Reading Diary B: Twenty-Two Goblins

Type of Underwater City

Image from Wikipedia

Notes on Twenty-Two Goblins by Arthur W. Ryder.

Fourth Goblin
A man named Hero sacrifices his son to save the king.  Then his daughter dies so he and his wife kill themselves.  When the king discovers them, he decides to kill himself too.  It's pretty cruel to sacrifice his own son, but it shows a lot of devotion.  However, I don't understand why he decided to kill himself.  I really don't understand why the king decides to kill himself.  An entire family just died to save the king's skin, so the king thinks it is a good idea to die too?  I seems like the king's death would just make the other's deaths pointless.

Fifth Goblin
A brave man, a wise man, and a clever man are all promised to a princess.  The three combine their talents to rescue the girl from a giant.  If Draupadi was able to have five husbands, than surely this girl can have three husbands too.  The king, however, thinks that the brave man should marry the girl.

Sixth Goblin
A woman, her husband, and her brother come to a temple to worship a goddess.  The brother gets the bright idea to cut off his head as a sacrifice.  Should we all just go to a temple and cut off our heads?  The husband cuts off his head when he sees what happened.  Seems like a healthy response to the loss of a loved-one.  Fortunately, the woman decides that she needs to hang herself instead of cutting her own head off.  This gives the goddess time to give the two men their lives back, except with their heads switched.  On a side note, it seems like it would be very difficult to cut off your own head.

Seventh Goblin
A king helps a prince who saved his life win two underwater cities and marry the princess of those cities. It sounds like Atlantis.

Reading Diary A: Twenty-Two Goblins

Graveyard

Image by Hege

Notes on Twenty-Two Goblins by Arthur W. Ryder.

Introduction
King receives fruits with gemstones inside from monk.  What a reward!  However, the monk asks to meet the king in the graveyard.  The monk wants the king to bring him a hanging body.  Already, this story is sounding a little creepy.  I wonder why the monk needs the body.  The body becomes possessed by a goblin that tells him the first story.

First Goblin
A prince sees a beautiful girl and falls in love with her.  However, she only speaks to him through signs that only the prince's counselor can understand.  When the prince sends am old woman to ask of the girl, the girl rejects the price, but the signs say he must wait for several days.  Already this sounds like a complicated relationship.  I don't understand why the girl only uses signs.  Then, when she weds the prince and finds that the counselor is the one who interpreted the signs, she tries to have him killed.  The counselor and prince execute a plan to get the girl banished from the city, and her parents die from grief.  Seems like all this trouble could have been spared.

Second Goblin
Mother threw son into fire for crying.  How harsh!  She sounds like a terrible mother.  But he was brought back to life by a spell.  The man who witnessed this used the magic to bring a dead girl to life.

Third Goblin
A parrot and thrush get into an argument over whether men or women are worse.  The King decides that "women are usually bad."  What a terrible statement!  Saying this would get many people's blood to boil in today's Western society.

Week 12 Review

I thought video from Friday's announcements about becoming a noun was very funny.

Week 12 Storytelling: The Mouse and the Elephant

Elephant by the Water

Image from Wikipedia

Maximilian sat by the lake, grooming his whiskers in the reflection of the pristine waters.  The sun had just set and it was quiet for the watering hole.  Usually all sorts of animals came for a drink.  The lake was arguably Maximilian's favorite place, especially when it was quiet.  However, when there were others about, he had the pleasure of animal watching.  It appeared that he would have both tonight; there was a herd of elephants approaching from the distance.

When the elephants arrived, they nosily slurped up the water until they had their fill.  One by one, as they finished drinking, they meandered off to a patch of grass where they gossiped and ate the vegetation.  Finally, there was just one elephant left drinking water.

On the other side of the lake were a group of hares that had shown up around the same time as the elephants had.  Maximilian could see that they were growing increasingly perturbed by the elephants.  With such large ears, the elephants' ruckus was particularly disturbing for the rabbits.  Finally, one of the hares decided to get rid of the elephants.  He hopped over to the lone elephant.

"Listen to me oh Elephant, I am the hare in the moon, and I have come to warn you against disturbing the moon.  Leave here at once!"

Since the moon was behind the clouds, the elephant did not pay much attention to the hare.

"The moon's wrath will destroy you!"

The hare dipped his toe into the water as the moon appeared from behind the clouds.  The elephant looked up and saw the moon reflecting up at him.  Suddenly, because of the waves caused by the hare, there were multiple reflections of the moon in the water.  When he saw the moon split into multiple pieces to attack him, the elephant rumbled backwards and retreated as fast as he could.

