Portfolio Guide

Mainaka and Hanuman
Rama reveals his true character
The Shift of Power
The Pandavas Escape

Storytelling Week 5: Mainaka and Hanuman

The mountain Mainaka has been hiding for years underneath the waves of the ocean. Mainaka is the last remaining mountain with wings since Indra had been removing the wings of all the mountains. Mainaka knows that if it shows itself for too long it Indra will come and remove its wings. However, Mainaka has something that is more important than its wings to worry about: Mainaka cares more about helping Hnauman, great friend of Sita's love Rama, in search of Sita.

Everyone in the land seems to have Sita, soon to be queen, as their interest. Everybody is more than willing to help Hanuman not only find Sita but come up with a way to injure Ravana, the ruler of Lanka, and his power. Mainaka rises to the world and shows itself as it comes out of the sea, not worried about what Indra thinks but to give Hanuman a rest on his journey. He is on the great journey to save Sita and return her to her love Rama who is deeply concerned about her well-being. Hanuman, on his journey, settles before the great Mainaka. Mainaka informs Hanuman of the great task he has before him to find Sita and defeat Ravana. Mainaka tells Hanuman, "This is very brave of you but incredibly dangerous to challenge Ravana. You will need as much help as possible and I can be of great assistance if you will trust me." After a long conversation, with Mainaka explaining how much it would like to bring down Ravana due to the years of torture he has put the people through, they together devise a plan to save Sita and permanently injure Ravana and bring terror down on Lanka. 

Hanuman then takes his form as a cat and ventures into the village of Lanka. Hanuman spends many days in the village learning great things about Ravana and clues to where Sita is being held.  Hanuman is operating as a great spy would in a foreign land, and he was figuring out exactly what he could do to terrorize the lands of Lanka and give any advantages to Rama, Ravana's great enemy. 

Hanuman, before informing Sita that he was there to save her, returned to the shores to relay all of the information he had gathered over the past days to Mainaka. He then prepped Mainaka on what he was going to do on his return journey into the city of Lanka to find Sita. Mainaka agreed with his plan and immediately put the plan into action.

The next day both parties moved into place. Hanuman would head to Lanka to find Sita as Mainaka would move into position and then wait for Hanuman to send the signal that he retrieved Sita. Hanuman went into the city and knew exactly where Sita was located. He timed his moves precisely and attacked right when he knew no guards would be paying attention to Sita. Sita was shocked to see Hanuman, as she was not expecting anyone to come for her, but she knew he would explain later and that she should go with him now. They left quickly and quietly. However, as soon as they were out of reach, Hanuman began setting fire to the many trees around Lanka. Sita was very confused why this was happening but Hanuman informed her that this was a signal for the great mountain Mainaka.

Meanwhile, Mainaka was waiting to see the flames that Hanuman had told Mainaka he would send as soon as he had Sita. Mainaka saw the flames and moved into position. Mainaka knew that Hanuman would have not sent the signal without allowing himself time to get out of the city with Sita. Mainaka was correct. Hanuman and Sita headed straight for the shores and they turned back to the city. When they turned around everything in the city began rising, but the ground was crumbling as it rose. Then emerging from below the city was the great Mainaka forming a mountain from underneath Lanka. As Mainaka rose, the city was destroyed and the cultivated lands were ruined forever. Hanuman had emerged with Sita and left the lands of Lanka destroyed and ablaze.

Mainaka has helped Hanuman free Sita from the grasp of Ravana. Mainaka felt this mission was a test for him and he wanted to prove he could use his wings for good. Mainaka's intentions were good  and he did all of this knowing he would show himself to Indra and potentially would lose his wings. After the mission was completed, Indra paid a visit to Mainaka and informed Mainaka he would be able to keep his wings as long as he continued to use them for good and not for evil. If he did use them for evil, Indra would return to clip the wings off of Mainaka. 

Hanuman leaving Lanka ablaze 

Source: Wikipedia

Author’s Note: I have been focusing a lot of my stories on Rama and Ravana. As much as I have enjoyed developing that relationship and rivalry, I felt like doing something new. As important as Rama and Ravana are I wanted to really focus on a character who puts in good efforts throughout the story. That is why I focused on Hanuman who we learn a lot about from Buck during his journey to find Sita. With Mainaka, I just felt that the character of a mountain allowed for me to get very creative. That is why I chose to go with the idea of Mainaka leaving the land in shambles as Mainaka went from resting under the seas to resting under Lanka. Mainaka would still be able to hide from Indra but was forced to sacrifice its lifestyle to help Rama, Sita, and Hanuman. The idea of everyone coming together in favor of providing help to Rama as they form a coalition to combat Ravana is an important aspect of the rivalry between Ravana and Rama. 

