Indian Epics

Title : Jataka Tales Author : Ellen C. Babbitt The Elephant Girly-face: The elephant named Girly-face was a good elephant and he was never mean to anyone. One night he heard robbers talking about killing and he decided to kill. Once the king found out about this, he sent some men to talk about good things. Once the elephant heard, he became kind again.  The Ox Who Envied the Pig: The wondered why the pig got the good food and  they   didn't . He was then told that it was because the pig would be eaten. A few days later he was killed and feasted upon. So the ox was happy eating the food he had all along. Granny's  Blackie: The elephant wanted to help Granny work because he saw how old and tired she had gotten. He was hired to carry wagons over and they paid him two silver coins for each. Once he was done, he took the coins to granny. After this, the elephant did all the hard work and Granny rested.  Blackie and the kids. [ source ]

Title : Shakuntala and Other Works Author : Kalidasa The Hunt: The horses begin to approach the deer as the chariot moves steadily. They tell the king that the deer belong to the hermitage so that he  won't  be killed. He decides not kill him and everyone is joyful and thankful to the king.  The Secret: The king neglects his royal duties to live in the forest. The clown begs for time off. The king then asks him to follow him to another task once he is rested.  Image from the poem. [ source ]

Title : Jataka Tales Author : H.T. Francis and E. J. Thomas The King and the Stick-Gatherer: The king brings the boy and tells him no one but him will nurture him.  Many  were there to  receive   the  Bodhisatta. The Cold Half of the Month:  The tiger and the lion were arguing about which half of the month was cold. The Bodhisatta tells them that they are both right. He was able to settle their dispute.  The lion and the tiger. [ source ]

Title : The Tortoise and the Geese and Other Fables of Bidpai Author : Maude Dutton The  Carpenter and the Ape: The Ape wanted to try splitting wood and when he did  his tail got caught until the carpenter came back. The Ape. [ source ] The Three Fish One fish swam away because he was smart. The second fish was not as smart but played dead and wasn't caught. The third wasn't smart at all and was caught. The Fox and the Piece of Meat: The fox found meat but though it wasn't enough and wanted to eat the hens. Ultimately, he dropped the piece of meat and was scared away from the hens. He ended up losing the meat also. 

Indian Fables and Folklore By: Shovona Devi The Logical Pupil: The teacher sends the pupil to find a cat so that he can eat all of the mice. The pupil comes back with a Brahmin because he thinks that he fits the description of a cat. The Wishing Pitcher: The man was so poor and he often had nothing to eat. One day a fairy came and told him that he could come with him and he would never be hungry. The man served as the waiter for a long time. One day he asked the fairy to go back home and the fairy let him go and he was allowed to take the magic pitcher with him. One day the man got drunk and dropped the pitcher which shattered to pieces. The Battle of the Birds and the Sea: The birds say that they are not scared of the sea so the sea takes away their eggs. The bird goes to get all of the other bird species to come fight a war with the sea. They are unsuccessful until they get the king bird and he brings the chakra to dry up the sea. The sea gets scared and returns the eggs. ...

Indian Fables and Folklore By: Shovona Devi The Moon in the Well: Monkeys are foolish. They saw the moon's reflection in the well and thought the moon had fallen in the well. They went down to check and all fell in. In another story they thought that they could start a fire with fireflies. The Frog-King's Folly: The snake tells the frog that he cannot eat any frogs unless the frog king grants him permission. The frog king gives him permission to eat frogs in exchange for a ride on the snakes head. The snake eats all the frogs and in the end also eats the frog king. Gautama the Ungrateful: Gautama was a beggar and he then followed a man to a town of robbers. He became a robber himself. One day he decided to check on his village and found a tree to rest under. There was a crane that provided him safety and money. In the end, Gautama decided to eat the bird. When the crane's friend found out he ordered that Gautama be killed and fed to the animals. No animal wanted ...

