Indian Epics Blog

  Makara 1. Makara the Mythical Creature Makara is said to be a mythical creature being part crocodile and part dolphin. Makara symbolizes strength, growth, beauty, and pushes us to outgrow fear in facing problems. Perhaps this is why Makara allows Ganga, The River Goddess,  to ride upon his back. As she carries the souls of the dead closer to liberation from the cycle of life and death, which requires the most strength, growth, and beauty. Makara gladly is the vehicle for Ganga, and both mythical beings reside together in the river. 2. Makara Carries the Souls Makara obeys Ganga, his goddess. One day, Ganga married a handsome king, Santanu. Makara remained in the river,  waiting for Ganga's return. Many nights later, Ganga returned to Makara carrying a beautiful baby boy. "Take this child to the heavens, Makara. Give his soul strength to carry on." Makara took the baby and brought him to the heavens to be with Indra. Makara did this seven more times for Ganga. When ...

The City of Lights Note: This is a continuation from Week 7: The Game of Dice  I had been in Las Vegas for about a week now and I still couldn't shake off the experience I had witnessed at the Crystal Palace. Where did the King and Mr. D go? What happened to Mr. Pandava and his wife Padi? I yearned to find out, but I didn't want to be caught up in any of their business. I was walking down the street with the neon lights reflecting off of my shoes and glasses. I looked around at the scene: people drinking, gambling, going to shows. Everything seemed normal, except..not. Perhaps it was just me, but I felt a tension in the air. It was as if all of Las Vegas had seen the duel between Mr. Pandava and Mr. D and was holding their breath.  I continued walking when I noticed I was being followed. A man in a black suit with black sunglasses kept about six feet back from me, but he turned every time I turned, stopped any time I stopped, and kept his eyes on me. I began to look around and...

  Dice: Quantamagazine I was strolling down the streets of Las Vegas, passing by all of the bright lights and the sounds of coin machines when I saw a casino that loomed over all of the others: The Crystal Palace. Now, me being a newbie in the area, I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I walked in between those doors. At the time, all I could focus on was the sparkle of the casino, which definitely fit its name perfectly. There were huge crystalline chandeliers hanging from the ceiling that were almost blinding to look at as well as a center bar that was encased with mirrors. Everything in casino seemed breakable to touch or too nice for me to feel comfortable to place my hand upon it. As I gazed around in wonder, I had not noticed two men coming down the stairs until the entire casino was in silence. Standing before me on the grand staircase were the two biggest casino leaders in Las Vegas: Mr. Pandava and Mr. D. No one knows what the mysterious Mr. D's real name is; ...

  Ganga the River Goddess: Wikimedia Commons Once there was a beautiful woman whose hair flowed like a river. She always had a lovely white lily in her hair as well as all over her clothes. During the day, she loved spending her time on the side of the river looking for more lilies to add to her collection.  One day while she was performing her lily hunt, a handsome young man appeared from out of the woods. He was immediately in love and begged for her hand in marriage. She agreed, but only if he would allow her all of the freedom in the world and that he never questioned her motives. He agrees without second thought and they become married. This man, we discover, was actually a King! His name was Santanu.  They lived a very happy life, as she was a perfect spouse. Santanu wondered what freedom she possibly could request that he needed to question. She was spectacular in every way. Eventually, his wife and him have a baby son, who he loves very much. However, his wife too...

Ravana's Death: Wikimedia Commons Okay, do you remember where we left off? Sita has been taken away by the evil Ravana. Rama was heartbroken and wept for many days. He searched and searched for Sita. "Is my beautiful Sita here?" he asked the mountains. "I am sorry, but no" wept the mountains.  "Is my love hiding in your shallows?" he asked the river. "No, my dear Rama" wept the river, causing flooding of the nearby lands. Rama and Lakshmana then came upon the kingdom Kiskinda, which was ruled by a monkey race that were extraordinarily intelligent and had godly parentage. One of the most intelligent of these monkey's was Hanuman, the companion and helper of Sugreeva, the chief of Kiskinda. Hanuman sees Rama enter the kingdom and is so curious to know who he was, he decides to go talk to him! Hanuman changes his form to appear as a scholar instead of monkey to perhaps trick Rama. "Hello, my name is Hanuman and I am a scholar who has lo...

                                                                                    Rama and Sita: Wikimedia Commons Once upon a time there was a king that was very sad because he had no children. This king's name was Dasaratha. To become happy, he begged a sage to give him children. The sage was kind and gave the king a sacrificial rice that would allow his wives to become pregnant. When the king gave his wives the rice, they both had two children. The king was now overjoyed because he now had four sons: Rama, Lakshmana, Bharatha, and Sathrugna. Dasaratha did not know this, but his son Rama was the human incarnation of the supreme god Vishnu. Once the boys grew older, a sage by the name of Viswamithra, comes and tells Dasaratha that he need...

                                                                  Estuarine Crocodile: Pixabay Once there was a tiny monkey and a ginormous crocodile that devoured all in his sight. This monkey would hop across lily pads on a river to reach an island that had the most delightful fruits. He would eat until he was full and then leap back across the lily pads at sunset. The crocodile knew this and desired to eat the little monkey. The monkey knew the crocodile desired him and always made sure to look for the crocodile's giant eyes before making his way across the river. The crocodile knew he must try and deceive the monkey, as he was too small and fast to catch. One day while the monkey was across the river the crocodile went underneath the lily pads so ...