Indian Epics Journal

Krishna refused to be nursed by Putana. Source: Wikimedia Commons . A heavenly voice prophesied that Devaki's eighth son will slay King Kansa, so when Krishna was born, as an avatar of the god Vishnu, he was transported to Gokul. Here, Nanda and Yashoda became Krishna's foster parents. In response to hearing the eighth son was born, King Kansa ordered a rakshasi, named Putana, to disguise herself as Yashoda and pretend to be Krishna's foster mother. Putana arrived and kidnapped the real Yashadoa, who she hid far away from Gokul. Then, she returned to the home where Krishna dwelt. Putana tried to nurse him with poisoned milk, but the wise infant-god realized she was not his beloved foster mother, Yashoda. He cries and refuses to be nursed by Putana. Putana acts oblivious and in disguise, she tells Nanda, and asks him to leave Gokul so that she can bond with Krishna. While she's away, Krishna kills Putana, who as he assumed, is an ugly demon. Soon after, Yashoda ...

Shri Krishna of Dwarka and Other Stories  by C. A. Kincaid (1920),  Krishna and Yashoda, who presumed he was her son. Source: Wikipedia Commons. Chapter 2: Krishna's Childhood Yashoda found Krishna by her side and understandably presumed he was her own son. She loved Krishna with all of her heart. Kansa was incredibly distressed to know the eighth child was born but was not with them. In spire, he called the demons Dhenuka, Keshi, and Pralambasura to join his intent to kill all male children in the kingdom. The entire kingdom was oozing with blood everywhere, following the slaughtering of male children. Prince Vasudeva begged Nanda to take him to Gokula to protect Rohini's son Balarama. In the meantime, when King Kansa had accomplished his intentional massacre, he wished to kill male children outside his borders as well. For this, he called the demon Putana. She disguised herself as a beautiful woman crossing the Yamuuna river. She went from village to village and...

Yudhisthira and Draupadi. Source: Wikipedia . I would like to focus my next story on Yudhisthira's final test before entering heaven. I could focus on writing a love story about his willingness to literally go through hell in order to be with his beloved wife, Draupadi. Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913) The Afterlife link Article on Yudhisthira Conceived in a not traditional type of way Test of patience in Hell On reaching heaven, Yudhishthira did not find either his virtuous brothers or his wife Draupadi. Instead, he only saw Duryodhana and his allies. The Gods told him that his brothers were in Naraka, atoning for their sins. Yudhishthira loyally went to Naraka to meet his brothers, but the sight of gore and blood horrified him. After hearing the voices of his beloved brothers and Draupadi calling out to him, asking him to stay with them in their misery, he remained. Yudhishthira ordered the divine charioteer to return. He preferred t...

Yudhisthira and the final test before ascending to the heavens. Source: Wikipedia . The Afterlife Once in heaven, Yudhishthira faced one final test of his virtue: he saw only the Dhartarashtra Clan in heaven, and he was told that his brothers were in hell. He insisted on joining his brothers in hell, if that were the case! It was then revealed that they were really in heaven, that this illusion had been one final test for him. The epitome of all that is virtuous and righteous, Yudhishthira refused Indra’s offer. He said he couldn’t travel to heaven without Draupadi and his brothers. To this, Indra told him that they all ascended to heaven after falling to their deaths. It was a test of dharma and Yudhishthira had once again proved his righteousness by not abandoning people who stayed with him throughout. Yudhisthira loyally went to Naraka (hell) to meet his brothers, but the sights and sounds of gore and blood horrified him. Tempted to flee, he mastered himself and remained o...

Life in the Forest Pandavas go into exile in the deep forest. Yudhisthira sobbed with sorrow as he prayed to brahmins about losing the kingdom. He prayed to the sun god, glorifying all the roles he plays. The sun god, Surya, responded by appearing with a copper pot full of food.  During their time in the forest, the Pandavas and their wife Draupadi experienced beautiful sunshine and also, powerful heavy rains.  Riddles at the Lake Before departing the forest after living twelve years in exile, the Pandava faced quite a disaster.  An animal carried away twigs used to kindle a holy fire. The Pandava desired to kill this animal or at least retrieve the twigs. They grew weary after chasing the animal so they stopped to rest.  Yudhishthira told Nakula to fetch water from a pond they discovered nearby.  Nakula was very thirsty and when he stooped low to take a sip from the pond, he heard a Voice, instructing to answer. But Nakula ignored this, since he was s...

Looking back, I am mostly pleased with my progress in the class so far. Despite this, I know there is aways room for improvement: I could do better in terms of following my weekly routine or at least, creating a realistic schedule. At the beginning of the semester, I spent 2 hours every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to complete the weekly assignments. However, as I got busier, this time would decrease. So I ended up spending less and less time on the assignments. Due to this, I fell behind on some reading assignments. I really appreciate the extra credit opportunities because in cases like falling behind, I can make up for missed assignments. I enjoy the writing assignments the most because they encourage creative writing and thinking.  Looking forward, I hope to be more realistic in following a routine schedule. I need to avoid procrastination, which almost always leads to falling behind and poor performance. I want to try allotting at least an 1.5 hours every Monday, Tuesday...

Comments and feedback are definitely helpful than if I didn't receive anything. I admire the concept of feedforward, which most everyone gives me in their comments. I especially appreciate comments that are specific to exactly how I can improve my stories. For example, reading that my story could use more dialogue is more useful than receiving the feedback that there is not enough information about my character's emotions. I do my best to leave well thought out comments and feedback on the posts of my classmates. The best strategy for this, in my opinion, is thinking about how to improve the post as if it were my own. I try to not be so harsh and just focus on providing helpful comments over criticizing others' posts. When I read my classmates' stories, I am very often inspired by their creative writing skills. I try to improve my own skills as we progress through the weeks. I love how interactive this online course is. I try going to different student's bl...