Source:

• Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way. 

Online Education Review

I have take roughly 7 or 8 online courses over the last four years. I have enjoyed some and dreaded some. I was glad this was one i enjoyed. I liked the structure of having assignments due on a daily basis and that the grading system is very fair. I have never been a fan of online classes where the teacher grades extremely hard because I believe the student is at a disadvantage. I prefer the classroom as opposed to being online. However, with a busy schedule I do believe the online learning can be very effective. I would easily take some of my online courses again, but at the same time there are some I would easily not take again. 

I prefer the college classroom 

Source: Wikipedia

Gen. Ed. Review

I think the gen. ed. program does need a big overhaul. I am glad to hear OU is considering that. Although, I do not know what direction they are going I know what I would like it to look like as a student. Personally, if you are not a major that requires science I believe there is no reason to take a science class. Many people who will never need science or have interest in science struggle in those classes a lot and it provides no help to them later in life. Going to law school and hoping to be a corporate attorney I am not sure when I will ever use geology, meteorology, or nutrition in my life. I learned more about meteorology by watching the weather growing up as a kid in Oklahoma than I did from my professor. Also, my geology TA was fired after my semester for failing too many kids as they had to correct the grades for our lab section just so we would all get Bs and Cs while all the other sections got As. English requirements are fine I believe along with math and history. However, the arts is another section that is troublesome. Understanding Music is one of the biggest jokes of a class I have ever been in. Glad to hear Boren is finally considering a change to the curriculum instead of just worrying how many national merits we can get to come to OU.

Speaking of Meteorology: Moore, OK

Source: Wikipedia 

College Writing Review

Coming out of high school I considered myself a pretty good writer. I took AP English my senior year and my teacher made it his goal to have us prepared to start writing at the college level.  English Comp 1 and 2 were helpful classes but I also felt like I was doing a lot of busy work in those classes instead of working on how to write. However, I am a Letters major with a Constitutional Studies minor so most of my classes are writing based. I have mastered the ability to write a very long paper in a short amount of time and get a B on it. Although that is a terrible skill when I do put a lot of time in papers I seem to get As pretty easily. College has made me a better writer and I do attribute a lot of my writing skills to my high school, but overall there are still many little things I need to work on as I move forward into law school. Some things I feel like are just inherent to a person as habitual and very hard to overcome. For example, I struggle greatly with proof reading my own work because I know what I want it to say and read it that way instead of what it actually says, therefore, I misread almost all of my work when proofreading.

One of the more interesting stories from this half of the class

Source: Wikipedia

Week 14 Reading Diary B

For the part B of the week 14 reading we picked up where Buck had left us. Shaunaka is listening to Sauti tell the story of the Mahabharata he had heard recited by Vaishampayana in Hastinapura. Anyways, after the battle Bhisma is still alive. He will control his own death and must choose the perfect moment for when to pass. As in Narayan's version, Bhisma chooses to pass at the exact moment of the Winter Solstice. The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year. They took the body of Bhishma and burn it into ashes. They take the ashes and pour them into the Ganges. Meanwhile, Yudhisthira is in such great despair due to bringing so many people to death over the course of the battle, no one can seem to bring him back to higher spirits. He then has the dream. This dream is himself on a journey with his brothers and Draupadi. The only other accompaniment is that of a dog. However, along the way everyone dies except for him and the dog. They continue along their journey together. However, the dog was simply a test in the dream so he could get to heaven but all the sudden he realizes his brothers are not there, instead they are all in hell. He then awakens and finds Draupadi beside him and he is restored in his spirits. He then declares the war as officially over and is made king. They then have a great festival following the coronation. The very end of the Mahabharata is with Takshaka taking Askita to the naga kingdoms under the world.

Yudhisthira and the Dog

Source: Wikipedia 

Week 14: Reading Diary A

In week 14 we picked up where we left off in week 13 with the incident at the lake. Duryodhana's next step was to make the entire lake impenetrable. Yudhisthira then proposes that Druyodhana fights on of the Pandavas, so he fights Bhima. The fight takes place at the lake and brim defeats him. Druyodhana is then found in agony after Bhima smashed his thighs. However, Duryodhana is proud to have fallen in battle and proud to die that way. Ashwatthaman becomes the leading general andpreares for the night raid on the Pandavas camp. However, the Pandavas are sleeping outside the normal camp that night. The camp is guarded by a manifestation of Shiva in the form of a three eyed giant dressed in tiger skin. Ashwatthaman at first attacks the giant but then offers himself as a sacrifice to Shiva and earns his way inside the camp. He, once inside, kills many of the people inside. As soon as the news is given to Druyodhana, he passes away. After the late night raid of the camp there are not many survivors left on either side of the battle. Vyasa then takes the gift of sight away from Sanjaya. He composed the Mahahharata for the benefit of humanity. Eventually Dhritarashtra is able to embrace the Pandavas. Vyasa enters the Ganges and an army rises up until eventually the Drona leads the ghost army back into the lake. 

