Epics of India - Vinay Kalvacherla

Bhishma is wounded, Arjuna lays him a bed of arrows; it is Amba's revenge Drona becomes the commander of the Kauravas Arjuna's son Abhimanyu is slain; Arjuna seeks revenge by killing Jayadhratha (with Krishna's help) Next, Ghatotkacha is slain by the dart given to Karna by Indra  Drona is killed through trickery; the Pandavas kill an elephant named Ashwatthama (the name of Drona's son), and Drona basically resigns upon hearing that The Pandavas cut off his head  Karna takes command Dussahsana is killed by Bhima (rather gorily), Bhima drinks his blood (as he had vowed to do) Arjuna and Karna fight; Karna has a wheel stuck in the ground, Arjuna seizes that opportunity to kill him The Kauravas are losing; Duryodhana hides in a lake, but the Pandavas find him and fight him Bhima breaks his knee, which is apparently breaking battle rules, and kills Duryodhana Ashwatthama tries to kill the Pandavas in their sleep after praying to Shiva Arjuna, instead of ki...

Pandavas now in exile  The Pandavas (especially Bhima and Draupadi) were angry at Yudhistira, and they call for war, saying it is the duty of a Kshatriya to do so  Arjuna goes on solo adventures again, acquiring weapons from Shiva so that the Pandavas can fight the Kauravas  Also goes to Indraprastha and acquires weapons from Indra, learns arts, destroys demons  Rest of the Pandavas go on a trip to Kamakhya, where they are met by Arjuna and where they meet the sage Markandeya Bhima meets Hanuman, they discuss caste The Kauravas run into the Pandavas again, and the Kauravas say they will perform an imperial sacrifice Karna vows to kill Arjuna  Karna gains access to a powerful dart from Indra after giving up his armor Jayadhratha, King of Sindhu, kidnapped Draupadi and carried her away, but she is rescued by the Pandavas Both Arjuna and Duryodhana try to solicit the alliance of Krishna; Arjuna picks just Krishna, Duryodhana picks Krishna's army...

The Pandavas manage to escape the plot of Duryodhana thanks to Prince Vidura, who is the half-brother of Pandu and Dhritarashtra  He tells it in "riddle" format to Yudhistira  They dig a passage out into the forest and manage to escape the burning  Pandavas living out in the wilderness with Kunti again  Bhima defeats Hidimba, marries the rakshasa's sister Had a son named Ghatotkacha Pandavas live in disguise as a Brahmin family in village of Ekachakra Bhima kills Bakasura  The Pandavas and Kunti went to see the birth of Draupadi from a sacrificial fire; they all want to marry her  She also has a brother who is supposed to destroy Drona's people Arjuna wins Draupadi (who prevents Karna from marrying her by saying he was of lower origins)  Because Kunti says everything should be shared among the brothers, she is married to all five brothers  The Pandavas built Indraprastha  Arjuna broke the contract between the five b...

The scribe of the Mahabhartha is supposedly Ganesha - although the author is Vyasa  Sage Vyasa is the son of Satyavati - a fishy-smelling girl who was seduced by the sage Parashara...then she gave birth to Vyasa King Shantanu (descendent of King Hastin and King Kuru) wed Goddess Ganga (who threw 8 of her sons into the Ganges) and gave birth to Devavrata (Bhishma)  Shantanu is then attracted to Satyavati (who becomes a virgin again by power of Parashara...) but cannot marry her because her father wants her son to become King Bhishma steps in and says he will give up the throne so that her sons can become heirs... Ambika closed her eyes as Vyasa begot her kids - so Dhirtarashtra was born blind Ambalika turned pale - so Pandu was born pale  Pandu became King because Dhritarashtra was blind and the other son was of humble origins  He was a mighty king; his wives were Kunti and Madhuri Kunti is technically the aunt of Krishna (her brother Vasudeva was Krishn...

Interestingly, begins with a comparison of a cheating laundry man's wife and Sita - implying a comparison of Rama with the laundry man  Rama, while he does not beat his wife, does banish her  Sita blames it on her karma - interesting, considering that she is also considered an incarnation of the Goddess Her twins, Lava and Kusha, learn the songs of Rama from sage Valmiki - the same Rama that did injustice to their mother, although they don't know that  On the side story, Nina's boyfriend breaks up with her, and Nina is very sad and begs him to have her back  In a way, parallel to Sita's story; she is playing the subjugated one here When Rama hears Lava and Kusha singing his praise one day, he realizes they are his sons; he invites Sita back to Ayodhya, contingent that she does another trial by fire  Sita takes this as too much, and decides to prove her purity another way: by calling upon Mother Earth to take her back into her womb And thus, Sita f...

