Indian Epics Blog

  Week 6 Lab     For this week's story lab, I decided to explore EmpoWord. Specifically, Chapter 2: Telling a Story. Chapter Two: Telling a Story: Narration is an important aspect of storytelling and choices during narration can create an impactful beautiful and interesting story Important vocabulary words: characterization, dialogue, dynamic character, epiphany, flat character, mood, multimedia, narration, narrative pacing, narrative scope, narrative sequence, plot, pov, round character, static character, & tone scope refers to the boundaries of your plot: where/when does it begin and end? whats its focus? it is important with scope to drive a story and prune out extraneous situations You can say more by digging deep into a few ideas or events instead of trying to relate every idea or event The most impactful stories are those that represent something  In media res  refers to starting your story with action rather than exposition (an antagonistic, imagistic...

  Mahabharata Online: Public Domain Edition Author: Multiple Part B: The Gambling Match Duryodhana knew he cold not overcome the Pandavas in open conflict  He plotted with his people to accomplish their fall by artifice Shakhuni plays with loaded dice and is renowned for his skill as a gambler Duryodhana went to his father and requested that he plan a friendly gambling match Pandava brethren were at first reluctant to the gambling match but came to pass and journeyed to Hastinapura All the princes and great chieftains gathered at a pavilion decorated by gold and lapis lazuli for the gambling match Yudhishthira announced that having been challenged they cannot withdraw and wanted to know who claims this challenge  Doryodhana announced he will provide the stakes but his uncle Shakuni will throw the dice Yudhishthira exclaimed that this request is odd and different from normal practice but will abide by these rules Rajah of Inda. Knew the match would not be played fairly but...

Mahabharata Online: Public Domain Edition Author: Multiple Part A: The Arrival of Karna There is a tournament where warriors can display their skills Right before the tournament is ending and unknown warrior arrived The unknown warrior was Karna the son of Surya and of Kunitz Karna approached the youngest son of Kunti, Arjuna. And they are both unaware that they are actually brothers Karna vowed to surpass any challenges that Arjuna faced today in the contest if permitted by Drona Drona gave the warrior permission to display his skills, where he then completed each that Arjuna was given Duryodhana embraced Karna while Arjuna detested the idea of him showing up and making this display Both brothers cried out eachother, Karna told Arjuna that field of combat is free and that is where you win by strength and skill Imagery created by the sun god Surya and the mighty Indra Kunti the mother of the Brothers was divided as she knew who Karna was by his voice and armor Duryodhana and his group ...

The Streets Tyrone and Sasha were a very loving couple and have gone through a lot together. They were together when Tyrone was arrested and sent away to live on his own. Tyrone and Sasha were together when Sasha was kidnapped by her crazy ex-boyfriend. This may have been one of the worst tragedies this couple has faced. However, through it all, they have stayed together and have managed to keep their relationship intact. This was until the rumors had started. Many rumors were surfacing that Sasha was not kidnapped by her crazy ex-boyfriend, but that she had left on her own accord to be with him. Tyrone did not want to believe the rumors and so he did what any man would do. Tyrone made a secret plan to test her. He decided he would have his friend slide in her DMS to see if she was loyal. To Tyrone's surprise, she had passed the test with flying colors. His friend did all he could to shoot his shot but in the end, she still turned him down. Tyrone felt guilty and even ended up tell...

  Ramanaya -   The Divine Archer Author: F. J. Gould (1911) Part B: Rama slays Vali with an arrow Word is told to Hanuman who is running a search party for Rama that she is in Lanka Hanuman reaches Lanka and gives her Ramas ring and informs her Rama is coming Ravana sets Hanumans to tell on fire which ends up causing Lanka to go up in flames Hanuman returns to camp with a jewel given by Sita Vibishana goes to Rama's side and preparations for war begin Rama takes the advice of the ocean god and builds a bridge to Lanka There are days of battle and Lakshmana is injured during a battle The god Indra gives Rama a chariot as well as weapons With the help of India’s bow, Ravana is slain by Rama Rama tells Sita she must prove her fidelity by walking through fire After walking through unscathed Rama and Sita embrace each other Even after the test of fire Rama listens to the gossip of the people and sends her into exile After many years there is a special horse sacrifice where twins re...

Ramanaya - The Divine Archer Author: F. J. Gould (1911) Part A: Birth of the four sons to Dasharatha by his three queens Rama is the greatest amongst the four brothers The King lets Rama go to help Vishvamitra defeat demons Sita and Rama fall in love at first sight To win Sita's hand Rama must bend the bow of the god Shiva Rama bends the bow until it breaks Parashurama is a rival suitor and is angry about hearing someone broke Shivas bow Paras. Challenges Rama to string the Vishnu’s bow  Rama does so with ease and earns his respect/honor Rama as well as his four brothers all get married on the same day There are plans for Rama to become the successor to the king Manthara manipulates the queen (mother of Bharata) to oppose Rama  She is owed two wishes so the King obeys and Bharata becomes the successor and Rama is exiled for 14 years Sita and Lakshmana insist on going into exile with Rama The king foreshadows that Rama's exile is to fulfill a life long curse caused by one of hi...

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     Week 4 Lab      I decided to browse the writer's write website for my week 4 lab. After browsing the website for a while there were two articles that stuck out to me the most. Both had useful tips for story writing which will be very helpful for this class. Here are some of the notes I took on the two: The Super Simple Story Structure & How to Use It The story structure was broke down into 5 distinguishable parts. One of the first was your goal and they had featured the question "what does the protagonist want more than anything. This is important as you want your protagonist to have a clear end goal and the audience can have something to cheer on toward the finish line. The next part of the structure was the plan which basically means to make sure your audience understands why the protagonist chose the strategy they do to reach their goal. The third part of the structure is "stakes", which is actually two parts. This allows for the story to be ent...

  Ramanaya Online: Public Domain Edition Author: Multiple Part D: King of the ocean helped Rama form a bridge to cross the ocean to get to Lanka Ravana tried tricking Sita into thinking Rama was dead Ravanas son Indra fights the monkey Rama  Rakshasas wake Ravanas demon brother and send him towards the monkey army Indra enters the battle and killed a lot of monkeys but they were being healed by the herbs released when Hanuman threw the mountain  Indra like his father can create illusions, so he tries to trick Rama into thinking Sita is dead Lakshmana kills Indra and Ravana gets revenge by attacking Laksh. And stabbing him in the heart Lakshmana was healed and rescued by Hanu A sage named Aga appeared and told Rama how Ravana could be defeated Rama shot one of Ravanas heads off but another grew back Rama used the celestial flaming weapon he obtained from Brahma and killed Ravana After the battle, Rama and Sita face another hardship Rama believes that Ravana has tainted Sit...

  Ramanaya Online: Public Domain Edition Author: Multiple Part C: Rama and Lakshmana set out to find Sugriva for his protection. Hanuman takes them Vali destroyed his younger brother Sugriva’s life. Sugriva asks Rama for help to confront his older brother in battle Tara is Vali’s wife and she asks Vali not to battle Sugriva because she knows of Ramas power Rama ambushes Vali from the bushes and kills him with an arrow Following Valis death, Sugriva is appointed from prince to king and everyone mourns their late king Sugriva tells Rama he will help him find Sita but they must wait for the end of the rainy season Rama is still exiled so he cannot enter any city The rainy season ended. Rama receives the help from Sugriva who sends four armies looking for Soita Simpatico informs them that Sita is being held captive on the island of Lanka Hanuman battles the Rakshasi and defeats him Hanuman finds Sita but she is being guarded by Rakshasis Rakshasis guarding Sita . (Source: PDE Ramayana)...

  Preschoolers and Praise: What Kinds of Messages Help Kids Grow? &  How to Give Bad Feedback Without Being a Jerk      I think learning feedback strategies is important. In most of the classes that I have taken since I have attended OU has required us to implore so version of feedback. Mostly in discussions, we have had to reply and give feedback to our peers, however, we have never been taught how our feedback can be part of their learning process. The first article Preschoolers and Praise explored the growth mindset. More specifically, mindsets are malleable and can be changed. One of the more important ideas it explored was replacing generic praise with process praise. This is important as this article focuses on fixing mindsets in children which is great as it is important to introduce these ideas at a young age. Next, I read the article How to Give Bad Feedback Without  Being a Jerk which explored four important steps to make your criticism const...

Story ideas: I one topic I am deciding to further research on is epic heroes. In Ramayana there are numerous stories about that fit my definition of an epic hero. A few of them are:   Thataka In this story, Rama is faced with one of his first battles against the shapeshifting women Thataka. In this episode, Rama kills Thataka, as well as, receives celestial weapons as a reward for his efforts.  Source ( Source:  PDE Ramayana ) Viradha In this story Rama and Lakshmana attempt to save Sita from a demon who abducted her, which is an obvious act of heroism. The demon was difficult to defeat due to the fact that Viradha has special protection that prevents him from being harmed by sharp weapons. The extreme difficulty to defeat Viradha forced them to cast him into a pit because he could not be killed. Source Battle with Khara This episode features one of the biggest battles Rama had to face. I...

The Air Max     There were once two brothers who admired each other deeply. Their names were Rodney and Brandon, however, Rodney had been cast away by his widowed mother. Rodney's mother was vindictive of him because he was not actually her son. Rodney and Brandon had different mothers and so Rodney was the product of his father's affair. Rodney and Brandon's father was killed in an accident recently. Rodney had been sent away by his mother after the death of her husband. For some reason, she believed he was to blame for her husband's death. Brandon was strongly opposed to his brother being sent away but he could not oppose his mother. Rodney was highly respected in the community and by his peers, though those feelings were not reciprocated by his mother. Rodney had been away for a few weeks living on his own and finding his way. Brandon had been missing his brother and had been looking for him all over. Brandon had finally got some reliable information on his brothe...

  Ramanaya Online: Public Domain Edition Author: Multiple Bharata Returns Bharata has not known that that his father Dasharatha is dead He returned to the palace and found out about his father  He vows to bring his brother Ramahome who his banished Dasharatha's Funeral Bharata was endowed with words from the saint Vashishtha The king was placed on a car and was carried by servants They spent 10 days mourning lying on the ground (wives of the monarch, counsellors, priests, Bharata) Rama and Bharata Bharata seeks out Rama in the forest to persuade him to come back They embraced each other and mourned their father Bharata vowed to stay in the forest for 14 years so that Rama could return to Ayodhya However Rama said neither of them can change the commands of Dasharatha The Sandals Since Rama could not be convinced Bharata wanted to take something to represent his absence He took a pair of sandals which have touched Ramas feet  Bharata have Rama a pair of new sandals decked i...