Indian Epics

A forlorn Sita ( Source ) Lakshmi coming out of the milky ocean! I'm kind of digging this art style Oh. Now a very different one. Yeah. That's about how it is with cats. I love the shadow puppet commentary I didn't realize sita had so many names Interesting that the refrain of "I cannot live without you" almost implies that Lakshmi regrets following Rama into exile I'm not like the biggest fan of the wasp-waisted huge-chested wide- hipped thing Interesting discussion of the goodness of ravana I feel called out, abusing the lotus theme. Lol I agree. She coulda just gone with the monkey I feel so bad for the wife. Just rejected like that. :( Bibligraphy: Sita Sings the Blues , By Nina Paley

Draupadi's Infinite Sari ( Source ) Draupadi is rightfully pissed Wait. "As slaves they don't deserve clothes"? Krishna causes Draupadi's sari to go on forever Mash up with Athena and Medusa? Why would they go back and gamble again!?!?! Interesting. Krishna was overcome by emotion and was making impulsive decisiosns Fun aside: the pants the boys are all wearing are called dhoti, and are made of a single rectangular piece of cloth Man boys arguing over whos kill it was. Is it really that important? Did Shiva just not realize it was Arjun? In general there's just so much cultural context I don't understand. like so much of the mahabharata just feels like over-reactions and like if everyone would communicate and not be petty or quick-tempered, (Or sexist or classist) everyone would be so much happier If all the gods are on the side of the pandavas, how did they lose? Alright. Arjun just chills out in heaven instead of doing what he was ...

Draupadi's clothes being torn as she prays. ( Source ) Man Draupadi gets shortchanged. Her husband comes back with a different wife poor girl gets assigned to be a maid to draupadi "She was impressed with her simplicity" heavy foreshadowing about the circle battle technique Wait. What allowed that dude to rejoin and come back to life? But bruh krishna is literally a god Duryodhan gets rekt Dude take a chill pill Kshatriya have to accept all challenges related to gambling? Bruh he just gambled his brother away. Stop! All of this could have been avoided if so many people would have just not been petty, jealous, greedy, etc. Bibliography: The Mahabharata , By Epified

Ulupi and Arjun ( Source ) Theme of lifting bow/stringing it as a test for suitorship Draupadi you jerk. Calling Karna unworthy just because of his birth Arjun actually becomes her husband Pandavas and Draupadi get attacked 7 times while trying to return home Just share the wife you just brought home so you don't fight Are given a kingdom of barren wasteland. Let Indra burn all the rashaksas away. Krishna has Vishnakarna build them a beautiful city. "Flip this house" That sucks : Win a wife fair and square, have to share her with your brothers, each brother gets one year, exiled for 12 Just like... ask your brother to give the bow to you instead of getting it yourself. Unless no one else can lift bow. Why isn't it on your chambers anyway? Oh come on. They told you to stay. Why leave? Neat daughter of nagas in the underwater snake city First person story Gets with snake lady, marries king's daughter. Isn't he still Draupadi's husba...

Big Strong Bhim ( Source ) Identifying himself would shame his parents? This dude killed all Kshatriya 21 times over? Why teach brahmin the ways of Kshatriya? Oooh. The king is egging on this fight Drupad alone bore the consequences of his actions - karma I feel like building a highly flammable palace would kind of hint at foul play They didn't find any bodies though Lol. The image of Bhim just hulking his whole family through the forest Death by having every bone in your body broken. Metal. I want Draupadi to be badass Bibliography: The Mahabharata , By Epified.

The goddess Padmavati, shrouded in red lotus. ( Source ) Bhrigu tasked with finding most supreme of the trinity Shiva was consorting with his consort Brahma didn't answer. thinking Bhrigu was after his son Vishnu was fast asleep She was laying on his chest, and also got part of the kick Not "In his chest because she was in his heart" Lakshmi was pissed at his arrogance and left Vishnu couldn't bear to be without her, left heaven, and wandered earth Worshipped Lakshmi's image in a temple He was told to go do penance for 12 years worshipping Lakshmi, then she'd forgive him and reunite with him Bibliography:  Goddess Padmavathi

The Elephant, Missing His Friend The Dog. ( Source ) How the Monkey Saved His Troop True Leadership, Giving your all to protect those you care about The Hawks and Their Friends "Friends in need are friends indeed." Its always good to have friends you can count on. Would be better if the Hawks returned the favor The Brave Little Bowman Don't forget those who helped you get where you are Don't get too big for your britches The Foolhardy Wolf Similar to brave little bowman, but less of a happy ending The Stolen Plow Tit for tat Got himself into a pickle, to get his way is to admit guilt The Lion in Bad Company Listen to your elders The Wolf got all the reward and faced none of the consequences The Wise Goat and the Wolf I definitely thought the first wolf was going to attack the other wolf, assuming the goat would be walking in front Prince Wicked and the Grateful Animals Pride is his downfall Beauty and Brownie Again, List...

