Portfolio Guide

Viradha: How did he get that curse?
The story about how Prince Roger got his curse.
(Editing complete)


Mew and the Gods
The story about where the Legendary Pokemon Mew came from.
(Editing complete)


The Jewel of Power(Part 1)
The story of how Ashwathama got his Jewel.
(Editing complete)


The Jewel of Power(Part 2)
The story of how Ashwathama got his Jewel.
(Editing complete)

Week 14 Storytelling: The Jewel of Power (Part 3)

Author's Note: This is part three to my story about how Ashwatthaman got the jewel in his head. In part one Ashwatthaman was found unconscious against a tree after being gone for two months with a mysterious stone in his head. He had no memory of anything but after time it came back. In part two Ashwatthaman has all his memories back and tells his father what happened. Basically what happened is he was lured to a mysterious cave and someone or something placed the stone in his head. The purpose of this part three is to highlight some of Ashwatthaman's strange encounters in the cave where he was trapped for two months.

It seems that I have been in this cave forever. I am confident that I have checked every inch of this cave but there is just no way out. There seems to be something special about this stone in my head. The only food I've had since I've been trapped in here is a few bugs that I found scurrying across the floor. Yet for some reason I no longer desire food or water. When I first got trapped in this Hell I worried that I would die after a few days, but here I am alive and well.

If anything I feel as if I am in a dream. Things keep happening to me that logically do not make any sense. In the world I came from and remember, flesh isn't tougher than rocks. But in here, if I trip and fall on a pointy rock my body just crushes it under me. I cannot die. I do not not hunger and do not feel pain. Is this the doing of the man who stuck the stone in my head? Is there some sort of magical property about this stone that turns whoever has it immortal? If not I can't explain anything that has happened to me while stuck in this cave. I don't remember anyone lasting as long as I have without any nourishment. I do not remember anyone whose flesh was stronger than rocks that come up from the ground like swords waiting to pierce an unexpected visitor.

The longer I live in this cave the more I believe I am actually in Hell. I am surrounded by earth on all sides. There is no way out. If it wasn't for the lava pit illuminating the cave I would have already gone insane from the sheer darkness. Each time I wake up I have new thoughts about the lava pit. New terrible thoughts that are corrupting my soul. This morning when I awoke I made my decision that this would be my last day in this here cave. I have been in here far to long. Is this a dream? If it is then I will wake up from this nightmare once I put my plan into effect.

I have made up my mind and there is nothing that will change my mind. I am going to try one last time to escape this place but if I have no luck then I am getting out of here no matter what. Even if it means potentially taking my own life. There is a perfectly good lava pit waiting for me to jump into it. Out of everywhere in this cave the lava pit is the one place I have yet to explore. I do not know if the lave will actually kill me or if my flesh is strong enough. There is only one way to find out.

It has been long enough. I am getting out of this cave one way or another. I pray to the creators that I will survive the plunge into the lava pit. If not then maybe I will discover the reason why I was placed in this prison in the next live. Goodbye world, my only regret is not spending more time with my father. I trained day and night to please him. I knew Arjuna was his favorite but that is what motivated me to train so hard.

Ashwatthaman shut his eyes and fell into the lava pit. It is still unknown what really happened to him because the next time he opened his eyes he was back home surrounded by people he didn't recognize. He was laying against a tree near his house with the stone still in his head. Meaning everything that happened in that cave really happened to him and he wasn't in a dream. His father found him and woke him up to find out that his son had no memories of anything. Ashwatthaman was terrified and couldn't even recognize his own father.

Author's note: This is the final installment of the Ashwatthaman stories. I didn't have much time this week to write this story so there might be typos/no pics. If anyone comes to this story before Friday I would like to apologize. I need to spend my time working on a project due that day and studying for my last midterm. I hope you enjoy the story!

Bibliography - Online Mahabharata, Story titled "Ashwatthaman's Jewel"
Author: Donald A. Mackenzie

Reading Notes: Devdutt Pattanaik Videos, Part F: Vishnu's Secret

Cows are the most sacred animal in the hindu faith. They are not allowed to eat beef. Some wonder if cows produce milk for humans or for their calf's. People must treat cows with respect because they provide so much for humans. Vishnu is known as the preserver and everyone is expected to respect cows because Vishnu does.

(Vishnu.

Source: Web)

Dharma is what creates a stable society by domesticating the animal within man. Vishnu also represents organization. The mission of life is to survive through strength or cunning. 

Vishnu is called the lord of maya meaning measurement. He judges whether what you do is good or bad. What is good is love, caring, and affection for others. While what is bad is everything else.

