Epics of India

A yajna where ghee can be offered to the fire.  Image by: Srkris at English Wikipedia via Wikimedia Commons In "The Burning of the Forest" the Pandavas were celebrating Krishna's visit with a picnic by the Yamuna a large tributary of the Ganges. Draupadi, the brothers' wife, and Subhadra, Arjuna's wife and Krishna's, sister had become quite drunk, and Krishna and Arjuna told stories about their travels. The festivities are interrupted by a brahmin that looked as if he had been traveling for a long time as his clothes were ripped up and he had the traditional dreadlocks of the holy hermits. The brahmin claimed to be Agni, the fire god, and asked Krishna and Arjuna to burn the forest of Khandava for him to consume. Agni had become weakened by his twelve years of fasting, so each time he had tried to consume the forest in flames, he was not able to stop Indra, its protecting deity, from putting out the fire with a giant rain storm. Krishna and Arjuna ag...

When "Bhima and the Nagas" begins the Pandavas and the Kauravas are living together in the royal palace and share a meal. Duryodhana, the eldest of the Kauravas, is a jealous and petty young man and carries a grudge against the Pandavas because they are better warriors and better liked than him and his brothers. The Pandava that Duryodhana hated more than the others was Bhima because he was the strongest. Duryodhana acted on his hatred at this meal by poisoning Bhima and dumping him bound into the Ganges. While under water Bhima is attacked and bitten by poisonous snakes called nagas. Their poison counters the poison from Duryodhana and he is able to break free from his restraints and fight off the nagas. Bhima ended up in the naga city located in the underworld, and the king of the nagas, Vasuki, wanted to meet the man that fought off so many monsters. Bhima's great-grandfather, Aryaka, was in the underworld and convinced Vasuki to give his great-grandson a g...

By Dalbera (https://www.flickr.com/photos/dalbera/2790476302/) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons After the Nina character receives the email from Dave, her boyfriend, breaking up with her there is an extended musical and dance sequence. There is one main female dancer that uses aspects of classical Indian dance, Bollywood dance, and Western dance. Some elements from classical Indian dance include the hand positions called mudras , and the characteristic body posture called  tribhanga composed by bending of the body into an "S" shape. There is also a segment when the Hindu gods cycle through the video replacing each other showing how they are essentially the same being. Fire is a common theme throughout the sequence as Nina's rage and grief burn after Dave's cruel breakup, and Agni, the fire god, can be seen riding his vahana the ram at various points in the sequence. The fire grows and envelopes more and mor...

"If I go to the grocery store around 11:00 I can take my time and won't have to rush. When I get home I should have some time, but I'll need to start prepping the vegetables around 12:30," I thought as I lay in bed trying to sleep. I've always enjoyed planning out how a meal will go. That way things don't get chaotic or stressful while I'm cooking because what's the point if it isn't any fun. "How should I cut the carrots? Rounds or chunks? I think the chunks will be better. It's going to cook for a while, and he likes carrots. Then it'll be about 1:00 or 1:30 when I'm ready to start searing the meat and sautéing the vegetables." "Do I have enough wine to cook with? I'll have to stop into the liquor store, too. Ok if I stick to this everything should be ready around 7." "Love you babe good night." Mise en Place by David Huang via flickr The next morning I woke up for a lazy Saturday. One of t...

Sita emerging from the test of fire with the protection of Agni and other gods Source: Sita Sings the Blues by Nina Paley via Wikimedia Commons In Nina Paley's  Sita Sings the Blues, after  Sita asks Rama to capture the golden deer for her we see her alone in their hut singing about her love for Rama. This scene focuses on Sita's devotion to Rama which is depicted with the song "What Wouldn't I do for that Man" by Annette Hanshaw. Sita is supposed to be the ideal devoted wife in the Ramayana, and the lyrics in the song are similar to her character in the epic. The song says "love was blind to me, now it's kind to me" just like Sita never loved another man before Rama. Also she says in the song "I'll be so true to him, he'll never doubt me." Sita is always true to Rama and believes that he will trust her even after she has been held captive by Ravana. She then vows in the song to "make his troubles [her] own" li...

Image: Grey Crowned Crane Africa Canes Bird Tanzania,  Max Pixel . Please leave feedback about my portfolio project here. Mealtime Stories

Indrajit attacks Rama and Lakshmana Source: Wikimedia Commons In the episode "Indrajit" Ravana's son enters the battle against Rama and his invading forces, and when the two forces meet the moral difference between Rama's honest warriors and the dishonest rakshasas is highlighted. When the two groups enter the battlefield the monkeys are organized into parties and shouting, "Victory for Rama and for Sugriva!" The rakshasas however suddenly charge out of their castle with raucous trumpeting. When night fell even though the rakshasas are stronger at night, Rama's forces are able to rally through their own will and push them back. Indrajit then reenters the battle after turning himself invisible so that none of his enemies except his uncle Vibhishana can see him or defend from his attacks. Indrajit is willing to use trickery and magic to attack an enemy that can't defend themselves while Rama and his allies fight their enemies head on with t...