Indian Epics

THE SPIRIT THAT LIVED IN A TREE Source: Eastern Stories and Legends  by Marie L. Shedlock I plan to change up a few things, including the origin of the tree spirit. I think it could have an interesting backstory, along with more detailed relationships to the other trees in the grove that are his children. I also want to expand on the king's story, detailing his reasoning for wanting to build a palace from the tree. I plan to make the tree-spirit into a Yakshini , rather than the Buddha re-born. I think this will mesh better, with the tree-spirit trying to protect her children. I think the premise of wanting to build a mighty palace built on one single beam of a tree is kind of dumb, so I think I will focus on the tree have a godly magnificence that the king is drawn to. He wants his palace to exude that same aura of godliness that the tree does. Additionally, the king will want to make his throne from the heart of the tree, symbolizing his belief that his family ...

THE SPIRIT THAT LIVED IN A TREE Source: Eastern Stories and Legends by Marie L. Shedlock This tale features a spirit that lives in a tree pleading to a king to not cut him down. He does this, not to save his life, but the lives of his fellow trees around him. When the king refuses, and claims he wants to build a mighty palace from the bones of the tree, the tree-spirit reveals the reason he doesn't want to be cut down to the king. He persists, saying if he must be cut down, to do it piece by piece to avoid damage to those around him. The king is so moved by this, he decides to spare the tree after all. The Tree Spirit (Source:  wikimedia ) I think this could easily be adapted into a story that is easier to read. A lot of the language is flowery and sounds silly, lots of thoust and other words of a similar nature. I think the wording and phrasing of the story could be changed to more modern language, which would make the story a lot more readable.

The King Who Saw the Truth Source: Eastern Stories and Legends by Marie L. Shedlock I think this would be a fun little tale to tell a story based off of it. I think the story ends too quickly, so I would expand on the ending quite a bit, maybe make an additional tale of the King's life after receiving the Godly Sight. I think this sight could be cool if it was made into more than just seeing things truthfully and fully, and given additional powers.  The God Sight (Source:  pixabay.com ) I want to make the King use his power for good, slowly passing more tests planned by Sakka in order to ascend fully to godhood. This could be set up as a series of trials that benefit the world in addition to simply testing the abilities and goodwill of the King. This could be a fun way to build a story based on an Indian Epic but heavily expanding it and making it my own.

Mighty was the blade of Iondar, Lord of the Valgrim. It would glow with the pale light of the moon, and seemed the hum a song of woe that was the last sound heard by all you fell to its keen edge. From the shore in front of Iondar emerged Xilgaren, the King of Amos, at his side his wicked morningstar. For three days and three nights he had meditated in the depths of the sea for his duel against Iondar.  The Sea (Source:  pixabay ) The war had come to this. Each of their hosts had set aside their weapons, and were watching with baited breath to watch as fate chose the victor. The two combatants readied their weapons, and took their shields. Iondar's was wrought in silver, covered in intricate carvings and runes to ward off danger and protect the wielder. Xilgaren beckoned to the water, and the sea responded. The waves crashed around his arm and froze there, forming a mighty shield of solid ice.  Their eyes locked for a moment, before they lunged at one anoth...

Duryodhana in the Lake Source. Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913) I think that this tale could be re-told in a more epic, and combat oriented way. In the original tale, Duryodhana and Bhima are simply described as doing battle, and landing blows on one another until Bhima takes out the knee of his opponent. I'd like to go a little bit more in depth about how their battle goes. I think giving each some minor powers to use could be interesting as well, perhaps Duryodhana could have powers over water, seeing as how he is able to breathe underwater. I may allow Bhima to control fire, or have some other boon to do battle with. The Battle of Duryodhana and Bhima (Source:  wikimedia ) I think leaving the battle on a cliff hanger could be more interesting than the original ending. I may have Duryodhana land the seemingly killing blow on Bhima at the same time that Bhima strikes Duryodhana on the knee, leveling them both. The story would end with both of t...

