Storytelling Week Fourteen: Dhritarashtra's Blessing

Never once had he said this. Nor had he ever thought he would say it. But the king was glad that he was blind. Not forever, obviously. But for this particular moment, he did not want to see. He had gathered too much already from his other senses. He could smell death everywhere. He would have known he was on a battlefield the second he breathed in, without anyone telling him. That, or hell. He could smell the blood and sweat and decay radiating from what he assumed were millions of bodies. It was a hot summer day and this only helped to make things ten times worse. But the smell alone could not indicate to the king how many had died here. But he could hear the crowing of the ravens and the vultures that feasted on this land. Never had a vulture wasted a drop of food, yet there was too much for all the vultures in the entire universe to feast on in this field. The king could hear the sounds of thousands of birds, so loud it almost drowned out what his chariot driver was saying to him. Yet, this still did not indicate him the true magnitude of the lives that had been lost here. The king sought for another sense that would tell him of the sorrow that he could not see. So he tasted the water of the stream that ran next to the field. Yet as he drank, the king cried out and spit out the liquid. For what the king could not see was that this river was not clear with water, but ran red with the spilled blood of so many warriors. He stood there spitting the blood of a million men out of his mouth, yet he then could not understand the magnitude of this battle. But finally, the king had his question answered. And his heart broke when he finally grasped what had happened here. This epiphany came not from the earth, the water, or the birds. It came from the women. He could hear them although they were miles and miles downstream. These widows were screaming for their husbands that had died in battle. There tears had turns the dirt road to mud. The hair they ripped out of their heads coated the sides of the road like fur. As the king heard the cries of a million women, he finally understood

 

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Author's Note: The magnitude of this battle struck me so hard. Krishna stated that the men who had died had numbered in the thousands of millions. The world has never seen a battle like that. It would be unimaginable. As I read this, I thought how the king would finally be lucky to be blind. To not have to see the wreckage his son had caused, that he had allowed.

Source: Buck, William (1973). Mahabharata

 

Storytelling Week Thirteen: Arjuna's Reservations

You have got to be kidding me. When Urvasi had cursed me so many years ago, it just did not seem like a big deal. I know, I know. I should have thought more seriously about a woman cursing me to lose my manhood for a year. But at the time it just did not seem that important. Maybe I was caught up in the ambrosia. Let’s be honest, Indra knows how to throw a good party. He had all the finest girls dancing for me. They are such teases! After all the strain those women had put me through, losing my manhood for a year did not seem to bad. Don’t get me wrong, I was right to reject her. It was not right to have her. But did she have to be such a bitch about the whole thing? Still, there was no getting around it. Arjuna took a deep breath and called down Urvasi’s curse. He furrowed his brow and gritted his teeth, preparing for the pain he was certain would come with the absence of his penis. However, nothing hurt. Sure, he felt a slight tingle down there, but nothing to be concerned about. That happened when the wind blew wrong. Arjuna carefully looked under his robe, and almost gasped aloud. There was bare skin. And down there, something weird! Why, it was the parts of a woman! Arjuna smiled at the ridiculousness of it all, but then practical concerns came about. How would he urinate? Did women urinate? They had to. Arjuna was so preoccupied with these thoughts that he did not notice the gold cuffs that had formed around his wrists. He also did not notice how his defined muscles were shrinking down and becoming softer. And he certainly did not notice that long wisps of hair that were curling down his back to his now ample backside. But soon enough Arjuna did take notice of all these changes, and was as amazed as before. Why, he looked like a woman! But now, the weight of the whole situation began to set in. Actually, just the weight of this stupid hair began to set in. How did women do this? And in such pretty, ornate fashions. And then the weight of his earrings and jewelry set in as well. God, his ears felt like they were being pulled to the ground! And how the hell was he supposed to walk in this sari. Arjuna sighed a resigned breath, and began his long stumble towards the kingdom where his brothers resided.

