Epics of India

An updated version of this story can be found on my website, Rehashed Histories. ...a fuzzy haze... ...the bright faces of two young boys looking at him in excitement and awe... ...his own smiling face, full of pride, looking back at them... The old man's bones groaned in resistance as he got up from his spot under the tree and stretched. How long had he been meditating there? The tree he had been leaning against had started to grow around him. He looked around at his hermitage. It was the same as when he had last opened his eyes, save for the now deteriorating door frame and the plethora of dust and insects now inhabiting it. "This is no place to live!" he tutted to himself. "I must repair it at once!" He peeled the axe from where it had fused to the back wall of his house, holstered his sword to his belt, and set off to gather wood for repairs. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------...

Again, I am impressed by Nivedita's attention to detail, in comparison with the PDE. The PDE, in regards to Rama needing to cross the ocean, made him seem very childish; it was as if he were throwing a tantrum and the exasperated Ocean finally just gave him what he wanted. In Nivedita's version, however, though he is still seemingly angry, he is more rational and doesn't actually want to dry up the sea. It also gives details about the actual construction of the bridge, providing somewhat of a timeline to the story. Vibhishana's abandoning of Ravana is also given in slightly more detail than I remember. It touches his anger at being constantly ignored/insulted for trying to warn his brother about not standing a chance against Rama. Even just one extra line that shows some kind of insight into what the characters are feeling provides more immersion in the story and gives the reader a satisfaction in progressing with them as they develop. For example, the line (present i...

Thoughts taken on the Nivdeita's Ramayana. I liked the PDE Ramayana, but I felt like the events and situations the characters went through didn't have much impact because we didn't have a real connection with the characters; they weren't fleshed out enough, leaving us (or me, at least) to wonder why a certain character acted a certain way, or why an event came up, seemingly randomly. Nivedita's Ramayana solves this issue for me. She provides much more background information on the characters introduced. For example, in her description of Kaikeyi and her interaction with Manthara, the backstory of how King Dasharatha had come into Kaiyeki's debt, and consequently, her ability to blackmail him because of it. The resulting conversation between Dasharatha and Kaiyeki is also more detailed, giving the reader more insight into how grieved Dasharatha was at having to banish his heir-apparent. The exposition and level of detail in the beginning regarding Valmiki and ...

Hanuman Hanuman is a very well known character in the Ramayana, to the point that he has bled over into many of the cultures surrounding India, and even to the Western world. Many iterations and versions of Hanuman have been created, and his influence can even be seen in many of today's stories. Hanuman has a huge influence in Thailand, where I'm from, so I wanted to find out more about him. (painting of protagonists in Journey to the West; photo by Rolf Müller, taken from Wikipedia ) Journey to the West One of the major stories that feature a monkey is, of course, Journey to the West. I think there's even been a movie adaptation of this? (And a sequel!) I don't know much about it, except that Sun Wukong (the monkey) is prominently featured in many Asian-related movies. Sun Wukong I dabble in reading some Chinese light novels/Korean manhwas, and Sun Wukong is commonly seen as a spirit able to be invoked for power. A character from the manga Naruto can summon...