Duryodhana in the lake

Source: Wikipedia

Reading Diary B Week 13: The Battle

For part B of week 13 I continue with the reading of Buck's Mahabharata. This part of the diary will cover from page 247 to page 305. This week picked up with the looming battle . Vyasa goes to Hastinapura to warn Dhritarashtra of the preparations being taken. We then see Dhritarashtra admit to Vyasa that he has now ability to control his sons and they will do as they please even if he disagrees with them. Sanjay, who had been bestowed with great vision in order to see the entire battle, narrates the entire battle to Dhritarashtra. Duryodhana has a much larger army than that of Yudhishthira. The major event that happens next is when Bhishma is struck with so many arrows he falls from his chariot. The battle immediately comes to a halt as flowers begin to fall from heaven. Bhishma has the ability to choose the exact moment of his death and decides to wait until the winter solstice which is the shortest day of the year. Krishna places Bhishma into a peaceful sleep so that he feels no pain. Duryodhana promotes Drona to take Bhishma's place and orders him to capture Yudhishthira alive. Arjuna's young friend Uttara asthenia trapped behind enemy lines and killed by the Kauravas. Arjuna in return slaughters Jayadartha and causes Jayadartha's fathers head to explode due to his very own curse. Dona kills Drupada during battle but then finds out his very own son has been killed. Although it is not actually his son that his dead, he believes it is and falls into despair leading to his very own death. Karna and Arjuna then battle each other. Arjuna is able to kill Karna who is attempting to kill all of the Pandavas. The lone survivors on the side of Duryodhana go to find him hiding in a lake. However, the Pandavas hear of this and go to the lake forcing all of the survivors to hide while they confront Duryodhana.

Arjuna and Karna

Source: Wikipedia

Reading Diary A Week 13: Yudhisthira's conflict

This week I chose to continue reading Buck's Mahabharata. We picked up in week 13 with pages 191 to 246. The beginning of the section is the story of the Pandavas at the lake. Yudhishthira is sending his brothers one after another to retrieve water from the nearby lake. However, none of them return. After a while he himself goes to look for the rest of his Pandava brothers. When Yudhishthira arrives at the lake he finds the bodies of all of his brothers laying by the lake. Eventually, Yudhishthira discovers that this is a test from his divine father, Dharma. He must answer questions before he is allowed to drink any water. Yama the Dharman King, then revives all of the bodies of the Pandava brothers. Next the Pandavas are deciding where to spend the thirteenth year of exile and they decide to do so in the court of King Virata in the Matsya kingdom. All of the Pandavas take on certain roles within the kingdom in order to disguise themselves. We then meet Kichaka, one of Virata's generals, who has a desire for Draupadi. This causes quite the commotion when he assaults Draupadi. However, she gets even with him when she has Bhima crush Kichaka into a ball of flesh. Sanjay then comes to visit the Pandavas by way of Dhritarashtra. It is an attempt to settle the issues between the Pandavas and Duryodhana.

Kichaka and Draupadi

Source: Wikipedia

Week 12 Reading Diary B:

In part B of the week 12 reading we pick up with Arjuna and Urbashi. Urvashi is trying to woo Arjuna, however, he does not fall for her tap and she forces him to live for a year as a eunuch. Indra along with Chitraratha teach Arjuna music and dancing along with the use of divine weapons. Next we return to Yudhisthira and the Pandavas. Yudhisthira has a dream where the Pandavas are ased to leave the forest soon because they are scaring all the deer away. We then learn the story of Mankanaka and Shiva having to end his dancing to save the world. We then learn of Rishyashringa who was the son of Vibhandaka and the deer who had drank the sperm of Vibhandaka. Rishyashringa was growing antlers from his head. The Pandavas, meanwhile, left the forest and went on a journey to Mount Kailasa. However, they were attacked by the mountain when Yudhisthira disrupted the silence. Later on in the same place we see the Gandharvas attack. Duryodhana has to be reduced by Bhima and Arjuna. He is so embarrassed by this that he resolves to die until Kali encourages him to live. While in the woods the Pandavas are visited by Krishna and Vyasa. They tell them the love story of Savitri to please Draupadi.

