Reading: Mahabharata Part D

Drona in Command:

Drona takes command of Duryodhana's armies

He vows to make Yudhishthira his prisoner

Arjuna vows to defend his brother even at the cost of his own life.

Death of Drona:

Ashwatthaman the elephant

-As long as Ashwatthaman lived it came to be believed that his father would never be conquered

- Bhima, therefore, being bent on the defeat of Drona, selected an elephant named Ashwatthaman and slew it with his own hands and then threw himself in his might on the Kuru front in the neighborhood of Drona, shouting, "Ashwatthaman is dead! 

-Drona heard the words, and for the first time his stout heart sank.

-He would not believe it unless it was undeniably confirmed by  Yudhishthira

-Making his way to Yudhishthira, Drona asked him for the truth, and Yudhishthira answered yes

-Then Drona, in his despair for the loss of his son, became unable to think of his divine weapons. 

- Dhrishtadyumna, the Pandava general, had seized his sword and leapt to the ground in order to attack Drona in personal combat.

The Night Raid:

When night fell, the dying Duryodhana was visited on the battlefield by Ashwatthaman, son of Drona, and Kripa, and Kritavarman.

Ashwatthaman was given permission to attack  the Pandavas while yet they slumbered

Drona's son went forth in the darkness to glut his hunger for vengeance because that his sire had been slain

At the gate of the Pandava camp an awful figure rose up against the conspirators

Bibliography: Mahabharata, Epic of the Bharatas, by Romesh C. Dutt, Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita, Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie

Reading: Mahabharata Part C

Life in the Forest:

The pandavas wandered into the forest

Yudhishthira lamented his fate to the brahmins as he wandered towards the forest.

A brahmin advised the deposed rajah to call upon the sun god.

 Surya appeared before Yudhishthira and gave  him a copper pot which was always filled with food 

They wandered in sunshine and in shade, hey suffered also from tempests and heavy rains

The Himalayas:

The Himalayas

Great sages visited the three brothers in Indra's Celestial City, and from one Yudhishthira obtained skill in dice. 

the sages told them many tales of people who suffered and made self-sacrifices

they underwent long exiles and performed penances so as to attain to great wisdom and win favor from the gods.

after the exiles went northward towards the Himalayas, and at length they beheld afar off the dwelling of Kubera

Kubera walked forth and spake words of wisdom unto Yudhishthira, counselling him to be patient and long-suffering

The exiles wandered on, and one day, when they sighed for Arjuna, they beheld the bright car of Indra,

Arjuna appeared, and he was received with rejoicing, and all the Pandavas returned together to Kamyaka.

Riddles at the Lake:

When the twelfth year of exile was nigh to an end, the Pandava brethren bethought them to leave the forest.

They saw a stag that had the antlers to kindle a great fire

The brahmin appealed to Yudhishthira to pursue the animal, and the Pandavas endeavored in vain to kill it or recover the sacred twigs

upon following the stag, several of  brothers came upon some water, and were thirsty. They drank it and fell dead.

At length wise Yudhishthira approached the pond. He beheld his brethren lying dead, and sorrowed over them. 

The Voice said, "I am a yaksha. I warned thy brethren not to drink of this water until they had answered what I should ask of them

The Voice said, "Who maketh the sun to rise? Who keepeth him company? Who maketh the sun to go down? In whom is the sun established?"

Yudhishthira answered these riddles and many more

Many such questions did the Voice address to wise Yudhishthira, and he answered each one 

 the yaksha revealed himself in the form of Dharma, god of wisdom and justice

Bibliography: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie

Tech Tip: Typing Test

For this tech tip I took the online typing test at key hero. I have used some other typing speed assessments in the past, and this one was very similar to the other ones I have used. I like to check on my typing speed every so often just to see how I stack up with others who have taken these tests. I do not type all that fast, but my result this time had me at 60 wpm with an 85% accuracy. I will take that, but strive to improve upon it.

