Wikipedia Trails: From Ghaziabad to Uttar Pradesh

Start: Ghaziabad

Last week, I said that I wanted to look more into modern India, so that's why I picked Ghaziabad. It talked a lot about the different religions and people of the area and it was cool to see how unified everything seemed to be.


Next: Jawalharlal Nehru Stadium

This stadium is in Ghaziabad and was described as a 'multi-purpose stadium' so I was curious what that meant for Indian sports. I knew for America it would be a football, soccer combination. It seems in India it means a cricket and soccer combination


Next: Uttar Pradesh Cricket Team

This is the main cricket team that calls the Jawalharlal Nehru Stadium it's home. Since cricket is a less known sport here in America, I clicked on this to learn more about it.


Last: Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh seemed to be a larger state of Ghaziabad so I clicked on it to learn more about Indian geography and how that worked. It's actually the most populous state in India and in where the Taj Mahal is located, so I'm really excited to explore it more next week.

Taj Mahal from Source

Week 8 Progress

Looking Back:

I think I'm doing really well with my class progress. Right now I'm on track to be done before the end of the semester, and if I keep working ahead that'll be sooner. I like the flow of things I've gotten into and have gotten to do the extra credit assignments that I think work with what I'm doing. Things are going great and I really hope to keep it up.

Looking forward:

I think, considering at the moment I'm 2 weeks ahead, I don't want to make any changes as we keep moving forward. I hope to be able to keep up my pace of staying on top of the class, and being able to stay 2 weeks ahead.

Keep Going from Source

Week 8 Comments and Feedback

Reflection:

I think I've been doing a really good job of complimenting peoples stories and telling them the things I like, but I usually don't get real feedback on stories unless its for the 150 word ones. I think I overall need to get better about telling people different things they can do to take their story the extra mile. I think the feedback I'm getting back is good and also thinks the feedback strategies are helping me a lot too. I do feel like I'm getting to know people. Since I'm doing the extra comments, I've read everyone's introduction and also enjoy reading about their favorite place because it seems like a smaller way to get to know a detail about them. I think moving forward I just need to make sure I'm helping people improve and not just focusing on how great they are.

A Remainder from Source

Week 8 Reading and Writing

Reflection:

I think I'm getting better with the writing assignments as the class goes on. I'm beginning to start thinking about what I want to make my story about as I'm reading. Reading wise, I think I could do a better job of taking notes on the different readings I am doing. I really like my blog and am getting more used to the set up of my website and how to add pages to it. I'm really proud of how my rewrite for "Hetic Recess" turned out and was really happy I was able to move on from revising it to editing a new story. I really liked reading the Ramayana. I liked how it seemed to flow as a story and how it seemed to be very narrative focused. I do think my notes help me a lot and figuring out what story I want to tell while reading helps me focus.

Looking Forward:

I think I want to try and take better notes and focus a lot more of the stories that I'm reading each week.

Reflection from Source

Week 7 Story: Meet the Family

Meet the Family (Updated Version)

Hey all, my name is Parikshit, and today I’m going to introduce you to my family tree. I will warn you, it gets a little crazy, so please try your best to follow along.

First let’s start with King Vichitravirya. He had two wives, Ambika and Ambalika (they were sisters) who gave him two sons, Dhritarashtra and Pandu. Now, Once King Vichitravirya died, his mother thought of her other son, Vyasa. He terrified Ambika so much so that when she saw him, she closed her eyes. Therefore, Dhritarashtra was born blind. Ambalika was also terrified, but she went pale. Therefore Pandu was pale. Vyasa is my great-great grandfather and the father of both Dhritarashtra and Pandu.

The next generation is a little more complicated. So Dhritarashtra married Gandhari and she had Duryodhana, Dushasana, Dussala and 98 other sons in total. These children are usually referred to as the Kauravas. Pandu married a woman named Kunti, who already has a son named Karna. This son was Surya’s son and grew up so quickly that Kunti didn’t really raise him. Kunti had three sons: Yudhishthira, Bhima, and Arjuna while Pandu’s other wife, Madri, had two sons: Nakula and Sahadeva. Now, all these sons were actually fathered by different deities, but Pandu always claimed them as his own as we all just let him. Pandus 5he sons were typically referred to as the Pandavas.