Savitri 

Source: Wikipedia

Week 12 Reading Diary A: Gambling & The Fallout

In the reading diary of part A for week 12 we are reading pages 93 through 138. It picks up rather quickly with the game of dice set to take place. They begin the match with Yudhisthira representing the Pandavas and Shakuni representing Duryodhana. Shakuni is now to be a skilled dice thrower. They begin to bet many things that you would imagine such as gold and other valuables. However, when he starts losing Yudhisthira gambles away all of his brothers, himself, and eventually Draupadi. Draped is set to work in the kitchen. Then she is summoned to Assembly Hall with Dushashana who strips her dress off, however, thanks to Krishna overtime a dress is removed another one appears. Dhritarashtra intervenes freeing everyone and restoring them of their riches. Then after the final throw of the dice, the Pandavas and Draupadi agree to go into exile. Vyasa then reappears in the forest to tell Yudhisthira the story of King Nala, the king of the Nidasha people. Nala was chosen by Damayanti, as they were madly in love with each other, to be her husband. The evil spirit Kali was also in love with her and vowed to ruin their happiness. Kali eventually found a wy to take everything from Nala and eventually forced him to try and get Damayanti to return to her father's house instead of stay with Nala. However, instead she decided to search for Nala against all advice received until she was attacked. Only then did she return to ask her father for assistance in the search for Nala. Eventually the two were reunited and Nala won back his kingdom and wealth in a game of dice. Visa then taught Yudhisthira the science of gambling with dice.

Nala and Damayanti

Source: Wikipedia

Storytelling Week 11: The Pandavas Escape

Dhriarashtra, the blind king, knew he had to get the Pandavas, who were the sons of his brother Pandu. He wanted to get rid of them so he forced them out of the kingdom. However, he put in charge of tracking the Pandavas his sons Duryodhana and Dushasana. These two sons had a very strong dislike for the Pandavas so they decided they would figure out a way to get rid of the Pandavas for once and for all. Duryodhana approached his brother, Dushasana, and presented him with a plan to kill off the Pandavas. His brother thought the plan was outstanding and decided they needed to present the plan to Purochana, the man they had chosen to keep guard of the Pandavas house, to see how he felt about executing their plan.

The brothers told Purochana, "Purochana, we must get rid of these Pandavas and we have devised a great plan. When we put the Pandavas into their new house of exile we will need you to set it ablaze. Is there any way you will be able to execute this without people knowing we are responsible?" 

Purochana acknowledged their plan and assured them he would take care of it. "Trust me, I am the smartest man in the land when it comes to trickery. I will design the house so that when it is set to fire there will be no way to get outside if the Pandavas are inside." 

The brothers were pleased as they returned to their father and informed him that everything was ready for the Pandavas. They then took the Pandavas to their new home. The brothers informed the Pandavas that this would be where the Pandavas would stay until they could come up with a more severe punishment for the Pandavas. The Pandavas were in good spirits. They did not seem fazed by the new home at all and instead they were excited. This reaction made the brothers question if something was going on they did not know about but instead they let it go as they knew their plan would be executed that night. 

The Pandavas were not down in their spirits for a very particular reason. They knew the house was going to get burned and they would be stuck inside. They knew because Vidura had come and warned Yudhisthira, the head of the Pandavas, what was going to happen. Once the Pandavas were inside their new home, they immediately began digging tunnels from the inside to the outside that were not visible from the exterior of the house. They also gathered corpses to place in the rubble in order to trick Purochana when he came to make sure they were dead. 

Purochana in the middle of the night set fire to the home of the Pandavas. The Pandavas immediately went to the tunnels and removed the dead corpses they had gathered to represent themselves. They then headed down the tunnel and out to the forest where they escaped into freedom. 

The next morning Purochana took the two brothers to the site of the Pandava's house and showed him the remains. They dug through the remains together and found the deceased remains of the Pandavas. The two brothers could now report to their father, the blind king, that they had accomplished their mission. 

Purochan and the Pandavas

Source: Wikipedia

Bibliography: Buck, William (1973). Mahabharata. 

Author's Note: This story comes from part B of the week 11 readings in Buck's Mahabharata. I chose this story because I thought it was a very interesting aspect and wanted to add some of my own dialogue and details to bring more of the story out. The Pandava's characters can obviously be portrayed as the "good guys" from the story. However, I also feel there is more of a "'bad guys" conflict with the brothers and their father, the king, that I wanted to present. Since he is the blind king, I wanted this to be as if they were misleading their father in order to carry out their own desires of getting rid of the Pandavas. In doing so, we got a sense of karma as the brothers now realize not only are the Pandavas alive but their father will not be able to trust them to carry out any of his wishes in the future. Also, I intended to leave it open with the Pandavas as to create a sense of them drifting off into the future as "victorious."