Reading Notes Wilson;s Ramayana Part B

Title: The Indian Story Book: Rama's Quest
Author: Richard Wilson

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Sections 9 and 10
The battle has started and the monkeys seem to be winning. Rama and his brother face one of the generals and the general showered them with arrows. This severely wounded Rama and his brother but they were healed a bit later. They could continue the fight. Ravana decided to wake up his brother, who was a giant. It was a difficult task waking him up but once they did he ate and then fought. He was killed by Rama.


Section 11 and 12
The fighting continues until Ravana shows up to fight Rama. He is on a black chariot and the Gods evened it out by sending Rama a chariot. They begin the epic fight and Rama tears off one of his heads but it grows back. He then shoots him in the heart with an arrrow and kills Ravana. I think I will change the weapons that he uses in my story.

Section 13
Rama was so happy to find Sita but he made her go through a purity test. He did not want to but was pressured by others. She went into the flames and came out without burns because she was carried out by the God of fire. She had remained faithful to Rama. They lived out the rest of the exile and returned home to live together.

Photo Information- Kumbhakarna

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Reading Notes: Wilson's Ramayana Part A

Title: The Indian Story Book: Rama's Quest
Author: Richard Wilson

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Section 1 and 2

Rama wins Sita's hand in marriage by breaking an unbendable bow. He and Sita fall deeply in love. There were good times ahead but that did not last too long. For Rama lost his claim to the throne and was exiled from his kingdom.  

Section 3 and 4 

Still in exile they build a home for themselves and are happy. Bharata wants Rama to come back and lead their people but Rama refuses. He will live out his exile and return when it is over. One day they were attacked by giants and Rama fought them all off. He defeated them all but one escaped to talk to Ravana. 

Section 5 and 6

Sita is captured by Ravana, who approached her in disguise. Rama then tries to seek her out. He comes across Hanuman and he tells them of his leader Sugriva. Sugriva agrees to help find and rescue Sita once he has reclaimed his throne from his older brother. Rama helps him defeat his brother and they take back the kingdom and start the search for Sita.

Section 7 and 8
Hanuman finds Sita in Lanka and wants to rescue her. He cannot and gets captured. As an envoy they do not kill him but they light his tail on fire instead. Hanuman escapes and uses this to burn down half of Lanka as he runs through the city. He returns to Rama with a gift from Sita and they have to find a way to cross the ocean. 

Photo Information: Hanuman Carrying a mountain 

Reading Notes Part B: W.D. Monro

Title: Stories of Indian Gods and Heroes: Rama and Sita
Author: W. D. Monro

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Section 4
This is the point where Ravana captures Sita. A brave vulture tries to free Sita as Ravana flew away with her but he could not defeat him. He tells Rama who took her and where to find him. They would have to cross an ocean. Rama struggles with the loss of Sita and is willing to do anything to get her back. I like how he is devoted to one person.


Section 5
Rama comes back to find Sita missing. He and his brother argue for a bit on whose fault it is. That's when they find the vulture and he tells them what happened to Sita. Rama also meets Hanuman and Sugriva here. He helps them take back Sugriva's kingdom and then Sugriva will help find and rescue Sita.

Section 6
They cross the sea to find Ravana and defeat him. They build a bridge across the ocean and then attack Lanka. Rama ends up slaying Ravana and rescuing Sita. He then tests her loyalty to him. She was loyal and stepped out of the fire unharmed. Rama was overjoyed to see her again. This can be used to make a happy ending for my story or I ca make a twist and have the ending go sour. Not quite sure what  I want to do yet.

Photo Information- Ravana statue

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Reading Notes Part A: W.D. Monro

Title: Stories of Indian Gods and Heroes: Rama and Sita
Author: W. D. Monro

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Section 1

In this part of the story Rama is created to defeat Ravana. It then shows him growing up a bit then gets to the part where he wins Sita as his wife. I have used this part of the story before and I may come back to it to help get all the character details I need for Rama. 

Section 2

Rama is going to be made king but something happens preventing this. The king owed two boons to Kaikeyi and she demanded that her son be made king and that Rama be banished. Rama left to uphold his father's honor. He explains why they should not rebel against this decision. He is gone for 14 years. I can use this to show how honorable he is. He could have just stayed and overthrown them and taken over but he decided to do the right thing an leave. 

Section 4

Ravana appears to Sita in disguise. Sita was left alone while Rama hunted a deer and his brother was fooled by Ravana. He let out cries of help so Rama's brother went to go help Rama. He approaches her and starts sweet talking her and then reveals who he and why he is there. He tells her of his castle and his love for her and she rejects him. I can add some details on how Sita was captured for my stories. I like that the bad guy was in disguise here. I can use that and maybe twist up the details to make the disguise different or have him not reveal his identity until later. 