My father was the son of Arjuna and his wife Subhadra, and he married Uttara, my mother, who had me. When I was born, I was born dead, but Krishna brought me back to life. I was eventually made king of my grandfather’s kingdom, but the story to get there is a little complicated...

There was always a big feud between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. They all grew up together after Pandu’s death, and it was a household with 105 sons, there was going to be fights. You see the Pandavas were extremely gifted and very talented, which made Dhritarashtra’s eldest son, Duryodhana extremely jealous. So jealous that Duryodhana ended up disrespecting my great-uncles’ wife, Draupadi, and then sent my great-uncles’ to exile in the forest. But after their exile, they declared war on the Kauravas. The war was bloody and many died, including my father, Abhimanyu, and every single one of my uncles and aunts, and all of the Kauravas. My family won, but at great cost. This is how I was made the heir of the throne, even though I was the grandson of Kunti’s youngest son.

So while my family maybe complicated, but who's family doesn't have a little drama in it. And I’m so grateful for my family’s hard work that ended with me on the throne. Author's Note: The most confusing part of the Mahabharata for me was the family tree. There was so many characters and so many character names and I just kept getting confused. So for my story this week, I decided to have it be from the youngest member of the Pandava family, Parikshit, and have him tell his families story. It mainly focuses on the family tree to help me straighten things out, but also give a bit of the family drama involved at the end of the Mahabharata, because who doesn't like a little bit of family drama.

Source: Mahabharata (Public Domain Version)

Family Trees from Source

Wikipedia Trails: From Yashodharman to Ghaziabad

First: Yashodharman

This is where I left off last week. The Wikipedia page isn't long though and I learned a lot about the King, so I decided to learn more about his dynasty.

Next: Aulikaras

Since the era is from so long ago, there's not a ton that can be learned about the Aulikaras, but there is a stone that has helped bring new information about them to life.

Next: Risthal Inscription

Since this stone seemed to have a lot of information, I decided it would be the best option for my next link. This page had a ton of information, including the full inscription of it.


Last: Ghaziabad

This was the location the Risthal Inscription was found in. While I've had a lot of time learning about ancient India, I was really curious about what modern India was like and hoped that clucking on a city name would get me close to where I wanted to be.

Portrait of Tormana from Risthal Inscription from Source

Reading Week 7: Mahabharta Part D

Bhishma Falls
Source: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie

- Bhishma refuses to kill anyone who's not a women, so Shikhandin is sent with Arjuna
- Arjuna doesn't want to trick him
- Arjuna kills Bhisma and weeps bitterly
- Duryodhana only gets angrier

Drona in Command
Source: Mahabharata, Epics of the Bharatas by Romesh C. Dutt

- Drona now leading the Kuru forces
- Fighting continues
- Many die

Abhimanyu and Jayadratha
Source: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie

- Jayadratha goes to fight Yudhishthira and they kill his charioteer
- Abhimanyu dies and is described as innocent (he's the son of Arjuna)
- Arjuna kills many the next day, but refuses to kill Drona
- Arjuna kills Jayadratha

Ghatotkacha
Source: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie

- Torches sent in so the battle can continue into the night
- Arjuna calls for a truce and the warriors sleep on the battlefield
- Ghatotkacha, the son of Bhima, kills many people and fights Karna
- Ghatotkacha dies at the hands of the invincible dart
- Lots of crying in the battle

Death of Drona
Source: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita

- Bhima kills an elephant named Ashwatthama to make Drona think his son is dead and dishearten him
- Dhrishtadyumna kills Drona is his sadness

Bhima and Duhshasana
Source: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie

- Yudhishthira and Bhima fight Karna
- Bhima kills Duhsasana and then drinks his blood
- This freaks people out