The Lion. ( Source ) Monkey and the pearls Why a girl monkey? Would the monkey know to hide the pearls? Clever trick "You are the right man in the right place" Three Fishes I relate to putting off something you know you should be doing, but can't bring yourself to do. Again, clever The Tricky Wolf and the Rat It seems the Jataka tales focus on wit and cleverness and trickery A rat killing a wolf? Alright. The Woodpecker, Deer, and Turtle The power of friendship The Golden Goose I like the instant karma. Greed leaves them with less than they would have had had they not been greedy. The Stupid Monkeys Or rather, a stupid gardner also. This one I have mixed feelings about. Like, he wasn't greedy. But also, he did trust monkeys to do a job. The Cunning Wolf Was it necessary to explain that a dead man wouldn't have pulled back on the club? By throwing the club, he lost any chance he had of killing another animal. The Penny-Wis...

There are lots of similarities between Jesus' story and Krishna's. ( Source ) Isn't Krishna the Brahma? Are they the same person? I'm so confused. Okay. I do dig Krishna not wanting to kill Hastin the bull, but instead taming him through kindness. Why are they worried? Krishna has proved invincible so far. Divine rolling into town, gaining a following, heling the sick. Sounds familiar. Opportunity to tame elephant like he did with the bull Recurring theme of the bow that couldn't be lifted snapping upon stringing Bibliography: Krishna , By Epified

Krishna Playing the Flute for the Flocks. ( Source ) Why would the sky voices tell the evil king who his killer would be? The ancient gods basically invented IVF Why send the seventh child to the womb of another? Snakes are a recurring theme in Hindu mythology The classic baby switcheroo Fuck yeah feminism and Durga Holy men and merchants came to see baby Krishna. Sounds like three wise men/ shepherds visiting baby Jesus Interesting. He's not perfect or a pillar of just behavior. He's actually kind of a rotten kid. Universe in Krishna's mouth - He is the Brahman Choking a tornado There's this idea that kings are somehow greater than normal men Krishna is kind of showy and full of himself for my tastes. I prefer a humbler god. Lol Tests of devotion are weird Bibliography: Krishna , By Epified

Bhima fighting the nagas. ( Source ) Neat that Kunti was the only one not scared of the sage, and as such was his favorite. She spoke her mind and didn't try to bow to him. There is so much about women being impure if they are even kidnapped, but Kunti had a child and no one bats an eye. Maybe because it's with a god? 101 vats of oil, but only 100 pieces of blob and 100 children? I guess all snakes are sea snakes? The underwater kingdom of the sea snakes, Nagaloka, is a really neat setting. I could give a story from the perspective of a villager snake of Bheema's arrival, just so I could have fun with the setting. Not sure how Vasuki is related to Bheema. What does Drona want vengeance for? The whole thing surrounding Eklavya is so pretentious and classist. The Pandavas get all mad that their teacher might have taught some rando, and feel betrayed that they were not his only students. But in actuality, Drona would never teach anyone other than royalt...

King Shantanu and Ganga. ( Source ) Interesting idea of karma I didn't catch in the first reading. Everything is cause and effect. It would be fun to tell the story of king Shantanu falling in love with Ganga from a more personal perspective, either hers or his. Go deeper into vasus story, why they were cursed, what they are, how they came to be, etc. Devavrat plays matchmaker so much to varying degrees of success. Gets the fisherman's daughter for his dad, takes vow of chastity. Kidnaps princesses for his brother who is in poor health, to make an heir to the throne. Amba's love not accepting her because she's been kidnapped by another man is reminiscent of Sita's story. Women were treated as such property, tokens, pawns to be manipulated. I get that these stories are a product of their time, but they're all super sexist and ableist. Also I struggle to keep lineages straight, or like heirs to the throne. But I'd like to write a story in w...