Urvasi Curses Arjuna
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Author's Note: I found Arjuna's curse to be ironic and funny. That such a strong man would lose his manhood for an entire year struck me as something entertaining, but also very important, that simply was glossed over in both versions I have read of the Mahabharata. Therefore I decided to elaborate on the implications of becoming a woman, and also wanted to add some humor in. I think these are very real thoughts that a man would have if this kind of change happened to him.

Source: Buck, William (1973). Mahabharata

 

Storytelling Week Twelve: Duryodhana's Shame

Damn those Pandava brothers! They could at least have the courtesy of having one flaw. Well, besides that eldest being such a miserable dice player. Duryodhana chuckled to himself as he thought of the way he had tricked the five brothers and made a show of their whore wife. What man wants to share a woman anyways? Especially with five men. Duryodhana occupied himself with thoughts of anatomy and how the whole five husband thing would play out. He shuddered. They could have that. He then daydreamed of his wives, and then of course there was his harem. Thousands of women, just awaiting the day they could grant his every desire. Now that is how a man should live. But Duryodhana’s daydreams dissipated like a cloud in the summer sun when he thought of the occurrence that day. He had been trying to show off his wealth to those wretches, and had gotten captured! How could he have been so stupid! He had misjudged those Gandharvas. I mean, who knew they were such masters of illusion? Really, it was not his fault that he had gotten captured. But this train of thought made the young prince feel weak, so he desperately thought of another justification for the battle earlier that day. Why had the Gandharva’s obeyed the Pandava brothers? What was so special about them? He hated them so much. Their smug faces as they let Duryodhana out of the iron cage he was being held in in the sky. That was so humiliating! He was squashed among his common soldiers like a fruit at the bottom of a farmer’s basket. He could still feel the sweaty men crushing him. And the smell. Who knew that many soldiers could make such a foul stench? That odor could have killed him alone. But amid all these random thoughts, a small voice spoke out in the back of Duryodhana’s mind. Why had the brothers saved him? Did they want to save the pleasure of killing him for themselves? He had certainly done enough to deserve their hatred. But they were worthless peasants, and as prince he could do whatever he wanted with them. Or maybe, were they simply that honorable? Duryodhana quickly shook this preposterous idea out of his head. Nonsense. Suddenly, his face lit up. He had figured it out! They feared the wrath of Duryodhana! They saw how I was being treated and worried that I would seek vengeance. That is it! Duryodhana adopted a smug smile as the idea crossed his mind, and let himself fall asleep with the thought of the Pandava brothers bowing to him caressing his mind.

Drona and Duryodhana
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Author's Note: I find Duryodhana to be a pompous, ignorant slug. I thought this scene illuminated these qualities in Duryodhana so I could not resist the urge to write on it. The Pandava brothers were simply being honorable, and saving their kinsmen. Yet Duryodhana, as disillusioned as he was, would have never picked up on that. He would have simply looked for another answer that allowed him to remain the best.

Sources: Buck, William (1973). Mahabharata

 

Storytelling Week 11: Draupadi's Disrobing

All I feel is my hair being torn out of my skull. I feel the tears running down my face and my single sari beginning to slip off my body. This could not be happening! I was a princess! I had never before been touched by a man who I had not wanted to touch me, much less been dragged along the floor like a sack of flour. What had my husband done? They had told me he had staked me in a game. But I was not gold or a cow or a piece of land. Could men really bet me like I was a piece of property? Duryodhana’s vile brother Duhsasana would pay for this. He threw me into a heap on the floor and I glanced up. My god, I was in the assembly hall! In front of everyone! And yet, everyone was allowing it. Not a single of the brave warriors or wise elders stood up and commanded that this abuse stop. My heart became numb as hopelessness sunk into it. If I was really Duryodhana’s now, he would make me a slave. A sexual treat to impress his visitors. Visions flashed before my eyes as I saw myself sweeping filthy rooms, getting on my knees for fat, old kings. Rage burned inside me. This would not stand. Then the words that imbecile Duryodhana was mumbling pierced through my head. Take off her robe. Suddenly my insides went ice cold. He would not. I knew he was vile, but this was beyond reason. There was absolutely no reason to disgrace me in this way. Yet, through my disbelief, I felt Duhsasana’s hands on my robe. I looked at my husbands, but they all had their eyes downcast. My brave Pandava’s, infamous for their skill in war, stared at the ground and would not save their common wife. Shame burned in me for them. These were not men. These were monsters. I did not know what to do. I closed my eyes and prayed. This is what I had done all my life when I had trials, and it is what I reverted back to this habit. I prayed and prayed to every god, and then Krishna illuminated my mind. I saw his smile, and knew, I was safe. I did not have to hear the exclamations of awe to know that Krishna had saved me, and my honor.