Photo information: Rama and Sita

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Reading Notes Hodgson: Part B

Title: Rama and the Monkeys

Author: Geraldine HodgsonSource

Council of Evil Beings
This part of the story focuses on Ravana and his decision to fight Rama or just release Sita to him. All of his council members, except one, agreed that if they fought Rama they would win. Ravana's younger brother was the one person who recommended that they just give Sita up. In the end the decision is made to fight Rama. I may use this to show how Ravana acted out of pride and will lose because of this.

Approach of the Monkeys
As the monkey army approached Lanka Ravana sent spies into their camp. They were discovered and released by Rama. Ravana sent more spies in and Rama released them too. He treated them all as messengers and made sure no harm came to them even though they were enemies. This shows a kind and compassionate side to Rama.

The Great Battle
Rama and Sugriva are badly injured and need healing. Hanuman goes and retrieves some medicinal herbs to heal them. Once healed they begin to battle again. Rama faces Ravana and slays him. He is reunited with Sita and they depart from Lanka. Rama went to any and all lengths to rescue his beloved Sita. I like this because he is fighting for someone else and not just himself.

Photo Info: Rama fighting Ravana

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Reading Notes Hodgson: Part A

Title: Rama and the Monkeys

Author: Geraldine Hodgson

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Youth and marriage of Rama

I like the story about him helping the priest Vishwamitra. He was young and this could be a good backstory for the hero. Giving details on how he killed the two demons with his bow. He also wins Sita in this story. He strings a bow that was near impossible to string and won her hand in marriage. They fell deeply in love. This could be a good start to a story about Rama.

Rama loses his inheritance. 

This is the part of the story where Rama loses his throne and gets banished. His father, the king, owed two boons to someone and she took them. She demanded her son be made king and that Rama be banished. Rama leaves like is commanded even though some people want him to stay. He upholds his father's wishes and departs from the palace. This shows he has honor and bravery. 

Vali's Death

Rama helps Sugriva take back his kingdom from his older brother Vali. The two brothers fight twice and the second fight Rama interferes and shoots Vali with his bow. The scene was described in vivid detail. I could picture the scene in my head as I was reading the story. I may have Rama change weapons in my story. Maybe a more modern day weapon instead of a bow. 

Photo Information: Bow and Arrow

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Readin Notes: Mahabharata part B

The Indian Heroes:
Mahabharata - The Princes of Elephant City
Author: C. A. Kincaid
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The Year of Disguise
The Pandava brothers are in disguise for a year after being banished for 12. Bhima saves his wife in disguise. She was a servant and was called upon and was almost forced into sex but Bhima rescues her. Bhima saving his wife is noble and very heroic.


The Great Battle
Bhima vows to behead and drink someone's blood. The person offended his family so he was seeking revenge. Their is a battle and he came across the person. He kills one and drinks his blood which makes some of the enemy troops run in fear. This shows Bhima will keep his word when protecting his family.

Duryodhana's Death
Bhima vowed to break Duryodhana's leg early in the story. Bhima finds him in the middle of a lake hiding. He said he would come out to fight Bhima alone. That is when Bhima breaks his leg. I may edit some of my story to focus on Bhima and his feats of strength.

Photo information: Duryodhana's in the lake

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Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part A

The Indian Heroes:
Mahabharata - The Princes of Elephant City
Author: C. A. Kincaid
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Photo Info- Bhima and Baka

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The Princes of Elephant
The brothers are going to be assassinated by fire but they smell the oil and pac oon the building and make an escape tunnel. The place is burned down and 6 drunken people get killed and people think it is the Pandava brothers. They escaped into the forest. I may use this at the beginning of my story about Bhima.

Hidimba and Baka
Bhima fights both of them in this story. This is the main part of the story I want to focus on. I want to use this story about Bhima for my storybook. I will use this as his background story leading up the the final part. I am excited to start writing about him.

Reading Notes: Kincaid Mahabharata Part B

C. A. Kincaid Mahabharata

The Year of Disguise
The brothers have spent their twelve years in exile and are now spending the thirteenth in disguise. I liked how they took on new identities to go into civilization again. Bhima intervenes with a man who wants to sleep with Draupadi and he crushes him into a ball. I could use the last part in a story to show how strong Bhima is.

The Great Battle
There is a large battle between the brothers and another army. The brother's win the main battle and Bhima fulfills his promise to kill and dink a certain man's blood. He comes across him on the battlefield and slays him. This could show how brutal and unforgiving Bhima is when you cross him.

