannot wait to come face to face with Ravana and cause him to fear Rama. “I hope you know that Ravana will bring your life to a very painful end you foolish monkey,” Indrajit said as we marched towards Ravana’s palace. “I do not fear what he will do to me, rather I fear what Rama will do to all of your kind!” I shouted back at him as we climbed the last steps towards the palace.

Hanuman being held captive

            There he sat atop the throne. Ravana. The vile demon that had cause so much pain to my dear friend Rama. It took all my focus not to allow myself to lash out at Ravana on the spot. Rama deserved to put an end to him, and I would not allow myself to rob him of that. Visibly angry Ravana looked towards me and attempted to calmly speak “Who is it that sent you to torment this land? I replied, “the almighty Rama. The one who has slain hundreds of asura, the husband of Sita whom you wrongly kidnapped, and the man who will put an end to your life!” As I saw Ravana twitch I felt a slight sense of guilt. “Perhaps you should change your ways in order to preserve your life and the lives of all the rakshasa! Surely Rama will wipe you all out if you do not return Sita and seek forgiveness for your actions.” Ravana could no longer contain himself. He erupted with a violent anger, “NO MORTAL CAN DEFEAT ME!” he shouted, and then ordered my death.

            As Indrajit and the other rakshasa drew their weapons to execute me I decided to remove myself from their capture and report back to Rama. There was obviously no reasoning with Ravana, and Sita would only be saved if he were slain. With all my might I shredded the ropes that bound me and grew once more to a size that would strike fear in the heart of any who saw me. In my anger towards Ravana I decided to reduce his capital to rubble as I returned to Rama. No building shall be left standing in that vile creatures land. He will be the ruler of nothing before long, and the rakshasa will have nothing to return to. I must report to Rama all that has happened.

Authors note:

I decided to write this storytelling post from the point of view of Hanuman since he was the main character in this section of the story. He alone goes to Ravana’s lands in search of Sita. Only Hanuman and the rakshasa witnessed all the events that happened in Ravana’s kingdom. I thought it interesting to delve into the mind of Hanuman. I was able to show his devotion towards Rama, his thought process as he allowed himself to be captured, and his anger towards Ravana when he couldn’t be reasoned with!

Bibliography:

Narayan, R.K. (1972) The Ramayana.

Week 3 Reading Diary B: An Epic Battle and the Reunion of Rama and Sita

Week 3 Reading Diary B: An Epic Battle and the Reunion of Rama and Sita

The battle between Rama and Ravana was intense, and went on for a large portion of the reading. I really enjoyed reading about the battle, especially when it became solely between Rama and Ravana (pages 142-147). Initially Ravana was sending armies and his best commanders to attack Rama and his army. With the monkeys by his side, Rama was easily able to take down everything Ravana sent his way and finally Ravana decided to join the battle himself. The way Ravana prepared for battle, putting armor on every inch of his body, showed that he was prepared for the battle of a life time.

I was amazed at the imagination of this battle, with Ravana wielding ten bows in each hand shooting a rain of arrows over all the earth and Rama deflecting the arrows with his own shots. Not only were traditional weapons used, but mystical weapons came into play as the battle raged on. My imagination was going wild as Ravana sent supernatural powers and weapons one after another at Rama, and Rama did the same. I can't even imagine what some of those powers and weapons looked like, especially the Brahmasthra. It was very exciting reading as the battle raged on and eventually came to an end, and I really enjoyed it!

The battle of Rama and Ravana

After the battle ended I was very impressed with Rama who was seemingly unharmed, but was quickly confused by how he reacted to finally freeing Sita. He hadn't seen his beloved wife in months yet chose not to see her in her until she was cleaned up and dressed nicely (page 148). I wouldn't care how my wife looked, if I had been separated from her for an extended period of time against my will I wouldn't prolong it more! He then further complicated things by denying her as his wife because she had lived in the home of Ravana. This was again confusing to me considering it was completely against her will (although this is a cultural standard for Rama I believe). To prove her purity she cast herself into a fire pit and was saved by the fire God who blessed Rama and Sita's marriage (page 149). Although I don't agree with the decision I do respect how Rama wished for all the world to know that Sita was fully faithful to him and remained pure in the months apart. The coronation of Rama and Sita was a great way to end the book. I really enjoyed reading the Ramayana, and can't wait to look at Buck's version of it later in the semester.

Sita in the fire

Week 3 Reading Diary A

Week 3 Reading Diary A: Rama and the Monkeys

The animals in epics always intrigue me, and as a result I enjoyed reading about everything Rama went through with the monkeys Sugreeva, Vali, and Hanuman. The character Vali (page 92) caught my interest very quickly. He possess unlimited strength and anyone who stands against him loses half of their strength to him! That sounds like an impossible battle, yet Rama still stood against him. That is incredibly bold and admirable, yet I am unsure if I agree with Rama killing Vali. A being of such great strength ruled the monkeys very well, and although he treated Sugreeva unfairly I don't believe he should have been killed. I believe Rama would have been better off approaching Vali peacefully and attempting to sort out the problems between Sugreeva. Taking advantage of Vali's unlimited power seems like a better strategy than eliminating him completely!

Rama preparing to shoot Vali

After Vali is killed (page 104), I couldn't help but feel like Sugreeva used him. Although he had been treated unfairly, the death of Vali brought Sugreeva into a position of great power and he became lazy and disconnected from Rama during the rainy season (page 111). I couldn't help but feel frustrated when Sugreeva forgot to send an army to Rama's aid. Although it was apparent that Sugreeva regretted his ways and swore away from wine, I believe that Vali would have proven to be the better ruler of Kiskinda.

Hanuman

I found myself supporting Hanuman and his endeavors. I see him as more powerful than Sugreeva, and even think he would have been a great ruler of Kiskinda! When Sampathi showed Hanuman his true stature (page 120) I felt even more respect for him. He now had such great power, and could even walk across the entire earth in one stride yet he remained humble and did not abuse this in the slightest. He remained sensitive, seeking to help Rama and comfort Sita. He even allowed himself to be captured to taunt Ravana rather than crushing the entire city beneath him! Hanuman was certainly one of my favorite characters in this reading.