Epics of India - Vinay Kalvacherla

Draupadi's Strength Draupadi watched, dejected and disappointed. Yudhistira had gambled away everything  - all the Pandavas' wealth, their land, their horses, and even themselves. How stupid could he be? Could he not tell that Duryodhana's dice were magically altered so that he would win every time? All these Pandavas were supposed to be sons of the gods, yet they seemed to lack the brain of humans.  On top of that, he would not stop betting. He had lost everything at this point, but he was again preparing the dice. What would he gamble this time?  "I refuse to stop until I win. This time, I gamble our wife, Draupadi," exclaimed Yudhistira.  Emotions flooded Draupadi. An amalgamation of sadness, anger, and disgust. How could this man who loved her so much be crass enough to gamble her ? Nay, how dare  he gamble her, a woman whose origins were from a holy swayamvara ?  Of course, Yudhistira lost. That fool.  "Aha, this comely dame...

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...

Sita's Injustice The trek from the hermitage to the well was about half a mile - which wasn't very far in actuality, but in the sweltering heat of the sun, even a single step seemed like a marathon. Sita pulled the hem of her headscarf over her eyes to block the harsh rays of the sun. "Although," she said to herself, "this is but a drop in the ocean of despair that I've endured in my life." Sita knew that she would never hurt even an ant. She was the gentlest, kindest soul one could know - and, to her, so was Rama. The handsome, valiant king of Ayodhya who won her over by lifting Shiva's holy bow. The one with whom she was prepared to spend fourteen years in exile for a cause unrelated to herself. And, the one who saved her from the clutches of Ravana.  But, in the back of her head, Sita had unanswered questions. People had always exalted Rama for his ability to not only pick up and string Shiva's bow, but to break it by brandishing it...

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...