The Disrobing of Draupadi
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Author's Note: This was such a violent and heartwrenching story to me, and the entire time I was reading of this situation I was wondering what was going on in Draupadi's mind. Was she angry? Numb? Hysterical? I decided to incorporate a medley of emotions into her personal monologue, because I believe that is the most accurate of what a woman would feel.

Sources: Buck, William (1973). Mahabharata

 

Reading Diary B: Dhritarashtra's Legacy

I think it is odd and also kind of awesome at the way Dhritarashtra was described leaving the city. My impression of the king the entire time I was reading this book was that he was a fool. He used being blind in order to excuse indulging his son and making weak decisions. Everyone told him that his son was evil, and would destroy their race, but he would not stop him. Even the queen, his wife, told him how evil their son was, how he cried and it sounded like a jackal when he was a baby. So I never really had a lot of respect for Dhritarashtra. He let his son kill all of his sons, all his friends, millions of his subjects. While he was king! He could have said one word, and his son would have stopped. He could have said one word and had his son killed! Yet when he leaves to die in the woods, the Pandava brothers treat him as respectfully as they can, as a father. Their mother accompanies the king and his wife in the forest. All these signs are bestowed on a man who in my opinion does not deserve it. Yet it is obvious the king has a kind heart. Maybe that is what the Pandava's are seeing.

 Dhritarashtra, Kunti, and Gandhari depart
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Reading Diary A: Duryodhana Curses Krishna

This is crazy! Crazy crazy crazy! Everyone recognizes that Krishna is the god Naryana incarnated, one of the most elite gods ever. Yet Duryodhana curses him, calling him a slave and the son of a slave. Now don't get me wrong, I know Duryodhana is stupid. I get that. He fought until not only all of his friends and eldesr were gone, but until his whole race was gone. Idiot. But to curse a god, a known god! That seems beyond help to me. And not only that, but Duryodhana starts to turn the Pandava brothers against Krishna. Now do not get me wrong. I do not like that a god reincarnated lied and cheated to win a war. I am sure there was a divine reason and this was all Karma and blah blah blah but it still seems wrong to make such a wise and moral character so flawed when it came to these decisions. But maybe that is genius. It certainly livens up the story a lot.

Duryodhana in the Lake
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Reading Diary B: Amba

I love love LOVE Amba! This is such an empowering story after all the women that get pushed around in the Indian Epics. I think I want to make my third story in my storybook about Amba. It will be a positive departure from the sad tales of Sita and Draupadi. Amba was first stolen by Bishma. Which, hold it right there. For some reason in The Mahabharata it is honorable to steal women away???? That proves you're the best warrior?? How screwed up is that? And to top it all of, Amba was in love with King Salwa. Who apparently loved her back. But that is complete bullcrap. Because when Amba stayed true to Salwa and was finally sent to him after insisting she would marry  no other. Instead of holding her and apologizing that she went through such an ordeal, as he should of, he instead rejected her and left her husbandless and landless. What a jerk. But that is okay, she comes back as a man and kicks some ass.

Bhisma takes the three princesses
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Reading Diary A: Irony

I think it is so ironic that Yudhishthira goes to King Virata's court in the guise of an expert dice player! This is how he lost his whole kingdom, his wealth, his life, and his identity. If I were him, I would never want to pick up a pair of dice again! Yet he goes into Virata's kingdom and portrays himself as a wise brahmana with a special skill at dice. I also loved the specific disguises that each took. The twins with their animals, Bhima as a cook, Arjuna as a enoch, and Draupadi as a servant. They seemed happy there. Even though they were elites serving others, and of course for the little incident with the Queen's brother, they seemed to be genuinely cared for by the royalty and had comfortable lives doing hobbies they thoroughly enjoyed.

Draupadi and Sudeshna
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Reading Diary B: Kailasa's Beauty

Oh, would I love to live in Kailasa! I do not think I could have the strength of the Pandava brothers and move on from such a place. Especially if Hanuman guards it! I adore Hanuman as a character, and he is every bit as mischievous in The Mahabharata as he was in The Ramayana. Buck describes Kailasa as having waterfalls that fall into streams of coral and ruby, elephants and swans and red geese, silver and fire red and molten gold trees. This is the most beautiful description of a place I have ever read, and if I had been wandering for years this is where I would reside. A pond with lotuses with a thousand petals each would just be the icing on the cake.

marble Hanuman carving at Swaminarayan temple in Bhuj
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Reading Diary A: Arjuna and Krishna's Bond

I was struck by the intense bond of Krishna and Arjuna in this version of The Mahabharata. I thought their friendship was beautiful. Krishna remembers their past lives together, but Arjuna does not. However, Arjuna still recognizes the deep bond each one has for the other. This bond is used throughout their lives, specifically in the great battle. I like the idea of a great God like Krishna having such a close bond with Arjuna. I know Krishna is bound to his human form, and therefore has human emotions, but if that bond has always been there that must mean he is a loyal god. Krishna describes them as "one person, saying you are mine and I am yours. Who strikes you strikes me also. You come from me, and I from you, and there is no one who can understand the difference between us." This is a beautiful statement of friendship.

Arjuna and Krishna
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Reading Diary B: Maya's Skill

I thought the description of Maya's palace that he built for the Pandava brothers was breathtaking. I have heard of Maya from The Ramayana, but this description of his skill was even more intricate. Look at the way Buck describes the tree of lights Maya put by the front door "Its leaves were cut from thin sheets of emerald and beryl, with veins of gold. Its tall trunk and long branches were encrusted with every known jewel, and from it came the fragrance of high mountain forests". This is just ONE tree in the whole palace. There were ponds that were so still people fell into them, and crystal floors so flawless that people paused as if they were made of water. What a wonderful palace to live in. I just wish Buck had included Duroydhana's envy of the palace as in the shorter version.
Srikrishna offers mayasura to build a palace to Pandavas
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Reading Diary A: Different Priorities

I am really enjoying Buck's version of the Mahabharata. But I guess I was expecting him to focus on the same things as the much more condensed version, and he definitely didn't. It struck me as odd, that in the shorter version the author really described Draupadi's robe being unraveled, and this was a really crucial situation to me. But in Buck's version, it was only one or two pages. However, he did include a lot of side stories that I really enjoyed. I liked the one about Amba being reborn and turned into a man. I also liked at the end when the Pandava brothers were in the desert and Indra comes but the king refuses to go without his dog, who turns out to be Dharma.

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Famous Last Words: Divinity

I found many similarities between The Ramayana and The Mahabharata. They both involved somewhat divine heroes, and their faithful, beautiful wives. It involved an epic battle between an enemy and those said heroes. It also involved divine intervention in the form of weapons, boons, and curses. I am starting to realize that the epics of India have a writing style all their own, and I really enjoy reading these. I cannot wait to start on the fleshed out version of The Mahabharata next week. I would love to eventually study the whole thing, although from the introduction that sounds like it would be quite the undertaking. In a very loose sense of the word, this is somewhat like a bible to me. It describes life and death, how certain types of positions should act, and various parables that guide one’s life. It is all through the various tales of unordinary people’s lives. It had some striking similarities to the Christian bible, but obvious differences as well. I definitely found this more readable than my bible. It is like a religious text and an epic legend all in one. However, one of the most striking differences I found was that God was questioned in The Mahabharata. Granted, I do not blame Draupadi for questioning his existence and powerfulness. She was mishandled and almost raped and completely humiliated in front of her husbands. I would not be feeling all lovey-dovey towards God either if I had gotten treated the way she was. It surprised me that this passage was put into The Mahabharata, when the rest of the text is highly invested in religion and the gods. Of course, the words were put into the mouth of a woman, because a man would never say something that stupid. There were a surprising amounts of contrasts in this epic that I enjoyed very much.

Draupadi and Krishna
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Storytelling Week 10: Dhritarashtra's Monologue

I feel weak. I have always felt disadvantaged, but never weak. I am a king, for Christ’s sake. I have 100 sons and excellent counsellors. I have a stunning wife who serves me in every way. I have countless chambers of women ready to please me. I have never let my blindness stop me from being the king I was born to be. So this new feeling, this feeling of no control and disapproval from my friends, this is not okay. I cannot handle the way Vidura talks to me these days. To me, the inflection of the voice is everything. It is all I have. I have the touch of my wife and the warmth of the son, but to really judge how a person feels about me, it is all in their voice. Not even in the words they say, no. In the manner which they say them. I do not need sight to tell when someone is deceiving me. I do not need sight to tell when someone is smiling or weeping. I have heard the inflection of admiration, of awe, of love, but never of this horrible disapproval I am getting from Vidura. I know I have always been partial to my son Duryodhana, but he is a good boy, bless him. I know the prophecy, that he would be the end of our race. I was not blind to the way he howled like a jackal as a child. I knew there was something wrong. But he was my first born, and I could not bear to part with him. He is brilliant. He will do awesome things. Terrible, but awesome things. I am afraid I will always let him into my heart, and therefore my decisions. Vidura does not understand that, I am afraid. Listen to the way he chides me. He has always spoken too bluntly to his king. I keep on distracting him with questions of life, destiny, and death. It is a salve for my soul. He keeps on telling me how I need to abandon Duryodhana, but I know in my heart I will never do this. So I distract him for a moment. I can tell he is getting tired, and even Vidura’s knowledge is not limitless. Aha! I have finally asked him a question he does not know the answer to. Now the inflection has changed. That is so much better, to listen to him struggle for an answer. Maybe now he will drop the subject of abandoning my son, and I can rest.

Dhritarashtra and Duryodhana
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Author's Note: I am fascinated by Dhritarashtra's character. He was a strong and respected king, but so foolishly partial to his son. He allowed his son to persecute the Pandava's for years, and did nothing about it. I constantly wondered what was going on in his mind, and so I elaborated just a little bit on it in this story.
Narayan, R. K. (1978). The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic.

Reading Post B: Draupadi's Plight

I thought Sita was mistreated in The Ramayana, but compared to Draupadi, Sita had it easy. SIta was merely cast into a stereotypical role and never allowed to truly shine as the woman she could have been. Draupadi was forced into a marriage with five men. While they all treated her well, and promised to erase all thoughts of her while she was with one of the other husbands, how unfair is that? No one asked Draupadi what she thought of this arrangement. There is no passage describing Draupadi's joy at having five husbands. Sure, there is a tale that describes how she came to be fated to have these five husbands. But even in the tale, she is simply calling out for her husband that she served her whole life who left her. And this is just the beginning. After that, she is dragged out into a room full of men after she was lost in a bet by her husband, in a single cloth because she was on her period. She was a princess! And this is how she was treated. After she was manhandled and dragged by her hair into the presence of not only her husbands but all these elites, her single cloth was torn off of her. Not a single of her brave five husbands stepped in to stop it. No one did anything, so she begged Krishna to help her, and he was her only salvation. There is so much wrong with this character and the situations she was put in.


The Disrobing of Draupadi
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Bibliography: Narayan, R. K. (1978). The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic.

Reading Diary A: The Different Sides of Krishna

Krishna is a fascinating character in The Mahabharata for me. It is said he is God, and presents an image to Dhritarashtra that is so grand that it says the king regained his sight more a moment in order to see it. However, during the war Krishna proposes a plan that is quite deceitful and in my opinion not very godly or omniscient. He says to lie to a foe about the death of his son in order to make him more vulnerable. This does not sit well with me. Maybe it is because of the barriers of growing up in a very different religion that I see God in a very different way, but to me Krishna is too human. I do not see God lying to people in order to kill them, or speaking rashly the way Krishna does at the end of the tale. I do not know if it is because he is reincarnated, and therefore has human restraints. He knows of his reincarnation though, so I do not think he surmises himself to be human. This is an interesting point for me, and one I will continue to ponder.


The Death of Jayadratha
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Bibliography: Narayan, R. K. (1978). The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic.

Commenting Review Week

I have made a few connections in the class! As the semester goes on I am returning to people's blogs and getting to know them and their writing styles better. I think repeat interactions are the key to creating connections. Maybe, make our storytelling commenting groups the same every week (and assign us one random one on top of a standard two), that way we can see each other progress and really get to interact with each other on a weekly basis, while also experiencing other people's writing styles. The introductions help as well. You could also add an extra credit option where you get some extra credit if you and another person comment on three of each others post and respond to at least one of their comments about your writing. My project comments have been suuuuuper useful. I do not use my storytelling ones as much but they do encourage me in my writing. When I leave a short comment, I focus on the big picture. What I liked most and what I liked least. When I have a longer comment, I will focus on the more minute details of the story. I make a lot of comments in other classes, but it is a different kind of class, more science-based.


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Writing Review Week

Honestly, I have adored every story I have written. I have absolutely loved being able to flesh out parts of the story that I felt warranted more attention than they received. It was so much fun to flesh out characters and add in details that I wanted to. The storytelling is my favorite part of the week, and probably what I spend the most time on. Some writing goals I have are maybe to branch out on my writing style. Do a perspective I normally would not do or write from the opinion of someone with opposite beliefs of mine. Maybe modernize some of the epics. Just push myself. I have not really gotten any of my ideas from other student's writing, but I have picked up little tips here and there. The most helpful feedback for me is specific feedback! Saying "Oh it was a little bland" or "Oh I didn't really get where this was going" does not help me. Telling me what was bland or where someone got lost is what is productive for me. I have learned some things about myself as a writer. I skip over grammatical details because I am more worried about how the story flows, and I do not realize that this will be distracting for my reader. I also have realized that I need to take a step back and make sure someone who is not inside my head will understand my writing. Oh, and that I really, really, realllllly love comma splices.

Rama is one of the most interesting characters in The Ramayana and I just love writing about him so much. There is so much there to work with!
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Reading Review Week

Looking back over my reading diaries, I have to say that honestly I do not really take notes actively while I was reading either version of The Ramayana. These stories are so vivid and interesting that I stay engaged without note-taking, and the scenes from that week's reading stay fresh enough in my mind that I am able to write about them just by referring to my book. I have only read a few fables and The Ramayana so far, but I really enjoyed it. I liked the sequence of the books. Starting off with the shorter more concise one and then working into a longer and more descriptive one was a good decision. It allowed me to appreciate the rich details in Buck's version. The Reading Diaries do not remind me of scenes I have forgotten per-say, but they do remind me of reactions I have that I no longer remember. That is beneficial to me. I used to read a lot for pleasure, unfortunately I do not have the time anymore. The reading in this class has been like pleasure reading to me. It does not feel forced and it certainly does not seem like I am reading a textbook. I am not a computer-reader, I am old fashioned and like the feel of a book. So if you proceed with the Un-Textbook, I would still offer resources so that future students may purchase a paper copy if they choose. I know that is the option I would prefer.


This is one of my favorite pictures. It pictures a scene that does not get a whole lot of renderings. I also like all the emotion in it.
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