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Reading Notes: Ten Incarnations of Vishnu, Part B

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Vamana  Brought sense to King Bali (Balichakravarthi)  Asked Bali for three steps of land; managed to get the entire universe in that land  Dwarf Brahmin incarnation of Vishnu  Parashurama  Killed all the corrupt peoples Rather violent incarnation  Rama  Read an entire epic on him, wrote several stories on him  Krishna  Story is depicted in the Bhagavatham, but his story is sort of depicted in Mahabharatha, as well  Is one of the most worshipped incarnations  Killed Kamsa, was behind the enlightenment of Arjuna, brought dharma to the Earth  Buddha  Contested ninth avatar of Vishnu; some dispute Buddha the ninth avatar Annulled the cast stratification that was happening  Kalki  Yet to come; will be the "messiah" figure riding on a white horse and bringing about the end times  Interesting parallels to second coming of Jesus/messiah in Abrahamic religions  An image depicting Vamana kicking King Bali down into the Pathala Loka. Source . 
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Reading Notes: Ten Incarnations of Vishnu, Part A

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Matsya - the fish form of Vishnu Kurma - the turtle form  Behind the churning of the ocean story; helped both gods and demons churn the mountain to look for the nectar of immortality  Interesting to examine Kurma's role in helping the asuras  Varaha - wrote a story about him  Saved Bhumi by defeating Hiranyaksha Was the boar-headed avatar of Vishnu Narasimha - half-man, half-lion form of Vishnu  His ardent devotee is Prahalada, son of Hiranyakashapa Hiranyakashapa does not approve of his son's devotion and tries to kill him several times to no avail  Hiranyaksha has a boon that makes him essentially immortal; Narasimha finds a loophole in that boon  An image showing Narasimha viciously killing Hiranyakashapa. Source . Bibliography :   Dasha Avatar: The Ten Incarnations of Lord Vishnu, an Amar Chitra Katha publication
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Week 14 Story: Sati, The Supreme

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Sati was happy with Shiva. Her road to marriage was difficult and laden with obstacles. She had fallen in love with Shiva at a young age, and had fixed her eyes on him for marriage. Her father, Prajapathi Daksha, was a strict devotee of Vishnu, and would not accept Sati's proposals. At the end, Shiva himself had come to take Sati as his bride, and Daksha had no choice but to accept. He did not confer his blessings on the marriage, but Shiva and Sati were satisfied nonetheless. And now news had just come to Sati that her father was holding a yagna , a holy sacrifice, and had invited all the gods and celestials except Sati and Shiva. Sati felt a little embittered about it, but decided she would go uninvited anyway. "A daughter can go to her own father's house uninvited," Sati replied when Shiva tried to object. "I'm sure that's why my father didn't extend an explicit invitation to us." But the reality was vastly different. Shiva stayed behi
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Reading Notes: Cradle Tales of Hinduism, Nivedita. Part B

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Shiva is described to keep mostly to himself - he is an introvert who lives on Kailash  Sati is described as the perfect wife - her martyrdom is something I'm already familiar with  Could easily write this story from the perspective of the Goddess and dramatize it Uma was born to Himavantha, and is also the pious wife of Shiva; she is Sati reborn to a more accepting father  An image of Goddess Sati immolating herself upon hearing her father slander her husband. Source.   Biblography:  "Cradle Tales of Hinduism," by Sister Nivedita.  Source. 
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Reading Notes: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists, Nivedita. Part A

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Shiva refers to Vishnu as "child," and he is the God of Gods Sati wanted to marry Shiva, but her father Daksha was a strict devotee of Vishnu She goes to her own house for the sacrifice after Shiva was uninvited - but to her doom  Next story should be written on Sati  Sati immolated herself, angering Shiva, who wreaked havoc on the world and on Daksha Sati was reborn as Uma (Parvati) Tiger-Foot: a pious saint who prayed to have hands and feet of a tiger from Shiva  Shiva danced in the forests of Taragam and beat the heretical gurus in their acts The churning of the ocean: the gods and asuras worked together to try and retrieve the nectar of immortality; many obstacles came out of the ocean in the process, but Shiva helped overcome them  He drank the poison that came out of the ocean, causing his throat to turn blue  Birth of Ganga: wrote a story in my Storybook about this  A picture depicting the churning of the ocean by the Gods and Asuras. Vishnu, i
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Reading Notes: Seven Secrets of the Goddesses, Pattanaik (Part B)

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Ideas of male superiority are present throughout many of the tales  A lot of tales are about males trying to take over traditional "male" roles  Women are the trophies of masculine rivalry; men were valued by what they had, including women  Shift from matriarchy to patriarchy happens in perception of goddesses Even brings in Rama - Rama rescues Sita to protect his family's dignity For a long time, even in Hinduism, respect was paid to gods over goddesses A picture depicting the Supreme Goddess, Adi-Parashakti, with the renown Hindu trinity at her disposal. Source. Bibliography:  Seven Secrets of the Goddesses, Pattanaik,  Link to source. 
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Reading Notes: Seven Secrets of the Goddesses, Pattanaik (Part A)

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As human civilization advanced, the status of women declined; God worship overtook the idea of Goddess worship  This seemed to change; Bronze Age - groups of women worshipped alongside a male  Connects the Virgin Mary to the pantheon of old goddesses discussed; raises tones of masculine hierarchy Discusses how women became commodities in trading communities  Different "vivahs" describe the commodity nature of women here  Could be interesting to pull in the Supreme Goddess's perspective on this  A picture depicting the ferocious Goddess Kali. Source . Bibliography: Seven Secrets of the Goddesses, Pattanaik, Link to source. 
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