Arjuna and Karna
Source: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie

- Arjuna and Karna battle
- Arjuna's bow breaks and he asks Karna to wait, but Karna doesn't
- Karna's chariot gets stuck and he asks Arjuna to pause and he does
- Arjuna hears his son's name and gets angry enough that he just immediately kills Karna

Duryodhana in the Lake
Source: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie

- The Kauravas retreat and it's suggested they sue for peace
- Duryodhana understands he can't, so the war must continue
- Bhima finds Duryodhana and brings Yudhishthira to him
- Bhima kills Duryodhana and declares Draupadi avenged
- Yudhishthira mad at Bhima because he broke the rules of combat
- Krishna points out the Duryodhana has played dirty frequently.

The Night Raid
Source: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie and Mahabharata, Epics of the Bharatas by Romesh C. Dutt

- Kripa and Ashwatthaman visit the dying Durodhana
- Ashwatthaman attacks the Pandavas camp
- Drupad, Dhristadyumna, Shikhandin and Draupadi's children all killed
- Duryodhana dies happy

Ashwatthaman's Jewel
Source: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie

- Draupadi extremely upset
- She asks Bhima for the head of Ashwatthaman
- When told that can't happen, she asks for his jewl instead
- Arjuna gets it for her

Mourning
Source: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie

- Dhritarashtra mourns the death of his 100 sons
- There's great mourning
- Kunti's happy to see her 5 son but then mourns the dead
- they have a funeral for it

The Pandavas and Bhisma
Source: The Mahabharata, A Summary by John Mandeville Macfie

- the Pandavas visit Bhisma who is waiting for the sun solstice to die
- He tells them a story about the rishi Vishvamitra and the terrible drought
- Yudhishthira is put on the throne
- Bhisma dies with Krishna's permission

King Yudhishthira's Horse
Source: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie

- It's suggested that Yudhishthira does a horse sacrifice because of all the carnage from the war
- Arjuna and an army follow the horse
- the horse goes many places and gives Arjuna many adventures
-

Parikshit
Source: The Mahabharata, A Summary by John Mandeville Macfie and Nine Ideal Indian Women by Sunity Devee

- Ashwatthaman killed the baby of Uttara and Krishna agrees to help her

- Parikshit is born and Uttara wants to die, but Krishna stops her

-Uttara's son becomes king

- Finally Uttara is allowed to die

Horse Sacrifice
Source: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie

- Yudhishthira lived a life of purity and self-restraint
- He's excited to see Arjuna again
 - The sacrifice ceremony is preformed

The Mongoose
Source: The Story of the Great War by Annie Besant

- A lot of wealth brought to the kingdom after the ceremony
- A mongoose appears before the King
- He tells a story about a poor brahmin and a greedy guest
- They gave the guest everything and were praised for it

The Forest and its Ghosts
Source:  Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie

- Dhritarashtra mourns his firstborn and to the jungle with his queens and Kunti
- the brothers and Draupadi visit
- The ghosts from the battle are summoned by Vyasa
- Many high-born widows choose to die with their husbands that day
- 2 years later, all the elders are dead

Death of Krishna
Source:  Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie

- Pandavas know something bad is going to happen, but don't know what
- Krishna and Balarama leave the city and die in the jungle after a great feast
- Arjuna given a message to help the women wailing for the dead and buries everyone who died

The Pandavas Depart
Source:  Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie

- Yudhishthira divides his kingdom between Parikshit and Yuyutsu
- the Pandavas then go to the jungle and they all die because of their sins
- Yudhishthira says he can't go to heaven without his brothers and his wife
- When told he can't, he begs for the hound to come with him

The Afterlife
Source:  Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie

- Yudhisthira dies and finds Duryodhana and the Kauravas in heaven, but none of his family
- He goes to find them in Hell, but it was all a test
- Yudhishthrina is made a celestial being and enters Swarga
- Krishna, Draupadi and his brothers are all waiting for him

Yudhishthira and a dog from Source