Maximilian felt sorry for the poor elephant and he went over to comfort him and invite the beast to a luncheon he was planning for tomorrow.  When he reached the elephant his fur shimmered in the moonlight.  The elephant thought that Maximilian was a piece of the moon that had come to attack him.  But when he saw how little the shimmering mouse was, he decided that he could easily squash the tiny piece of moon.

Just before Maximilian was about to speak and invite the elephant to his party, the giant beast tried to squash him.  Goodness! thought Maximilian.  He scrambled behind the elephant and leapt up on his back.  The other elephants, saw the tiny mouse and thought that he was holding the great elephant to the ground by some magical force.  With this realization, they became afraid and stampeded off as fast as they could go.  Even today, elephants are still afraid of mice.

Author's Note: This story is a combination of The Hare in the Moon and The Elephant-Fighting Hare, both from Devi's Fables and Folklore.  The first part of the story, when the hare uses the moon to scare off the elephant, is very similar to the original Hare in the Moon story.  However, for the second part of the story, I wanted to explain why elephants are afraid of mice.  Instead of a hare that sits atop the elephant, as in The Elephant-Fighting Hare, I had the mouse sit on the elephant's back.

Bibliography:
"The Hare in the Moon" by Shovona Devi, from Fables and Folklore (1919). Web source: Indian Epics Reading Guides.

"The Elephant-Fighting Hare" by Shovona Devi, from Fables and Folklore (1919). Web source: Indian Epics Reading Guides.

Tech Tip Quotemakers

I made the following image with Canva.  This quote is from Adam Ruins Everything, one of my new favorite TV shows.

Made with Canva

Image from Allen

Tech Tip Site Navigation

I cleaned up the navigation sidebar on my storybook website, Badri and the Dashavatara, so that it only shows the list of stories.

Reading Diary B: Indian Fables and Folklore

Notes on Indian Fables and Folklore by Devi

Shibi sacrificed the weight of a pigeon in his own flesh to a hawk so that the pigeon might live.

Kshupa brags of his superiority over sages.  Dadhichi boxed Kshupa's ears, and Kshupa killed Dadhichi.  When Dadhichi was revived, he asked to be as hard as diamond so that he could fight Kshupa.  After much fighting, the two reconciled.

Mira is married to a Krishna toy.

The arrogant King Krishna challenged the God Krishna to fight.  The King and his follower's heads were removed with a discus.  It seems very foolish to challenge a god to fight.

Avikshita goes to the swayamvara of Vaishalini and captures her to be his bride.  The other princes fight and defeat him.  After Avikshita's father wages war to get his son back, Avikshita refuses to marry since he was defeated in combat.  This all seems like a lot of trouble for finding a wife.  How many people died in the war trying to retrive Avikshita?

Ishvarvarman lost all his money to a cunning inn keeper.  He later went back with a monkey that seemingly makes gold.  The innkeeper traded everything she owned for the monkey.  It sounds like Ishvarvarman learned his lesson.  He used a creative way to get his money back.

The "logical pupil" was sent to find a cat for his master.  Instead he brings back a boy that matches his masters description of a cat.

A poor man gets a magical pitcher that gives food.  He breaks the pitcher when he is drunk with his friends.

Bir-Vadra killed a nearly invincible giant and a dragon.

Banker monkey

Image from Tore Bustad

Reading Diary A: Indian Fables and Folklore

Notes on Indian Fables and Folklore by Devi

There is a little man in the eye

The hare convinced the elephant that the moon was out to get him

The elephant tried to crush the hare, but the hare sat on his back, causing the other elephants to think that the hare was pinning the elephant and the other elephants ran away

Elephant came into market place, and everyone closed.  Salesman said he was all out.  Elephant crushed stand and took food. 

Monkeys tried to rescue the moon from a well and all fell down into it.  Monkeys are stupid.

Sage raised rat; sun, clouds, wind, mountain tried to avoid marrying her.  Married to a rat.

Snake tricked frog king to let him eat his attendants and himself

Gautama murdered the crane and was executed.  Not even the worms would eat his body.

Ratnakar was a robber.  When he found out that his wife and children did not approve of his deeds, he repented and performed austerities.  He became known as Valmiki, the author of the Ramayana.

Parasols and shoes are gifts from the sun.

Atreya went to Heaven and was pleased.  He built a heaven on Earth.  When giants destroyed his heaven, he realized his folly.

Yudhishthir was allowed to bring his dog into heaven

Yudhishthir and the Pandavas recieved a magic food bowl in the forest that gave them what they needed to eat.

