Week 6 Story: Amba's Path to Revenge

This story is now at my portfolio.

Scene 1: In the palace of the queen mother Satyavati of Hastinapura to soon be married to Vichitravirya. Enter Amba.

Amba: What should I do? Should I ask him? I wonder if he will listen to my request… No, this isn’t right! I can’t just wait here to be married off to another man when my heart already belongs to someone. I have to plead to Bhishma to let me go.

Scene 2: In Bhishma’s chamber. Enter Bhishma.

Bhishma: What did you want to see me about?

Amba: I cannot go through with this wedding, I am already betrothed to the king of Shalwas and it would be a dishonor to be married to one man but constantly long for someone else.

Bhishma: I understand, you may leave at once.

Exit Bhishma

Amba: I can’t believe Bhishma let me go, just like that. I was ready to hurl myself on the floor in a fit of tears until he let me go. I need to hurry out and leave Hastinapura before Bhishma decides to change his mind and abduct me again. I’m finally on my way to King Shalwas’ palace! He must have been so worried with me being gone all this time. I can’t wait to see the surprised look on his face when he sees me again.

Narrator: And so she skipped happily on her way to King Shalwas’ palace with no idea of what was about to happen.

Scene 3: Entering King Shalwas’ palace. Enter King Shalwas.

Amba: King Shalwas, I have finally returned!

King: Why did you come back? You should have just stayed there and become married off to Vichitravirya.

Amba: I don’t… I don’t understand. I thought you would be happy to see me. I still sincerely love you and have never once strayed from that thought. I am still faithful to you as I have always been.

Narrator: Amba went on expressing her sincere love to the king but he was unmoved. His face still as night.

King: I can’t take you back, you are not the same innocent Amba I once knew.

Amba: Even though you are turning your back on me, the truth will always be on my side and I know I have never committed a wrong against you.

Exit King Shalwas

Scene 4: In the forest. 

Narrator: Amba dashed out of the palace in tears with nowhere to go. She knew she couldn’t go back to Hastinapura after she already talked about being betrothed to someone else but now she wasn’t anymore. She also couldn’t bring herself to stay at her childhood home after all that had happened. She stayed in the forest and then visited the Ashram for help.

Amba: Where did it all go wrong? Why was I abandoned with nowhere to go?

Narrator: And then a thought struck Amba…

Amba: It was Bhishma! He is the one who abducted me in the first place and the reason that King Shalwas won’t take me back! He is the cause of all of my problems, I have to get revenge and turn my life back around.

Scene 5: Amba and Shiva.

Narrator: Amba did penance and fasted everyday eventually growing thinner but she did not care about her looks anymore. After many weeks of constant prayers, Shiva appears.

Enter Shiva

Shiva: What wish can I grant you for your dedication to penance all this time?

Amba: I wish to get revenge on Bhishma!

Shiva: That I can do for you, you will destroy Bhishma.

Amba: But how can I get my revenge on him if I’m here in the forest while he is in a palace full of guards?

Shiva: You will be reborn into a fierce and skilled warrior and will one day have the chance to slay Bhishma.

Narrator: Amba was determined to get her revenge no matter what. She prepared a fire and stepped to end her current tragic state and begin a new life.

Exit Amba

Author's Note: Amba along with two other princesses were abducted by Bhishma so Amba asked Bhishma if she could leave and go to the king of Shalwas who she intended to marry and Bhishma let her go but when Amba went back to the king of Shalwas, he rejected her and coldly sent her away with no affection. She had nowhere to go because she felt so ashamed that she was rejected on both sides so she went to an ashram where she felt that Bhishma was the source of all of her problems. Shiva showed up and said he would grant Amba a boon and she requested that she slay Bhishma but Shiva said she would need to be reborn into a different body who would grow into a fierce warrior to defeat Bhishma so Amba stepped into figure to be reborn.

This is one of my favorite scenes at the beginning of the Mahabharata because there is so much drama that happens and so much goes on in Amba's life from just this one scene. This scene is also crucial to the story line later on as Amba exacts her revenge. I thought this scene would be perfect to rewrite in the format of a play because of how dramatic it was so I did my best to try to write the scene as if people were acting out the scenes.

