Reading Notes B: Pattanaik's Calendar Art

I could write about Narad and how he was born. How he finally became known as the Narad-muni. I have heard people say to not be a Narad but now I will actually know and write about how they came to be.

Devdutt Pattanaik's: Seven Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art. Narayan's Secret to Life (2009)

Narad Muni

Reading Notes A: Calendar Art

I could write a story about Ganesha and his trip around the world. I could also write about how Ganesha was born and got the head of an elephant. I like both of those stories and have heard different versions of them so I could write about any of them.

Patanaik's Calendar Art: Ganesha (2015)

Ganesha  (Pinterest)

The Story of Losing Everything

Dear Diary,

It was starting out to be just a nice and peaceful day until we got the invitation with Vidur. Turns out my husbands have been called by his stepbrother to a game of dice. They know it is some sort of a trick especially because they were told by Vidur that the Kauravas wanted to destroy them. I mean they knew something is up especially with this tip and yet they decided to go. Their reasoning is that as a Kshatriya they had no choice but to accept all invitations for gambling and fighting. How stupid is that? You know you are walking into a trap yet you keep going. Seriously!? That is so annoying.  The game was set to be the next day so we would have to stay their tonight and leave the next day, after the game. We packed our clothes along with some food and water for the journey. Arjuna told the servants to get the chariot ready for the trip, along with the horses. So despite my warnings and better judgement we all went to Hastinapur.

Dear Diary,

I was not there for the actual dice game itself but I was getting updates throughout the game. I was so anxious to what happened that I kept looking at the door. I tried to make myself busy with work around the house but I kept thinking about the game. What would happen? What is the trick? What could they do? Ugh! Too many questions!

So a messenger came by. I am too afraid to open to it. I have to though, I need to know what happened.

Yudhishthir lost all of our wealth and the kingdom. Oh I am so mad! How could he do that? We lost everything. Duryodhan did not even play even though he asked for the game to happen. Shakuni played instead of him. That is just cheating and everyone knows it. How did no one stop him? Everyone knows Shakuni is a master in the art of dice, they should have stopped him from playing. Especially because this game was originally intended to be Yudhisthir against Duryodhan.

I got another messanger. He lost my husband and his own brother, Nahul in the match. How do you wager a person. He should have stopped playing. Someone should have stopped him.

He lost Sahadev, Arjuna, and Bhima. Yudhisthir even lost himself. I have nothing left in this world. What will I do? What will happen to me now? How could they lose themselves? Can they ever bet on people? Is that even possible?

Another messenger came to take me.  Apparently they were given a chance to win everything back if they wagered me. They took the chance and lost me too, along with everything else too. How dare they? Was it not enough humiliation to lose themselves, that they had to lose me too? I am most definitely not going to anyone. They cannot do anything to me. This game has nothing to do with me.

Epified Mahabharata  (2015-2016)

Draupadi 

Author's Note: I used different videos from the epified Mahabharata to write this story. The original had all of these aspects in it but I added more details into it. I wanted to show how Draupadi was feeling while the game was going on. I wanted to show things in her point of view over the game instead of it being shown from the game. I used a diary style story again because it shows a persons' innermost thoughts and feelings. It even shows things that they not say out loud or admit to anybody else. I thought that would work best with Draupadi's point of view. I chose this picture because it shows Draupadi's emotions. Her distraught and sadness is reflected in her eyes that are cast down in shame and humiliation. I thought that it worked perfectly with this story. 

Reading Notes F Epified Mahabharata

I could write about the meeting of Bhima and Hanuman. I could also write about how Krishna helped Draupadi when she was getting disrobed. Or when Arjuna faced all of these gods giving him weapons to help him during his war with the Kauravas.

Epified Mahabharata  (2015-2016)

Draupadi

Reading Notes B Epified Krishna

I think I want to write about Brahma and how he decided to kidnap Krishna's friends and cows. All because he wanted to see what would happen and if Krishna knew he was really a god. According to him gods do not share food from their own plate and so this happened. It lasted a year and no one could even figure out that anything even happened in the first place.

Epified Krishna (2015)

Krishna & Brahma  

Reading Notes A: Epified Krishna

I think I want to write about the part where Vasudev has to cross the Yamuna but does not know how. He realizes that a snake comes to help him and protect Krishna from the heavy storm. I could also write about the love story of Krishna and Radha. The way they are connected to each other.

Epified Krishna  (2015) 

Krishna 

Reading Notes E: Epified Mahabharata

I could write about how Draupadi felt when she was put at stake during the gambling match. The way the game had started and ended and what happened during it could also be written in the story. How all her husband, her wealth, kingdom, and even her dignity.

The Gambling Match

Draupadi's Humilation