Topic Brainstorm

Weapons of the Gods: (Link)

I think it will be very interesting to focus of the supernatural weapons used in the epics we read in this class. I do not really have any prior knowledge of anything within this topic base so I am intrigued to learn more about it. I think I could tell the stories of the major battles each weapon was used in or maybe how they were created. Just from the little bit of research I did right now, Indra's thunderbolt seems like something I would be interested in telling a story about.  

Indra, The Thunder God: (Link)

In doing research about the weapons of the gods, I came across this story and am interested. I was thinking that I might like to focus my project on a god so I am including Indra in my four topics. I have never heard of or read anything about Indra before now. I think I could write about Indra's thunderbolt and how it works and maybe give a new background to its creation. 

Animal Characters of the Ramayana: (Link) (Link)

I think animal characters will be very interesting to research and write about. The on prior knowledge I have about animal characters comes from the readings we have done so far in this class. I read a story about alligators and monkeys and I was very entertained by it. I am particularly interested in Jambavan, the king of the bears. I'm sure there is a lot I can write about with him. Also, Jatayu, one of the great birds sounds interesting because I think I could expand on, like the story of him flying too close to the sun and his brother saving him. 

Epic Battles: (Link)

Epics battles seems like a topic with endless opportunities to write about and expand on. As the description says, I think I'd like to focus on specific battlefield scenes instead of the large scale the the epics use. I think it would also be very interesting to go into the kshatriya caste and write about the culture of the 'warrior' caste. Also it could be fun to learn more about the caste system since I honestly know very little. 

Kshatriya (Source)

Reading Notes: The Foolish, Timid Rabbit

These stories were different than what I was expecting. The were very concise and fairly simple. One of my favorites was The Foolish, Timid Rabbit, which tells the story of a single rabbit starting a widespread panic because of his foolishness. He hears a coconut fall from a tree and thinks it is the sound of the earth breaking up without even looking to investigate. He begins running and spreads the idea more and more until finally the wise lion has the sense to investigate. I almost expected this story to end with some kind of moral like in a children's books because of the simplicity of the writing. I enjoyed the plot, and as the description says, it reminded me of the movie Chicken Little.

Rabbit (Flickr)

Reading Options

From browsing the readings that lie ahead in this course, I can tell that most of them will be material that is brand new to me. I am particularly interested in The Ramayana  and The Mahabharata and reading about the epic wars. Specifically, the different reading/viewing options in week 5 and week 9 seem like they will put a fun twist on the epics. I am also interested in reading about the Gods and Goddesses of India, I think that will be something new and different that I wont have many other opportunities to learn about.

Goddess (Pixabay)