Reading Notes: Seven Secrets of Vishnu Part B

Seven Secrets of Vishnu: Matsya

I've loved looking at these videos so far because the ideas that it portrays. I would say that my favorite part of part B would have to be the first video. It starts out by saying that animals live to survive and their are no rules in the wild. Humans are the only beings that can think of a life in which two animals, like a goat and a lion, can live in harmony. The video goes on to say that from the imagination comes heaven and the desire to create the paradise of perfection causes man to create culture. This all kind of reminds me of the epified videos where they talk about the Mahabharata and how they said that it is a perfect example of karma. Everything is a direct result of what happened before it. Humans are the only people with imagination, they use that imagination to create heaven, they create culture because of that notion of heaven.

Seven Secrets of Vishnu: Matsya's secrect

Reading Notes: The Seven Secrets of Vishnu Part A

The Seven Secrets of Vishnu

The reason why I chose this video playlist was because of the title, The Seven Secrets of Vishnu. Titles like that really get people's attention and sometimes my titles fall flat so I that's something I need to work on. Watching these videos was not only informative be super interesting. I had no idea that Vishnu had a female form. I liked how they said that in Hindu mythology, they have two realities, a spiritual one and a material one. I am pretty sure my next story would be about Mohini and another reality. She is described and an enchantress and temptress which would be more fun to write about. I feel like she has the kind of personality that is lax on the strict rules we have seen in the protagonists the previous epics (like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata). 


Mohini's Secret

Reading Notes: Krishna Part B

Krishna and Radha

My favorite part of Part B of the Krishna videos has to be the part of how Radha and Krishna grew up together and their love story. I am still not a big fan how she Radha to see how faithful she was to Krishna but the testing itself was interesting. Radha had to drink milk and Krishna tongue was blistered. The only way for his tongue to heal was by the help of Radha. I do like that Krishna played a part of the testing too instead like in the Ramayana where Sita had to be basically set on fire.   I think that in my retelling I would like to maybe switch places of and have Krishna being tested than Radha or write in her perspective. 

Krishna Reading Notes: Part A

Yashoda and Krishna

I decided to watch the Krishna Epified videos because I saw how so many people had done stories over them last week. I love watching the epified videos so this was an easy choice. I wasn't disappointed. I would have to say that my favorite part is Krishna being switched a birth. This is definitely part of the story I could have fun writing a story about. In my portfolio, I have written in the perspective of women and I think this would be a great addition to it. 

Krishna Epified, Part A.

Eastern Stories and Legends Reading Notes: Part B

Book Cover

Like most of the Jatakas that I’ve read, Part B’s Reading is filled with stories that have a lesson behind it. This kind of reminds me of parables. One story that stuck out to me was The Man who Overcame All Obsticles. For what I got from the story was that a man made a grave mistake that could have killed all his friends but instead of freaking out and accepting his fate, he was able to think his way through it and solve his problems.

Title: Eastern Stories and Legends

Author: Marie Shedlock

Year: 1920 (originally published in 1910)

reading link

Eastern Stories and Legends Reading Notes: Part A

Book Cover

I read a lot about the Jataka Tales and I really enjoyed them so when I saw there was another reading about Jataka Tales, I couldn’t resist. This reading has the monkey and the crocodile story which I am very familiar with. I think I’ve said before how much I loved reading as a child (and now) and I used to have these children encyclopedia set of books. One of those books had a bunch of stories and Monkey and the Crocodile was one of those stories. For those people who are familiar with these stories and enjoyed them as children, I think they would like to here a retelling that keeps the similar aspects of the original but still unique. I think a lot of the problems with remakes is that they can’t live up to the original and yet they try to. Maybe changing the characters to humans, the situation, or the point of view the story is written will work.


Title: Eastern Stories and Legends
Author: Marie Shedlock
Year: 1920 (originally published in 1910)
Reading Link
Photo link

Jataka Tales:Reading Notes Part B

A Pigeon and A Crow

The Pigeon and the Crow was my favorite story in Part B of the Jataka Tales. Even though there were other stories in this section that had more of a mythical aspect, this story stood out to me. It kind of reminded me of parables. I haven’t written a story that has a meaning behind it and I think that adding a story that teaches something will help me expand as a writer. 

Title: Jataka Tales
Author: H.T. Francis and E. J. Thomas
Year: 1916

Link to reading