The Horse Sacrifice ( Source ) I just can't get into this one like I could the Ramayana Lots of fight scenes in Indian literature Its almost in stanzas, like poetry I can't keep track of all the characters and their relationships, its like Game of Thrones interesting tidbit, Duryodhana can stay underwater indefinitely ""Ashwatthaman is a brahmin, and Vishnu, the greatest of the gods" I appreciate order of operations, first a brahmin, second Vishnu It is okay to partake of unclean food if one's life is in peril Righteousness sometimes looks like unrighteousness See the horse sacrifice again Neat. Land of women warriors Bibliography: The Mahabharata , By  Arnold, Besant, Devee, Dutt, Ganguli, Kincaid, Macfie, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Seeger, and Tagore.

Kichaka pursues Draupadi ( Source ) Everything seems only distantly linked, very episodic Intriguing, the idea of praying so hard you become a god yourself, but I suppose that' kind of like Christian sainthood This is all happening post-Ramayana, because Hanuman recounts it Different Yugas, less and less virtue Duties of castes, different ways to achieve heaven Interesting riddle pool. Kinda sphynx-esque Poor Draupadi gets the short end of like every stick Bibliography: The Mahabharata , By  Arnold, Besant, Devee, Dutt, Ganguli, Kincaid, Macfie, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Seeger, and Tagore.

Draupadi and the Pandavas Brothers ( Source ) They straight up murdered some low-caste people. or at least were intentionally responsible for their deaths. Interesting. Polyandry. Disguise themselves, win the princess's hand All 5 brothers are a single incarnation of Indra. "I cannot waiver from the truth. Truth is my only weapon." Story of the alligator princess Lots of defiance of traditional gender in this story. He wagered himself before wagering Draupadi, so he couldn't lose her. How did he lose if his dice were loaded? Bibliography:  The Mahabharata , By  Arnold, Besant, Devee, Dutt, Ganguli, Kincaid, Macfie, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Seeger, and Tagore.

The Pandavas Brothers ( Source ) So much politics! So many people to keep straight! Fisherman's daughter might make a good story Story of Ganga drowning her kids Go Amba. Kill the dude. Be a fierce battle chick. Damn. She has to become a man. Story of Karna is similar to story of Moses "I do not blame you for your having killed a deer, or for the injury you have done to me. But, instead of acting so cruelly, you should have waited till the completion of my act of intercourse." Fighting over who /gets/ to die on their husband's funeral pyre. Hindu mythology is metal. The snake poison counteracted the poison poison Why does severing your thumb cause you to draw a bow with your middle finger? Bibliography: The Mahabharata , By  Arnold, Besant, Devee, Dutt, Ganguli, Kincaid, Macfie, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Seeger, and Tagore.

A Depiction of the Churning Rod ( Source ) This version is rather confusing lots of unfamiliar words The reason they are churning the ocean isn't immediately obvious Vishnu is the lotus-eyed one. Interesting. What is a churning rod? I don't quite understand what's going on here.  A short google, and the snake, Vasuki is wrapped around the mountain, and his head and tail are pulled alternately to make the mountain spin, like a bow drill. Is Narayana above Brahmana? I thought Brahmana was the embodiment of everything. Narayana is Vishnu apparently, and the absolute being in Hinduism Lakshmi is born! Vishnu cross-dresses for the sake of humanity Who are the Danavas and where did they enter this story? Bibliography: The Mahabarata

Interesting multitude of art styles Various depictions of characters Introduces separation between stories/versions The narrators' confusion betrays various versions of the story that have been told over time In this version it is discussed that Ravana is a decent guy. In R. K. Narayan version he is kind of terrible. Skips over Soorpankha's obsession with Rama Lakshmana is just absent I guess Sita get pregnant in this version? Bibliography: Sita Sings the Blues, By Nina Paley

Rama and Sita at their wedding. ( Source ) Interesting story of Indra Is it his Vishnuness that makes Rama so perfect and holy? The horse sacrifice doesn't make much sense to me Interesting that the effect of love is constant discomfort The servant of the queen is terrible, sowing unfounded doubts Bibliography: The Ramayana, By R.K. Narayan

Rama and Sita finally returning to their kingdom after their exile. ( Source) Ravana is so cocky So many spells, magical effects, gods invoked Ravana notes specifically that Rama couldn't be Vishnu Why did Sita have to prove her purity if no one else did? Finally get the throne back, live happily ever after Bibliography: The Ramayana, By R. K. Narayan