Week 10 Reading Notes: Karmic Revolution, Part A

Karna's Quest

Karna wore an enchanted armor. He was found in a basket, floating in a river. He wanted to learn under Drona but he said he only taught a certain caste. He never told Drona that he was a part of the caste Drona taught but didn't want to insult his parents. 

This could be Karna's good karma. He was good to his adoptive parents.

The Kshatriya

Every teacher refused to teach Karna because he was the son of a charioteer. He finally tells a teacher, Parshuram that he is a Brahmin and finally gets a teacher. He gets bit by a scorpion while his teacher sleeps on his lap. He remained silent while his teacher slept. His teacher gets angry and curses him and believes he's not really a Brahmin because he stayed quiet when he got bit.

This makes a great case against Karna or Parshuram. It depends. 

Karna Becomes King 

A tournament is held so the Pandavas and Kauravas can demonstrate what they've learned. Karna shows up and demonstrates his skill and does better than Arjuna. Arjuna feels insulted and Karna doesn't win the tournament. He had to be of royal blood in order to fight the Pandavas and they all laughed at him. They humiliate Karna so Duryodhana declares him king of a kingdom under him in order to fight the Pandavas.

The Pandavas deserved what they got from Karna. 

Drupad Humiliates Drona 

Drona gives the Pandavas a mission after he teached them. Drupad and Drona became good friends and Drupad made a promise to Drona that he would share half his kingdom with him. Drona suffered poverty and takes his offer several years later and is humiliated by Drupad.

Drupad gets his karma through Drona.  Drona can make a case against Drupad for breaking his promise. 

Wax Palace Conspiracy

The Kauravas are jealous of the Pandavas because they had better skilled and got more attention from people. They scheme to get rid of the Pandavas by getting a palace built of wax and setting it on fire with the Pandavas in it. 

Pandavas Escape

The brother escape with Kunti through a tunnel. The builder's living quarters are at the front of the gates so he wouldn't die in the fire. The people and Kauravas believe the Pandavas and Kunti are dead.

Pandavas Escape from Wax Palace
Image Source: India Today

Bhim Kills Bakasur

The Pandavas and Kunti disguise as Brahmins and find shelter in the house of a scholar. Bakasur, an asura (demon) steals his people's food which leaves the people starving. If the people don't give him food he eats them and their family. It's the scholars turn to deliver food so Kunti sends Bhim who eats all the food before he gets to Bakasur and then kills him. 

The Birth of Draupadi

Drona trains the Pandavas to fight Drupad. Drupad performs a fire ceremony and Draupadi and her brother are born. After she is older, her father invites men since she was ready to get married. 

Week 9 Reading Notes: The Mahabharata: Karmic Revolution, Part B

Son of the Sun

Pandu marries Kunti and Madri. Kunti has a secret son that she abandoned. His name was Karna. Durvasa, a sage that everyone was afraid of, gave Kunti a gift, and had Karna by accident.

 Karna was born with silver earrings and armor.

Pandu's Curse

Pandu went hunting in the woods and killed a couple that was intimate. He was cursed to die if he ever got intimate with his wife. Dhritarashtra (the blind one) became king after Pandu leaves.

Sons of Pandu

Pandavas are born. Kunti calls Yama and his given a son that's gifted with calm and patience (Yudhisthira). 

Vayudev (the wind god) is called and is given another son named Bheem who was dropped and he shattered a rock. He would have strength and courage. 

Arjuna , son of Indra, was destined to be a great warrior and archer. 

Kunti summons the Awshin twins (Nakul and Sehdev) for Madri. 

Pandu forgot his curse and died after he got intimate with Madri. Madri jumped into the fire after his death. 

The Pandavas and Kunti leave and go to Hastinapur. 

One Hundred Sons

Gandhari gives birth to a stillborn and sends it to be thrown into the forest but her husband forbids it. He takes the lump and creates 100 sons out it. All the sons were demonic. Duryodhana was also one of the sons that was born. The Pandavas move in with the Kauravas.

Hate and Hurt

The Pandavas and Kauravas have a rivalry. The Pandavas were loved by everyone while the Kauravas were neglected. His uncle, Gandhari's brother, became Duryodhana's mentor because he understood his hatred. 

In part A, Gandhari's brother, hated Gandhari's husband because he thought his sister's life was ruined.  Duryodhana tries to kill Bheem by giving him a sleeping potion in his drink and throwing him into a lake. 

The Magic Potion

Bheem is bit by snakes but instead of dying he wakes up and fights them off. Bheem meets Vasuki, the ruler of the Naglook. He learns they are related and Vasuki calls Bheem his grandsons. He is given a drink that will given him strength to fight anything.

Drona

Bheem survives being drowned and Duryodhana is upset. The Pandavas meet Drona, a brahmin. He becomes their teacher and trains them to become warriors.

