Indian Epics

Ted Talk Videos The first video, the Danger of a Single Story with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, really resonated with me.   She discusses how only reading American and British books created a world for her where Africans or other types of people did not exist in literature.   I think that is a big problem in today’s educational world.   We focus on European literature, American literature, and forget that there are authors/playwrights/poets in other countries and other places with other nationalities that are just as accomplished and talented.   We lose the ability to expand ourselves and our capacity for understanding.   I think that this makes me even more excited about taking this class. The second video talks about the relationship between ourselves and fictional characters.   Jennifer Barnes discusses the time we spend on fictional characters and why we do this.   Reading is more than visiting a new place, exploring new circumstances, but also about bonding with the characters

Wife of the Five Pandavas Source .  The Mahabharata, A Summary  by John Mandeville Macfie (1921).  I choose the public domain version of the Mahabharata .   In this story, Arjuna won the daughter of Drupada, Draupadi.   Unfortunately, before he could tell his mother that the princess was his prize, she told him to share it with his brothers.   This leads to a problem because they technically can’t share a wife – or so you think.   Drupada is upset until he learns it is the five Pandava Princes that won his daughter’s hand in marriage and then he celebrates. Then he hears about the problem.   Yudhishthira, the eldest, calls for Vyasa.   Apparently, the Gods have already decided she will be the wife of all five boys.   Seemingly Draupadi is the reincarnation of a pious woman who prayed to Shiva for a husband five times.   The Gods rewarded her with the promise of five husbands in her next life.   This is what Vyasa tells them, but he also tells them about the brothers.   T

I chose the public domain edition of the Mahabharata .   The epic was originally composed by Vyasa, who apparently plays an important role in the story.   Vyasa is telling the story to the elephant-headed god Ganesha in the first chapter or episode, so I chose to take reading notes over it. So the Mahabharata was an epic of Vyasa, who also arranged the Vedas which is believed to be authorless because it is not of man. Vyasa felt that no one was worthy on Earth to write the story out since it contained everything that man needed to know about earth and heaven.   Since Vyasa was so concerned over worthiness, Brahma told the storyteller that Ganesha (the god) would be the scribe.   Ganesha only agrees if his pen is not allowed to stop at all. Vyasa repeated it to his disciple, Vaishampayana.   He retold the tale at a snake sacrifice of King of Hastinapura, Janamejaya.   He is the great-grandson of Arjuna, one of the five Pandu brothers who were grandsons of Vyasa. The firs