Duryodhana's Death
The battle continues and the enemy comes in at night and wipes out the brother's army. Bhima was able to fulfill his other promise and broke and enemy's leg and then left him there. This part of the story adds almost the same character development, as the previous story, to Bhima's character. I may use these qualities to shape how his character acts in my story.

Image Information- Duryodhana in the water

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Reading Notes: Kincaid Mahabharata Part A

Mahabharata by C.A. Kincaid


Hidimba and Baka

I think I am going to incorporate this story into my storybook. Bhima fights two demons in this story and can really develop his character in my storybook. I like that he stays awake when his family is sleeping. He watches over them making sure they are all safe.


The Winning of Draupadi

I may add this into my story about Bhima. Arjuna is focused on here but Bhima steps in to help save him and throws someone over the arena walls and they land safely. Seeing this people stop fighting. This will show how much respect people have or how fearful they are of Bhima's strength.


YUDHISHTHIRA'S GAMBLING
He gambles away himself and his entire family but ends up getting everything back because of Draupadi. Some people take her and try to strip her but their was divine interference.This angers Bhima and he vows to kill the person who did that to her. This is a bit violent for a hero type but he will be a good guy.

Photo Information-  Bhima fights Baka

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Public Domain Edition: Mahabharata Part D

Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. MackenzieAbhimanyu and Jayadratha

Arjuna's son is killed in battle and he vows revenge. The story describes his son's death in a gruesome way and I may tone that down in  version I create. Bhima is there with Arjuna when he kills his son's killer although he was not involved in the fight. I could make him a coach or an adviser to Arjuna in my story.

Ghatotkacha
Bhima's son dies in battle here. He is very strong and has illusion powers but they were not enough to defeat  Karna. I can use this story to make Bhima lose his mind in my story and go on a rampage that cannot be stopped. Turning the tide of battle in their favor.

Bhima and Dushasana
Arjuna joins the battle with Bhima but Bhima gets revenge on the person who mistreated his son. He kills him and then drinks his blood which scares away some of the enemy troops. This part was full of gore and fighting and could be made into a gladiator story in my version.

Arjuna and Karna
The two brothers have their final battle and Arjuna wins. Karna had the upperhand because he cheated then the odds turned against him and his head was shot off by an arrow. They both used bows in the fight and were on chariots. I could twist this into being more futuristic or just switch the weapons up.

Photo information: Bhima drinks blood

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Public Domain Edition: Mahabharata part B

The Indian Heroes by C. A. Kincaid

The House of Fire

I really enjoyed this part of the story. Thing and one of the princes have a plan to kill some of the other princes. It does not work but they are not aware of this. A fire burns down a building that they were supposed to be in, people think it is the other princes but it is not. This is a great plot twist I can work with in my story. The heroes can surprise the villains.

Bhima and Hidimba

A strong enemy appears and a fight starts. This will continue the story very nicely. The escape the town and a rakshasa wants to eat them. Bhima was the hero here and his character will make a good super hero of some sort. 

Baka

He was a cruel leader and Bhima was sent to kill him. They fight and Bhima wins and the town is overjoyed. This can be set to an Avengers theme as well but I think I may do a Harry Potter theme this week. 

Photo Information- Bhima fights Hidimba

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Public Domain Edition: Mahabharata Part A

Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie

King Shantanu and Ganga

This is a good introduction for my story. Ganga agrees to marry the king under a few conditions and he agrees. He breaks one of them and she leaves. This part of the story will be excellent for my idea this week. 

Devavrata's Vow

The king's son went to find the maiden his father had found to change the father;s mind about having his daughter marry the king. He does but in doing so he loses his rights to the throne. I like the prince so far. He seems like a good guy and I may focus my story around him. 

Dhritarashtra and Pandu

I liked this story, the problem in this part was trying to fin an heir to the throne. They did but it was not by the usual methods. The queen asked Devavrata to do it but he took a vow to not have children and he planned to keep that. She then turned to her son to produce an heir.

 Pandu and his wives

He is out hunting when he finds a few deer and slays them. However one of them was a Brahmin in disguise and he cursed Pandu for this. The curse would later kill Pandu and leave his wives to raise his sons. 

Photo Info- Devavrata takes his vow

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Reading Notes: Divine Archer by F. J. Gould Part 2

The Divine Archer by F. J. Gould
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In chapter 8 Ravan meets with his council and throws one of his brothers, Vibishan, out of his home because he advised that Ravan should let Sita go and not fight Rama. Turns out that was the best choice but that is not what Ravan did. So his brother joins Rama and his army. I will incorporate the brother joining Rama in my story. I think I will change how this happens though. I will make it seem like the brother who left did so secretly instead of confronting Ravan like in the original story.

