Week 9 Famous Last Words

This week has been an interesting one, that’s for sure. Emotions have been high, stress was at an all time max, and everyone has just been counting down the days until they get an entire week off of school for spring break! Between the racism scandal and midterms, this has not been the best week here at the University of Oklahoma.

It is almost funny how one horribly racist video can, in an instant, tear people apart and bring people together. No one was denying that it was bad, because it was absolutely atrocious, but it did cause some controversy all over the country. I do not want to dwell on the issue, especially since I have already done a lot of writing about it in my free time, but I do want to say that it is sad that it happened and my heart breaks knowing that I living in a country where racism is still and issue.

Now, on to more happy topics! This week I finished watching Criminal Minds. I am still so sad that it is over! I really think that should be my job. How awesome would it be to study serial killers and psychopaths all day? If you are like me and you have a dark and twisted side of you, I highly recommend you watch this show! It is amazing! And the main characters are incredible. It is almost impossible not to fall in love with them.

Since I finished my show, I of course had to find a new one to replace it! How else am I supposed to wake up in the morning? The sound of silence is not getting anyone up out of bed at seven in the morning! I decided that my new show would be House of Cards. I had already seen the first season and the first episode of the second, so now I just have to go on from there.

Ellison Hall (Source)

Week 9 Reading Diary B

*Pandu's sons: Yudhistira, Arjuna, Bhima & Nakula, Sahadeva
*Dhritarashtra is blind, his son is Duryodhana + 99 others
*Pandavas = Kunthi (the mother) and the 5 sons.
*Kauravas = general name for Dhritarashtra and his 100 sons

(pg. 41) They found out the Pandavas were still alive and are all married to Drupada's daughter. Duryodhana angrily confronts his father about the issue. They discuss how they are in more danger because the Pandavas and Drupada are now allies. Dhritarashtra has internal conflict with himself because he loves his son but cannot hate the Pandavas. He has not mind of his own and has perpetual conflict with his instincts.

(pg. 43) Drona, Vidura, and Bhishima talk to Dhritarashtra about the Pandavas. All said that the Pandavas should return and no long be exiled. Karna told Dhritarashtra not to listen to them and that the best course of action would be to go to war. Dhritarashtra decides that the Pandavas may return to Hastinapura.

(pg. 44) When the Pandavas return they bring the god Krishna with them. Dhritarashtra informs Yudhistira that the kingdom will be divided and that he may have Khandavapratha to rule over with his family. They later change the name to Indraprastha.

(pg. 48) Duryodhana visited the Pandavas. He felt tormented by their accomplishments and the fact everyone loved them and that their city was beautiful. He needed them to be degraded for himself to find happiness and peace. He believed the Pandavas laughed in his face on purpose. Wanting to humiliate them,  he decided to he would challenge Yudhistira to a game of dice.

(pg. 56-73) Yudhistira plays a game of dice and loses everything. Dhritarashtra felt repentant and tells Draupadi to ask for any favor. She asks for her husbands freedom and the she asked for everything back, and all of her favors were granted. As the Pandavas were leaving they challenged Yudhistira to another game of dice. The new rule was that the loser must live in exile for 12 years and then incognito for 1 full year in a city. The Pandavas lost and went out into exile.

(pg. 75) 2 sages talk to the king and his sons. One places a curse upon Duryodhana and the sages tell the Kuravas to make peace with the Pandavas.

(pg. 76) Many kings come to give aid to Yudhistira and tell him that they all believe that the Kauravas are evil. Krishna told him that the Kauravas would be punished.

(pg. 77-79) An amazing exchange between Draupadi and Yudhistira. Brim then joins in the argument.

(pg. 82) Arjuna was sent to obtain weapons that would make him invincible.

Arjuna (Source)

Week 9 Reading Diary A

(pg. 1-10) This is where we hear how the family tree is established and created.