Drona Trains the Pandavas

Yudhishthra was a good charioteer. Nakul and Sahadev became talented swordsmen. Bheem's weapon was a mace and he had a lot of strength. Arjun was the best warrior and could wield every weapon and was good at archery. Drona's motive for training them was vengeance. 

Eklavya's Story

Eklavya by Nanda La Bose
Image Source: Dr. Laura Gibbs

The Pandavas meet Eklavya. Eklavya is a skilled archer and hunter. They discover that Drona was his guru. Arjuna feels betrayed because he was not the best archer. Drona is not aware of Eklavya. Drona has refused to teach him because he was of lower caste. Eklavya taught himself archery. Drona demands Eklavya cut his thumb off so Arjuna could be the best.

Week 9 Story: The Pandava Bachelors

Vasuki walks onto the stage and the crowd roars with excitement. "Welcome to the Bachelor!  I'm Vasuki and I will be your host for this show! We have five handsome and charming men looking for wives. Each of them are unique in their own way. So let's bring them out! Come on out boys!", says Vasuki.

Five handsome men walk on to the stage in a line. They are wearing tuxes and smiling.

"First we have Yudhisthira! Yudhisthira was dressed in a white suite with black shoes. Not only is he the oldest of all the men, but he is also a man of virtue. He is also known to be very patient. His demeanor will calm who comes in contact with him. Yudhisthira enjoys poetry, music, and art. He's a man of few words but has a heart of gold. He also enjoys riding horses, and taking long walks on the beach."

"Yudhisthira, is there anything else you'd like to add?", asks Vasuki. His sweeps his black hair and looks at the crowd with his grey eyes and replies in a soft spoken voice, "Um, not really."

"Alright then! Next we have the notorious, Bhima!", announces Vasuki as he presents an intimidating looking young man. He is well-built with a nice tan and is dressed in a black shirt, pants, and combat boots. "If your into bad boys, then he is definitely the one for you. He will go against all odds even if it means breaking the laws to ensure your happiness. He is also quite the athlete. Besides causing havoc in society, he is also an MMA fighter and has recently won the world championship. He is always traveling and needs a lady that likes some adventure. Some of his hobbies are cooking, archery, and riding elephants." Is there anything you'd like to add Bheem?"

"I want a wife that is strong in spirit. She also needs to be loyal.", replies Bheem. "And there we have it! Bheem ladies and gentlemen!", says Vasuki. The crowd goes wild in excitement.

"Next, we have the fierce Arjuna!" Arjuna had black hair, and brown eyes. He is dressed in a black tuxedo. He casually stands on the stage and stares at the crowd with one hand in his pocket. "Arjuna is a master of archery and is also an MMA fighter. He is very competitive and likes a good challenge.", says the host. "Is there any-", Arjuna cuts Vasuki off.

"I don't want a weak wife. I want one who will stand by my side and fight with me.", says Arjuna in finality.

"Okay then...moving on! Here we have the charming Nakula! Nakula is a professional horse jockey. His hobbies are sword fighting and reading. He is known to be wise yet fierce. He is looking for a companion that enjoys riding horses and sword fighting just as much as he does. Would you like to add anything else Nakula?", asked the host.

"Nope", replies Nakula.

"Last but not least, we have the mysterious Sahadeva! He is wearing a black cowboy hat that covers his eyes with a black cape and cowboy boots. "Sahadeva is a professional bull rider but is not your typical cowboy. Unlike most cowboys, he has the gift to heal animals with the touch of his hands. His hobbies are....it looks like you didn't write anything down Sahadeva", Vasuki says as he looks at the mysterious man. Sahadeva smirks, and says "I'd rather surprise my lady."

"A man of mystery, I like it! Here we have it ladies and gentlemen! Our five bachelor's!"

The crowd claps in excitements.

Pandavas Brothers and Draupadi
(Wikipedia)

Author's Note: I retold the story based off the Pandavas birth. Each of their characteristics was explained in the story. I wanted to try a new style of writing since my other ones are mostly dialogues. I  had to do a little research to write this story since the Mahabharata is a little vague about their personalities. Each brother is dressed differently to show their unique personalities. The story doesn't emphasize how different each brother was so I thought I would write something that focuses on each of their personalities.

Vasuki is the host since in the original story, he gave each of the brothers their powers when they were born. I made Yudhisthira more quiet since I thought it would fit his calm and patient personality. I assumed that if he's patient, then he must also be a good listener as well. He is also more charming in this story than the original one.

The original story describes Bhima as being born with strength. I made him a bad boy in this story since he went against the law of the gods. His name means also means"of terrible might" so I figured a bad boy personality would fit him. I described him as well-built since he was born with strength. He says he needs a loyal lady because he doesn't want her to get tired of travelling with him and needs to be able to put up with his antics.

I made Arjuna seem aggressive since throughout the story, he's usually the one killing and fighting demons. He cuts off the host which demonstrates that he is also impatient.

