Thoughts about Comments

Commenting is an essential part of this class. I enjoy reading the comments of my peers and instructor because they help me engage with them and improve my work. Even though giving criticism to someone’s work may seem mean, it is the most helpful tool for someone to get better at what they are doing. These types of comments have been the most helpful to me in improving my writing. The main problems with my writing are that sometimes I am not specific enough and I make a lot of grammar mistakes. I think I am doing a good job on commenting on other posts but will try to get better. 

Storytelling Week 5: Hidimba and Hidimbi

Bhima, his brothers, and his mother had just escaped the fire set by King Dhritarasthra, Purochana and the scheming Prince Duryodhana. They now had to roam the wilderness in exile. The family was tired, and hungry as they made their way through the winter forest. All of a sudden Bhima spotted a wild boar. He chased the boar and wrestled it down with his strong arms. The boar squealed as he delivered the final blow. He did not like taking the life of an innocent animal, but he had to provide for his family. He looked up to the sky and gave a silent prayer to thank God for the food. He and his family then found a nice place to settle down for the night. They started a fire and feasted. After dinner, they all went to sleep while Bhima kept watch.

During this time two rakshashas named Hidimba and Hidimbi were travelling through the forest. Hidimba was a strong rakshasha male armed with a bow and ax. Hidimbi was his beautiful shape-shifting sister. They have not eaten in 3 weeks because most of the food sources are hard to find and access in the wintertime. Their noses picked up on the lingering scent of cooked boar that Bhima and his family had for dinner. They followed the scent with excitement and finally spotted the family through the trees. Hidimba was ready to rush into battle to claim the family as food, but Hidimbi said that she had a better idea. She knew Bhima was strong and she had to devise a plan to win this battle.

Hidimbi approached Bhima the next morning. She shape shifted into the most beautiful woman the whole world has ever seen. Bhima was attracted to the rakshasha woman but knew his main job was to ensure the safety of his family. After some discussion with his mother and him she slowly started to make progress with Bhima. During this time, Hidimba rushed on to the scene. He acted like he was angry at his sister for betraying him and attacked Bhima.

The two fought a fierce battle as the family and Hidimbi watched. As they were fighting, Hidimbi quickly pulled Bhima’s mother towards her and held her hostage with a dagger. The other brothers were not targets because their mother was the most vulnerable target out of the family and precious to the family. Armed with no weapon the brothers could not do anything to save their mother. Bhima looked over to all of the commotion and realized that Hidimbi had tricked him. As he was observing the situation, Hidimba shot an arrow at his arm and punched him to the ground. Bhima and his brothers all watched in helplessness because they knew they were going to lose their mother. Hidimba let out a menacing laugh and made way toward his sister. In one quick movement, the bloodied warrior Bhima grabbed Hidimba’s bow and shot an arrow straight through Hidimbi’s head. During this moment, Hidimba quickly stabbed Bhima straight through his stomach. Bhima fell to the ground in pain.

The brothers rushed the weakened Hidimba in anger. They secured a quick victory and they made way to their mother who was sulking next to the failed warrior Bhima. They all prayed for hours trying to obtain assistance from the Gods. Finally they came down.

“Due to the virtues of bravery, selflessness, and respect for his mother we grant the great warrior Bhima another chance,” the Gods stated. They then quickly vanished. Bhima’s wounds disappeared and the next morning he woke up. His family thanked him for his valiant efforts.

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Bhima fights with Hidimba.

Author’s Note: In the original stories called Bhima and Hidimba and Hidimbi the plot is different. Hidimbi is sent to attack the family and accidentally falls in love with Bhima. Her brother Hidimba approaches the scene and is angered by the fact that she has betrayed him. He then attacks the family and ends up getting killed by Bhima. Bhima and Hidimbi later get married and have a child. I was surprised on how quickly Hidimbi and Hidimba’s bond was severed. I changed the story so that they were still on the same side. I also incorporated themes such as respecting your parents that I have seen throughout every reading in this class.

Bibliography: Mahabharata, Arnold, Besant, Devee, Dutt, Ganguli, Kincaid, Macfie, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Seeger, and Tagore, 2009.

Reading Diary B: Week 5

House of Fire: In this episode of the Mahabharata, Duryodhana tricks his dad into believing that the Pandeva brothers were plotting an evil scheme against him. He then told the king that he should build a house built of wood and soak it in oil. He would then instruct his guard Purochana to set the house on fire. The Pandeva brothers figure out this scheme, and escape through a passageway built by a great miner. They fake their death so they are no longer in pursuit by Duryodhana. I think this episode would be better if there was a fight between Bhima and Purochana at the end of the passageway. This would make the scene way more intense.

Hidimba: In this episode of the Mahabharata, the Pandeva brother and there mom roam the forest. At nighttime they are all fatigued and decide to take a rest. Bhima acts as the bodyguard. He keeps watch at nigh to ensure the safety of his loved ones. An evil demon named Hidimba and his sister Hidimbi try to attack them. During this process, the sister Hidimbi falls in love with Bhima and chooses not to fight with him. Bhima beats Hidimba in battle. He then marries his sister. I think a cool twist to this story would be if Hidimbi lied about her love and when Bhima and her brother were fighting, she tried to eat Bhima’s family.

Wife of the Five Pandevas: In this episode of the Mahabharata, Arjuna wins the bride Draupadi in a contest. Their mom then says that they should share this gift of a woman. The sons obey their mom and end up all becoming the husbands of Draupadi. A common them among these epics is competition for the bride. I could see this marriage becoming a problem later on. This is a picture of Draupadi and her husbands. 

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Reading Diary A: Week 5

Bhishma at the Swayamvara:

In this episode Bhishma, the son of Shantanu, takes the three brides for his brother Vichitravirya. It is interesting to me how the Ramayana and the Mahabharata have so many similarities. In both books, the sons take on terrible responsibilities to benefit their fathers. I think a common trend among these epics is always respecting and serving your parents no matter what they request of you. Another common theme is that Bhishma and Rama both have a bow as their weapon of choice. They are also both put into positions where they have to secure brides by accomplishing some impressive feat to earn them. An interesting idea for a story would be to make Rama and Bhishma meet at this competition for a bride. It would be a complete tangent from the original work but since the stories are so similar, I could make them both competitors for a bride. It would be an awesome battle. I also liked this story because of the imagery and description put into each sentence. I think a lot of the reading that we do in this class share similarities among them.

Amba:

In this episode, everyone rejects Amba. She then blames all of her problems on Bhishma. An interesting aspect of this episode is how she obtained help from Shiva. It is crazy how a lot of the characters in these epics can obtain great wishes form the gods just by praying a little. It is also interesting that the gods are so quick to take sides. The fact that she has to change gender to become effective in battle shows the gender roles in this time period. Women were meant to be housewives and bear children, and men were meant to rule and enter battle. What if she did not have to commit suicide so that she can become a man in her next life? That would be an interesting twist to the story.

Bhima and the Nagas: This episode of the Mahabharata was super interesting. I like how the two families have a rivalry. I wonder if this will spiral into further conflict down the road. In this episode, his cousin Duryodhana poisons him but he does not die. Instead he arrives in the underworld, and emerges back into the real world with supernatural strength. This reminds me of Hercules and Clash of the Titans. In all three of these stories someone has to go into the underworld and emerges victorious. This story was super interesting. This is a picture of Bhima in the underworld.

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