Rama is the most revered avatar of Vishnu. He is a king that leads by example and follows the laws set before him. Ravana is the complete opposite of Rama. He believes in using power to take what he wants while Rama follows laws even though he has power.
Krishna is another popular avatar of Vishnu.

Bibliography: Seven Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art: Part F (Vishnu's Secret)
Author/From: Devdutt Pattanaik
Link: http://iereadingguides.blogspot.com/2015/11/featured-video-devis-secret-desire-and.html

Reading Notes: Devdutt Pattanaik Videos, Part E: Devi's Secret

Kanyakumari wanted to marry Shiva. When Shiva was on his way to marry this goddess the sun rose so he went back home. Kanyakumari was upset that Shiva didn't show up so she cried and it is believed that the sands in the southern area of India are multicolored because this is where she cried(She cried with makeup on).

Lakshmi is the embodiment of the earths wealth and bounty. She is depicted in a pot because back then people use to put valuable things in pots.

Kama is the god of desire.

These Devdutt Pattanaik videos are getting really confusing, This part is titled Devi's secret but I have yet to figure out who this Devi person is or what it means. What I do know though is that this video mainly focused on the idea of desire. It is believed that desire is the reason we are all alive to this day. The creator had a desire to create us.

Bibliography: Seven Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art: Part E (Devi's Secret)
Author/From: Devdutt Pattanaik
Link: http://iereadingguides.blogspot.com/2015/11/guide-pattanaiks-calendar-art-part-d.html

Reading Notes: Devdutt Pattanaik Videos, Part D: Shiva's Secret

Shiva is known as the destroyer. He is calm and and composed yet does not really seem like a destroyer. Shiva destroys the one who provokes desire. Shiva's trident represents the self.
The way Shiva destroys is by closing his eyes and not observing what's going on around him. Shiva keeps his eyes shut because he doesn't care about the material world.

Shiva cares for Sati and only acts irrationally when she is in trouble.
Parvati is the one who is married to Shiva.
Shiva is the source of all potency.
The left side is the material world while the right is the spiritual world.

Bibliography: Seven Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art: Part D (Shiva's Secret)
Author/From: Devdutt Pattanaik
Link: http://iereadingguides.blogspot.com/2015/11/featured-video-ardhanaris-secret-god-is.html

Week 13 Story Planning: What're the rules to the famous "Dice Game"

The gambling match with dice is about to start and it will be interesting to see how different it is in a film rather than in text. The text didn't really explain how the game was played but now I will get to see how the game is actually played.

All of the sons of Dhritarashtra enter the room where the dice game will be held. It seems like a very formal occasion for all to be entertained by. Yudhishthira is getting in over his head and gambling everything he owns. He knows this man is a known cheater but he still plays. Why would his brothers sit by and let him do all this gambling?

After the dice game it is still unsure how this game is played and what the rules are.

(A dice with odd symbols.

Source: Web)

The above are some of the notes I took while watching a film the professor suggested me to watch about the Mahabharata. I'm doing a story planning post because I just do not enough time to write a good story. But for my story next week I want to do something involving the dice game in the Mahabharata. The story I'm thinking of would involve the a few Gods sitting down bored out of their minds and creating the rules for this game. The reason I would like to do this is because in the film version and the book version you never really know what the rules are to the dice game. You just know that Yudhishthira loses everything in seemingly 7 rolls of the a die(is that singular for dice?).

Reading Notes: The Mahabharata Movie: Part E

With the battle in full swing Duryodana is trying to blame Bhishma for their woes. He thinks Bhishma is going easy on Arjuna and Karna even comes up to say he will lead the battle. Bhishma is famed to be a great master of battle for he is a stranger to death.

Amba is finally fulfilling her role in killing Bhishma. But it ended up being Arjuna's arrow that pierced his flesh. Bhishma gave his life to that the pandu brothers would have a better chance against him since he couldn't die.

Karna is one of the most understood characters in the entire Mahabharata.  In the readings he seemd like a tough man who was ready to conquer to world. While in this film you can see the emotion that he experiences with each passing scene. You can tell he is truely hurting that he has to fight against his mother and brothers. His only excuse is that duryodanha was there for him when his mother gave him away. All he ever wanted was to have a loving mother but his upbringing filled him with such hatred. And finding out about his true heritage has complicated his life even more. He wants to return to his family but since he vowed to kill Arjuna he wants to take him out first.



Bibliography: Peter Brook, The Mahabharata
Link: http://iereadingguides.blogspot.com/2014/06/film-brook-mahabharata.html