Week 6 Story Telling: How the Oompa-Loompa's Seized the Chocolate Factory

The chocolate Factory

The sun was setting on another long, winter day in the Chocolate factory. Outside the factory it was icy, and the wind was howling.  As the day came to its end  the hurried noises of the Chocolate Factory quieted down. The machines stopped booping and whirring, and the smell of chocolate faded away slowly.

As the Oompa-Loompas began to head to their sleeping quarters some of the worker's became almost irate. "If I have to spend another minute wasting away in this factory, I will snap!", said Fred, the most senior Oompa-Loompa in the factory. " I am with Fred!" said George, Bob, and Henry. That very evening Fred called an emergency meeting among the Oompa Loompa's. "I am tired of working for that old coot Wonka. I say that we rise up, and confront that man! Let us take over this factory! Think about it Oompa's, We could run this place however we wanted to if we were in charge." Fred said, in a triumphant tone.

As the Oompa-Loompas listened to Fred's speech they began to realize that he was right. They could rather easily seize this factory, and run it. This was because there were hundreds of Oompa Loompa's and only one Willy Wonka. The Oompa-Loompa's devised their plan that evening. They would strike in 3 days, and finally gain control of the factory in which they had slaved in away for years. The next day, the Oompa-Loompa's went back to work like normal. They made the chocolate, taffy, gobstoppers, and any other candy you could think of under the watchful eyes of Willy Wonka.  "Work harder Oompa's! we need more candy!" Said Wonka menacingly.

The Oompa-Loompas appeared to be working as normal to Wonka, but that was far from the case. The Oompas were busy sabotaging the machinery of the factory in order to distract Wonka so that they could take him out. They rigged the ever-lasting gobstopper machine to explode. They knew this would be enough of a distraction to over throw Wonka.

The next two days passed by, and it was time for the Oompa-Loompas to strike. The trap they had placed on the gobstopper machine went off, and the machine exploded causing great chaos in the factory. "What the hell was that!?" said Willy Wonka, as he went to go see what made that noise. As he stepped out of his office he saw the flaming gobstopper machine, and demanded the Oompa Loompas fix it. There was an issue though, the Oompa Loompas were not on the factory floor. Willy Wonka was enraged by this, and set off to go fix the machine himself. Willy Wonka approached the gobstopper machine with a fire extinguisher, but as he approached the Oompa Loompa's came out of hiding, and began their attack on Wonka.

Hundreds of Oompa Loompa's began pouring out of every hiding place in the factory and ran towards their boss. As Wonka realized what was going on, they had picked him up and thrown him into the raging fire of the gobstopper machine. As their boss was burned alive, the Oompa-Loompas celebrated their victory and put out the fire themselves. "We have finally been freed from this tyranny! " Fred proclaimed. " Now we can pursue whatever we want!". The Oompa's began to chant about their victory. "You can all go and find a new home, or stay here if you would like." Fred said.

The Chocolate factory was no more a chocolate factory. Some of the Oompa-Loompas decided to leave the factory totally to pursue their dreams. George went on to become a doctor at a local hospital, Bob wound up becoming a lawyer, and Henry opened up a very successful night club. Others stuck around to see what was to become of the place they had spent the majority of their lives seemingly enslaved.

The remaining Oompa-Loompas in the factory decided what the factory should produce now that they weren't being forced to make candy all day. They decided to turn the old chocolate factory into a bicycle factory as they all found out they enjoyed cycling.

Author's Notes: This story is a retelling of the story of how Ravana gained control of Lanka. Lanka is represented by the chocolate factory, and the Oompa-Loompas are representative of Ravana and his armies. Ravana seized Lanka similarly to how the Oompa-Loompas seized the factory. I thought this was a rather fun story to write with very relate-able character's to anyone who has ever seen the movies they are based off of.

