Epics of India

Rama As the main character of the Ramayana, and not having a single negative thing spoken about him throughout the story I've read so far, it seems Rama is a pretty stand up guy. He's blue, and I wanted to find out why, but the Wikipedia article doesn't say. Javanese language I thought this was a typo on "Japanese" but "Ramavijaya" didn't really sound Japanese so I clicked on it. Turns out, Java is an island in Indonesia, and Javanese is the language spoken there. The more you know. Agglutination Agglutination just sounds so...jiggly? But, from what I understand, it is the process of adding prefixes or suffixes to base words to change the tone/tense/meaning of the word. Like in German, suffixes can be packed on suffixes to create a really long word with a complex meaning. This results in Germans being able to create a word with a VERY specific meaning. For example, the word Donaudampfschifffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtenge...

Five Reasons to Stop Saying "Good Job!" Whoa, this is really pertinent, especially in today's culture of instant gratification. We want our effort to see immediate results, and be immediately praised for it. If not, then we lose interest, moving on to a new thing that will generate more praise from others. Ultimately, our life revolves, not around our own effort, but upon others' evaluation of us. If we continue relying on the easy, "Good job!" then we are raising up a generation that will be unspecialized, timid, and altogether useless as a future society. Be a Mirror This lines up exactly with the article above; in giving feedback, the one offering it must "be a mirror," that is, take themselves completely out of the feedback. Instead of saying, "I like.." it's more effective to start with "When you..." or some variation of it, that shifts the focus to the one putting in effort. This uplifts the process they went throu...

We haven't yet gotten to Hanuman, but I thought it would be interesting to write my project about him. Some thoughts I had on the type of story I'd like to write about him: Why is he so loyal to Rama? Maybe I would explore their backstory/history a little. Maybe I'll spin it to be an Androcles and the Lion type of history, where Rama saves Hanuman from some dire threat, resulting in Hanuman's eternal loyalty to Rama. They are free to go their own way, but when Rama is in trouble, Hanuman unexpectedly shows up and returns the favor. Since the only thing I know about Hanuman is the epic feat(s) involving moving the mountain, I could also write a story about how he uses hides his powers (maybe because of a past accident?), then reveals them at the last moment, despite it going against his vow to never use them again. It's the kind of story that the reader can emotionally connect with. A character with a mysterious past, slowly revealed as the story goes on, that ...

This story (and others!) can now also be found on my website: Rehashed Histories . (moon at night, from Pexels ) Savanad gazed out of his window. The moon was a pale orb in the sky, casting a haunting glow on the forest below. Oh how he longed to be free from this place! "Why could I not have been born a man!" he thought. Sighing, he turned away from the window and read again the letter on his table. The jagged, barely legible scrawl said one simple thing: "Gather to kill Rama." He shuddered as he read it, for there was only one among them with such longhand - the rakshasa Khara. Savanad was torn. As a rakshasa himself, he was duty-bound to answer the summons. But in his heart, he had no such desire. Despite his fellow people feasting on man, Savanad instead longed to live among men, for he had seen with what variety a skilled cook could prepare any ingredient set before him. He had glimpsed the exquisite beauties of the women, and yearned to have o...

From the Public Domain Edition of the Ramayana , by Valmiki. Notes/thoughts taken in real time, as I was reading through. (Avatar Aang, sketched by DontSpeakSilent on Sketchport ) Good man, Bharata. It's always satisfying to see justice delivered, especially when it also portrays not just revenge. It is a good way to make the character really likable. How can you dislike someone who, despite burning with righteous anger, doesn't let the anger go to his head and go on an execution spree, but instead, knowing his place, chooses to do what's right? Though he technically could just assume the throne because he technically had the right, he chose instead to right the wrongs that his mother committed. A good character building strategy to make that character liked by the reader. I'm also impressed by Rama's loyalty to his father, King Dasharatha. Even with the news that the king is dead, and the urging of the king's counselor to take the throne, he instead ...

From the Public Domain Edition of the Ramayana , by Valmiki. Note: these comments were taken in real time, as I was reading through. (Asgard, conceptual; taken from Flickr ) The introductory descriptions of King Dasharatha and Koshala (Kosala?) reminded me of Asgard, especially as depicted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Towering palaces, decorated temples, just a scene that inspires awe. And sitting on top of it all, a king. In the MCU, and in Norse mythology in general, this was Odin. After the Ashwamedha, it describes a grand oblation that several of the major Hindu gods attend. It seems like Indian mythology is quite influential and has pervaded other modern cultures, especially in Japanese culture, to my surprise. For example, Indra is depicted as the elder brother of Asura, both of whom are sons of a great sage in the manga, Naruto. The two are bitter rivals, and their rivalry, passed down through the generations, could be seen as a type of the rivalry the gods...