Chapter 9 was about the epic battle between Rama and Ravan and their armies. This battle has a happy ending and I will not change that for my story. The hero will win and rescue the girl. He does test Sita's faithfulness to him but that ends well too. At the end of this chapter his banishment is lifted and they return home.

In chapter 10 Rama becomes ruler and banishes Sita because of rumors that she was unfaithful to him while held captive by Ravan. She has twins that he does not know about until they come into the city. The end of this is a bit sad, Sita gets taken to the underworld by her own accord and this saddens Rama. I will make the ending a bit more tragic to evoke more feeling out of this part of the story.

Photo Information: Final Battle of Rama and Ravan

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Reading Notes: Divine Archer F.J. Gould

The Divine Archer by F. J. Gould

I did not plan on using chapters 1-4 because I created a story about that already so I decided to use a different part of the Ramayana this week.

I will be using chapter 5 of this book for my story this week. Rama was just exiled and is wandering the forest. He comes along a saint who gives him many great weapons. This will be fun to work with but I have not decided what theme I will be using this week.

I will continue my story by using chapter 6. This is where Ravan captures Sita. I want the story to flow well so instead of using the whole chapter I will use some of the more interesting parts.

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Photo Information- Rama hunting for Sita

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Reading Notes: Public Domain Ramayana Part D

Hanuman
Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita

The monkey picks up a mountain and jumps over a sea with it. Not only is he powerful enough to jump across the sea, he can do it while holding a mountain. It is going to be funny to add that much strength to my characters. 

Photo information: Hanuman holding a mountain

Source- Hanuman Photo

Indrajit

Ravana's son Indrajit tricks Rama for a short time and then Vibhishan reveals what actually happened to him. This part of the story will be a great addition to what I want to do with my story.

Battle of Rama and Ravana

The battle between these two will make a great climax to the story. The battle between, what seems to be, two of the strongest people in these stories. The battle was interesting and entertaining to read so it should be easy to do the same with my version of the story. 

Sita

Sita was rescued and her faith to Rama had to be tested. They do reunite which is why I am using the story. The hero wins the epic battle and gets the girl. I am excited to begin writing this weeks story. 

Reading Notes: Public Domain Ramayana Part C

Sugriva's Story
Rama and the Monkeys by Geraldine Hodgson

I will be using this for my story this week. I liked the introduction into the two brother's conflict. I like Sugriva so far, he seems like a good guy but we shall see. May include a twist in the plot of my story if he turns out to be good. Rama and Sugriva make a deal to help each other.

Vali's Death

This is the battle between the brothers. The younger brother wins with some help from Rama. I think I will leave Rama in my story but change how he helps in the battle. 

Sampati

Ravana kills his brother while abducting Sita and in this part of the story he tells Sugriva's army that Ravana is across the sea. I'll use this to lead into the second part of their adventure when they try to find and rescue Sita. 

Hanuman

He goes off to find Sita alone. He is the only one strong enough to jump across the sea and I will use the some of the ideas from his stories and incorporate them into my story. I like Hanuman, he is incredibly powerful and is an interesting character to write a story around. 

Image Information- Vali and Sugriva fighting

Source- Brother's conflict

Reading Notes: Narayan's Ramayana Part 2

Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie

Rama and Bharata

I liked how noble Rama is here. They inform him that he can go home and become ruler because his father had died. His father had made a deal and a part of it was that his son would not rule and would be banished four 14 years. Rama decided to uphold his father's word instead of returning back to the palace. 

He also shows an extreme devotion to Sita. He loves her very much and same the other way around too. Their relationship takes on many challenges as well as both take on challenges of loyalty. 

Sita

Viradha takes sita captive and Rama goes to save her and slays beast. I liked how they figured out how to slay the almost unkillable beast. 

Image info- Viradha and Rita

Source Viradha

Reading Notes: Narayan's Ramayana

I like Rama right now. I want to focus my story around him. I liked when he broke the bow and brought the wrath of a bull-like man and then made the bull man praise his might and heroism. I know how I want to make a story out of this as well. I am excited to start writing it.

Rama the Heir Apparent
I like this story because the ruler made sure that his council of leaders and important people approve of his son taking over. He does not declare that his son will be ruler but wants to be sure that people approve of his son before letting him rule.

Manthara and Kaikeyi
I like this one because it explains why the antagonists of the story dislikes Rama and why she does not want him to lead. I can see these two betraying or killing Rama so that they can have Bharata become ruler.

Rama is banished- Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie
I liked how Rama kept his word and his father's word by leaving when he was sentenced to be banished for 14 years.

Image Info- Manthara

Source Manthara