Skip to main content

Reading Options

There are many, many interesting Indian epic stories. Stories of gods and goddesses are really interesting and fun to read!


One interesting story that I have found is Vali: The Downfall of an Arrogant King. I found this story to be fascinating because it shows how fighting and struggle for power are some of the most common themes in Indian epics.



Another story that I have found interesting is the story of Kumbhakarna the Sleeping Giant. This story can tell an interesting revere that Indian epics has on giants and large figures. The very size of Kumbhakarna scares his opponents, Rama's army. It was also interesting to find an ally connection between Ravana, who is an enemy of Rama, and Kumbhakarna the Giant.




Third story that I have found interesting is the story of Uloopi: The Naga Princess who Fell in Love with Arjuna. It was very interesting to read about the love story of Uloopi the Naga Princess who fell in love with Arjuna. It was a sad story of unrealized love (Both Uloopi and Arjuna marry different persons), but their love persisted regardless. This story can show how love stories in Indian epics are very unique in their ways.





Kumbhakarna. Source: Kumbhakarna the Giant 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Week 7 Story: Clever Escape (PDE Mahabharata, Part B)

Once upon a time in ancient India, there was an evil, greedy Prince named Duryodhana. He was among several princes of the kingdom, but he was the most greedy and power-hungry of all. Among his brothers, there was wise, clever, and popular Prince named Vidura. Prince Duryodhana always hated Prince Vidura because he was popular with people. Prince Vidura, although he was ambitious like Prince Duryodhana, he wasn't a cruel-minded person like Duryodhana who could kill people easily to accomplish his purposes. Duryodhana, through his cunning strategies and deceits, became the official heir of the kingdom. Now that Prince Duryodhana became the official heir, he felt a great need to get rid of Prince Vidura because he feared Vidura might become more powerful than him. Duryodhana feared that Vidura might summon his forces who were known as the Pandavas and revolt against his authority. So Duryodhana, using his newly acquired power, imprisoned Vidura, his mother the Queen, and t...

Inayat. Twenty Jataka Tales, Reading A

I'm always been fond of reading Jataka tales. In fact, these collections of Jataka tales have been my favorite kind of reading for this semester because their plots are very interesting with lots of suspense and rich visual details. Monkeys look the most alike with humans, and they are usually the symbol of wisdom in many Indian epic stories. I liked all the readings in Reading A of Inayat's twenty Jataka tales, but one story that particularly stood out in my mind was the story of Monkey-Bridge. Monkey, including the wise god Hanuman, often has taken the role of clever, wise, and smart animal in Indian and Hindu epics. The story begins with a giant-like monkey who ruled eighty-thousand monkeys in Himalayan mountains. Wow.. Eighty-thousand monkeys are a lot and I can't even conceive how many monkeys that the giant monkey ruled in the cold, steep Himalayan mountains. I really like this very detailed, vivid, and full of image description of the monkeys' habitat: ...

Week 3 Story: PDE Ramayana Part A

The capital of ancient city of Indian subcontinent, a beautiful and glamorous place, was called Ayodhya. It lied in the country of Koshala. Koshala was known for its unique and elegant beauty just like the past Indra's well-decorated cities. The city was filled with luxurious surroundings. Large dwellings for thirsty people, beautiful and lavishly decorated diamond, silver, and gold temples and shrines, as well as mountains with rich biodiversity. Besides the luxurious and rich surroundings, there were other eye-opening and awe-awakening elements in the city. Gardens had all sorts and kinds of birds, lions, and animals like a zoo. Beautiful and exotic flowers were spread apart everywhere in the city. Bees and lotuses were everywhere. Wind blew honey bees and they produced the best-tasting honey. Birds were sitting on people's head and arms and sang occasionally to entertain people (especially women and children). It seemed almost like a Heaven on Earth. Nevertheless, ther...