Indian Fables and Folklore By: Shovona Devi The Man in the Eye: They believe that the man in the eye is death and not a reflection. The Elephant Fighting Hare: The hare challenges the leader of the elephants to a fight and he tricks him and makes it appear as though he is winning the fight. The elephants get scared and leave so then the leader runs away too because aunts crawl up his nostrils. The Hungry Elephant: The elephant can seem very foolish but in this story it is different. He walks into a bazar looking for food and all of the shop owners close up. One is not fast enough so the elephant asks for different items and he says he doesn't have them. Finally, the elephant gets frustrated and decides to see for himself. He finds all of the items and the shop keeper gets scared so he is able to eat everything. Elephant looking for food. [ source ]

Title : Twenty Jataka Tales Author : Noor Inayat (Khan) The Two Pigs: The pigs were picked up by a woman who named them and raised them. One day the men came to her door asking if she would sell them a pig for her feast. She refused and they made her drink until she was drunk. When one of the pigs was lured to go, the other pig spoke sweet words. They reached the palace and the king ordered they be taken there and bathed in the sweetest perfume. The Goblin Town: Their ship sank and they were stranded on an island. Women came and told them to come live with them because they could feed them. They went to live with them and one day one of the men awoke and saw one of them turn into a goblin. He tried to escape but realized he was bound to chains. The goblin town. [ source ] The Forest Fire: The little quail was not able to fly so he stayed in the forest and lived happily every after.

Twenty Jataka Tales Author : Noor Inayat (Khan) The Fairy and the Hare: The animals in the woods gathered food that they had stole from someone else. The hare did not have anything to offer but he did not steal. When the fairy transformed herself into an old beggar she went and asked the animals for food and they all offered what they had. When she went to the hare he offered himself to eat. She then told him he was kind and everyone would know of it for the rest of their lives. The Master's Test: The teacher sends them all to get him money by stealing and the young pupils agree to do so that they can make him happy. One pupil does not move and when he is asked why he tells the teacher that "himself is watching" so he rather not do wrong by stealing and would rather beg for money. The Empty Lake: The fish tells a story to the other fish about a time when the like was dried up by the sun rays and Mother Earth as they drank up the water. One day they asked for wate...

Title :  Eastern Stories and Legends Author : Marie Shedlock The horse that held out to the end: Even though the horse  was  injured he continued to fight. The seven kings were set free and as they took off his mail he passed away and  was  buried in honor.  The mallard that asked for too  much: The mallard came back and told his wife and children who he was and that they could pluck one feather each time. The wife thought that one day he would leave and not come back so she decided to rip all the feathers at once. Since this was against his wish, all the feathers turned into regular feathers instead of gold.  The faithful friend: The dog is sold to someone else and the elephant is sad. He refuses to eat and the king wants to know why. When he is told that it is because the dog is gone, he sets everyone out to find the dog. The dog is returned to the elephant.  The elephant and the dog. [ source ]

Title : Eastern Stories and Legends Author : Marie Shedlock The Hare That Ran Away: The little hare was so scared that something would happen to her that when she heard a noise she though the Earth was falling in. She spread the word to everyone and they all panicked until  the  lion went and confirmed what the noise was. The little hare then told everyone that it was actually a fruit that fell on a leaf that  made  the noise.  The Spirit that lived in a tree: The tree spirit found out that the tree would be cut down and he went while the king was asleep to ask that the tree be cut  piece  by piece instead of at once by the trunk. He said he did not want the others to suffer when the tree would fall. The king  was  moved by the spirit looking out for the others that he decided not to cut it down.  The parrot that fed his parents: The parrot would eat rice and take some back with him. One day he was captured and he explained ...

The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India W. H. D. Rouse Spend a Pound to Win a Penny: The monkey dropped one pea and he was so greedy that he ended up losing all  his other peas too.  Lacknose: The gardener was not please at the two little boys that asked for posies in a rude and dishonest manner. When the third boy came along he was honest and polite so the gardener granted him with plenty of flowers. The Cunning Crane and the Crab: The Crane was able to trick all the other fish and instead of taking them to the lake he would eat them. When all the fish were gone all that was left was a crab. The crab was smarter than the fish and he told the crane that he only felt comfortable holding the crane by the neck. When the crane tried to eat the crab, the crab threatened to the clip his neck.  The crane picking up the fish. [ Source ]

The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India W. H. D. Rouse with illustrations by W. Robinson The Giant Crab: The giant crab sat at the pond waiting for animals to come drink water. When they would come he would nip them and then eat them. He ate so many that he became very big. One day two elephants tricked him and were able to crack his shell. His claws remained and when a big flood came they carried them down the stream. The King's sons found them and turned them into great big drums.  The Dishonest Friend: A man gives his friend a plough to hold on to. The friend sells the plough and keeps the money. The friend lies to him about his plough and the man tries to teach him a lesson. When they went before the judge, he had to give the man the plough back. He learned that honesty is the best policy. The two friends. [ Source ] The Foolish Farmer and the King: The farmer needed an ox and he was going to ask the king. He told his son to ask but the son said no. ...