(pg. 1-3) Santanu asks a woman to marry him. The woman agrees, but only because she is Ganga, the deity of the river, and she is there to carry out a specific task. They have children and she drowns them, but she then keeps the eighth child. She disappears with the kid and then returns a few years later to give it back to Santanu.
                  [This could be good to write from Ganga's perspective]

(pg. 3) Devavratha seems as though he is a very good son. When his father, Santanu, becomes love-struck with the fisherman's daughter (Satyavathi), he gives up his birth-right to make his father happy.

(pg. 4) Devavratha (now known by Bhishma) is looking for a wife. He acquires three maiden's by force and takes them back to his home so that he and his half brother each may marry one of them.

(pg. 5-7) Satyavathi attempts to get Bhishma to impregnate her daughters-in-law after the death of her only son. Bhishma has now taken a vow of celibacy and refuses to do so because vows can never be broken. She does not want the family to die out so she tells Bhishma a story about how she was impregnated by a rishi. She gave birth on an island to her eldest son who is a sage and a savant named Vyasa. She summoned Vyasa and explained to him how she wanted him to perpetuate their race through her daughters-in-law. He agreed.  Vyasa slept with Ambika, but because she shut her eyes during conception, her son was born blind. Vyasa then slept with Ambalika, but because she grew pale at the sight of him her son was born pallid. Vyasa was then tricked into sleeping with Ambalika's maidservant, who was bold and responsive during conception so her child was born normal.  [Would be funny to hear from the girl's perspectives].



(pg. 11) The whole family is now living together, children, children of children, etc. Bhishma has hired a guru to train all of the children.

(pg. 12-13) We hear of Arjuna's incredible marksmanship and how he is a great warrior.

(pg. 13) The guru tells the king (now Dhritarashtra) that the children have finished their training and that there needs to be an exhibition of their skills at a public ceremony for all of the citizens to see.

(pg. 15) Karna as showed up to the ceremony uninvited and has now challenged Arjuna in combat.

(pg. 16) Suddenly Duryodhana made Karna king.

(pg. 17) Drona asks for payment from his pupils for his training. He wants them to bring back Drupada, King of Panchala, as a prisoner.

(pg. 18) Drona tell his pupils a story. He had been childhood friends with a boy who became king. When Drona went to visit his friend, the king said that they were not friends because people of unequal status could not be friends and that time changes everything.

(pg. 19) The pupils go to war, capture King Drupada, and bring him to Drona. Drona tells the King the reason he had originally visited him so many years ago. Then he tells the king that he will give him back half the kingdom but keep half of it to rule for himself, that way they would remain equals and always be friends.

*Pandu's sons: Yudhistira, Arjuna, Bhima & Nakula, Sahadeva
*Dhritarashtra is blind, his son is Duryodhana + 99 others

(pg. 21-24) Dhritarashtra is wondering why his nephews are getting all of the attention rather than his own sons. He seeks advice from the minister. The minister suggests that the King exile his nephews, so the King and his son Duryodhana hatch a plan to get rid of Pandu's sons (the nephews). He had chosen Yudhustira as heir. Dhritarashra decides to send Yudhustira to Varanavata to get him out of the city. He said that is to give Y a break to relax and enjoy himself. Y leaves to go to Varanavata, Vidura gives Y a waring in a coded language. Warning is about enemies and how Y should me cautious about the Kings motives (code phrase, "remember, the jackal emerges from many outlets underground).


(pg. 25) They arrive at Varanavata for the Shiva festival. A man named Purochana (who is an agent of Duryodhana) give them a place to stay. The boys tell their mother to be carful because they could smell oil and knew that the man was waiting for a signal from Duryodhana to start a fire at midnight and kill them, which was what Vidura was warning them about. When Y hears about Purochana's instructions from a visitor sent by Vidura, he responds by saying "How thoughtful of them!" LOL The visitor built a tunnel under the mansion.