Bibliography: The Uttara Kandra Christian Literature Society for India. The Sacred Books of the East Described And Examined: Hindu Series

Reading Notes: Mahabharata part B

The House of Fire:

Prince vidura guessed the plot of prince Duryodhana

Prince yudishthira knew they were in trouble from Vidura's words

The pandavas and Queen Kunti arrived at the palace at varanavata and marveled at its beauty

Yudishthira saw that although the palace was beautiful, it was covered in oil and would burn down easily, so he questioned why they were that way

Vidura thought that if the Pandavas could dig an undeground tunnel, then they could escape the palace

They worked by night, and covered up their progress with wooden boards by day

Purochana was waiting for a moonless night to set fire to the palace

This gave the group more time to escape, and prince Bhima wound up setting fire to the guards tower

The fire was carried y wind to the palace, setting it ablaze

Indraprastha:

Duroydhana learned that the pandavas were still alive

They had formed a powerful alliance with Drupada

The Pandava brethren returned to Hastinapura with Vidura

 Dhritarashtra spake unto Yudhishthira and his brethren and said, "I will now divide the raj between you and my sons.

In time the fame of Rajah Yudhishthira went far and wide. He ruled with wisdom and with power, and he had great piety. 

Yudhishthira

The Gambling Match:

when Duryodhana had witnessed the triumph of the Pandavas, his heart burned with jealous rage

 Shakuni, Prince of Gandhara, and brother of Dhritarashtra's queen, was renowned for his skill as a gambler.

Duryodhana plotted with him, desiring greatly to subjugate the Pandavas,

Duryodhana was well pleased at this proposal

So it came to pass that the Pandava brethren, with Kunti, their mother, and their joint wife Draupadi, journeyed to Hastinapura in all their splendor.

On the day that followed, Yudhishthira and his brethren went together to the gambling match

At the first throw Yudhishthira lost; indeed, he lost at every throw on that fatal day

One by one he staked and lost his brethren, and he staked himself and lost also.

Duryodhana cursed Vidura, and bade one of his servants to bring Draupadi before him.

Bibliography: The Indian Heroes by C. A. Kincaid, Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie

Reading: Mahabharata Part A Favorites

Devavrata's Vow:

The King was sad and told Devavrata his secret

Devavrata went to find the daughter of the fisherman, and did so successfully

The fisherman informed devavrata that if Styavati bore sons, thenthey would not inherit the kingdom

Devavrata made a vow renouncing his claim to the throne to allow for Styavati's children to reign in the future

Devavrata was henceforth known as Bhisma 

Bhisma didend up ruling as a regent for some years

Drona:

Bhishma stated that young men should be trained to bear arms. 

He searched for a wise former warrior to teach people this

On his search he found Drona.

Drona had no mother, and was born by a nymph

Of similar origin was Drupada, son of a rajah named Prishata

The two friends grew up and were parted by fate

Drupada became a king, and Drona married and had children

Drona devoted himself to rearing his son, while he accumulated the wisdom of the sages and performed sacred rites with pious mind like to his holy sire.

heavenly weapons were bestowed upon Drona, and he went to visit his childhood friend

Drapuda did not accept his old friend as a friend any longer, saying that it had faded away

Drona

Drona's Revenge:

After the Pandavas and Kauravas became accomplished warriors. Drona sent them to smite Drapuda in battle

The two groups could not wage war together, due to their jealousies. The kauravas attakced first, and were defeated

The Pandavas then rushed against the enemies of Drona

Drupada tried to turn the tide of the battle surrounding himself with powerful warriors.

The Pandavas were too much to conquer, and they laid waste to the capital

Drupada was brought before Drona, and Drona said "At last I have conquered thy kingdom, and thy life is in my hands. Is it thy desire now to revive our friendship?"

Drona took possessions of half the kingdom, and the two became "friends" once more

Drupada sought of ways to bear a son who could defeat his enemy

Bibliography:  Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie

Week 5: Story Planning: How the Oompa-Loompa's Seized The Chocolate Factory

The idea for this story comes from The Uttara Kandra . The retelling of the story of how Ravana gained possession of Lanka. It will be set in Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, and will involve the oompa Loompa's gaining control of the factory. Dialogue between leader's of an Oompa Loompa rebellion will lead to the initial attack of the workers. After a back and forth altercation between Wonka and his former workers's, the rebellious group decides they are not satisfied with their freedom, and seek more land. Ravana would be represented by the Oompa Loompa's and Wonka would represent Kuvera. I thought of the Oompa Loompa's because I just saw a picture of one, and thought it would be an interesting twist to this story.

