Wikipedia Trails: From Krishna to Jyotirlinga

Krishna
I was reading the online reading guide this week for Narayan's Mahabharata, when I noticed that Krishna, one of Vishnu's avatars, made an appearance. I was curious to learn more about Krishna, since my storybook really tries to tie different stories together throughout time. As I was reading this article, I noticed that one of his wives while he was Krishna, was Lakshmana, another name for his previous love, Sita.

Hindu Calendar
After reading about Krishna, I came across a link to the article on the Hindu Calendar. I think the way that different cultures organize time is fascinating and so I wanted to see some of the differences between my concept of how to organize time within a year and how Hindu culture organizes time.

Hindu Calendar (Web Source)

Maha Shivaratari
After looking at the Hindu Calendar article, I found this article about Maha Shivaratari, a festival celebrated in Shiva's honor during the winter season. During this festival, some religious devotees take a pilgrimage to Jyotirlingams, which led me to the next article.

Jyotirlinga
Jyotirlingams are shrines devoted to Shiva, and translates to The Radiant Sign of the Almighty Shiva.

Story: Eye of the Parrot

Eye of the Parrot

Author's Note: This story combines the principles taught with Drona's test in The Mahabharata with the story of Rama and Sita in The Ramayana. I have heard Drona's test called "Eye of the Parrot" and the principles outlined in that story are really the most important part of this interpretation of the tragic romance Rama and Sita have. This story also incorporates Kamadeva, the Hindu god of love (much like the Roman's Cupid), who acts as Rama's Drona in guiding him back to Sita.

Ravana Kidnapping Sita (Web Source)

 

*Our story begins with Ravana kidnapping Sita and riding off to Lanka, just as Rama and Lakshmana return to find Jatayu taking labored breaths as he dies.*

"Jatayu, what has happened here? Who did this to you? Where is Sita?" Rama stared at the desperate scene, looking for clues as to the source of the commotion.

"Ra...van...a..." Jatayu exhaled painfully. "...hasSi...ta..." With each syllable seeming more arduous than the last, Jatayu took his last few breaths, leaving Rama and Lakshmana with almost no clues as to the events that had just transpired. 

Unsure of how to proceed, Rama and Lakshmana began to wander aimlessly through the forest. Rama, distraught with the thought of his love, Sita, being tormented by the perversions that Ravana was well known for, was unable to eat or sleep. Lakshmana, concerned for the safety of Sita and now the health of Rama, began scouring the forest for anyone who could help them. 

After searching for hours, Lakshmana stopped at a river to quench his thirst. Kamadeva emerged from behind a mango tree and peered back at Lakshmana, who could hardly believe that he had found anyone else in that forest, let alone Kamadeva himself. 

Kamadeva (Web Source)

"Please, help me find Sita. Surely you know of her and her unrivaled beauty? I am afraid that Rama will perish if I am unable to find Sita and bring her back to him soon." Kamadeva gave Lakshmana a long hard stare, as if he were turning over each word in his mind, carefully contemplating its weight. 

Once he had evaluated Lakshmana's plea, he agreed to help.  "However, I am not the one who can find Sita. Rama must find Sita."

Lakshmana, puzzled and increasingly more annoyed, began to question Kamadeva's methods. Kamadeva assured him that he would guide Rama to Sita, as long as Rama was willing to do anything necessary to find his love.

 ~ ~ ~ 

Rama was laying in the dirt when Lakshmana and Kamadeva arrived. The two looked at one another and back at Rama, and Lakshmana grew angrier by the second as he stared at the pitiful sight. "Rama!!!" he boomed. "Get up! Right this instant! I have brought someone to help us find Sita."

Rama barely looked in Lakshmana's direction, only slightly acknowledging his presence as the last word fell upon his ears. Rama's blank stare seemed to be fixated just behind Kamadeva. Following the path of Rama's gaze, Kamadeva noticed a lotus, not far off in the distance. The god hovered above Rama's ear, gently prodding him for some form of words that might elucidate the great meaning of this flower. 

"What are you staring so intently at?" Kamadeva asked.

"I'm not sure..." Rama answered. "Nothing seems to be in focus. But I cannot seem to tear my eyes away..." 

