Week 13: Famous Last Words

This week has been such a crazy week! In this class, it was a really good week for me. Usually, when I send in my first draft of my storybook stories, I end up having a lot of revising to do with it, but this week I had hardly any! It felt really good to finally get the hang of the story and to figure out the direction I wanted to go with it... even if it is towards the end of the project. I have really enjoyed this storybook project because it is so much different than anything I have ever done in a class before! It has really brought out a more creative side of me, and has definitely helped me with my writing skills. I honestly cannot believe that this class is coming to an end already. This semester has flown by so fast! Sometimes I wish time would just slow down. I have been enjoying every minute of my junior year, because I know how quickly the rest of the year is going to go by! It is exciting, but also scary, to think about life after college. I'm not sure if I am ready to go out into the real world already! Anyways, outside of this class, this past week has been pretty stressful for me. I have had multiple tests, and I am studying for my GRE exam that I am taking next week.. so keep your fingers crossed for me! It is the last thing I need to do before I finish my application for OT school. I also just declared a second major, Human Relations. I decided to go with this major because I am one of those people that really wants to work hands on with people in my future career. If I don't get into OT school this year, then I will be able to graduate with a Human Relations degree, and hopefully find something that I love doing with that, and then apply again later on to OT school.

Photo Information: Deviantart

Storytelling for Week 13 - Draupadi's Abduction

It was a gloomy morning in exile as I woke up in the forest to a cloudy sky and the sun no where to be seen. I spent the morning doing my normal routinely tasks, but I felt as if something about the day was off. I just had one of those feelings. Later that morning my husbands, the Pandavas, went off to gather food for the week. I was left to be watched over by Sage Trunabindu while they were gone. As I stood there in the forest, a man named Kotikasya came up to me. I felt no harm from him as he gave off a very innocent vibe. He asked me who I was, wondering what my identity was. I informed him that I am Draupadi, wife of the Pandava brothers. This man was humorous and quite frankly lightened my day. The day that started off so gloomy suddenly became a little brighter. The man left after a while, and I was left in somewhat of a confused state of mind. It was such a random encounter, but I felt no fear of him. I went on to continue my duties for the day and things went back to normal as I waited and waited for the Pandavas to come back, with Trunabindu still watching guarding over me. Later on that afternoon, another man approached me. This time, I didn't quite feel the same innocent vibe as I had from Kotikasya. His name was Jayadratha, and at first he made small talk with me, but then got right to his point. He asked for my hand in marriage. I was caught off guard and almost speechless. I was infuriated actually. "Who do you think you are? Why do you think you can just come up to me and demand I be your wife? I think it is time for you to leave! I am a married woman already!"  I could tell he was furious with my words, and would refuse to take no as an answer. This is when things really went south. I'm not sure where Trunabindu had gone at this very moment, but I was alone and defenseless. Jayadratha used that to his advantage, and grabbed me into his arms and took off.

Image Information: Draupadi's Abduction: Wikimedia

I was screaming and kicking and trying every which way to get out of his grip, but nothing was working. He was taking me toward his kingdom, and all I could think was, "Oh, no no no no, this is not good!" As time went by I began to feel more and more doubtful that I would be rescued. I wasn't sure if I would ever see my husbands again. But then, a miracle happened. I caught sight of Arjuna and Bhima. I knew right away that they were sent here to rescue me! My heart flooded with happiness and tears poured down my face! I'm saved! They wanted to kill Jayadratha for his wrong doing, but I had something else in mind. I wanted him to suffer as a slave for the rest of his life! And that he did.

Author's Note:
I decided to do my storytelling post for this week on Draupadi's abduction, because I thought it would be cool to tell it from her perspective. I changed it up a little bit to make it a little bit more modernized, and for her to have thoughts that a woman in today's time would think if a random man came up to her like that. I wanted to keep it simple and to the point. I also changed the reasoning of the ending a bit. In the actual story, Draupadi wants to keep Jayadratha a slave so that his wife will not become a widow, but I wanted her to sound a bit more revengeful by wanting him to a slave so he can suffer.

Buck, William (1973). Mahabharata.

Week 13: Reading Diary A - The Becoming Battle

Reading Diary Pg. 191-246
The Mahabharata by William Buck

• This reading begins with the Pandavas in the forest, fetching water from a nearby lake. One by one, Yudhishthira sends them to go to the lake and get some water. When none of them come back he goes to the lake himself to check on them and finds their bodies there. As he approaches the lake a voice begins to speak to him. He is to answer a series of questions before being allowed to drink the water and when he does so he ends up seeing his brothers. The answers were actually a test from his divine father, Dharma. 
• The Pandavas decided to spend their thirteenth year of exile in the Matsya kingdom. Yudhishthira enters Virata's service as a brahmin with expertise of dice and chess. Bhima becomes Virata's cook. Sudeshna employes Drapaudi as her personal maid. Sahadeva gets put in charge of the cattle. 
• The story of Karna and Indra is told. Indra decides that he wants the armor and earrings that Karna has worn every day since he was born. Karna's father, the son god Surya, warns him to refuse Indra but he goes against his father's advice and claims he is honored by Indra's request. Indra dresses up as a brahmin and goes to Karna asking for the earrings and armor. Karna recognizes him and calls him on it. He demands to get the infallible throwing dart in return for the earrings and armor, which he does give him. The dart can only be used once. 
• Kichaka, a general of king Virata, develops this really passionate desire for Drapaudi. She on the other hand resists him. He assaults her and she runs to Virata for protection. She ends up being rescued by the treasure lord, Vaishravana. 
• Sanjaya comes to visit the Pandavas as a mission for Dhritarashtra. Yudhisthira tells him that he wants Indrapratsha to be given back to them, or at least five other villages. Dhritarthrastra wants to give Indraprastha back to the Pandavas, but Duryodhana refuses to give them any land at all. 
• Karna wants a fight with the Pandavas. Karna refuses to fight as long as Bhishma is bearing arms. Kripa on the other hand thinks that the war wold be a really bad thing, but agrees to support Duryodhana. 
• Arjuna and Duryodhana make a visit to see Krishna. They find him asleep, and when he wakes he makes eye contact with Arjuna first and gives two options. The first option would be to he can take Krishna as his ally and the second option would be that he could have all of the soldiers of Krishna's army. Arjuna chooses Krishna as his ally.