Story: Facing Fate

Once upon a time, there was a powerful king and queen who ruled a mighty kingdom. Their people adored them for they were fair and just. However, the king and queen were sad because they could not bear any children. They prayed to their mighty god, Vishnu and he agreed to give them three children, however, the children’s fate was to fight against the banished witch Ravana. Vishnu promised the king and queen their children would succeed in everything they did. Eventually the couple received all three of their beautiful children. Two boys and the youngest, a girl. The boys, Bharata and Lakshmana, grew up to be strong and courageous, and the little girl, Sita was beautiful and wise.

One day, when Sita was walking out in the royal gardens, she saw a man. He was the most handsome man she had ever seen. He confidently walked up to her and the first thing she noticed was his eyes. They seemed so kind and full of love that she wanted to constantly stare at them. As he approached closer, she saw his gaze drift upward. His loving expression turned into something of a panic. She quickly looked behind her to see what had caught his attention but before she could turn, a giant creature grabbed her up and flew away. She looked up to see a familiar face. The creature looked like a goddess she had read about. It was Ravana. The evil witch was kidnapping her!

From the ground, Sita’s two brothers saw the scene and quickly run to Sita’s aide. They ran to their arrows that were near them and started shooting down the monster. Lakshmana’s arrow hit the witch in the arm and this caused the witch to drop their dear Sita. Panic spread through both of them as they saw their sister fall helplessly. They saw another man running to where Sita is falling. Sita landed gracefully in the stranger’s arms as the brother reached them.

Sita, who held her eyes closed this entire time opened her eyes to her loving stranger holding her in his arms. He gently placed her down on soft grass looking extremely worried. Her brothers ran up to her asking if she was hurt and she reassured them she was perfectly fine. They thanked the stranger, and the royal siblings learned his name was Rama. The four quickly ran into the palace to explain what had happened and plan to get rid of the evil witch. Sita, Bharata, and Lakshamana learned that they had been cursed with this fate since birth and they decided to finally face destiny. They knew they alone were the only ones that could complete this task.  

The next morning, the three, armed with swords and bows and arrows, set out on their quest. When they reached the palace gates, they saw that Rama was waiting ready with his own sword to set out. They tried to convince him to stay, but he insisted on following his princes and princess to the witch’s cave. So they set out to finally rid their kingdom of the evil.

Late in the night, deep in the forest, they came across her cave as she was sleeping. Lakshamana bravely stepped forward to pierce her heart with his sword but at as soon he lifted his weapon, the witch disappeared. They heroes looked around but the witch was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly a rock flew from the side of the cave and hit Bharata, causing him to fall unconscious on the cave floor. Another flew to Sita but Rama grabbed her and pulled her to the ground before the rock could hit her. Lakshamana started toward where the rock came from ready to attack but his sword burned his hands and the prince and his weapon fell to the ground in pain.

Sita ran to Lakshamana and as soon as she left Rama, Ravana snuck up behind Rama and held Lakshamana’s sword to Rama’s throat. As Sita looked back in terror, Ravana explained how she hated the royal family because they banished her for practicing black magic. Sita noticed Ravana’s hate made her oblivious to the fact that the witch did not try to disarm Sita. Sita quickly drew her arrow and called the witches name. As soon as Ravana looked to Sita, Sita sent an arrow that hit the witch right between her evil eyes. Ravana let go of Rama and fell to the ground and disappeared into thin air. Rama ran to Sita to check if she was okay. They quickly grabber Bharata and Lakshamana and the four returned home to spread the good news of freedom from the evil witch.

Sita waiting for her Rama

Author's Note: I was interested with the original story but I think Sita was to submissive and decided to give her a bigger role. The fight against the monsters were moments that stuck out the most to me so I decided to expand on those.

Bibliography: Public domain Ramayana: online reading

Reading Post: Narayan's Ramayana Part B

             Queen Kaikeyi told the death of Dasharatha to her son, Bharata. He got very angry at her saying that she caused him to lose his brother and his father. Shatrughna threatened to kill her but she fled. Bharata vowed to not take the throne but instead save it for Rama. While Bharata was grieving, Vasishtha appeared and comforted him. With Vasishtha’s encouragement, Bharata was able to give his father a proper funeral. 

           Bharata and Rama meet in the forest and share the sorrow of their lost father. However, in order to honor their father’s decisions, Rama had to remain in exile for fourteen years. Bharata offered Rama golden shoes but Rama refused to accept the gift. So Bharata ruled and the golden sandals were a symbol of royal authority.

Rama, Lakshmana, and Sita fight monsters and commune with gods in their time of exile. One day, Shurpanakha, Ravana’s sister, came to seduce Rama into leaving Sita. However, his love held strong and he did not succumb to Shurpankaha. He says he already has a wife but his brother, Lakshmana is alone. However, Lakshamana rejected her as well and she attacked Sita. This set off a war between Rama and Khara, Shurphakha’s brother. As the battle raged on, Rama was able to kill Khara and win the battle.