A goddess (seemingly Lakshmi) emerges from the waters and plays a blues record from a record player made out of a peacock  Symbolic, since the symbol of Krishna is a peacock  Has a very interesting, modern take on the Ramayana Details King Dasharatha's wifes (Kausalya, Sumitra, Kaikeyi) and sons (Rama, Lakshma, Bharatha, and Shatraghuna)  Kaikeyi asks Dasharatha to banish Rama for 14 years to exile; Dasharatha has to agree, because he gave her a boon earlier when she cared for him when he was injured Refers to Kaikeyi as "evil and scheming," although in other versions she is under the influence of an evil maid  Emphasizes Sita's statement that she "cannot live without" Rama Conflicting reports about Ravana - one lady says he is evil, although it says elsewhere that he was actually a learned, scholarly man whose main fault was capturing Sita He worships Shiva and gets a boon for his piety Interestingly, such a learned man has an "ugly...

Rama needs to cross the bridge to Lanka; he asks for assistance to cross, God of Ocean recommends he ask Nala for help Other versions say people just wrote the name "Rama" on stones, allowing them to float and make a bridge across the ocean  Ravana tries to make Sita lament and pretends to bring in head of Rama - it's just an illusion  Ravana awakens his gigantic brother Kumbakarna to fight  Hanuman roots up an entire mountain to bring back healing herbs for the army  In other versions, he brings it back specifically to tend to Lakshmana's wounds  Would be very interesting to write a story from the point of view of Hanuman on this matter Lakshmana slays Indrajit  Rama kills Ravana, and Vibhishana becomes king of Lanka  In other versions, Ravana comes to realize that Rama is an avatar of Vishnu and that Hanuman is an avatar of Shiva and repents as he passes away  Sita is tested by fire for "purity;" passes the test, and both leave...

Sugriva - is a monkey-man just like Hanuman  Him and his brother Vali have an issue... Vali was out fighting a demon in a cave; he killed it, but mistaking the demon's blood for Vali's, Sugriva blocked the cave Vali thought this was betrayal; has a feud  Vali and Sugriva fight, and Rama shoots the arrow that kills Vali (self question: is this just?) Hanuman goes and visits Lanka  There, he finds Sita in a garden; apparently Ravana is not mistreating her  He gives her an ornament that Rama gives through Hanuman  Sets Ravana's palace on fire (fulfilling a prophecy) Ravana's advisers want him to go to war against Rama - they are bloodthirsty  Ravana's brother Vibhishana defects to the side of Rama and wants to help Rama fight Ravana  Interesting would be what would happen if Vibhishana did NOT defect... A picture depicting Vibhishana having defected to the side of Rama and prostrating at Rama's feet Source.  Bibliogr...

Bharatha implores Rama to return back to Ayodhya; he cannot bear the thought of leaving Rama for 14 years Rama fights Viradha (aka Tumburu), allowing the demon to return to celestial form and attain Moksha Shurpanaka (Ravana's sister) tries to seduce Rama; Lakshmana knows of the plot and cuts off her nose (and more) as punishment Sita asks Rama to hunt the Golden Deer (a demon in disguise) for her; the "deer" lures Rama away as Ravana proceeds to kidnap Sita Sita crosses the line that Lakshmana draws for her as he goes to try and find Rama (who apparently seems to be yelling out in pain, which is just a demon's voice in disguise)  The great eagle/vulture Jatayu tries to rescue Sita, but Ravana slays him by cutting his wings Possible storyline: write about Jatayu's attainment of moksha for his deed Rama finds Jatayu in his last moments as he scours the forest frantically looking for the kidnapped Sita On the way to Lanka to find Ravana, Rama encounter...

King Dasharatha, from the Solar Race, rules his empire in the capital city of Ayodhya (which is believed to be in present-day Uttar Pradesh) Has three queens: Kausalya, Kaikeyi, and Sumitra, none of which are able to bear sons Dasharatha performed the Ashvamedha - a horse sacrifice  Potential plot: write story from the perspective of the sacrificed horse Ravana: awarded a boon from Brahma, became demonic  Vishnu said that he would take care of Ravana by dividing himself into four parts; discrepancy is that most people Rama to be considered the sole avatar of Vishnu Text does say that Rama is the most beautiful  Rama slays Tataki: is initially reluctant because she is a woman  Ahalya - to be saved by Rama  Interesting poetic rendition in the PDE version - some errors, as the "thousand eyes" given to Indra were a result of his depravedness  Rama meets Sita - breaks the holy bow that is bestowed by Shiva, and ends up marrying her Kaikeyi i...