(pg. 26) Once the tunnel was ready, they had a big feast at the mansion. Once the guests had been fed and left, the family left through the secret passage. Brim stayed behind to set the house on fire. The family emerged at the river's edge where there was a boat waiting for them, sent by Vidura, which took them to the other side to a thick forest. Charred remains of the family were found in the mansion. Dhritarashtra became conscience stricken.

*Pandavas = Kunthi (the mother) and the 5 sons.
*Kauravas = Dhritarashtra (the king) and his 100 sons and everyone working with him.

(pg. 27) Bhima has great physical might and courage. Looks after and cares for family. Kills a rakshasa to make forest safer. The rakshasa's sister falls in love with Bhima and bore him a son named Ghatotkacha (who is important in the battle later).

(pg. 28) Vyasa is composer of book! During their journey, the run into Vyasa. He gives them advise to go to a town called Ekavrata because it is safe. He then tells them that they will live in their palace and rule the country once again.

(pg. 29-31) The Pandavas are staying with a host family. The host family is crying a lot one day and tells the Pandavas that a rakshasa lives on the edge of the town but leaves the town alone as long as the members of the town follow his conditions. He requires that each day a member from one of the homes brings to him a cartload of rice and 2 buffaloes so that he may eat it all including the member of the house who brought it to him. The hosts are upset because that day it was their turn and they did not want to have to lose a family member. They decide to send Bhima instead. Brim entices the rakshasa and ultimately defeats him

(pg. 31) The Pandavas decide to leave for fear that they might be recognized. They head to Panchala because the king (Drupada) is looking for a husband for his daughter.

(pg. 32-34) The ceremony of Draupadi's swayamwara. Arjuna was able to complete the task at hand and married Draupadi.

(pg. 34) Kunthi, without looking, told the boys to share what they had. Then she realized that they had a girl and not an object. No one knew if they really were supposed to share her or not. The situation was very uncomfortable (and hilarious). [Would be funny to hear from Draupadi's perspective].

(pg. 35) Lots of awkward moments. The family debated about sharing Draupadi. Arjuna suggested that Yudhistira decide and he decide that she should be wife to all of them.

(pg. 36-37) The family goes to palace. They tell the King who they really are. Yudhistira decides that Draupadi should be all of the 5 brother's wife and informs the King of this. They debate. Vyasa appears and tells all of them at in this instance it is okay for Daupadi to marry all 5 men.

(pg. 38) The Lives of Draupadi. Discusses her past live. She was named Nalayani and was married to a horrible, disgusting man who she cared for and loved very much in spite of him being grotesque. One day he told her that his vicious and disgusting appearance had just be a disguise in order to test her and that he would give her anything she wanted. She said that she wanted him to love her as 5 men, assuming 5 forms and always coming together as one. He granted it to her. Then he became bored and left her. She prayed to a god and told the god she wanted her husband back (except she said husband 5 times), so the god said that she would be reincarnated and have 5 husbands.

(pg. 39) Draupadi married all five of the men. Their arrangement was that she would be the wife of one of the men for a year and then she would be passed on to the next. At the end of each year she would be the wife of a new brother.

Ganga with her eighth son (Source)

Week 9 Storytelling: Santanu Goes to Therapy

"Good afternoon, Santanu. It's good to see you again. How are you today?"

"I'm doing well. I have been doing a lot of thinking since the last time we met."

“Good, good! Why don’t you take a seat and we can get our session started, okay?”

“Alright, Doc.”

“Now, this is your fifth therapy session with me. We have talked about quite a lot thus far, but last week you mentioned something about the women in your life. Why don’t we talk about that?”

“Okay. Well, you see, Dr. Nezbin, I have fallen in love at first sight twice. Each time I have asked these women to marry me, and each time they have required me to agree to some sort of condition before saying yes.”

“Ah, I see. And how do you feel about that?”

“I... don’t know. Not great. I just wanted to marry them. Why would they even need conditions? I am the king for goodness sake! But for some reason each time they gave me conditions, and each time I agreed to them.” 

