Epics of India

-The female form is celebrated in Hindu temples -Carvings on the wall explore many aspects of the female body -Female figures are depicted in a wide variety of ways      -This includes both erotic and non-erotic positions and behaviors      -Dancing, stretching, mediating, bearing swords, exposing themselves, fondling their breasts, ect. "Who amongst these women could be a lesbian – a woman who desires another woman erotically and emotionally?" -This quote fascinated me, because I have never really considered homosexual relations might appear in ancient texts -Because many ancient societies were patriarchal, women often get left out of narratives about the past; what other dimensions of female sexuality might there have been?       -And how can  relics from the past reveal this to us, if we look closely enough? 4 Reasons why the question of lesbianism in these depictions of female figures might scare people: -Homophobia -Pur...

Mr. and Mrs. Otter lived a quiet life in Huckleberry Lake, surrounded by clear blue waters and tall riverbanks covered with wildflowers. The calm of the lake had recently been disturbed by an uncharacteristic amount of squabbling, however. Mr. and Mrs. Otter having some marriage difficulties, and there were nights when the water never ceased rippling as they bickered back and forth. Mrs. Otter had decided that enough was enough, and asked her friend Patricia the hermit crab, who lived along the riverbank, what to do. "Well, when Albert and I were going through an especially crabby phase, we went to see Rudy the wolf. He's the top therapist in our ecosystem, 8 years running!" Mrs. Otter had made an appointment with Rudy wolf that very day. She combed her fur, gathered her purse and Mr. Otter, and set out on the trek to Rudy’s office. Rudy worked out of a hollowed tree in the forest that surrounded Huckleberry Lake. When Mr. and Mrs. Otter arrived, Mrs. Ot...

The Lion in Bad Company -A wolf tricks a young lion into letting him come back and live in the lion's den -The lion is flattered by the wolf and earns his trust -The wolf convinces the lion to kill ponies for horse meat -The lion's father is wise and warns his son that the ponies belong to the King, and that the thefts will not go unnoticed -The lion has developed an ego, and, encouraged by the wolf, disregards his father and continues to seek horse meat -The horses are moved by the King to try and protect them, but the lion is persistent -Ultimately, the King sends an archer, who slays the lion -The wolf is unharmed and returns quietly to his old life Wolves -The wolf characters in the Jataka tales are almost always painted as tricksters -While the wolf is clever and often gets others into trouble, he himself typically remains unharmed Beauty and Brownie -Mother and Father deer send their children, Beauty and Brownie, out of the forest during the corn ripening s...

The Girl Monkey and the String of Pearls I found this story very endearing; I love how the monkeys are personified. Humans and animals often interact in the Jataka tales as if all living creatures are equals sharing the earth, which is an intriguing dynamic. And who knew monkeys could love pearls as much as a human? - The palace royalty go down to the lake for a swim -The Queen leaves her jewels with a servant in the garden -A girl monkey waits until the servant has fallen asleep and steals the pearls -The chief guard plays a trick to find out which monkey stole the pearls -Hangs strings of glass beads in the garden -All the girl monkeys rush to get to the beads except for the monkey with the pearls -In the end, her ego gets the best of her -As she brags to the other girl monkeys about her pearls being more beautiful than their glass beads, she reveals herself as the thief The Otters and the Wolf -The animals in the title initially led me to believe that the wolf would be...

“How about, The Bad-to-the Bone Babes?” Thataka scoffed and glanced over her shoulder. “Darling, have you looked in a mirror recently?” Soorpanaka rolled her eyes but didn’t argue. She, Thataka, and Putana were busy painting the walls of the rented office where the three of them would soon be opening their new business. They had yet to decide on a name, however, and continued to brainstorm as they smeared a rusty red color along the walls. The idea began on a lazy Saturday afternoon when the three friends had gone tanning on the rim of Mount Valcron, one of the most active volcanoes in the world. The sun’s rays were too weak to have any effect on their thick skin, but a splash of lava here and there achieved the sun-kissed equivalent of their strange hues. They had been discussing the unfair treatment of demonesses and reflecting on their own personal experiences. “It was one failed mission! And my brother Ravana refused send another female demon on a mission for nearly...

Gods Playing Tricks I found it amusing that the Gods, almost like children, enjoy putting one another to the test and playing tricks on one another. Brahma could have directly confronted Krishna or presented him with a challenge, but instead chose a more subtle and mischievous way to test him. -Brahma steals a group of cows and cow herders -He plays this trick in order to test Krishna's divinity -Krishna then also plays a trick -He creates exact copies of the cows and cow herders through his love -The villagers never suspect that anything has changed -Brahma is forced to acknowledge Krishna's divinity "Kindness is the Ultimate Strength" -Krishna declares her will ride the bull Hastin -Rather than being cruel and attempting to "tame" the beast, he uses kindness to gain the bull's trust -Krishna feeds Hastin sweet foods and plays the flute -Hastin becomes docile -Krishna rides Hastin into the village -The villagers are amazed -Krishna has s...

I really enjoyed the Epified video series on the Mahabharata, and so for this week's reading assignment I have chosen to watch the Epified video series that tells the story of Krishna. Durga -When Durga made her fiery appearance, I was immediately struck by the power and prestige of her character -Although there are many intriguing female characters in the Indian Epics, they are most often portrayed as wives, mothers, or sisters; very few women appear as individual entities as Durga does -A strong female character among a pantheon of women described as weak, helpless, and at the mercy of the male characters Demoness -I love words with traditional male connotations that have the "ess" added to them in order to feminize the subject -Here again the demoness proves the strength of female characters in the epics -Strong villains are not only male Story Idea: Wicked Women/Dangerous Dames/Beastly Belles of the Epics -Putana, Soorpanaka, and Thataka get...