Kuvera

In the original story:
Sumali came from Patala and told Ravana to regain Lanka
Prahasta was sent as an envoy to Kuvera, convincing him to leave
Ravana then occupied Lanka,  and married the daughter of Asur Maya , Mandodari
Not satisfied with his conquering of Lanka, Ravana set off to Kuvera's place of exile
The two battled, where Ravana changed forms, and defeated Kuvera
Ravana took a pushpaka car from the dead Kuvera
Ravana was then Known as "terror to creatures"

Bibliography: The Uttara Kandra Christian Literature Society for India. The Sacred Books of the East Described And Examined: Hindu Series

Reading Notes: Nivedita Ramayana Part B

Indrajit, Ravana's Son:

Rama was overwhelmed with grief as Sita had been killed by Indrajit

Vibhishana thoughtthis to be untrue

he said it was merely a device to delay the monkey army until indrajit had performed a sacrifice and became invincible in battle

The two rose and pursued Indrajit

They find Ravana's son and then kill him causing great rage from ravana

Ravana vowed to end Rama and Lakshman

Indrajit

Ravana's Fury:

A great battle commenced killing a large portion of both armies

Sugriva killed many great warriors

Ravana arrives wielding a Brahma weapon and scattering monkeys about

Rama and Ravana launched attacks back and forth at each other

Lakshman came in to assist Rama  

Rama set his mind upon the battle, and Hanuman went to Himalaya and brought back healing herbs for Lakshman

Rama was granted a chariot by the gods, and Ravana then launched a great weapon at Rama which turned into snakes

The presiding gods of the weapons in the battle sided with Rama, and Rama began to injure Ravana

Ravana Slain:

Rama hymns to the sun, and is purified

He then turned to deal with the impending attack of Ravana

The battle began and Rama chopped off the many heads of Ravana, but more kept growing back

Rama then took up the Brahman weapon given to him

He set the weapon on his bow and fired it at the chest of Ravana

Bibliography: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists: Ramayana Sister Nivedita 

Reading Notes: Nivedita Ramayana

Ravana's Wrath:

Ravana was advised to destroy Rama by carrying away Sita

He approved of this adivse, and sought the help of Maricha 

Ravana wanted to destroy the sacrifices of brahmans and possess the wives of others

Maricha warned Ravana not to mess with Rama, because rama was going to kill him

Sita Stolen:

Ravana assumes the shape of a wandering Yogi

He approachedSita and tried to persuade her to leave the forrest with him

She told her story of being Rama's wife, and this angered Ravana

Ravana reveals himself, and once again attempts to persuade Sita

Sita is angered by this 

They go back and forth for a bit, until Ravana seizes Sita and takes her away

Sita Stolen

Sugriva:

Rama and Lakshman reach the mountain where Sugriva lives

Sugriva lived in exile and was driven from his home and robbed of his wife by his brother Vali

Lakshman told sugriva that Rama needed his help

Rama and Sugriva were made sworn friends

Ramahelps Sugriva regain his throne

Sugriva assembled all the monkeys in the world to aid Rama

Bibliography: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists: Ramayana Sister Nivedita

Tech Tip: Canvas Mobile App

Canvas App

Until this semester I had not been utilizing the canvas app. Instead I would just get onto safari on my phone, and log in to canvas through that each time I wanted to check something on my phone regarding a class. Using the app has made that process so much easier, and the app is formatted for the phone. So, I don't run into any of the issues I would while using the web browser on my phone. 

Tech Tip: Google Timer

Google Timer:

I had never used google timer before today, but I am going to try to incorporate it into my work flow. I feel like setting specific amounts of time for me to work on certain things will increase my efficiency. Especially when taking breaks. Having that audible reminder will prevent me from accidentally spending too much time doing one thin, or not doing another task.