"Start with a color that you see. Keep it in mind clearly and focus on only that color. Once you find that the color is sharp, begin to outline the shape that defines that color until you have an image clearly planted in your mind."

Rama struggled with the task for a few minutes, finding a color only to lose its sharpness moments later or run into other colors once the shape was defined and lose the overall image. Finally, he settled on a golden yellow that grew longer as it grew sharper and finally transformed itself into the pistil of the lotus in the distance.

"Now what do you see?" Kamadeva could sense the epiphany within Rama waiting to strike.

After several moments of deliberation, Rama's eyes widened. "Sita." 

"Go and bring her back. Her love for you is strong. She has been clever enough to elude all of Ravana's tricks. Only the magnitude of her loyalty to you could rival her beauty. Focus on only her as you complete your journey. You will find what you must."

And with that, Kamadeva disappeared back into the forest and Rama and Lakshmana set out on their quest to find Sita. Before sunset that same day, Rama had slain Ravana and his various guards, finding Sita waiting for him patiently. 

Bibliography:

Narayan's Ramayana Guide (Web Source)

Narayan's Mahabharata Guide (Web Source)

Kamadeva Wikipedia Article (Web Source)

Reading Notes: Narayan's Mahabharata Part B

The Mahabharata: Reading Notes (Part B)

My favorite part of the second half of this week's reading was the dice game. The entire story seemed like one bad judgement call after another, mostly fueled by pride. I was very surprised when Yudhishthira lost everything he owned and then continued to gamble away his brothers, then himself, and finally Draupadi. I really enjoyed when Draupadi questioned the legitimacy of Yudhishthira's bet when he had already gambled away himself. I really developed an appreciation for Draupadi in this part of the story because she is granted one wish, but because of her humility (something some of the other characters at this point seem to certainly lack), she is able to turn that one wish into three, using only two to selflessly free Yudhishthira and her other husbands, and resulting in them gaining all of their possessions again.

The Game of Dice (Wikimedia)

Despite the very obvious warnings that Yudhishthira receives, he decides to engage in another game of dice with Shakuni and again loses, but this time receives 13 years of exile, 12 years of poverty, and a year of hiding. Although the Pandavas receive help that makes this endeavor much easier, the idea that so much could be lost in just a game of dice seems outrageous and completely irresponsible once Yudhishthira risks everything again. I am interested to see if this time in exile will result in some personal growth that might prevent him from making such reckless decisions in the future.

Bibliography:

Narayan's Mahabharata
Online Reading Guide Part B: Narayan's Mahabharata (Web Source)

Reading Notes: Narayan's Mahabharata Part A

The Mahabharata: Reading Notes (Part A)

I was really delighted to come across something familiar in this week's reading when I read about Drona's Test. Drona is the guru for all the Pandavas and Kauravas, as well as his own son, and he trains them all, putting them through various tests. One day, Drona tasks the boys with shooting a fake eagle he has placed in the trees. All of them miss, with the exception of Arjuna who is able to focus only on the center of the eagle's head.

Arjuna Taking Aim (Web Source)

Although the version I heard was a little different, this story still resonated strongly with me because it was a lesson I really took to heart over the past year as I have prepared for the MCAT and applying to medical school while working full time. The story as I have heard it involves a similar series of questions and answers between Arjuna and Drona (although at the time I heard the story, I was not familiar with these names), but the final answer Arjuna gives is that he can only see the "eye of the parrot". This story represents the immense focus that is required to accomplish a task and highlights the lesson that in order to accomplish a task, you must be able to find one point to focus on and then work towards that specific goal. Trying to define goals too broadly will end in misfires, but if you focus on a small piece of the goal at a time, you can sometimes find that you will not only accomplish one small thing, but potentially the entire thing if your aim is focused.

Another story I really liked from this reading was the story of Draupadi. This story interested me because its another story that ties together the concept of past lives with current circumstances, which is a big theme for my storybook. During Draupadi's swayamwara, Arjuna wins her hand and is then told he must share his new wife with his four other brothers. In a past life, Draupadi had been married to five men and had hoped to meet them again in another life. I also noticed that Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu, was at the swayamwara, and I am interested to see what role he plays in this story.

Bibliography:
Narayan's Mahabharata
Online Reading Guide Part A: Narayan's Mahabharata (Web Source)