Hare fools Elephant with the Moon

Image from Wikipedia

Famous Last Words Week 11

Almost there

Image from Flickr

I finished most of my assignments early this week.  I was able to finish the blog comments and project feedback almost as soon as they were released.  The only items I finished at the last minute were a new Storybook post and the extra credit assignments.  Since I finished my last exam for the semester (other than one final) last Friday, I have had a lot more time to get homework done.    This has been particularly beneficial this week since I started applying for jobs.  Before this week, I have put off applying for a full-time position, but I was able to spend a good portion of time on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday working on my job search.  I finished updating my resume, and I applied at two different companies.  I am excited to graduate and move on to another challenge, but I need to figure out what that will be as soon as possible.

I also realized this week that I am very close to finishing the semester in Epics of India.  After this week, I will only have sixty points left until I reach the threshold for an A.  I can either get all the extra credit next week and get most of the way there, or I can just finish the next two weeks without any extra credit.  Either way I will finish the class shortly.  With the extra time, I'll be able to focus on finishing my other classes and applying for jobs.  Since I am an engineer, I usually have final exams in all my classes.  However, this semester I only have one final.  I should be able to entirely finish two of my classes before Thanksgiving and finish the semester relatively stress-free.  Now that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, I will work a lot harder to finish as soon as possible.

Week 11 Review

Scripturient

Image from Announcements

Since this is National Novel Writing Month, I thought scripturient was a particularly apt word.  Writing a novel in a month would be a lot of fun, but I don't quite have the time this year.  This class has inspired me to write more than any other class I've taken.

Google Timer Tech Tip

The Google timer seems like it will be really helpful.  Right now, I don't use any timers to manage my work time or breaks, but I might start doing so.  The best thing I have done recently to manage my time is start a short to-do list.  Previously, I would put everything I wanted to do on my list; now I only put important items on the list.  I've found that having the document always open helps me manage my time better.

Tech Tip: Sidebar Box

I just added an "About Me" section with a HTML sidebar box.  The sidebar was relatively easy to add.

Week 11: Reading Feedback

This week I read Kincaid's Tales from the Epics.  I chose this reading because it include a wide selection of stories that were different than the what we have read so far.  I also picked this book because it was available for free online.  I really enjoyed the readings; they did not get boring.  One thing that tripped me up was most of the stories were sequential, but the Frog King's Daughter was not directly after Ruru and Pramadvara.  Instead, I ended up reading part of Nala and Damayanti, which happened to be one of my favorite stories of the group.  I'd suggest making a note saying that the stories are not necessarily sequential.  It was also confusing because the picture for the reading guide was from a story that was not part of the reading.

Damayanti

Image from Kincaid

Tech Tip: Weather Widget

I just added a weather widget to the sidebar of the blog.  I love the weather in Oklahoma.  It is always changing so it is never boring.

Week 11 Storytelling: The Human King's Daughter

There was once a great king named Parikshit who ruled over the entirety of Lake Ayodhya.  He was outside for his afternoon hop when he saw the largest and most juicy fly that he had ever seen.  The chase begun.  For nearly three days, the great king chased his prey.  The fly landed, the king was in reach, and he was just about to snap up the fly.  Suddenly, another tongue grabbed the fly, and it was gone.  Parikshit's heart filled with rage.  Who dared interfere with his hunt?  He turned to face his enemy so that he might banish him from the kingdom.  But when he saw who had taken his fly, his heart stopped.  It was the most beautiful frog he had ever seen.  She had the most beautiful yellow eyes, her spots were perfectly round, and the way she caught flies with her tongue was exquisitely graceful.  He knew instantly that this frog must become his queen.  He approached her to ask for her tongue in marriage.

"Lovely lady, you are the most beautiful frog I have ever seen.  Marry me and be my queen."

"I will become your wife, but you must make me a promise."

"Anything you ask my dear."

"Never let me gaze upon pavement."

King Parikshit thought this was a strange request, but he readily agreed.  The next day they were married on a lilypad in Lake Ayodhya.  The couple lived very happily.  Every morning, they went on a hop around the lake. One morning, they stumbled upon a sidewalk.  Although the king had heard about concrete, he had never seen any for himself.

"Darling, come here and see this marvelous sidewalk."

His wife joined him on the sidewalk.  The king began to examine the pavement with great interest.  But when he turned around, his queen was gone.  Walking towards him was a human.  King Parikshit dashed off with a heavy heart.  He later realized that the human must have killed his bride.  He resolved to strike back.  Before any frog could have an audience with the king they were required to bring him possession of a human.  The King knew how much humans liked their possessions, and soon King Parikshit's castle was surrounded by watches, baby toys, and dollar bills.