Shurphakha seeks help from Ravana who enlists the help of Maricha. Maricha turns into a gold deer to spy on Rama and Sita. Sita falls in love with the deer and requests Rama to obtain it for her. As soon as Rama kills the deer, the spirit of Maricha cries out and the three heros realize they had just slain Ravana’s brother.

Ravana kidnaps Sita soars away with her. At Ravana’s kingdom, Ravana tries to enchant Sita into becoming his wife. She constantly refused the evil creature and mourned for her Rama.

Rama rejecting Shurpanakha

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Bibliography: Public Domain Ramayana: online reading

Reading Notes: Narayan's Ramayana Part A

Maharajah Dasharatha is sad that he does not have any sons. The god Vishnu decides to kill two birds with one stone when he decides to be born as the four sons of Dasharatha and through these sons, Vishnu will deliver Ravana. The time came and Dasaratha’s sons, Rama, Vishvamitra, and Lakshmana went out for sacrificial rites. Rama fought against a witch named Thataka, and killed her by shooting her with his arrow.

            One day as Rama and Lakshmana are wandering around, Rama meets Princess Sita. It was literally love at first sight. The two only shared a moment but that moment was engraved in their memories. King Janaka meets the men and is immediately impressed. He gives his daughter’s hand in marriage. As this was happening, a bull-like creature came to challenge him but Rama was considered mighty.

            Dasharatha decides to make Rama as heir-apparent. Everyone loved this idea except his old nurse, Manthara. They had a disagreement long ago and ever since then, she hated him. Her and queen Kaikeyi devise a plan to exile Rama. Kaikeyi goads Dasharatha into banning Rama for fourteen years but she is rejected forever.

            Even though Rama is banished, Sita still loves him greatly. He planned to hide in the jungle and Sita offered to be with him through the journey. He tried to calm her but she refused to be separated from him. In the end, Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana left together. Little did they know this was the last time they would see their Maharajah Dasaratha

Rama and Sita

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Bibliography: Public Domain Ramayana: online reading

Growth Mindset

Before watching these videos, I had not heard about the Carol Dweck and her thoughts on the growth mindset. For my past, I know I would always think more in the "fixed method". I think this way of thinking stunts your learning by clouding your thoughts with negative thoughts. I learned early on that when I did not put effort into what I was doing, there was a difference in results from when I did. "Not yet" allows a person to be okay with failing because they understand it is needed on the path to success. I would be interested in learning more about this concept because it would encourage me to not only learn more but learn better. One of my biggest goals for this semester is getting into a graduate program. I want to study in a way that would help me achieve that goal and be able to do my best.

embrace change

Starting the Semester

To be Successful:

Plan ahead: I like to write down what I need to get done each week and then organize it for each day.

Plan

Favorite time of the day: If I have work to do for ever class, I like to have a set time when I do each. For example, I do my online work in the morning, write up my labs in between classes in the afternoon, and study for my harder classes in the evening.

Organize

Baby steps: Finally, I usually get overwhelmed thinking about a class or a semester as a whole, so I personally like taking it week by week. This allows me to reach my big goals by completing  smaller, obtainable checkpoints.

Succeed 

Reading Options

I have decided to use Narayan's Ramayana option because I feel like it will be easier to understand the story. I don't like being caught up in understanding different phrases and word choices so much that I am not able to experience the story as a whole. I plan to get a copy from Bizzell Library and use that for the semester. The characters I want to learn more about are Shiva, Rama, and Sita. I have often heard Shiva's name so I want to learn more about who he is and how he influences Indian culture. I'm also excited to learn about the love story between Rama and Sita. Their names keep being mentioned and I would like to know the whole story. 

Shiva and Arjuna

Date night with Rama and Sita

Storybook Favorites

The mysterious elephant

Himalayan Elephant: Going through the list of options, this title was one that immediately stood out to me. From the title itself, it invoked my curiosity as it sounded like a mystery story. The author did an excellent job describing the story without giving away any critical information. The author also did a fantastic job with design and layout. The site was had a mysterious undertone that prompted me to further explore. After I read the introduction, I wanted to know where Kamal and Rajim’s adventure led them, and if they ever found their mysterious Himalayan elephant.

The supreme Hindu god

Tales of Shiva: This story seemed interesting to me because Shiva is one of the most well-known gods of the Hindu religion. However, I felt as if I knew nothing about him. The introduction spoke about Shiva’s power and strength coupled with his renewal and intimacy. Although the layout was too plain for me, the imagery was made up for in the introduction. The author’s use of words was fantastic and the introduction was well written. It provided insight into who his god was and why he was considered “the supreme god” by some. I want to read more of this story because the author showed characteristics of Shiva that make him personable and interesting to learn about.

The squirrel and his rescuer 

Indian Tales as Told by Squirrel: The title itself is enough to interest the reader. I didn’t know what to expect, but I was amusingly surprised. This story is basically stories told by the viewpoint of a thousand-year-old squirrel. I enjoyed the creative concept behind it since we do have so many squirrels running around campus, and the introduction was very well written to fit the thoughts of what a squirrel might have. Overall, I think this was my favorite story. The design, layout, and images capture my attention, and the introduction provided substance to further explore.