Life in the Forest Source. Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913) I think it would be fun to expand on the stories of the Pandavas exploring the forests and talking to sages, doing odd jobs, and what-not during their exile. I could make the story be composed of short little bits of different stories. A little detail of the brothers visiting a mystic guru in a forest cave, one where they encounter a wise old wizard who has become an elk, and get some sound advice from him.  In the Forest, a Mystic Cave (Source :  pixabay ) It'll be difficult to balance having several stories while staying under the word limit. I'll have to be careful and maybe only choose two or three, depending on how short or long I make each little tale. I will probably change up the composition of the Pandavas, making each one a unique character of my own, while keeping some of the spirit of the original characters. I may also decrease the number of them, just to make the tales...

I am pretty happy with how this semester has gone. The only pitfall I've fallen into is I am a little guilty of putting my work off to the last minute, and submitting during the grace period (like this assignment), other than that though it has been going great. My favorite assignments are the weekly story retellings. I think those were a really fun way to explore both different Indian Epics but also our own writing styles. Going forward, I want to try and get everything done sooner, so I'm less likely to just not do it. I also want to take advantage of the extra credit more, so that I can ensure that I get enough work done to get an A. Such Inspiration (Source:  Wikipedia )

I have received a lot of good feedback on my writing this semester! Honestly, I think that sometimes, the shorter comments tend to be more useful. Some of the longer comments just have filler to make the comment long enough to count. Other than that, I have really received good feedback for my writing, and I think I've been able to improve a lot. I think the biggest thing I've gotten is to use more dialog between characters. I didn't have a lot in my early stories, but I think the dialog in my later stories has really improved. I've tried to give everyone I comment on good and helpful feedback. I've tried to find positive things to try to have people extrapolate from and build on to improve their writing, rather than simply just say something is bad. From giving others feedback, I think I've gotten ideas for how to change my own writing style. I feel like I've gotten to know some of the people in the class a little better, although there are several othe...

1. I have enjoyed the readings, I had never really delved into Indian mythology before, and the readings have been a really easy introduction into the subject. I think my favorite reading so far was the sky battle between Jatayu and Ravana. It was a really short and interesting story, that was not only fairly exciting but also set up the next leg of the Ramayana, where Rama had to go and save Sita. My reading notes actually have been really helpful so far! I've been using them to brainstorm possible story ideas before I actually sit down to write the full stories, splitting up the work and giving me more time to actually write the stories. I have found that if I read the stories while I listen to them being read aloud, I can manage to keep myself focused easier, which I had never tried to do before. I have yet to try this out on other reading materials. I am absolutely happy with my project so far! I think it's going to be really fun, and I look forward to the rest of it. I ...

Long ago, in the land of Midor, there lived a humble man by the name of Shakiro. He was a simple man, and he led a simple life. One day, when Shakiro was wandering about the forest, searching for food, he encountered a a creature that had become trapped by some kind of strange apparatus. When he approached the odd creature, he was surprised to hear the creature speak to him! "Hello there, human. I was trapped here, unable to escape my bindings without assistance from a human... I don't imagine you'd be willing to help, so just run away now like the rest of your kind." This perplexed Shakiro, as he couldn't figure out why the creature would just assume he wouldn't help out. If Shakiro was anything, he was generous! He looked the creature up and down and decided he seemed harmless enough. "I will not run away!" Exclaimed Shakiro, "I'm going to free you, my friend." He took care to break the chains that held the creatu...

Maya's Palace   Source:  The Mahabharata, A Summary by John Mandeville Macfie (1921) I think the idea of a demon constructing a magnificent palace for someone as a thanks for saving his life is really cool. I think this could be spun into an interesting fantasy based tale with an almost comical edge. Where a clueless guy accidentally saves a powerful demon through some weird means and the demon rewards him with riches and a lavish palace.  The Magnificent Palace (Source:  flickr.com ) I like the idea of doing a silly, comedy story, because so many of these stories are really intense, and a fun little story would be a nice day change of pace. I want it to be just a short story that features the guy getting the palace and other gifts from this evil being, unaware of how bad of a demon he is. Everyone the clueless guy knows is flabbergasted that he's so blase about it. Maybe at the end, he'll have treated the demon so kindly the whole time that t...