“Why don’t you tell me more about these conditions you speak of? Start from the beginning.”

“Well, the first time it happen was when I met Ganga. She is my psycho ex-wife.”

“Ah, I see. Please, continue.”

“Well, she was so beautiful. When our eyes first met, I knew I had to make her my wife. With my gaze still fixated on those crystal-blue eyes of her, I marched right up to her and proposed on the spot! That was when she told me of her conditions.”

“And what were those?”

“She said that she would only marry me if she was able to be free and do anything she wanted without me asking about it. I could not waste another moment without her being mine, so I agreed. I mean, what was the worst that could happen?”

“And what did happen, exactly?”

“Ganga was bat-shit crazy!!! What’s the worst that could happen, indeed? That woman, that deranged lunatic, drowned seven of our children!!! Each time she had a kid, she would take it and drown it in the river. At least she spared the life of my son Devavratha."

“Mmhmm. Interesting. So what happened to Ganga? I am assuming that you two split up after that.”

“Apparently she was the deity of that river who had taken human form. She told me that there were these eight men who had harmed a cow or something, and she was required to birth them and then drown them. I didn’t really understand her, to be honest. After that, she vanished into the river with Devavratha, promising she would return him to me. Eventually she did bring him back, although it had been a few years and Devavratha had grown into a young man. After that she just disappeared and I haven’t seen or heard from her since.”

“Fascinating. Now, tell me about this other woman you mentioned. What about her?”

“It was only a few days ago, so about four years after Ganga brought Devavratha back, that I met Satyavathi. I was out hunting deer in the woods when suddenly, I saw the most beautiful creature. She was like an angel! I knew I had to have her, so I asked her father, the fisherman, if I could marry her. That is when he told me of his conditions.”

“So this time it was the father who had conditions, rather than the woman herself. Hmmm. So what were those exactly?”

“He told me that the only way I would be able to marry Satyavathi would be if our firstborn son would be my heir. Well, I already have a son, obviously. Needless to say I was very upset. I went back to my castle and have been thinking about the future of my kingdom ever since. I just don’t know what to do. On the one hand I would do anything to marry Styavathi, but on the other hand I don’t want to take something away from Devavratha that is rightfully his.”

“It seems to me that the best thing to do would be to talk to your son. In our first session you told me about how caring and understanding he is. Why would this situation be any different? Open and honest communication is the only way to resolve this.”

“That’s a good point. If I tell him that I'm worried about the future and how I do not have enough children, he might figure it out and come to a decision of his own! Thanks, Dr. Nezbin!!!”

“Anytime. It appears that's all the time we have scheduled for today. I will see you next week!”

Therapist Couch (Source)

Author's Note.

This is based off of the first three pages of Narayan's Mahabharata. This is when we first learn about King Santanu. He first falls in love with a woman. He asks her to marry him, and she tells him she would as long as he allowed her to be free and do anything she wanted without him ever questioning her. He agreed and they were married. Every time she give birth, she would drown the baby in the river. She did this seven times and on the eighth time Santanu could no longer control himself and told her to stop. She explained that she was Ganga, deity of the river, and that she had only taken human form in order to give birth to the eight babies because in their past life they had harmed a rare cow and were cursed. She disappeared with the eighth child and it to Santanu later. She had named the child Devavratha. Then she disappeared forever. The next woman he met while he was hunting. Santanu saw her beauty and became love-stricken. She was the daughter of a fisherman. When Santanu asked her father if he could marry her, the fisherman said that he could only if her firstborn son would be Santanu’s successor. Santanu felt as though he could not accept this because of Devavratha. He returned to the palace frustrated and in a melancholic state.

While reading this I saw that Santanu fell in love with two beautiful women the first time he ever saw them and then he asked them to marry him. I immediately thought, “This guy needs therapy!” That is how I came up with the idea! I honestly thought it would be funny hearing Santanu complain about all of his lady problems.

Bibliography. Narayan, R. K. (1978). The Mahabharata.