Tuesday, April 27, 2021

Week 14: Review

 

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This post made me laugh! I think it's so funny seeing history displayed on social media. There's a few I've seen like this. Off the top of my head, there's one where Abraham Lincoln doesn't want to go to the theater with his wife.
 
 
It's kind of messed up, but it's funny. I can't find a direct source for the image, so I'm not sure if it's a meme account or what. Here's a few more. The Caesar one stands out to me.
 
 

 I love the Crash Course series! I don't watch them often, because I'm not subscribed. They post a lot and it clutters my feed, but when they show up in my algorithm I watch them! This one is about American flood myths. I love learning about flood myths, I think it's so interesting that every culture has one, and they're all variations of spiteful or angry gods unleashing chaos unto the world. I have one on my storybook project about Shiva.
 
 
Bibliography:  

Friday, April 23

Tuesday, April 27

Week 14 Story: Microfictions - Stories of Tridevi: The Wives of the Gods

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Lakshmi - Wife of Vishnu

Lakshmi's Birth and the Creation of the Universe

Prajapati meditates upon the eternal waters. He ponders the meaning of life and the nature of being. As he is lost in deep thought, from his mouth emerges a woman, floating on a lotus. The lotus floats upon the waters, and the woman trembles with incredible energy. Her name is Lakshmi. The gods become entranced by her beauty. Their desire for her powers overcomes them, and they demand Prajapati give her to them so they can harvest her energy. Prajapati refuses, stating that male gods should not kill females. In thanks, Lakshmi gives them worldly gifts.

 (96 words)


Saraswati - Wife of Brahma

Saraswati Saves the Universe

The battle between the Bhargavas and Hehayas was long, and terrible. It raged for years, and from within the fray, a great fire was born. Vadavagni it was called, and its existence threatened the entire universe. The gods feared its wrath, and the beseeched Vishnu’s help. Vishnu went to Saraswati and asked her to turn into a river to extinguish Vadavagni. She agreed to help, but only if her husband, Brahma, asked her to. Vishnu turned to Brahma, who then asked his wife to help. Saraswati turned into a river and merged with the ocean. There, she extinguished Vadavagni.

(99 words)

 

Parvati - Wife of Shiva

Parvati Stops Shiva

Himavat, father of Parvati, had certain reservations about her husband, Shiva. As such, Himavat didn’t treat Shiva with much kindness, and tension within the house of Himavat grew. As Supreme Being, Shiva wouldn’t stand for any form of disrespect. This became a great source of conflict between the couple, and an argument commenced. Shiva didn’t want to fight, and went to walk out on his wife. Parvati, enraged, divided herself into ten terrifying goddesses, and blocked his every exit. Shiva couldn’t leave, and he became terrified by his wife’s power. Shiva stayed.

(92 words)

 

 

Author's Note: The last story! So sad, but it's been fun. I really loved writing these, there isn't a lot of mention about the goddesses, so reading their stories is interesting. I especially love the story of Parvati, it's like a 1970's sitcom of husband/wife arguments. It made me laugh. I think it's cool that she has such power of Shiva who is the most powerful god. In some sects of Hinduism, this story isn't considered cannon, and it's disregarded as such. But in other sects, Parvati is considered equal to, or more powerful than her husband. I think that's pretty cool! There were a lot of variations of this story, and some mention Shiva's first wife, Sati. I used Parvati just to keep with the theme of Tridevi. The other two stories are accurate.