Hannah's Indian Epics Blog

Image Credit. ORRA Diamond Necklace. Source: ORRA .      There were once two jewelry stores in the town of Seri. One owner was very humble, kind, and gave fair prices to all his customers. All of his customers returned and bought more jewelry from him because he had become their friend. The other jeweler was a spiteful, wicked man who always tried to get the top price he could for each of his jewels and never tried to form relationships with his customers.     A woman whose name was Maureen entered the spiteful jeweler's store hoping to get an appraisal on her favorite necklace. Maureen was a woman of few possessions. Her necklace was one of her prized possessions. However, it was Maureen's oldest granddaughter's 18th birthday and she wanted to make sure that the day was incredibly special for her granddaughter. The spiteful jeweler took one look at Maureen's diamond necklace and could tell that the woman did not know the worth of it. He quickly told her,...

Image Credit. Are You an Owl or are You a Crow? Source: Steemit .       So I was more intrigued by the titles of the reading b but I now for the second reading of the week I am going back to part a of the Babbitt Jataka Tales. The merchant of Seri was a good read in this group of stories. I like how the grandmother, even though they were poor and that the bowl had special meaning to them, agreed to trade the bowl so that her granddaughter could get something. The greedy merchant was a fool to throw the bowl on the ground and then walk away. I was glad that it was the happy merchant that got to profit from the gold bowl. I also like how the story ended. It was yet another happy ending in the Jataka Tales. I think that these stories are so short that they will be easy to recreate and add in some detail that I think the original stories lack.    The story called "Why the Owl Is Not the King of the Birds" was interesting to me as well. It was so short I think...

Image Credit. White Elephant. Source: 999thepoint .       For this week's reading, I decided to read some of the Jataka Tales instead of more Krishna. I really liked the Jataka Tales when we read them at the beginning of the semester and all of the stories in part b I really enjoyed. The first story that caught my eye was the story of "The Princes and the Water-Sprite". This story was very engaging and while there was not much detail it was still a well-rounded story. The brother's attitudes caught me off guard. Even though the mother preferred the youngest son the older brothers were not angry with him for being the favorite and for being the reason that they were banished. It is also interesting how common banishments are in Indian mythology. The water-sprite is a tricky character who is able to change shape. This ability makes all of his encounters different. I like that the oldest brother chose the younger brother to save but also got to save the middle bro...

Image Credit. Pegasus. Source: GoogleImages .         One day Krishna was sitting in his lovely palace admiring the countryside when he was visited by the God Indra. Indra was seeking help in order to recapture his home: the palace Pragjyotisha. Indra's home had been taken over by the demon Muru who was very fearsome and clever. Muru had placed large walls 10 feet thick surrounding the perimeter of the city. There was also a large moat filled with alligators and venomous snakes. Muru made sure to conjure up an army that could match his ferociousness. There were over 50,000 foot soldiers, 10,000 archers, and a calvary of 5,000 horses and men. Krishna knew the terrible odds he would be facing but agreed to help Indra get his home back.      Krishna immediately called for his pegasus, Myriad, and explained to him that they were headed to recapture the city of Pragjyotisha. Myriad was a loyal pegasus and flew as fast as he could to the city he knew...

Image Credit. Krishna. Source: Pinterest .  Part B starts with Krishna as a man who has obviously grown in power. I think that it is interesting that Indra came down to ask Krishna for help. This just shows to me that Krishna is powerful and wise and that he can be trusted to help when called upon. I like that the author of Krishna's story included this tale of Indra coming to him to ask for help. It is a clever way to show Krishna's power aside from all the heroic battle tales and mythical powers he possesses.      When Krishna fights the demon Muru is probably one of my favorite parts of his tale. This demon reminds me of the Hydra from Greek mythology. I love Greek mythology so this story was right up my alley. It is interesting to me that Muru is gifted in fortification. I like that even though he is gifted in this area he is no match for Krishna. I think this is just another way that the author shows Krishna's power without directly saying it.   ...

Image Credit. Krishna. Source: GoogleImages .      The origin story of Krishna is very intricate and there is lots going on. I like how they switched the babies so that he would be the one who was beside Devaki. I really liked how when King Kansa picked him up he was not able to kill Krishna and he evaded him. King Kansa's plan to try and kill all the children in his country is quite harsh and unnecessary. King Kansa seems like the typical villain in the story. I really think that the ending of Putana's story is also unnecessary. Why should she attain salvation for suckling Krishna even though she did it meaning to kill him? She had done so much evil in her life time and killed so many innocent babies I do not think that she should have gotten to live.       Krishna has true power and I am interested to see how his story will end. He is quite the troublesome infant but I am happy that he had the parents that he did. They are very patient and kind to ...

Image Credit. 5 Nagas and Their Role in Hindu Mythology. Source: Google Images . One day a man was swimming along in a river when a group of snakes attacked him. They did not bite him but wrapped around him and pulled him into very deep waters to drown him. The King of the snakes saw what they were doing and commanded them to let the poor human go. The little snakes obey his command and released the man. When Bheem woke up he looked around in awe of what he saw. He was in an underwater castle and was surrounded by snakes and he could breathe under the water. His memory came rushing back to him and he sprang to his feet. He knew that these snakes were a threat and did not plan to be caught by surprise again. "Calm down Bheem. I am Vasuki, King of the Snakes, and they have been commanded not to harm you." "Vasuki? King Vasuki I mean. Thank you so much for sparing my life!" The king threw a feast in honor of Bheem. He had a wonderful time at the feast and...