Week 4 Story: Donkey Kong's Capture

King K. Rool was the evil king of the Kremlins, and often found himself kidnapping others to try and defeat his biggest foes. After observing from the trees for a while, Donkey Kong knew he needed to do something to save his friend. Diddy kong had been captured by King K. Rool, and was dwindling away in his improsonment. Donkey over heard K. Rool telling Diddy that he would be killed unless he told the King where Donkey Kong was hiding. Diddy kong's days were numbered, he only had two months until he would be executed. Upon hearing these details Donkey Kong started to run away along the tree tops to go think up a plan to save his friend. In doing so Donkey smashed tree limbs to the ground, and caused several of K. Rool's minions to become alerted to his presence. At first only smaller low ranking kremlins were sent at Donkey kong. After them more highly trained kremlins came after Donkey Kong. One by one King K. Rool's evil army went after Donkey Kong only to be shot down by Donkey Kong's Coconut rifle. After watching several of his minions meet their demise at the hands of Donkey, King K. Rool knew he needed to try anther approach. He sent his top general to bind Donkey kong up and bring him back to his Kremlin Keep. Donkey kong had grown tired, so he was bound rather easily by the top ranking member of K. Rool's army. As he was bound by the rope, Donkey kong fell to the earth, and was dragged back to K. Rools Keep. Once they arrived at the Kremlin's Keep, Donkey kong had regained his energy, but decided to not make a move to free his friend yet. King K. Rool was excited as he thought he had finally captured his biggest enemy, but just as K. Rool was starting to gloat Donkey kong burst out of his binding. An epic battle was about to commence.

King K. Rool

Author's Notes: In this week's story I decided to take the story of Hanuman;s Capture and twist it with one of my favorite video game characters growing up. Donkey kong was one of my favorite games as a kid, so all of the characters are inspired by characters from the video games. Hanuman had just seen Sita as she crawled toward the tree he was hiding in. Hanuman then dashes away but is followed by Ravana's minions who are slain at first, but eventually manage to capture the giant monkey. He falls to the earth and is dragged to Ravana. I left it off at the battle to create some suspense.

Bibliography: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita

Wikipedia Trail: Ravana to Syama Sastri

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravana
I started this Wiki trail on Ravana as I was jus reading the page to help research for my storybook. I read about his use of the Veena, so I clicked that link to read a bit more about this instrument.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veena
I got to listen to the recording of veena improvisation, and I think that the veena sounds a like different combination of a guitar and a violin. From this link I clicked on Carnatic Music as I had never read about this system of music.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnatic_music

I had never heard of this system of music. It is commonly associated with southern India, an is oneof two main subgenres of classical Indian music. Carnatic music is usually performed by small ensembles. From here I wanted to know about some of thefamous composeres of carnatic music.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syama_Sastri
I am going to find a recordingof Syama Sastri's music as soon as I am finished writing this post. He seems to be a very accomplished Carnatic composer. Also a rather prolific one.

Syama Sastri

Comment Wall

Ravana's Memoirs

Here is my comment wall for my Storybook. It should be a fun and musical adventure.

Ravana

Reading Notes B: Ramayana Part D Favorites

Ravana and Lakshmana:

Ravana mounted his chariot remembering those who had already died.

He set off followed by his army.

Ravana sees his brother fighting for Rama

Ravana flings a dart at Lankshmana and pinned him to the earth

Rama speaks out to Lankshmana

Battle of Rama and Ravana:

Shakra sent down from Heaven his car and his charioteer, named Matali, to aid Rama

Ravana sent him a rakshasa weapon

The presiding deities of all the weapons came to stand by Rama

the revered Agastya, came to  the gods to witness the defeat of Ravana, drew near to Rama and taught him

Then Rama hymned the Sun, and purified himself

Ravana's death seemed no nearer than before

Ravana's Death:

Rama darted forward and shot off one of Ravana's heads, but another grew in its place

Rama seized the flaming weapon which Brahma had created for the protection of the gods and struck Ravana down with it

The rakshasa hosts broke in flight when Ravana fell, and Rama entered the city in triumph.

Ravana's death

Bibliography: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita,  Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie