Wikipedia Trails From Hindustani Language to Bhakti Movement

Start: Hindustani Language

Picking up from last week, the Hindustani Language was to try and get my trail back on track. I want to keep this Wikipedia Trail more focused on India and it's culture because that's what I really want to be learning about.

Second Link: Hindi

After learning how few places had Hindustani as the official language last week, I chose to look more into Hindi as a language. It was really interesting to read about how much has changed about the language and how many different variations of it there are.

Third Link: Bhakti

I'm not exactly sure what about the word made me click on it, but it did. I learned that Bhakti means "fondness for" or "attachment" and that it is usually used to describe a devotion to a god.

End: Bhakti Movement

I wanted to learn more about the overall culture of Indian so I clicked on the Bhakti movement in order to do that. While the movement happened more in medieval India and further back than I wanted to learn about, it was still really cool to read about. It was also cool to read about how it's impacted a ton of various relgions.

Meerabi, a significant sants in the Bhakti Movement from Source

Week 4 Lab

For Story Laboratory, I chose to watch the Two Ted Talks over story telling and stories:

The danger of a single story and imaginary friends and real life consequences

The first one talked about the dangers that can come from stories only coming from one culture group. She then continued to talk about how the stories she was told affected how she say people, and how later in life the stories others were told affected how others saw her. I think she's right in the stories that are told and made popular are what influences our view. More stories need to be told from different perspectives to help educate others and let them know that each country isn't held accountable by one thing. I think it's awesome how she was able to put her own experiences about how she had misjudged people based on a narrative she was told too, because it made her more relatable to the audience.

The second Ted Talk was about the relationships that people form with fictional characters whether you watch them on TV or you read about them. She talks about how because we see fictional characters or celebrities so often, we feel like we know them. She even includes the study her and her grad student did comparing fictional friend's deaths to real life acquaintance's deaths. I think the study itself was very interesting and think it says a lot about how close we get to people in fictional situations. When writing, I think it's important to remember that people can fall in love with fictional characters and be actively routing for them and wanting them to succeed. You want people to route for the characters you write about.

Quotes about Fictional Characters from Source

Reading Notes: Ramayana Part D

Ramayana Part D

The Bridge
Bibliography: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie

- Rama performs sacrifices to the god of oceans
- This did nothing so he got angry
- the King of the Ocean comes to speak to Rama
- he offers the help of Nala so they can construct a bridge
- They build Rama's Bridge
- Rama worships Shiva on that holy island which is now called Rameshwaram

Rama Attacks
Bibliography: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita 

- Omens of war were not good
- Again it's suggested to Ravana that he should surrender
- Ravana tries tricking Sita instead
- It didn't work because a message about the war came in while Sita was in the room

Indrajit
Bibliography: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita 

- Monkeys attack
- Rakshana's counter attack
- Indrajit is the son of Ravana
-  He has magic and he needs it
- The brothers get very hurt
- Indrajit comes back as a hero
- Sita shown the hurt brothers
- The brothers heal

Kumbhakarna
Bibliography: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie

- Kumbhakarna awakened by the rakshana's
- At first he's upset that he was awakened but after food he's okay
- Kumbhakarna defeats Hanuman
- Rama ends up winning though

Hanuman and the Mountain
Bibliography: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita 

- Prince Indrajit says he will kill Rama and Lakshmana
- He's victorious again
- Sugriva and Hanuman look at all the wounded
- Hanuman upset when Jambavan injured
- He goes to the mountain for herbs but can't find them
- Hanuman eventually finds it and heals all the hurt people

Lakshmana and Indrajit
Bibliography: Ramayana, the Epic of Rama, Prince of India condensed by Romesh Dutt

- Indrajit is very upset
- Vibshishan suggests to Rama that Lakshana goes to slay Ravana
- Lakshmana succeeds

Ravana's Lament
Bibliography: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie and Ramayana, the Epic of Rama, Prince of India condensed by Romesh Dutt

- Ravana upset about the death of his son
- Ravana goes to kill Sita but her maidens help hid her so they can't

Ravana and Lakshmana
Bibliography: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie

- Ravana goes to fight Lakshmana
- Lakshmana gets very hurt but Hanuman finds more herbs and can heal him

Indra's Chariot
Bibliography:  Ramayana, the Epic of Rama, Prince of India condensed by Romesh Dutt

- Indra gives Rama his chariot

Battle of Rama and Ravana
Bibliography:  Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita 

- Battling between Rama and Ravana continues
- A lot of deities stand behind Rama
- Rama worships the deities as he fights
- Rama's arrows can't kill Ravana

Ravana's Death
Bibliography: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie and Ramayana, the Epic of Rama, Prince of India condensed by Romesh Dutt

- Rama grabs Brahma's arrow
- Rama kills Ravana
- Rama enters Lanka in triumph and he was declared King of Lanka

Mandodari's Lament
Bibliography: Ramayana, the Epic of Rama, Prince of India condensed by Romesh Dutt

- Mandodari mourns her dead husband

Sita and Rama
Bibliography: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita 

- Rama sends Hanuman to find Sita
- Sita prepares herself to see Rama
- Rama upset about what happened to Sita
- Sita feels unworthy
- Rama is cruel and rude to Sita for getting kidnapped

Sita Tested
Bibliography: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita 

- Sita calls him out for being cruel and tells him how faithful she has been
- Sita asks Lakshmana to build her funeral pyre
- Sita actually goes in the flames, everyone grieves
- Rama just watches
- Fire gives Sita back to Rama
- Rama takes Sita back

Pushpaka
Bibliography: Ramayana, the Epic of Rama, Prince of India condensed by Romesh Dutt

- The two of them fly away from Lanka

Rama and Bharata
Bibliography: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie and Ramayana, the Epic of Rama, Prince of India condensed by Romesh Dutt

- Rama's exile ended
- And they all returned home
- Bharata welcomes Rama home and gives him the kingdom

Rama Crowned King
Bibliography: Ramayana, the Epic of Rama, Prince of India condensed by Romesh Dutt

- 14 years later, Rama is crowned King
- The whole ceremony is described

Valmiki's Hermitage
Bibliography: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie

- People doubt Sita because she was kidnapped by Ravana
- Sita gets banished by Rama because of his subjects
- Lakshmana takes her to the edge of the jungle and leaves her
- Valmiki the hermit welcomes her
- Sita has two sons, Lava and Kusha
- Rama preforms a horse sacrifice to help cleanse him
- His sons takes the horse and injury Lakshmana in when he gets army to get it back
- Rama goes after the sons but asks who they are

Sita Departs
Bibiliography:Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita 

- The brothers run around and sings Rama's praise
- Rama goes searching for Sita to see if she's still pure
- Sita and her spokespeople vouch that she is pure
- Rama asks the gods for their opinion and they say that Sita is pure
- Sita's throne sinks and she isn't able to come back (she goes to heaven)
- Rama is heartbroken

Rama Departs
Bibliography: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita 

- Time comes to Rama
- Lakshmana was already gone
- Rama is honored by the monkeys, the bears, and everyone that helped him win
- Vishnu leaves Rama and returns to heaven in his own form

Rama and Sita as Rama is crowned King from Source

Reading Notes: Ramayana Part C

Ramayana Part C Reading Notes

Sugriva and Hanuman
Bibliography: Rama and the Monkeys by Geraldine Hodgson

- Sugriva invited Hanuman to disguise himself and see what strangers were up to
- He passes the brothers
- Sugriva sympathizes because he lost his wife to his elder brother
- Hanuman takes the brothers to Sugriva (monkey chief)

Sugriva's Story
Bibliography: Rama and the Monkeys by Geraldine Hodgson

- Sugriva tells the brothers his story
- Vali tricked Sugriva into staying in a whole for a whole year
- Sugriva saw blood and believed his brother dead so he went to go rule his brother's subjects
- Vali went to look for his brother but found a mountain instead so he struggled to get out
- Vali thought Sugriva did it on purpose to trap him
- Sugriva couldn't soothe his brother and he took his wife and banished his brother
- Rama wants to help Sugriva and begs him to battle his brother

Sugriva and Vali
Bibliography: Ramayana, the Epic of Rama, Prince of India condensed by Romesh Dutt

- poem with an AA, BB, CC rhyming scheme
- Vali still upset so accepts the battle
- Tara, Vali's wife, supports him and tells him to wait
- She knows about the brothers
- She asks him to just make peace with his brother
- Vali refuses
- The fighting begins

Vali's Death
Bibliography: Ramayana, the Epic of Rama, Prince of India condensed by Romesh Dutt

- the brothers fight with trees
- Sugriva ends up fainting
- Rama takes over and kills Vali

King Sugriva
Bibliography: Ramayana, the Epic of Rama, Prince of India condensed by Romesh Dutt

- Tara weeps for Vali
- Sugriva weeps too
- Rama is praised
- Hanuman praises Rama

The Rainy Season
Bibliography: Ramayana, the Epic of Rama, Prince of India condensed by Romesh Dutt and Relatives by Arthur William Ryder

- Two different poems of the same event
- Rama laments about not having Sita
- Poetry from Relatives come is ABAB pattern
- Sugriva is King again

The Armies
Bibliography: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie and Ramayana, the Epic of Rama, Prince of India condensed by Romesh Dutt

- Rama worried because after the rainy season, Sugriva isn't getting his forces together
- Lakshmana threatens Sugriva and he agrees to help search for Sita

Sampati
Bibliography: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita

- The armies came back a month later with no reports of Sita
- Sampati the vulture hears the monkeys lamenting and tells them where he saw Sita
- He tells Rama to avenge his brother

Sampati and Jatayu
Bibliography: The Illiad of the East: The Ramayana by Frederika Richardson Macdonald

- Sampati and Jatayu were brothers
- they started flying together but Jatayu fainted
- Sampati tried to save him but was in great pain
- Nishakara saved the two brothers
- Sampati asks to die
- Sampati was given the funeral honors and awaited Rama to avenge his brother

Hanuman's Leap
Bibliography: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita 

- The monkeys got more hopeful and were able to jump higher than ever
- Hanuman used to be able to jump high to reach the fruit that was the sun
- Jambavan asks his to jump over the ocean
- He starts the jump but gets caught but a rakshasi
- He defeats the rakshasi
- He ends up on the shore of Lanka tired

Hanuman in Lanka
Bibliography: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita 

- Hanuman waits for night and then shrinks to the size of a cat before entering the city
- Hanuman goes to Ravana's palace
- Hanuman looks everywhere for Sita
- He finds Ravana and his Queens all asleep
- Hanuman confuses Mandodari, Ravana's Queen, for Sita

The Ashoka Grove
Bibliography: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie and Ramayana, the Epic of Rama, Prince of India condensed by Romesh Dutt

- Sita is found in the Ashoka grove
- Fierce demons surround her

Sita and Ravana
Bibliography: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita 

- Hanuman excited to have found Sita
- Ravana was awake and came to the wood with his wives
- Sita is terrified of Ravana
- Ravana tries to tempt her
- Ravana, angry, says Sita has two months to agree to be his wife
- Sita is miserable and goes towards where Hanuman is hiding

Hanuman and Sita
Bibliography:  Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie and Ramayana, the Epic of Rama, Prince of India condensed by Romesh Dutt

- Sita is fearful that Hanuman is Ravana
- Hanuman shows her the ring of Rama
- Hanuman offers to take Sita away but Sita is too modest and doesn't want to touch a male body that isn't Rama


Hanuman Captured
Bibliography: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita 

- Hanuman isn't satisfied from just finding Sita
- The Rakshasis find him and tell Ravana about him
- Hanuman fights the Rakshasis and wins
- Hanuman gets caught anyway
- He doesn't struggle, realizing it's best for him to talk to Ravana
- He loosens his bonds but doesn't tell anyone

Hanuman and Ravana
Bibliography: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita 

- Hanuman admits he's there from Rama
- Hanuman tells Ravana to save his life and surrender Sita
- Ravana is very upset and wants to kill Hanuman but can't cause he's an envoy
- Instead Ravana sets Hanuman's tail on fire

The Burning of Lanka
Bibliography: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita 

- Hanuman asks to be taken through Lanka
- Sita is told what happened
- Hanuman's burning tail is cooled because of Sita's pray and he escapes his chains
- He burns Lanka but regrets it because he thinks he killed Sita
- He goes back to the Ashoka tree and finds her there
- He goes back and tells everyone he found Sita

The March of Lanka
Bibliography: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita 

- Sugrive gives orders to march on Lanka because Hanuman says he knows the strengths and weaknesses of the cities
- Friendly bears, ruled by Jambavan, join the army
- They have to figure out how to cross the ocean so they make came

Ravana's Court
Bibliography: Ramayana, the Epic of Rama, Prince of India condensed by Romesh Dutt

- Ravana hosts a council
- Vajradanshtra says he's ready to fight and suggests tricking Rama by dressing as his brother's army
- Nikumbha suggests he meets the armies and he will defeat them

Vibhishana
Bibliography:  Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie and Ramayana, the Epic of Rama, Prince of India condensed by Romesh Dutt

- Ravana was scared of Hanuman
- Everyone says wage war except Vibhishana
- Vibhishana suggests he give Sita back
- Ravana was upset and didn't listen
- Vibhishana gets banished and joins the force of Rama

Sampati with the Monkeys from Source