I did not write much about Nakula and Sahadeva since there wasn't much about them throughout the story. However, I made them opposites in this story and did not mention them being related because of how different they are. After doing a little research, I learned that Sahadeva rode bulls and could heal animal, so I thought he would make a great cowboy. He is also mysterious and introverted which is why he didn't share his hobbies in the story like the others did.

Week 9 Reading Notes: Mahabharata Karmia Revolution, Part A

Shantanu the Unfortunate

King Shantanu fell in love with Ganga. Ganga drowned her children to free them from mortality of the eight celestial spirits to break a curse. Ganga left him and took their eighth child with them. 

Devavrata Returns

After 16 years, King Shantanu returns to the Ganga and meets his son who is now grown up. He also sees Ganga again. Shantanu makes his son a prince and then falls in love with a fisherman's daughter. The fisherman wanted his daughter's son to be king instead. Shantanu gets upset so Devavrata gives up the throne which was his birthright since he was the oldest. 

King Shantanu meets his son for the first time
(BP Banerjee)

Devavrata Becomes Bhishma

Devavrata vows to never marry or have children and was called Bhishma, which means "terrible oath". King Shantanu was not happy and felt his kingdom was doomed. He grants Devavrata a wish which allows him to be immune from death.

Desperation of Bhishma

After King Shantanu did, Bhishma raised helped raised his brothers. He kidnaps 3 princesses, Amba, Ambika, and Ambalika,to marry his 3 brothers,

Amba's Ruin

Amba, the oldest, asked to marry someone else and he grants it but gets rejected. Amba tells Bhishma to marry her and gets rejected again. She accuses him of ruining her life and vows for vengeance.

Satyavati's Secret

Bhishma's brother dies and he learns he had another brother. Satyavati had secretly fallen in love with someone and they had a child. He becomes king and has children. 

Sons of Vyasa

Vyasa was ugly so his wives closed their eyes and turned pale. One son was born blind, another was born pale, and one was wise. 

The Blind Bride

Duryodhana is angry that the Pandavas got the throne. Gandhari knew her husband would be blind and gives up her sight by blindfolding her eyes and marrys the blind son. Her brother is angry because he felt like her husband ruined her life and vowed to get revenge.

Week 8 Progress

I am very happy with my progress in the class. There some weeks I am ahead while others I am right on time. I have used several of the extra credit opportunities which has given me tons of points to stay ahead of my assignments. I feel like for the most part I am doing pretty good in this class. Being the night owl that I am, I like to work on my stories and readings at night because that's when I'm more productive.

Although I am doing well, I know I need to slow down a little and take the time to read through the assignments so that I know exactly what to turn in. I have had a few times where I got the assignment done but did it wrong or turned it in wrong because I didn't read the instructions correctly. I also want to be able to manage my time so that I don't fall behind in this class when I have a busy week.

Quote by Rikki Rogers
Image Source: Ordinary Quotes

Week 8 Comments and Feedback

I feel like most of the comments are pretty helpful. I got a lot of comments about how my writing is fun to read cause of the dialogue but is a little vague when it comes to describing the setting and characters thoughts.

I feel like my feedback is average. Some of the strategies I have used are the "what if.." or "I wonder.." like this one blog suggested. I also like to ask a lot of questions to give writers new ideas if they decide to choose that story to write for their project..

I am very happy with the blog comments and how my introduction allows me to get to know people. I also have gotten to know people through their introductions. It definitely made breaking the ice easier.

For the feedback, I think I need to explain how they can change something if there is a spelling error or something and give people ideas of how they can change it.

I think a really important aspect of feedback is honesty because without it, there is not much room to improve and recognize mistakes. I am usually pretty open to feedback but that doesn't mean I will always accept it. I personally appreciate when someone gives me feedback because very few people are willing to give it because they may be uncomfortable or may feel like its not their place to say. I chose the image below for this reason.

(Growth Mindset Resources)

Week 8 Reading and Writing

 What has been your favorite reading so far? Are your reading notes helping you each week with your story post? Have you discovered any new reading/research strategies? Are you happy with your class project? 

I really enjoy reading the stories and writing my notes. It was very useful when I needed to write my stories or needed to refresh what has already happened in the story. I feel like some of my biggest accomplishments in this class is improving my writing and expanding my creativity. It's nice to be able to rewrite the story to my satisfaction but also keep old parts of it. It feels like rewriting history in a way. My favorite reading is the Bhagwat Krishna since I'm familiar with the story and have always been fascinated with Krishna since I was little. I also that it's a comic so I can see what's happening as I read. Sometimes its hard to understand what's happening in some of the stories so I'll read the guide for some help. 

I really like this image because of the colors and because it shows a whole family together. In most of the stories, the families have been separated or the husband has more than one wife. I also thought Ganesha looked really cute as a baby. This picture was from my Topic Brainstorm: So Many Options! blog.

I feel like I just need more time to read and write. Since midterms started, I haven't really had time to read and enjoy the stories since the due dates are so close to each other.