Here's a link to the interview, and I've embedded it here too:
Showing posts with label recycleskip. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recycleskip. Show all posts
Saturday, March 11, 2017
Interview with Kanishk Tharoor
Although this is not directly to the Indian epic tradition, I wanted to share this lovely interview that I heard on NPR this morning with the author Kanishk Tharoor on the occasion of his new book of short stories: Swimmer Among the Stars. I'm so excited to get a chance to read this book over Spring Break!
Here's a link to the interview, and I've embedded it here too:
Here's a link to the interview, and I've embedded it here too:
Friday, August 19, 2016
Epified: Krishna
(Part A Playlist)
Title: Krishna
Author: Epified TV (India)
Year: 2015
Comments: If you like the style of the Epified Mahabharata videos, you might like their Krisha series too!
Free Online. You can watch this online for free at YouTube!
Length: one weeks. I've made two playlists, one for the Part A (see above) and Part B (see below), with links to the individual episodes also.
(Part B Playlist)
Episode List: A
Krishna Comes - An Introduction
Krishna Episode 1 - Kamsa
Krishna Episode 2 - Vasudev Meets Yamuna
Krishna Episode 3 - Durga Speaks to Kamsa
Krishna Episode 4 - Putana
Krishna Episode 5 - Maakhan Chor
Krishna Episode 6- Krishna's mouth
Krishna Episode 7 - Dreams and Music
Krishna Episode 8 - Kamsa's Terrors
Krishna Episode 9 - The Govardhan Hill
Krishna Episode 10 - Radha's love
Episode List: B
Krishna Episode 11- Krishna Humbles Brahma
Krishna Episode 12 - Krishna rides Hastin
Krishna Episode 13 - The Saviour of Dharma
Krishna Episode 14 - Akrur Invites Krishna
Krishna Episode 15 - Krishna's Farewell
Krishna Episode 16 - Krishna Arrives At Mathura
Krishna Episode 17 - Krishna Kills Kuvalayapida
Krishna Episode 18 - Krishna Kills Kamsa
Krishna Episode 19 - Freedom For Mathura
Krishna Episode 20 - Dwarka - Krishna's Kingdom
Tuesday, July 5, 2016
Reading Guide: 5I. Narayana. Secret of God's Son
See the Reading Overview for Pradyumna and Secret of God's Son. This is the Reading Guide for Week 5-I, the second guide for Secret. In the first part (4-H), you saw how Pradyumna fought Rama to bring back Vikarna to the land of the living, hoping that Gandhari would avert the curse she pronounced on Krishna:
8. Brothers or Foes?
Shiva appears as Pradyumna and Vikarna are leaving Yamaloka, and he praises Pradyumna's victory.
Shiva recalls the story of how his son, Kartikeya, sought knowledge of the Pranava mantra, Om. He then explains the cycle of the Yugas, including the Yuga of the demon Kali, and the power of Vishnu's names.
Before Pradyumna and Vikarna can reach Hastinapura, Samba arrives, intending to kill Gandhari so that she cannot avert the curse.
When Pradyumna and Vikarna arrive, they go first to the home of Vidura, and they find Mayavati, Pradhymna's wife, there already. She uses kumkum and flowers to perform an aarti for good luck.
Back to Samba: Gandhari prays to Krishna for deliverance.
Pradyumna and Vikarna then arrive, and he is ready to kill both of them also. Krishna's guards arrive and arrest Samba.
9. Thwarted
Gandhari is now ready to avert her earlier curse. She tries to summon her Rudraksha prayer beads, but they do not come. She invokes the punya of her past devotions and tapasya, but she realizes that all her powers are gone. She regrets that she did not see Krishna in his cosmic form, vishwarupa, as he tried to prevent the war; now, after the war, it is too late for her to save Krishna and the Gita: "I cannot reverse my folly. Alas! Your clan will die, Dwaraka will sink into the sea and mankind will lose the wisdom of Krishna’s Gita."
Maya encourages Pradyumna not to give up, and he realizes how she is a valuable helper to him, more than his other wives Rukmavati (mother of Aniruddha) and Prabhavati (the asura princess).
Maya reminds him: "As Narada tells us often, life spins around constantly like Vishnu’s chakra, bringing us both joy and sorrow."
10. Return to Dwaraka
Krishna also speaks encouraging words to Pradyumna: "I advise you to view all obstacles as a source of learning. Understand that our greatest enemies are, in fact, the doubts that live within us."
This peaceful visit provides a welcome interlude, as Krishna points out: "My advice to you all is to enjoy the abundant love that you receive and the moments of joy that you experience,’ said Krishna, smiling at the newcomers. ‘For these are what make life worthwhile and sustain you during dark times when all seems to be lost."
11. The Whirlpool
Krishna urges Pradyumna to undertake a pilgrimage, visiting the holy places or tirthas, as Arjuna did in order to acquire Shiva's weapon, the Pashupata Astra.
The priests bless Pradyumna's journey, invoking the god Pushan, and Maya marks him with a red tilaka.
All seems well, but there is an ominous vulture's egg preparing to hatch...
Pradyumna seeks a vision (darshan) of Vishnu at Badrinath. The place is also sacred to Shiva because it is Kapalamochana, "skull-liberation," when Shiva chopped off Brahma's fifth head and it stuck to his hand.
Pradyumna reflects on his past incarnations as the spoiled Prince Vama, the violent Kartavirya and his life as the god Kama, realizing how much he has learned from Bhargava (Bhargavarama, Parashurama) and from Krishna.
Pradyumna next goes to Kashi (Benares, Varanasi), where he makes an offering to Surya with the water of the Ganges: "the river was the svarga-sopana-sarani, the flowing staircase to heaven. Kasi was avimukta, never forsaken by Shiva; it was the city of Sadashiva, the eternal one." (Sada Shiva, Eternal Shiva).
A priest at the Vishvanath temple tells the story of how the gods went to Vaikunta and saw Vishnu with the Shiva linga in his heart. This is Harihara, who unites both Vishnu and Shiva, receiving both bilva leaves and lotuses from his worshipers. He wears the Kaustubha gem of Vishnu, but is also wrapped in snakes like Shiva. Both Garuda and Nandi are on his banner. He has the Vaijayanti garland of Vishnu, and Shiva's necklace of skulls.
Pradyumna then has a vision of Shiva's cave, and goes back to the river to spend the night. The next day, it rains, and a calf falls into the flooding river. Pradyumna jumps into the waters to rescue the calf; he has another supernatural vision while in the river's whirling waters, and then brings the calf back to its mother.
Next, he goes to Shiva's cave, and there he meets Shiva's son, Ganesha, who was his playmate when Pradyumna lived as Kamadeva, playing and enjoying laddoos and modakas.
12. A Playmate for Ganesha
Pradyumna is now having a vision of the past, when Vishvakarma made lingas so all the gods could worship Shiva and be liberated from Taraka Asura by Shiva's son.
Vyasa chanted the hundred names of Shiva (Shatarudriya), but Shiva did not hear any of their prayers, grieving over his dead wife Sati. Kama tried to evoke Shiva's passion, but Shiva burned him to ashes.
Little Ganesha found the ashes and made it into a playmate, Bhandasura. This asura brought terrible destruction into the world, so Lakshmi, Parvati and Rati engaged in tapasya to counter his power. The gods prayed to Adi Shakti, and her consort Maha Shambhu instructed them to conduct a great yagna, chanting the thousand names of Lalita Tripurasundari.
She restored the world, bringing Shakti armies (senas) and Bhairavas to use in battle against Bhandasura. Bhandasura scorned her as a mere woman. She defeated all the forces he sends against her, and then struck Bhandasura himself with her trident; he acknowledged her glory, and then she destroyed him.
Back to Ganesha and Pradyumna in the cave: Ganesha explains how Lalita Tripurasundari allowed the incinerated Kama to be reborn as Pradyumna.
Ganesha then warns Pradyumna about the krodha (anger) of his half-brother Samba: "When used to satisfy your own selfish desires, krodha destroys you."
Pradyumna then hears a woman's voice calling him, but he does not know who it is.
13. A Dance with God
Pradyumna flies south to the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple. There he finds the woman, Andal, Krishna's most devoted followers, and Pradyumna realizes he is traveling in time, for Andal would not be born yet for many centuries (perhaps around 800 C.E.). She prays to Kamadeva to unite her in love with Krishna, and her prayer makes Pradyumna want to return hom to Krishna.
He decides to go to Vrindavan, the village where Krishna grew up; the people are celebrating Janmashtami, Krishna's birthday, when he arrives. He sees a sacred image of Krishna-the-Butter-Thief, and realizes that he wants to have a grandson, a son of his own son Aniruddha.
Accompanied by a beautiful maiden, Pradyumna visits the ghat on the Yamuna River that makes the spot where the young Krishna defeated the water serpent Kaliya.
The maiden describes dancing with Krishna in the rasa lila, and Pradyumna realizes she is Krishna's beloved Radha. A shatkona yantra marks the spot where that sacred dance happened, expressing the power of Radha Krishna.
It is now time for Pradyumna to return home.
14. When the Dead Rose
Pradyumna feels compelled to return to Hastinapura, home of the Pandavas. They all go into the forest with Vyasa, where they see Gandhari again.
Pradyumna asks Vyasa to grant them a vision of the dead warriors to console them in their grief. In particular, Pradyumna wants to see his dead friends Abhimanyu (son of Arjuna) and Ghatotkacha (son of Bhima).
Vyasa controls Kala (Time) long enough to grant the vision and then, when the ghost disappear, the voice of Ganga consoles them: Ganga spoke to them in her eternal voice. ‘Grieve not, but cherish their love,’ she said.
Pradyumna realizes that life goes on, but he also knows that the power of Gandhari's curse has still not been averted.
8. Brothers or Foes?
Shiva appears as Pradyumna and Vikarna are leaving Yamaloka, and he praises Pradyumna's victory.
Shiva recalls the story of how his son, Kartikeya, sought knowledge of the Pranava mantra, Om. He then explains the cycle of the Yugas, including the Yuga of the demon Kali, and the power of Vishnu's names.
Before Pradyumna and Vikarna can reach Hastinapura, Samba arrives, intending to kill Gandhari so that she cannot avert the curse.
When Pradyumna and Vikarna arrive, they go first to the home of Vidura, and they find Mayavati, Pradhymna's wife, there already. She uses kumkum and flowers to perform an aarti for good luck.
Pradyumna and Vikarna then arrive, and he is ready to kill both of them also. Krishna's guards arrive and arrest Samba.
9. Thwarted
Gandhari is now ready to avert her earlier curse. She tries to summon her Rudraksha prayer beads, but they do not come. She invokes the punya of her past devotions and tapasya, but she realizes that all her powers are gone. She regrets that she did not see Krishna in his cosmic form, vishwarupa, as he tried to prevent the war; now, after the war, it is too late for her to save Krishna and the Gita: "I cannot reverse my folly. Alas! Your clan will die, Dwaraka will sink into the sea and mankind will lose the wisdom of Krishna’s Gita."
Maya encourages Pradyumna not to give up, and he realizes how she is a valuable helper to him, more than his other wives Rukmavati (mother of Aniruddha) and Prabhavati (the asura princess).
Maya reminds him: "As Narada tells us often, life spins around constantly like Vishnu’s chakra, bringing us both joy and sorrow."
(Vishnu)
10. Return to Dwaraka
Krishna also speaks encouraging words to Pradyumna: "I advise you to view all obstacles as a source of learning. Understand that our greatest enemies are, in fact, the doubts that live within us."
This peaceful visit provides a welcome interlude, as Krishna points out: "My advice to you all is to enjoy the abundant love that you receive and the moments of joy that you experience,’ said Krishna, smiling at the newcomers. ‘For these are what make life worthwhile and sustain you during dark times when all seems to be lost."
(Krishna)
11. The Whirlpool
Krishna urges Pradyumna to undertake a pilgrimage, visiting the holy places or tirthas, as Arjuna did in order to acquire Shiva's weapon, the Pashupata Astra.
The priests bless Pradyumna's journey, invoking the god Pushan, and Maya marks him with a red tilaka.
All seems well, but there is an ominous vulture's egg preparing to hatch...
Pradyumna seeks a vision (darshan) of Vishnu at Badrinath. The place is also sacred to Shiva because it is Kapalamochana, "skull-liberation," when Shiva chopped off Brahma's fifth head and it stuck to his hand.
Pradyumna reflects on his past incarnations as the spoiled Prince Vama, the violent Kartavirya and his life as the god Kama, realizing how much he has learned from Bhargava (Bhargavarama, Parashurama) and from Krishna.
Pradyumna next goes to Kashi (Benares, Varanasi), where he makes an offering to Surya with the water of the Ganges: "the river was the svarga-sopana-sarani, the flowing staircase to heaven. Kasi was avimukta, never forsaken by Shiva; it was the city of Sadashiva, the eternal one." (Sada Shiva, Eternal Shiva).
A priest at the Vishvanath temple tells the story of how the gods went to Vaikunta and saw Vishnu with the Shiva linga in his heart. This is Harihara, who unites both Vishnu and Shiva, receiving both bilva leaves and lotuses from his worshipers. He wears the Kaustubha gem of Vishnu, but is also wrapped in snakes like Shiva. Both Garuda and Nandi are on his banner. He has the Vaijayanti garland of Vishnu, and Shiva's necklace of skulls.
Pradyumna then has a vision of Shiva's cave, and goes back to the river to spend the night. The next day, it rains, and a calf falls into the flooding river. Pradyumna jumps into the waters to rescue the calf; he has another supernatural vision while in the river's whirling waters, and then brings the calf back to its mother.
Next, he goes to Shiva's cave, and there he meets Shiva's son, Ganesha, who was his playmate when Pradyumna lived as Kamadeva, playing and enjoying laddoos and modakas.
12. A Playmate for Ganesha
Pradyumna is now having a vision of the past, when Vishvakarma made lingas so all the gods could worship Shiva and be liberated from Taraka Asura by Shiva's son.
Vyasa chanted the hundred names of Shiva (Shatarudriya), but Shiva did not hear any of their prayers, grieving over his dead wife Sati. Kama tried to evoke Shiva's passion, but Shiva burned him to ashes.
Little Ganesha found the ashes and made it into a playmate, Bhandasura. This asura brought terrible destruction into the world, so Lakshmi, Parvati and Rati engaged in tapasya to counter his power. The gods prayed to Adi Shakti, and her consort Maha Shambhu instructed them to conduct a great yagna, chanting the thousand names of Lalita Tripurasundari.
She restored the world, bringing Shakti armies (senas) and Bhairavas to use in battle against Bhandasura. Bhandasura scorned her as a mere woman. She defeated all the forces he sends against her, and then struck Bhandasura himself with her trident; he acknowledged her glory, and then she destroyed him.
Back to Ganesha and Pradyumna in the cave: Ganesha explains how Lalita Tripurasundari allowed the incinerated Kama to be reborn as Pradyumna.
Ganesha then warns Pradyumna about the krodha (anger) of his half-brother Samba: "When used to satisfy your own selfish desires, krodha destroys you."
Pradyumna then hears a woman's voice calling him, but he does not know who it is.
13. A Dance with God
Pradyumna flies south to the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple. There he finds the woman, Andal, Krishna's most devoted followers, and Pradyumna realizes he is traveling in time, for Andal would not be born yet for many centuries (perhaps around 800 C.E.). She prays to Kamadeva to unite her in love with Krishna, and her prayer makes Pradyumna want to return hom to Krishna.
He decides to go to Vrindavan, the village where Krishna grew up; the people are celebrating Janmashtami, Krishna's birthday, when he arrives. He sees a sacred image of Krishna-the-Butter-Thief, and realizes that he wants to have a grandson, a son of his own son Aniruddha.
Accompanied by a beautiful maiden, Pradyumna visits the ghat on the Yamuna River that makes the spot where the young Krishna defeated the water serpent Kaliya.
The maiden describes dancing with Krishna in the rasa lila, and Pradyumna realizes she is Krishna's beloved Radha. A shatkona yantra marks the spot where that sacred dance happened, expressing the power of Radha Krishna.
It is now time for Pradyumna to return home.
14. When the Dead Rose
Pradyumna feels compelled to return to Hastinapura, home of the Pandavas. They all go into the forest with Vyasa, where they see Gandhari again.
Pradyumna asks Vyasa to grant them a vision of the dead warriors to console them in their grief. In particular, Pradyumna wants to see his dead friends Abhimanyu (son of Arjuna) and Ghatotkacha (son of Bhima).
Vyasa controls Kala (Time) long enough to grant the vision and then, when the ghost disappear, the voice of Ganga consoles them: Ganga spoke to them in her eternal voice. ‘Grieve not, but cherish their love,’ she said.
Pradyumna realizes that life goes on, but he also knows that the power of Gandhari's curse has still not been averted.
Thursday, June 23, 2016
Wikipedia Trail: From Kalanos to the History of Hippies
One of the optional reading assignments I'd like to suggest as an extra credit option next semester (just as an experiment) is a "Wikipedia Trail."
The idea is that you start with one Wikipedia article that gets your attention from a link in the week's reading, write two or three sentences in your own words about that article (with a link to the article), and then choose a link in the article to another Wikipedia article, and then to another, and then to another. Follow your curiosity, taking notes about what interests you.. and see where you end up.
In the end, you will have visited four Wikipedia articles, and you can choose a favorite image from one of those four articles to include in the blog post... or more images if you want!
Here's an example of one such article. From the reading I did this week in Devdutt Pattanaik's Business Sutra, I'll start with a link to the article to the Indian sage known by the Greek name Kalanos:
1. Kalanos. Kalanus was a Hindu brahmin (holy man) who lived in the 4th century B.C.E. When Alexander the Great invaded India, he met Kalanos, and Kalanos then traveled with Alexander, teaching him about Indian philosophy. When he fell ill, he decided to end his life by setting himself on fire; he died in the city of Susa in the year 323 BCE.
2. Gymnosophist. This Greek word means "naked philosopher," and it is a term first used by the Greek historian Plutarch to describe the ten gymnosophists that Alexander the Great met in northern India (now Pakistan). Plutarch presents this as a kind of riddling contest (quoted in the article). I like the first riddle best: Alexander asks, "Who is more numerous: the living or the dead?" and the Indian philosopher answers, "The living, because the dead no longer exist."
3. Gymnosophy. I was so surprised when I looked up this entry: it turns out there was a movement in early 20th-century Europe and American of modern "gymnosophists" who practiced nudity, asceticism, and meditation. It is connected to the nudist movement, the Wiccan movement, and to the hippies.
4. History of the hippie movement. This article would be a great jumping off point because it lists LOTS of precursors to the hippies of the 1960s. I had heard of some of these, like the Beat Generation and Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters, but I had not heard about the "Nature Boys" or about the Red Dog Experience. This is a very long article which I should come back and explore for fun!
And just to show how things come full circle, here's a picture in the hippie article that shows "a monument to the hippie era in Tamil Nadu, India" (photo by John Hill)... the Wikipedia trail started in India, and that's where it ended.
The idea is that you start with one Wikipedia article that gets your attention from a link in the week's reading, write two or three sentences in your own words about that article (with a link to the article), and then choose a link in the article to another Wikipedia article, and then to another, and then to another. Follow your curiosity, taking notes about what interests you.. and see where you end up.
In the end, you will have visited four Wikipedia articles, and you can choose a favorite image from one of those four articles to include in the blog post... or more images if you want!
Here's an example of one such article. From the reading I did this week in Devdutt Pattanaik's Business Sutra, I'll start with a link to the article to the Indian sage known by the Greek name Kalanos:
~ ~ ~
1. Kalanos. Kalanus was a Hindu brahmin (holy man) who lived in the 4th century B.C.E. When Alexander the Great invaded India, he met Kalanos, and Kalanos then traveled with Alexander, teaching him about Indian philosophy. When he fell ill, he decided to end his life by setting himself on fire; he died in the city of Susa in the year 323 BCE.
Alexander the Great
hears the news of Kalanos's death
2. Gymnosophist. This Greek word means "naked philosopher," and it is a term first used by the Greek historian Plutarch to describe the ten gymnosophists that Alexander the Great met in northern India (now Pakistan). Plutarch presents this as a kind of riddling contest (quoted in the article). I like the first riddle best: Alexander asks, "Who is more numerous: the living or the dead?" and the Indian philosopher answers, "The living, because the dead no longer exist."
3. Gymnosophy. I was so surprised when I looked up this entry: it turns out there was a movement in early 20th-century Europe and American of modern "gymnosophists" who practiced nudity, asceticism, and meditation. It is connected to the nudist movement, the Wiccan movement, and to the hippies.
4. History of the hippie movement. This article would be a great jumping off point because it lists LOTS of precursors to the hippies of the 1960s. I had heard of some of these, like the Beat Generation and Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters, but I had not heard about the "Nature Boys" or about the Red Dog Experience. This is a very long article which I should come back and explore for fun!
And just to show how things come full circle, here's a picture in the hippie article that shows "a monument to the hippie era in Tamil Nadu, India" (photo by John Hill)... the Wikipedia trail started in India, and that's where it ended.
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Summer Project: Pattanaik's Business Sutra
I'm excited about starting a summer note-taking project for Devdutt Pattanaik's wonderful book Business Sutra. I'm sure that quite a few students would be interested in reading this book for class, but it is a big book, so I want to write up notes, section by section, in order to help students have a good sense of momentum as they read the book for perhaps as many as 6 weeks.
In fact, this book really would make a perfect book choice for the second half of the semester: during weeks 2-7 everybody is getting an introduction to the Ramayana and Mahabharata, and then for the free choice reading in weeks 9-14, Pattanaik's book could provide a wonderfully modern perspective on ancient stories from those two epics along with other stories from Indian mythology.
So, I've written up a 6-week outline of the book which can be used to navigate the Kindle edition of the book and/or the Audible.com audiobook. Both are very affordable: around $10 for the Kindle, and around $10 for the audiobook. That's a pretty good deal for 6 weeks' worth of reading! I'll be filling in the outline with notes and links as the summer goes along; my goal is to spread my reading out over 6 weeks, just like students would be doing for class, so that I can get a sense of what that pace is like. Here is the outline: Overview: Pattanaik. Business Sutra.
If you are reading the audiobook, I'd strongly suggest getting the Kindle too so that you can enjoy Devdutt Pattanaik's marvelous illustrations. The book is full of his drawings, and they really add to the experience of reading the book.
In fact, this book really would make a perfect book choice for the second half of the semester: during weeks 2-7 everybody is getting an introduction to the Ramayana and Mahabharata, and then for the free choice reading in weeks 9-14, Pattanaik's book could provide a wonderfully modern perspective on ancient stories from those two epics along with other stories from Indian mythology.
So, I've written up a 6-week outline of the book which can be used to navigate the Kindle edition of the book and/or the Audible.com audiobook. Both are very affordable: around $10 for the Kindle, and around $10 for the audiobook. That's a pretty good deal for 6 weeks' worth of reading! I'll be filling in the outline with notes and links as the summer goes along; my goal is to spread my reading out over 6 weeks, just like students would be doing for class, so that I can get a sense of what that pace is like. Here is the outline: Overview: Pattanaik. Business Sutra.
If you are reading the audiobook, I'd strongly suggest getting the Kindle too so that you can enjoy Devdutt Pattanaik's marvelous illustrations. The book is full of his drawings, and they really add to the experience of reading the book.
So, this will be my "Week 1" for the book, Week 2 starting June 20, Week 3 June 27, Week 4 July 4, Week 5 July 11, and then Week 6 starting on July 18, so I'll finish the book by July 25. Perfect timing since I'll be out of town again in early August.
Would anybody else like to join in? I'll use #SummerBizSutra at Twitter to share my blog posts with notes and ideas about how to use the book for my class. :-)
Friday, June 10, 2016
Bengal Fairy Tales: The Petrified Mansion
In addition to reading the Ramayana and Mahabharata, this class is a chance for people to get to know all kinds of Indian storytelling traditions, like the fairy tale story below which comes from Bengal Fairy Tales by F. B. Bradley-Birt (1920). Here is the page image, and the book is full of many other wonderful stories.
Note: You will see that this story resembles the European fairy tale of "Sleeping Beauty." You can read more versions of that famous fairy tale here: Sleeping Beauty.
Once upon a time there was a prince who set out on his travels into foreign countries, alone, without taking with him any valuables. His sword was his only companion. He crossed mountains, seas, and rivers, and at length came to a grand mansion.
He entered it, and great was his surprise to find petrified forms of men and animals in all the apartments through which he passed. Even the weapons in the armory were not exceptions. There was in one of the halls a stone statue dressed in royal splendor, surrounded by other statues gorgeously equipped.
The lonely house greatly frightened the prince, but just as he was on the point of quitting it, he happened to notice an open door. Passing through it, he reached the presence of a very beautiful damsel reposing on a khat (bed) of gold, and surrounded by lotuses of the same metal. She lay quite motionless and was apparently dead. There was not the softest breath perceptible in her.
The prince was enamored of her beauty and sat with his eyes fixed upon her.
But one day he happened to notice a stick of gold near the girl's pillow. He took it up and was turning it round and round for inspection, when it suddenly touched her forehead, and instantly she started up, fully conscious. The whole house resounded with the clamor of human tongues, the clanking of arms, the songs of birds, and the sounds of domestic animals. It was full of life and joy. Heralds made proclamations, ministers speechified in the courtroom, and the king engaged himself in the discharge of his royal duties.
The prince was struck speechless with wonder, and the princess was equally astonished. The servants entered the room and, finding a prince-like youth seated by their master's daughter, hastened to the king with the intelligence. He hurried to the spot and, seeing the prince, asked him who he was.
The prince told him, and the royal family, with all the other inmates of the palace, acclaimed him as their deliverer. They said that the touch of a silver stick had petrified them all, and that their revival was the result of his having touched the princess with the stick of gold. In recognition of the very great service he had rendered them, the prince was rewarded with the princess's hand, and great were the rejoicings on the joyous occasion.
Meanwhile, in his own home his parents mourned for the prince as the years passed and he did not return. The queen had taken to her bed, and the king had become blind with weeping. They were disconsolate and courted death as the only termination of their great grief. The whole kingdom was overcast with sadness, which was, however, ultimately removed when one day the long-lost prince appeared with his bride. Joyous acclamations rent the air, and the royal couple, being informed of the return of their dear son, hastened out to the gate and embraced him and the princess. At the touch of the stick of gold, the king regained his sight, and the queen her health, and they lived for years in the enjoyment of great happiness.
At length, leaving the throne to his son, the king with the queen retired to spend a secluded and godly life in the depths of the forest.
Note: You will see that this story resembles the European fairy tale of "Sleeping Beauty." You can read more versions of that famous fairy tale here: Sleeping Beauty.
~ ~ ~
The Petrified Mansion
Once upon a time there was a prince who set out on his travels into foreign countries, alone, without taking with him any valuables. His sword was his only companion. He crossed mountains, seas, and rivers, and at length came to a grand mansion.
He entered it, and great was his surprise to find petrified forms of men and animals in all the apartments through which he passed. Even the weapons in the armory were not exceptions. There was in one of the halls a stone statue dressed in royal splendor, surrounded by other statues gorgeously equipped.
The lonely house greatly frightened the prince, but just as he was on the point of quitting it, he happened to notice an open door. Passing through it, he reached the presence of a very beautiful damsel reposing on a khat (bed) of gold, and surrounded by lotuses of the same metal. She lay quite motionless and was apparently dead. There was not the softest breath perceptible in her.
The prince was enamored of her beauty and sat with his eyes fixed upon her.
But one day he happened to notice a stick of gold near the girl's pillow. He took it up and was turning it round and round for inspection, when it suddenly touched her forehead, and instantly she started up, fully conscious. The whole house resounded with the clamor of human tongues, the clanking of arms, the songs of birds, and the sounds of domestic animals. It was full of life and joy. Heralds made proclamations, ministers speechified in the courtroom, and the king engaged himself in the discharge of his royal duties.
The prince was struck speechless with wonder, and the princess was equally astonished. The servants entered the room and, finding a prince-like youth seated by their master's daughter, hastened to the king with the intelligence. He hurried to the spot and, seeing the prince, asked him who he was.
The prince told him, and the royal family, with all the other inmates of the palace, acclaimed him as their deliverer. They said that the touch of a silver stick had petrified them all, and that their revival was the result of his having touched the princess with the stick of gold. In recognition of the very great service he had rendered them, the prince was rewarded with the princess's hand, and great were the rejoicings on the joyous occasion.
Meanwhile, in his own home his parents mourned for the prince as the years passed and he did not return. The queen had taken to her bed, and the king had become blind with weeping. They were disconsolate and courted death as the only termination of their great grief. The whole kingdom was overcast with sadness, which was, however, ultimately removed when one day the long-lost prince appeared with his bride. Joyous acclamations rent the air, and the royal couple, being informed of the return of their dear son, hastened out to the gate and embraced him and the princess. At the touch of the stick of gold, the king regained his sight, and the queen her health, and they lived for years in the enjoyment of great happiness.
At length, leaving the throne to his son, the king with the queen retired to spend a secluded and godly life in the depths of the forest.
Monday, April 18, 2016
Goblin Town: Four Jataka Versions
A lot of people have been reading the Jataka tale options in class, and you've noticed that there are lots of different versions in English. What I have done here is to choose one story and show it in several different versions, which you can see below:
Noor Inayat Khan: The Goblin Town
W. H. D. Rouse: The Goblin City
Francis and Thomas: The Goblin City
E. B. Cowell: Valahassa-Jataka (The Cloud-Hose Jataka)
This last one is the most traditional version, showing the way the Buddha introduced this story to his followers and the lesson he drew from the story. You can find a long list of other variations on this story from different countries here: Valahassa Jataka, The Story of White Flying Horse.
And see the very bottom of this post for a depiction of story in a stone pillar!
From Twenty Jataka Tales retold by Noor Inayat Khan, with illustrations by H. W. Le Mair (1939): page.
A great ship had been flung by the angry waves on the rocky shore of an island. Happily the crew and passengers, five hundred men in all, were no drowned. Their plight was wretched, however, but as they looked around, they were cheered by their beautiful surroundings. "Our ship has sunk, alas!" they said; "but doubtless there are endless treasures in this island."
After a while, the sound of voices came to their ears, and they saw a crowd of women approaching. Soon the women came to the place where the men were gathered, and they spoke to them.
"Wherefrom do you come, O travelers?" they asked. "has your ship been broken on the rocks? The men of this island left long ago in a ship and have never returned. Come, then, with us to our homes, O travelers! We will care for you and make you happy."
Such were the alluring words of the women, but even as they spoke, they bound the men with magic chains and, not knowing they were drawn by these chains, the men followed the women to their homes. And so they lived some time in the city and ate the rice which the women prepared for them on golden dishes.
But one night, when all the men were asleep, one of the five hundred awoke and heard strange voices.
"Whose are those voices?" he thought. "Are they not the voices of goblins?"
He silently arose from his bed and hid behind a large stone to watch. He was soon rewarded, for he saw that the women, changed into goblins, were walking through the town.
"It is a goblin-town!" the man exclaimed in horror. "I must tell my companions. We must flee from here."
No sooner were his eyes thus opened than he saw that he was bound with chains.
When morning came, he told his companions what he had seen. Some did not believe him, but the others asked, with trembling voices, "How can we escape?"
"We cannot," the man replied. "With magic chains we are bound."
As he said these words, there was a flash of light, and a white horse descended from the sky and landed before them. And they heard a gentle voice from the sea which said:
A flying horse with silver wings has answered to your call;
Mount on his back, your chains will break, and he will save you all.
And those who did not believe the story of their companion stayed with the women in the goblin-town, but the others flew away to their homes on the back of the silver horse, and they all lived happy ever after.
From The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse, with illustrations by W. Robinson (1897): text.
Long, long ago, in the island of Ceylon, there was a large city full of nothing but Goblins. They were all She-Goblins, too, and if they wanted husbands, they used to get hold of travellers and force them to marry — and afterwards, when they were tired of their husbands, they gobbled them up.
One day a ship was wrecked upon the coast near the goblin city, and five hundred sailors were cast ashore. The She-Goblins came down to the seashore, and brought food and dry clothes for the sailors, and invited them to come into the city. There was nobody else there at all, but for fear that the sailors should be frightened away, the Goblins, by their magic power, made shapes of people appear all around, so that there seemed to be men ploughing in the fields, or shepherds tending their sheep, and huntsmen with hounds, and all the sights of the quiet country life. So, when the sailors looked round, and saw everything as usual, they felt quite secure; although, as you know, it was all a sham.
The end of it was, that they persuaded the sailors to marry them, telling them that their own husbands had gone to sea in a ship and had been gone these three years, so that they must be drowned and lost for ever. But really, as you know, they had served others in just the same way, and their last batch of husbands were then in prison, waiting to be eaten.
In the middle of the night, when the men were all asleep, the She-Goblins rose up, put on their hats, and hurried down to the prison; there they killed a few men, and gnawed their flesh, and ate them up, and after this orgy they went home again.
It so happened that the captain of the sailors woke up before his wife came home, and not seeing her there, he watched. By-and-by in she came; he pretended to be asleep and looked out of the tail of his eye. She was still munching and crunching, and as she munched she muttered:
Man’s meat, man’s meat,
That’s what Goblins like to eat!
She said it over and over again, then lay down, and soon she was snoring loudly.
The captain was horribly frightened to find he had married a Goblin. What was he to do? They could not fight with Goblins, and they were in the Goblins’ power. If they had a ship they might have sailed away because Goblins hate the water worse than a cat, but their ship was gone. He could think of nothing.
However, next morning, he found a chance of telling his mates what he had discovered. Some of them believed him, and some said he must have been dreaming; they were sure their wives would not do such a thing. Those who believed him agreed that they would look out for a chance of escape.
But there was a kind fairy who hated those Goblins, and she determined to save the men. So she told her flying horse to go and carry them away. And accordingly, as the men were out for a walk next day, the captain saw in the air a beautiful horse with large white and gold wings. The horse fluttered down, and hovered just above them, crying out, in a human voice: “Who wants to go home? who wants to go home? who wants to go home?”
“I do, I do!” called out the sailors.
“Climb up, then!” said the horse, dropping within reach. So one climbed up, and then another, and another, and, although the horse looked no bigger than any other horse, there was room for everybody on his back. I think that somehow, when they got up, the fairy made them shrink small, till they were no bigger than so many ants, and thus there was plenty of room for all. When all who wanted to go had got up on his back, away flew the beautiful horse and took them safely home.
As for those who remained behind, that very night the Goblins set upon them and mangled them, and munched them to mincemeat.
From Jataka Tales by H.T. Francis and E. J. Thomas: page.
Once upon a time, there was in the island of Ceylon a goblin town called Sirisavatthu, peopled by she-goblins. When a ship is wrecked, these adorn and deck themselves, and taking rice and gruel, with trains of slaves and their children on their hip, they come up to the merchants.
In order to make them imagine that theirs is a city of human beings, they make them see here and there men ploughing and tending kine, herds of cattle, dogs, and the like. Then approaching the merchants, they invite them to partake of the gruel, rice, and other food which they bring. The merchants, all unaware, eat of what is offered. When they have eaten and drunken and are taking their rest, the goblins address them thus: "Where do you live? Where do you come from? Whither are you going, and what errand brought you here?"
"We were shipwrecked here," they reply.
"Very good, noble sirs," the others make answer; "'tis three years ago since our own husbands went on board ship; they must have perished. You are merchants too; we will be your wives. Thus they lead them astray by their women's wiles and tricks and dalliance, until they get them into the goblin city; then, if they have any others already caught, they bind these with magic chains, and cast them into the house of torment. And if they find no shipwrecked men in the place where they dwell, they scour the coast as far as the river Kalyani [Kaelani-ganga] on one side and the island of Nagadipa on the other. This is their way.
Now it happened once that five hundred shipwrecked traders were cast ashore near the city of these she-goblins. The goblins came up to them and enticed them till they brought them to their city; those whom they had caught before they bound with magic chains and cast them into the house of torment. Then the chief goblin took the chief man, and the others took the rest, till five hundred had the five hundred traders, and they made the men their husbands. Then in the night time when her man was asleep, the chief she-goblin rose up and made her way to the house of death, slew some of the men and ate them. The others did the same.
When the eldest goblin returned from eating men's flesh, her body was cold. The eldest merchant embraced her and perceived that she was a goblin. "All the five hundred of them must be goblins!" he thought to himself: "we must make our escape!"
So in the early morning, when he went to wash his face, he bespake the other merchants in these words. "These are goblins, and not human beings! As soon as other shipwrecked men can be found, they will make them their husbands, and will eat us; come — let us escape!"
Two hundred and fifty of them replied, "We cannot leave them: go ye, if ye will, but we will not flee away."
Then the chief trader with two hundred and fifty, who were ready to obey him, fled away in fear of the goblins.
Now at that time, the Bodhisatta had come into the world as a flying horse, white all over and beaked like a crow, with hair like munja grass, possessed of supernatural power, able to fly through the air. From Himalaya he flew through the air until he came to Ceylon. There he passed over the ponds and tanks of Ceylon, and ate the paddy that grew wild there. As he passed on thus, he thrice uttered human speech filled with mercy, saying, "Who wants to go home? Who wants to go home?"
The traders heard his saying and cried, "We are going home, master!" joining their hands and raising them respectfully to their foreheads.
"Then climb up on my back," said the Bodhisatta. Thereat some of them climbed up, some laid hold of his tail, and some remained standing, with a respectful salute. Then the Bodhisatta took up even those who stood still saluting him and conveyed all of them, even two hundred and fifty, to their own country and set down each in his own place; then he went back to his place of dwelling.
And the she-goblins, when other men came to that place, slew those two hundred and fifty who were left, and devoured them.
I also found this Indian sculpture:
Railing pillar with Valahassa jataka, Bhuteshvara: the 500 merchants imprisoned in a tower (top), the Bodhisattva (top) in the form of a horse (centre) comes to rescue them, and brings them home (below). Below the human devouring ogressess (raksasis) who kept the merchants. Leiden University Libraries.
Noor Inayat Khan: The Goblin Town
W. H. D. Rouse: The Goblin City
Francis and Thomas: The Goblin City
E. B. Cowell: Valahassa-Jataka (The Cloud-Hose Jataka)
This last one is the most traditional version, showing the way the Buddha introduced this story to his followers and the lesson he drew from the story. You can find a long list of other variations on this story from different countries here: Valahassa Jataka, The Story of White Flying Horse.
And see the very bottom of this post for a depiction of story in a stone pillar!
From Twenty Jataka Tales retold by Noor Inayat Khan, with illustrations by H. W. Le Mair (1939): page.
The Goblin Town
After a while, the sound of voices came to their ears, and they saw a crowd of women approaching. Soon the women came to the place where the men were gathered, and they spoke to them.
"Wherefrom do you come, O travelers?" they asked. "has your ship been broken on the rocks? The men of this island left long ago in a ship and have never returned. Come, then, with us to our homes, O travelers! We will care for you and make you happy."
Such were the alluring words of the women, but even as they spoke, they bound the men with magic chains and, not knowing they were drawn by these chains, the men followed the women to their homes. And so they lived some time in the city and ate the rice which the women prepared for them on golden dishes.
But one night, when all the men were asleep, one of the five hundred awoke and heard strange voices.
"Whose are those voices?" he thought. "Are they not the voices of goblins?"
He silently arose from his bed and hid behind a large stone to watch. He was soon rewarded, for he saw that the women, changed into goblins, were walking through the town.
"It is a goblin-town!" the man exclaimed in horror. "I must tell my companions. We must flee from here."
No sooner were his eyes thus opened than he saw that he was bound with chains.
When morning came, he told his companions what he had seen. Some did not believe him, but the others asked, with trembling voices, "How can we escape?"
"We cannot," the man replied. "With magic chains we are bound."
As he said these words, there was a flash of light, and a white horse descended from the sky and landed before them. And they heard a gentle voice from the sea which said:
A flying horse with silver wings has answered to your call;
Mount on his back, your chains will break, and he will save you all.
And those who did not believe the story of their companion stayed with the women in the goblin-town, but the others flew away to their homes on the back of the silver horse, and they all lived happy ever after.
From The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse, with illustrations by W. Robinson (1897): text.
The Goblin City
Long, long ago, in the island of Ceylon, there was a large city full of nothing but Goblins. They were all She-Goblins, too, and if they wanted husbands, they used to get hold of travellers and force them to marry — and afterwards, when they were tired of their husbands, they gobbled them up.
One day a ship was wrecked upon the coast near the goblin city, and five hundred sailors were cast ashore. The She-Goblins came down to the seashore, and brought food and dry clothes for the sailors, and invited them to come into the city. There was nobody else there at all, but for fear that the sailors should be frightened away, the Goblins, by their magic power, made shapes of people appear all around, so that there seemed to be men ploughing in the fields, or shepherds tending their sheep, and huntsmen with hounds, and all the sights of the quiet country life. So, when the sailors looked round, and saw everything as usual, they felt quite secure; although, as you know, it was all a sham.
The end of it was, that they persuaded the sailors to marry them, telling them that their own husbands had gone to sea in a ship and had been gone these three years, so that they must be drowned and lost for ever. But really, as you know, they had served others in just the same way, and their last batch of husbands were then in prison, waiting to be eaten.
In the middle of the night, when the men were all asleep, the She-Goblins rose up, put on their hats, and hurried down to the prison; there they killed a few men, and gnawed their flesh, and ate them up, and after this orgy they went home again.
It so happened that the captain of the sailors woke up before his wife came home, and not seeing her there, he watched. By-and-by in she came; he pretended to be asleep and looked out of the tail of his eye. She was still munching and crunching, and as she munched she muttered:
Man’s meat, man’s meat,
That’s what Goblins like to eat!
She said it over and over again, then lay down, and soon she was snoring loudly.
The captain was horribly frightened to find he had married a Goblin. What was he to do? They could not fight with Goblins, and they were in the Goblins’ power. If they had a ship they might have sailed away because Goblins hate the water worse than a cat, but their ship was gone. He could think of nothing.
However, next morning, he found a chance of telling his mates what he had discovered. Some of them believed him, and some said he must have been dreaming; they were sure their wives would not do such a thing. Those who believed him agreed that they would look out for a chance of escape.
But there was a kind fairy who hated those Goblins, and she determined to save the men. So she told her flying horse to go and carry them away. And accordingly, as the men were out for a walk next day, the captain saw in the air a beautiful horse with large white and gold wings. The horse fluttered down, and hovered just above them, crying out, in a human voice: “Who wants to go home? who wants to go home? who wants to go home?”
“I do, I do!” called out the sailors.
“Climb up, then!” said the horse, dropping within reach. So one climbed up, and then another, and another, and, although the horse looked no bigger than any other horse, there was room for everybody on his back. I think that somehow, when they got up, the fairy made them shrink small, till they were no bigger than so many ants, and thus there was plenty of room for all. When all who wanted to go had got up on his back, away flew the beautiful horse and took them safely home.
As for those who remained behind, that very night the Goblins set upon them and mangled them, and munched them to mincemeat.
From Jataka Tales by H.T. Francis and E. J. Thomas: page.
The Goblin City
In order to make them imagine that theirs is a city of human beings, they make them see here and there men ploughing and tending kine, herds of cattle, dogs, and the like. Then approaching the merchants, they invite them to partake of the gruel, rice, and other food which they bring. The merchants, all unaware, eat of what is offered. When they have eaten and drunken and are taking their rest, the goblins address them thus: "Where do you live? Where do you come from? Whither are you going, and what errand brought you here?"
"We were shipwrecked here," they reply.
"Very good, noble sirs," the others make answer; "'tis three years ago since our own husbands went on board ship; they must have perished. You are merchants too; we will be your wives. Thus they lead them astray by their women's wiles and tricks and dalliance, until they get them into the goblin city; then, if they have any others already caught, they bind these with magic chains, and cast them into the house of torment. And if they find no shipwrecked men in the place where they dwell, they scour the coast as far as the river Kalyani [Kaelani-ganga] on one side and the island of Nagadipa on the other. This is their way.
Now it happened once that five hundred shipwrecked traders were cast ashore near the city of these she-goblins. The goblins came up to them and enticed them till they brought them to their city; those whom they had caught before they bound with magic chains and cast them into the house of torment. Then the chief goblin took the chief man, and the others took the rest, till five hundred had the five hundred traders, and they made the men their husbands. Then in the night time when her man was asleep, the chief she-goblin rose up and made her way to the house of death, slew some of the men and ate them. The others did the same.
When the eldest goblin returned from eating men's flesh, her body was cold. The eldest merchant embraced her and perceived that she was a goblin. "All the five hundred of them must be goblins!" he thought to himself: "we must make our escape!"
So in the early morning, when he went to wash his face, he bespake the other merchants in these words. "These are goblins, and not human beings! As soon as other shipwrecked men can be found, they will make them their husbands, and will eat us; come — let us escape!"
Two hundred and fifty of them replied, "We cannot leave them: go ye, if ye will, but we will not flee away."
Then the chief trader with two hundred and fifty, who were ready to obey him, fled away in fear of the goblins.
Now at that time, the Bodhisatta had come into the world as a flying horse, white all over and beaked like a crow, with hair like munja grass, possessed of supernatural power, able to fly through the air. From Himalaya he flew through the air until he came to Ceylon. There he passed over the ponds and tanks of Ceylon, and ate the paddy that grew wild there. As he passed on thus, he thrice uttered human speech filled with mercy, saying, "Who wants to go home? Who wants to go home?"
The traders heard his saying and cried, "We are going home, master!" joining their hands and raising them respectfully to their foreheads.
"Then climb up on my back," said the Bodhisatta. Thereat some of them climbed up, some laid hold of his tail, and some remained standing, with a respectful salute. Then the Bodhisatta took up even those who stood still saluting him and conveyed all of them, even two hundred and fifty, to their own country and set down each in his own place; then he went back to his place of dwelling.
And the she-goblins, when other men came to that place, slew those two hundred and fifty who were left, and devoured them.
Note: Divyavadana 524, Karandavyuha 52, Beal, Rom. Leg. 332, a Tibetan version by Wenzel, JRAS 1888 503. The magical Valaha horse is one of the king's seven treasures of Empire in Jataka 479, and one of the chariot-horses of Vishnu in the Mahabharata. The magic horse, which in the Pali is a previous incarnation of Buddha, is also an episode in the tale of Supriya (Divyav. 120), and is there an incarnation of Maitreya, and in the Karandavyua of Avalokitesvara. Wenzel compares the myth of the sirens, and explains the magic horse as a myth of the moon, but Beal as the white crested waves at the change of the monsoon. It is illustrated on the bas-reliefs of the temple of Boro-Boedoer in Java (Leemans, Boro-Boudour, pl. 389, Leide, 1874), and on a railing at Mathura (Anderson, Catalogue of the Indian Museum, i. p. 189).
From The Jataka (vol. 1-6), edited by E. B. Cowell: page.
No. 196. Valahassa-Jataka.
"They who will neglect," etc. — This story the Master told while staying in Jetavana, about a Brother who had become a backslider.
When the Master asked him if it was really true that he was a backslider, the Brother replied that it was true. Being questioned for the reason, he replied that his passion had been aroused by seeing a finely dressed woman.
Then the Master thus addressed him:
"Brother, these women tempt men by their figure and voice, scents, perfumes, and touch, and by their wiles and dalliance; thus they get men into their power, and as soon as they perceive that this is done, they ruin them, character, wealth and all, by their evil ways. This gives them the name of she-goblins.
"In former days also, a troop of she-goblins tempted a caravan of traders and got power over them, and afterwards, when they got sight of other men, they killed every one of the first, and then devoured them, crunching them in their teeth while the blood ran down over both cheeks." And then he told an old story.
~ ~ ~
Once upon a time, there was in the island of Ceylon a goblin town called Sirisavatthu, peopled by she-goblins. When a ship is wrecked, these adorn and deck themselves, and taking rice and gruel, with trains of slaves, and their children on their hip, they come up to the merchants. In order to make them imagine that theirs is a city of human beings, they make them see here and there men ploughing and tending kine, herds of cattle, dogs, and the like. Then approaching the merchants, they invite them to partake of the gruel, rice, and other food which they bring. The merchants, all unaware, eat of what is offered. When they have eaten and drunken, and are taking their rest, the goblins address them thus: "Where do you live? Where do you come from? Whither are you going, and what errand brought you here?"
"We were shipwrecked here," they reply.
"Very good, noble sirs," the others make answer; "’tis three years ago since our own husbands went on board ship; they must have perished. You are merchants too; we will be your wives."
Thus they lead them astray by their women's wiles and tricks and dalliance, until they get them into the goblin city; then, if they have any others already caught, they bind these with magic chains and cast them into the house of torment. And if they find no shipwrecked men in the place where they dwell, they scour the coast as far as the river Kalyani on one side and the island of Nagadipa on the other. This is their way.
Now it happened once that five hundred shipwrecked traders were cast ashore near the city of these she-goblins. The goblins came up to them and enticed them till they brought them to their city; those whom they had caught before, they bound with magic chains and cast them into the house of torment.
Then the chief goblin took the chief man, and the others took the rest, till five hundred had the five hundred traders, and they made the men their husbands. Then in the night time, when her man was asleep, the chief she-goblin rose up and made her way to the house of death, slew some of the men, and ate them. The others did the same.
When the eldest goblin returned from eating men's flesh, her body was cold. The eldest merchant embraced her, and perceived that she was a goblin. "All the five hundred of them must be goblins!" he thought to himself: "we must make our escape!"
So in the early morning, when he went to wash his face, he bespake the other merchants in these words. "These are goblins, and not human beings! As soon as other shipwrecked men can be found, they will make them their husbands, and will eat us; come — let us escape!"
Two hundred and fifty of them replied, "We cannot leave them: go ye, if ye will, but we will not flee away."
Then the chief trader with two hundred and fifty, who were ready to obey him, fled away in fear of the goblins.
Now at that time, the Bodhisatta had come into the world as a flying horse, white all over and beaked like a crow, with hair like munja grass, possessed of supernatural power, able to fly through the air. From Himalaya he flew through the air until he came to Ceylon. There he passed over the ponds and tanks of Ceylon, and ate the paddy that grew wild there. As he passed on thus, he thrice uttered human speech filled with mercy, saying, "Who wants to go home? Who wants to go home?
The traders heard his saying and cried, "We are going home, master!" joining their hands, and raising them respectfully to their foreheads.
"Then climb up on my back," said the Bodhisatta. Thereat some of them climbed up, some laid hold of his tail, and some remained standing, with a respectful salute. Then the Bodhisatta took up even those who stood still saluting him, and conveyed all of them, even two hundred and fifty, to their own country, and set down each in his own place; then he went back to his place of dwelling.
And the she-goblins, when other men came to that place, slew those two hundred and fifty who were left, and devoured them.
~ ~ ~
The Master now said, addressing the Brethren: "Brethren, even as these traders perished by falling into the hands of she-goblins but the others by obeying the behest of the wonderful horse each returned safe home again, so, even so, they who neglect the advice of the Buddhas, both Brethren and Sisters, lay Brethren and lay Sisters, come to great misery in the four hells, places where they are punished under the five fetters, and so forth. But those who abide by such advice come to the three kinds of fortunate birth, the six heavens of sense, the twenty worlds of Brahma, and reaching the state of imperishable Nirvana they attain great blessedness."
Then, becoming perfectly enlightened, he recited the following verses:
They who will neglect the Buddha when he tells them what to do,
As the goblins ate the merchants, likewise they shall perish too.
They who hearken to the Buddha when he tells them what to do,
As the bird-horse saved the merchants, they shall win salvation too.
When the Master had ended this discourse, he declared the Truths and identified the Birth — at the conclusion of the Truths the backsliding Brother entered on the Fruit of the First Path, and many others entered on the Fruit of the First, Second, Third or Fourth — "The Buddha's followers were the two hundred and fifty who followed the advice of the horse, and I was the horse myself."
Footnotes. The modern Kaelani-gaṅgā (Journ. of the Pāli Text Soc., 1888, p. 20). On one side of a pillar in a Buddhist railing at Mathura, is a flying horse with people clinging to it, perhaps intended for this scene (Anderson, Catalogue of the Indian Museum, i. p. 189). Saccharum Muñja.
I also found this Indian sculpture:
Railing pillar with Valahassa jataka, Bhuteshvara: the 500 merchants imprisoned in a tower (top), the Bodhisattva (top) in the form of a horse (centre) comes to rescue them, and brings them home (below). Below the human devouring ogressess (raksasis) who kept the merchants. Leiden University Libraries.
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
New Mahabharata Videos
Slowly but surely, the Epified TV station in India is creating an animated Mahabharata. Earlier in the semester, I created two Epified video playlists as a one-week reading option for the class; you can see those here: Epified Mahabharata videos.
Meanwhile, Epified has added a few episodes since I made those playlists, and I'm keeping track of them here: NEW Epified Mahabharata videos.
35 - Arjun reaches Dwarka
36 - Subhadra wins over Draupadi
37 - Birth of Abhimanyu
38 - The Slaying of Jarasandha
39 - Yudhisthir Becomes King
Meanwhile, Epified has added a few episodes since I made those playlists, and I'm keeping track of them here: NEW Epified Mahabharata videos.
35 - Arjun reaches Dwarka
36 - Subhadra wins over Draupadi
37 - Birth of Abhimanyu
38 - The Slaying of Jarasandha
39 - Yudhisthir Becomes King
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Diigo: Ramayana Graphic Novels on Reserve in Bizzell
These are the graphic novels about the Ramayana on Reserve in Bizzell (link to all):
The randomizer shows a random comic book related to the Ramayana (all Ramayana comic books):
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Diigo: Ramayana Books for Checkout in Bizzell
Here's the Diigo link that lists Ramayana Books for Checkout in Bizzell. For each book, click through to the reading guide, and you'll see the call number for the book. Then, click on the call number and you'll be able to see if the book is on the shelf for you to check out!
Author: Ramesh Menon
Author: Devdutt Pattanaik
Author: William Buck
Author: Samhita Arni
Saturday, March 5, 2016
Diigo: Ultracheap Kindles
Here is a listing of the ultracheap Kindle books that you can get for $5 or less. And remember, Kindle books can be read on pretty much any handheld device OR in your web browser OR with a Kindle, whatever is most convenient for you! Click on the title to learn more about each book.
Sunday, January 31, 2016
Item. Rama and Sita in the film "A Little Princess"
Some of you may have encountered the story of Sita and Rama in the Alfonso Cuaron 1995 film version of A Little Princess. Here's the trailer:
Here is a clip of the opening part of the movie where you see Sara telling the story of Rama and Sita in her own way:
In this still from the opening scene, you can see that Sara has combined her vision of Rama with Krishna, another avatar of Vishnu; it is Krishna, not Rama, who plays the flute (bansuri):
Sara later tells more of the story to her English friends — it's like the story of Rama that you know, but simpler, and different too:
The evil Ravana locked the princess up in his tower.
There she stayed for many weeks ...
... just staring out her window ...
... missing her Prince Rama terribly.
Rama approached the thorny palace ...
... unaware that Ravana was waiting for him.
But Ravana was not through yet.
He took a bow that could hold, not one, but ten arrows ...
... each filled with poison.
The arrows sped through the air ...
... heading straight for Rama.
The arrows hit the ground ...
... and released their poison, giant clouds of thick, yellow smoke.
The smoke from Ravana's arrows ...
... finally began to lift. Rama lay dead on the ground. But then a wonderful thing happened. A gazelle laid down next to Rama, giving him his own life.
After Rama came back to life ...
... he raced towards the monster's palace to rescue Sita.
As this story is developed in the film, Rama stands for Sara's father, while Sara is the imprisoned princess, waiting for her father to rescue her.
There she stayed for many weeks ...
... just staring out her window ...
... missing her Prince Rama terribly.
Rama approached the thorny palace ...
... unaware that Ravana was waiting for him.
But Ravana was not through yet.
He took a bow that could hold, not one, but ten arrows ...
... each filled with poison.
The arrows sped through the air ...
... heading straight for Rama.
The arrows hit the ground ...
... and released their poison, giant clouds of thick, yellow smoke.
The smoke from Ravana's arrows ...
... finally began to lift. Rama lay dead on the ground. But then a wonderful thing happened. A gazelle laid down next to Rama, giving him his own life.
After Rama came back to life ...
... he raced towards the monster's palace to rescue Sita.
As this story is developed in the film, Rama stands for Sara's father, while Sara is the imprisoned princess, waiting for her father to rescue her.
Reading Guide. Epified: Mahabharata videos, Part A
The embedded playlist above will play all the episodes in this set. Here are links to the individual episodes:
Mahabharata Episode 1 - Shantanu the Unfortunate
Mahabharata Episode 2 - Devavrata Returns
Mahabharata Episode 3 - Devavrata Becomes Bhishma
Mahabharata Episode 4 - Desperation of Bhishma
Mahabharata Episode 5 - Amba's Ruin
Mahabharata Episode 6 - Satyavati's Secret
Mahabharata Episode 7 - Sons of Vyasa
Mahabharata Episode 8 - The Blind Bride
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Reading Guide. Epified: Mahabharata videos, Part B
The embedded playlist above will play all the episodes in this set. Here are links to the individual episodes:
Mahabharata Episode 9 - Son of the Sun
Mahabharata Episode 10 - Pandu's Curse
Mahabharata Episode 11 - Sons of Pandu
Mahabharata Episode 12 - One Hundred Sons
Mahabharata Episode 13 - Hate and Hurt
Mahabharata Episode 14 - The Magic Potion
Mahabharata Episode 15 - Drona
Mahabharata Episode 16 - Drona Trains the Pandavas
Mahabharata Episode 17 - Ekalavya's Story
Friday, January 29, 2016
Reading Guide. Epified: Mahabharata videos, Part C
The embedded playlist above will play all the episodes in this set. Here are links to the individual episodes:
Mahabharata Episode 19 - The Kshatriya
Mahabharata Episode 20 - Karna Becomes King
Mahabharata Episode 21 - Drupada Humiliates Drona
Mahabharata Episode 22 - Wax Palace Conspiracy
Mahabharata Episode 23 - Pandavas Escape
Mahabharata Episode 24 - Bhima's Day
Mahabharata Episode 25 - Bhima Kills Bakasura
Mahabharata Episode 26 - The Birth of Draupadi
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Reading Guide. Epified: Mahabharata videos, Part D
The embedded playlist above will play all the episodes in this set. Here are links to the individual episodes:
Mahabharata Episode 27 - Draupadi's Swayamwara
Mahabharata Episode 28 - Karna's Humiliation
Mahabharata Episode 29 - Draupadi's Husbans
Mahabharata Episode 30 - Return to Hastinapura
Mahabharata Episode 31 - Creation of Indraprastha
Mahabharata Episode 32 - Narada visits Indraprastha
Mahabharata Episode 33 - Arjuna's Exile
Mahabharata Episode 34 - Arjun's Journey
Mahabharata Episode 35 - Arjun reaches Dwarka
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Reading Guide. Epified: Mahabharata videos, Part E
The embedded playlist above will play all the episodes in this set. Here are links to the individual episodes:
Mahabharata Episode 36 - Subhadra wins over Draupadi
Mahabharata Episode 37 - Birth of Abhimanyu
Mahabharata Episode 38 - The Slaying of Jarasandha
Mahabharata Episode 39 - Yudhisthir Becomes King
Mahabharata Episode 40 - Duryodhan's Humiliation
Mahabharata Episode 41 - Shakuni's Evil Plan
Mahabharata Episode 42 - Yudhishthir Gambles
Mahabharata Episode 43 - The Gambling Match
Mahabharata Episode 44 - Draupadi at Stake
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Reading Guide. Epified: Mahabharata videos, Part F
The embedded playlist above will play all the episodes in this set. Here are links to the individual episodes:
Mahabharata Episode 46 - Pandavas Exiled
Mahabharata Episode 47 - Pandavas Exile Begins
Mahabharata Episode 48 - Krishna Meets The Pandavas
Mahabharata Episode 49 - Arjun Receives Shiva's Weapon
Mahabharata Episode 50 - Arjun Meets Indra
Mahabharata Episode 51 - Urvashi's Curse
Mahabharata episode 52 - Bheem meets Hanuman
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Reading Guide: Kincaid. Krishna. Chapter 1.
[Notes by LKG]. The first chapter of Kincaid's book describes the birth of Krishna and his escape from Mathura.
Kincaid tells a version of the story in which Yashoda's baby girl is an incarnation of Vishnu's own power, but in other versions, the baby girl is an incarnation of Yogmaya, a goddess in her own right.
Shri Krishna of Dwarka and Other Stories by C. A. Kincaid (1920), online at Hathi Trust.
Kincaid tells a version of the story in which Yashoda's baby girl is an incarnation of Vishnu's own power, but in other versions, the baby girl is an incarnation of Yogmaya, a goddess in her own right.
~ ~ ~
CHAPTER 1. THE COMING OF KRISHNA.
Now it happened many many hundred years ago that the demon Kalanemi, the grandson of Hiranyakashipu, whom the Lord Vishnu killed, was born again as Kansa, the son of Ugrasena, king of Mathura. At the same, time Dhenuka, Keshi, Pralamba, Arishta, and many other such demons came into the world to harass mankind.
At last the Earth, taking the form of a cow, went to Mount Meru and implored the help of Brahma Deva to rid her of her tormentors. Brahma Deva listened to her story; then going with the god Shiva to the Lord Vishnu, Brahma Deva repeated it to him and urged him to be born again in human form and once more to rid the world of the demons.
The Lord Vishnu, after hearing the Earth’s complaint, pulled out two of his hairs, one white and one black and said, “These two hairs shall take human form. The white hair shall be born as Balarama and shall be the incarnation of my serpent Shesha. The black hair shall be my incarnation. He shall be born as Krishna and shall slay Kansa and the demons who aid him.”
The Lord Vishnu, after hearing the Earth’s complaint, pulled out two of his hairs, one white and one black and said, “These two hairs shall take human form. The white hair shall be born as Balarama and shall be the incarnation of my serpent Shesha. The black hair shall be my incarnation. He shall be born as Krishna and shall slay Kansa and the demons who aid him.”
Now Kansa the demon who especially oppressed the Earth and the human race was, as I have said, the son of Ugrasena, king of the Bhojas and of their chief city Mathura. Kansa’s first cousin Devaki was given in marriage to Vasudeva, the son of the Yadava king, Shurasena. The dowry of Devaki was 400 caparisoned elephants, 15,000 horses, and 200 gaily decked slaves. King Kansa himself, to do his cousin honour, drove the chariot which bore Vasudeva and Devaki in the marriage procession. But suddenly above the blare of the horns and the booming of the drums a voice was heard in the heavens which said, “Today Kansa in his folly honours her whose eighth child will slay him.”
The demon prince heard the voice and, forgetting the blood tie, turned to cut down his cousin. Vasudeva interceded, saying that it was not Devaki but her eighth child who would kill Kansa. He swore, too, by the word of a Kshatriya that he would himself bring his children to be killed by King Kansa.
In due time six children were born to Devaki and Vasudeva, and one after the other Vasudeva brought them to Prince Kansa. Kansa, demon though he was, was touched and said that he would not kill them as he had nothing to fear from them. It was the eighth child only who was doomed to kill him. He spared their lives and gave them back to their mother Devaki.
Thereafter they all would have fared happily, had not the sage Narada come to Mathura and visited Prince Kansa. After receiving the prince’s salutation, Narada told him that in a former life Vasudeva and Devaki had obtained from the Lord Vishnu the boon that he would be born to them as a son, and that as their son he would, as foretold by the heavenly voice, slay Prince Kansa.
On hearing the words of the sage Narada, Prince Kansa became mad with terror. That he might give full rein to his wickedness, he seized the throne of Mathura, flinging his father Ugrasena into prison. Then he slew the six children of Vasudeva and Devaki and themselves he threw into a dungeon.
Now in the dungeon there came to Devaki hopes of a seventh child. This was the white hair which at the Lord Vishnu’s bidding entered the womb of Devaki and then became the incarnation of Vishnu’s serpent Shesha so as to be Vishnu’s friend and helper when born upon the earth. But before Devaki’s seventh child was born, the Lord Vishnu caused it to be drawn from her womb and placed in the womb of Rohini, Vasudeva’s other wife who was in hiding in Gokula for fear of King Kansa. Rohini gave birth to a son and called him Balarama. But the dungeon guards told King Kansa that Devaki had miscarried.
In due time there came to Devaki the hopes of an eighth child. This was the black hair which at the Lord Vishnu’s bidding entered her womb and became his incarnation. Hearing that Devaki was about to be confined for the eighth time, Kansa doubled the guards and the sentries round the prison. At midnight on the eighth day of the dark half of Shravan when the constellation Rohini was visible in the heavens, a son was born to Devaki. His father saw that he had four bejewelled arms and on his brow a diadem; thus Vasudeva learnt that the Lord Vishnu had kept the promise made to him in a former life, and he fell down and worshipped the newborn babe.
Then he felt a great fear for he knew that the guards would, when day dawned inform, King Kansa. But the heavenly child spoke and comforted Vasudeva. He bade him take him to the wagon of one Nanda of Gokula, who had come to Mathura to pay his taxes and had halted at the further bank of the Yamuna. Vasudeva obeyed the child, and at his command the fetters fell from Vasudeva’s feet and the bolts of the doors yielded. A deep sleep, too, oppressed the guards of the prison and the men of Mathura.
So Vasudeva bore the babe through the town gates. As they went, low thunder resounded in the sky and above their heads the great serpent Shesha waved his sixfold hood. Before them the Yamuna river raced in flood, but at the babe’s bidding the waters parted and they passed through in safety and thus reached the further bank.
Now in Nanda’s wagon lay his wife Yashoda. She had just given birth to a daughter. But the baby girl was no mortal child. The Lord Vishnu had caused part of his own vigour to enter the womb of Yashoda. This was her newly-born infant.
Vasudeva, at his son’s bidding, placed him by Yashoda’s side as she slept and took in his place Yashoda’s baby girl and carried her back with him to Mathura. Once again the Yamuna’s waters parted asunder and the locks and the doors of the dungeon opened. At last he placed her by Devaki’s side.
Vasudeva, at his son’s bidding, placed him by Yashoda’s side as she slept and took in his place Yashoda’s baby girl and carried her back with him to Mathura. Once again the Yamuna’s waters parted asunder and the locks and the doors of the dungeon opened. At last he placed her by Devaki’s side.
When the guards awoke and learnt that an eighth child had been born to Devaki, they ran to King Kansa. He hastened to Devaki’s cell. Not heeding her tears, he snatched away from her the baby girl and, holding her by the feet, he sought to dash her in pieces against the marble slab of the bathing place. But the baby girl, being Vishnu’s divine vigour, slipped deftly from his hands and rose back through the air to Vishnu’s heaven. As she passed out of Kansa’s sight, she called, mocking him, “Fool, did you hope to slay me? Your real enemy Krishna is born and is now in safety.”
a.jpg){kind=link}
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)