Amba being reborn :Deviant Art

Bibliography. "Amba" from Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists: Mahabharata by Sister Nivedita, web source

Famous Last Words: Snow Days

I enjoyed reading the Mahabharata this week! I ended up reading both parts of week 6 and 7 readings all at once. I didn’t want to stop reading because so many scenes were intense and there was just so much happening. I also liked how you could see similarities to the Ramayana at some points. I wrote an essay this week for my Native American Music class and I enjoyed doing research on the different sacred games that were played and what they represented and then writing about them in my essay. I ended up not writing a story this week for this class because I couldn’t pick out a favorite scene that I wanted to rewrite or think of a way to change a scene. I absolutely loved reading the stories that people have been adding to their portfolio or storybooks. I find it so intriguing to see all of the creative things that people came up with that I had never thought of doing. My favorite one that I read was a storybook that mixed high school musical with the Ramayana. I found it very relatable and easy to understand because everyone was put into everyday terms and situations that we have been through. I want to change how I normally write stories because I usually go with the same theme of changing the ending or writing from a character’s point of view. I will try to explore different writing styles next week! I was thankful at first to have snow days this week until I realized that I still had to turn in assignments through canvas instead of in person and all of my labs got pushed back a week so my timeline feels off. I am constantly confused of what needs to be due when now.

Enjoying the snow: Surf

Reading Notes: Vishnu's Secret: Detached Engagement Brings Order

I watched Vishnu's secret.
The the first video explains reasons why cows are sacred in the Hindu religion and how Vishnu is the cow herder who brings harmony between humans and nature. Shiva is a bull that we should not strive to be. Vishnu's law upholds Dharma which tells man to not destroy nature. Vishnu also has a measurement scale that is based on love, care, and affection so he turns away from domination over each other. Vishnu determines who does good and who doesn't. Civilization needs a perfect amount of compassion. The second video explains the story of the Ramayana and goes into how Ram was exiled and how he met Sita who went with him on the exile. Ram is also the reincarnation of Vishnu so it connects to the first video. Ram is about laws and conduct while Krishna focuses on love and affection.

Vishnu: Knapp

Review: Alike

My favorite video this week was Alike because it was relaxing to just sit back and watch a video with no words but still get be able to get the moral of the story. I agree that we shouldn't just go through our day to day lives monotonously and forget about creativity. My favorite graphic was the graphic below. I thought it was hilarious to see what a major difference you can have from the presence of a space or not. 

Space Matters: Blog

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part B

Wife of the Five Pandavas

Characters in the Scene: 

Five Pandavas
Draupadi
Vyasa
Drupada

Plot: Arjuna won Draupadi as a wife in an archery contest but when they came home and told their mom that Arjuna had won a great prize, she told them to share the prize among them. It was too late at that point to take back what she said so they were conflicted on what to do. Drupada sent his son as a spy who overheard the Pandavas talking so he went back and reported to Drupada who requested the Pandavas come back to the palace. They turned to Vyasa for help on what to do and he said that Draupadi had to be the wife of all five princes because she had requested for a husband five times in her past life and now she was being granted her wish. The five pandavas are also reincarnations of Indra so they count as the same person so Draupadi was married off to each son in five consecutive days going from oldest to youngest.

Story Idea: I want to add more detail to the scene but keep the plot the same because I really enjoyed reading this scene.

Draupadi and her 5 husbands:Wikipedia

Bibliography. "Wife of the Five Pandavas" from Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie: web source

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part A

Amba

Characters in the Scene: 

Shiva
Amba
King of Shalwas

Plot:
Amba asked Bhishma to go to the king of Shalwas who she intended to marry and Bhishma let her go but when Amba went back to the king of Shalwas, he rejected her and coldly sent her away with no affection. She had nowhere to go because she felt so ashamed that she was rejected on both sides so she went to an ashram where she felt that Bhishma was the route of all of her problems. Shiva showed up and said he would grant Amba a boon and she requested that she slay Bhishma but Shiva said she would need to be reborn into a different body who would grow into a fierce warrior to defeat Bhishma so Amba stepped into figure to be reborn.

Amba being reborn :Deviant Art

Bibliography. "Amba" from Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists: Mahabharata by Sister Nivedita, web source

Learning Challenge: I wish my teacher knew....

I teared up when I read the notes that the students left about what they wish their teacher knew. It's heartbreaking that the kids are having that internal struggle but feel like they can't share the information face to face with their teacher. I have never participated in an activity like that before.Ways to practice compassion and empathy are to try to offer up your time for whenever someone needs someone to talk to. You don't have to force someone to tell you about what is bothering them but be there for them when they are ready to talk to you or just be there to give them a hug if they don't want to share.

I wish my teacher knew: Morgridge

Growth Mindset: Study an Infographic

I already knew that mistakes lead to improvement and that you can train yourself to be better at a subject but something that I didn't know was that thinking that you're awesome at something is a fixed mindset. It makes sense that there's always room for improvement though. I want to explore the "I'll never be as smart as them" statement by observing others and seeing how I can improve. 

Infographic: Growth Mindset Resource