After about a month the human king Ayusha decided that he had enough.  He disguised himself as a frog and sought an audience with the king.

"Oh great king, I am Ayusha, king of men.  My people have suffered enough.  Stop taking our goods, and let us have peace."

"A human killed my queen, and I must have retribution for her life."

"Your queen is still alive.  She is my daughter Sushavana.  She disguised herself as a frog when you met her.  She has deceived many frogs this way, and does not deserve to be queen."

King Parikshit was saddened that queen had left him, but he decided to forgive her if she came back.  Sushavana then reassumed her form as a frog and returned to Parikshit.  The couple lived the rest of their lives in peace and happiness by Lake Ayodhya.

The Frog Queen

Image from Wikipedia

Author's note: I really enjoyed the story about the Frog King's Daughter.  In the story, King Parikshit sees a beautiful woman and decides to marry her.  When the two go swimming, the Queen turns back into a frog.  Thinking that the frog's are responsible for his queen's death, he requires his citizens to slaughter all the frogs that they could find.  Eventually, the king finds out that his wife was a frog in the form of a woman.  He takes her back and they have three children together.  I decided to retell this story from the opposite perspective by making the main characters frogs instead of humans.

Bibliography: Kincaid.  Tales from the Epics.  Frog King's Daughter.

Reading Diary B: Tales from the Epics

Notes on Kincaid.  Tales from the Epics.

Ruru and Pramadvara.
Ruru gave Pramadvara half of his life to make her return from the dead after she was bitten by a snake.


The Frog King's Daughter.
This story, once again, contains love at first sight.
The king Parikshit falls in love with a beautiful princess who happened to be a frog.
I don't understand why the princess requires the king to forbid her from looking at water on the ground.  Does water automatically make her turn back into a frog?  This makes even less sense when the frog king comes to Parikshit's court and says that his daughter deceived Parikshit and many other men.
Frog's sons were cursed to hate sages.
Vamadeva, whose horses were stolen, is a very forgiving sage, especially in comparison to the other sages we have heard stories about.


The Descent of the Ganges.
Queen Sumati gave birth to a gourd that contained 60,000 sons.
Prince Asamanja, the son of King Sagar, was banished from the kingdom and never heard from again.
In order to punish King Sagar for pride of his sons, Vishnu came, disguised as an old woman and stole the sacrificial horse from them.
The 60,000 sons set out to find the horse.  They dug through the earth to get to the other side and asked elephants which hold up the earth if they had seen the horse.  Finally, they found a meadow where the horse and the old woman were.
The old woman turned into a god and fire shot out of its eyes to consume the 60,000 sons.  This must have been a very impressive sight.

The Tale of the Pole Star.
Dhruv walks along a path to find Vishnu and becomes the pole star.

60,000 sons could fill OSU's Boone Pickens Stadium

(OU's stadium capacity is 82,000)

Image from Flickr

Reading Diary A: Tales from the Epics

Notes on Kincaid.  Tales from the Epics.

The tortoise who holds up the mountain on his back is referred to as the "Tortoise king;" there is no mention of Kurma, the avatar of Vishnu.

Vishnu gives the ambrosia to only the Devas because the demons tried to take it for themselves.  In other stories, the gods do not want to share the nectar with the demons.

The eclipse of the sun is caused by the Asura Rahu, who lost his head when he tried to drink the nectar.

Uttanka cursed the king for giving him unclean food.  Who curses someone to blindness because their food is cold and has a hair in it?  Is seems very outrageous to me that Uttanka, who just received the Queen's earrings for free, would curse the king.

The Indian year has 6 seasons

King Kashyapa's wife, Queen Kadru, wants to be mother of 1000 snakes.  When her sons refuse to do her bidding, she curses them to be consumed in a snake sacrifice.  What mother curses her own children?  It seems like the characters in these tales curse each other so freely.  What is particularly interesting to me is their ability to make some of these curses.  How can they just say that another person will be blind or not have any children and then it happens?

King Kashyapa's other wife, Vinata, has two sons.  The first curses her to slavery for breaking his egg, and the second son is a bird.  How does a naga have a bird for a son?

After Indra steals back the ambrosia, the snakes but their tongues on the sharp grass, which is why snakes now have split tongues.

In addition to curses, the characters of these Indian stories also seem to make strange promises.  Jaratkaru promises only to marry someone with his same name that will cost him nothing.  This requirement seems so arbitrary and unnecessary.

When Jarakaru finally gets a wife, he curses her for waking him up so he can say a prayer.  Once again, this seems very backwards.  His wife was only trying to help him and he punishes her for this.

One of One Thousand Snakes

Image by Carolyn