Jataka Tales Author: Ellen C. Babbitt Monkey and The  Crocodile: The crocodile tries to outwit the monkey by carrying him over to where his mother was so that they could eat him. Monkey convinces the crocodile that he left his heart behind and he was to go back and get him.  Monkey and The Crocodile [ Source ] Turtle: The turtle convinces the men that by throwing him in the water he would be tortured but in reality he thrives in the water.  The Merchant of Seri: A merchant passes up the opportunity to buy a golden bowl and another merchant comes buys the bowl for which he gets a lot of money for and travels across the river. The Turtle Who Couldn't Stop Talking: The geese tried to carry the turtle by a stick and told him not to talk. The turtle opened his mouth to respond to children and fell from the stick. He would've made it if he would have kept his mouth shut. 

The Indian Heroes Mahabharata - The Princes of Elephant City Author : C. A. Kincaid 1921 Draupadi declares that she will not marry Surya. Arjuna wins and Draupadi goes with him, marrying all five brothers. Duryodhana does not want to make peace with his cousins so he gives them part of the kingdom for them to create their own royal city. Arjuna finds Subhadra and marries her. Her brother does not oppose because he knows his true identity. Duryodhana is jealous of King Yudhishthira's success. Yudhishthira loses everything due to gambling and Draupadi is summoned. Her brother, Dushasana, attempts to take her and rips of her clothes but new one is replaced every time. Draupadi asks that Yudhishthira be freed and also ask for freedom from the brothers. He grants them and also replaces everything lost in the match. Dushasana attempts to take off Draupadi's clothes. [ Source ]

Mahabharata  Donald A. Mackenzie Arujna arrives and the women come out to lure him. They then fled in confusion. Indra praises him for overcoming the demons and gifts him a gold chain. Arjuna [ Source ] Bhima comes across and monkey and it presented himself as Hanuman. He explained to him what was before and that Brahma could be reached by all. He also explained that the four Vedas did not exist. When the sacred books were divided, men were divided also. Less devotion to truth and more devotion to passion. Karna sends Duryodhana to spy on the Pandavas.

Mahabharata Vyasa Vyasa: Vyasa was born to the foster daughter of a fisherman in promise that she would return to being a virgin and that she would lose her fishy smell.  The fisherman kept the young girl after he found her and her brother inside a fish who had encountered a man's semen as he flew over the pond. The brother was sent away and he kept the girl. Ganga: King Shantanu came across her and wanted to marry. They sons and each time one was born she cast them to the Ganges river. Shantanu could not complain because he vowed to never go against  her. When the eighth son was born he finally let the rage out and she left him taking the child. She then returned and left the child with Shantanu before leaving again.  Devavrata: He was heir to the throne. King Shantanu came across Satyavati and wanted to marry. The fisherman had one condition for marriage to his daughter and that was that their son be heir to the throne. Shantanu could not disinherit...

Ramayana Romesh Dutt 1.Sugriva's brother believes that he filled the hole to keep him captive since he struggled so much to get out. Sugriva actually filled the hole because he thought his brother had been killed when he went in to defeat the enemy. The picture shows Vali and Sugriva.  2. Rama convinces Sugriva to challenge his brother after hearing his story. Once they approach, Vali knows he is there and is then told that he was defeated once and fled but this time he must have come back with someone for another battle. 3. Vali's wife was trying to keep from fighting with his brother because Rama was with him and that is someone to fear. Vali did not listen and told his wife to step aside because he did not back down from a fight.

Ramayan a (Part D) Valmiki Plot: characters have conflict that can be tough through although others may be brought into it unwillingly. Apes were killed also. Develop plot according to this. Good always wins. Bad guy learns powerful lesson. (developed for story) The image above is from the epic.  Character: Similar to Rama, a  fearless leader that will approach the fight and succeed no matter what. Antagonizing character with bad intent and develops as plot opens up.

Ramayana PDE By: Valmiki The point of view is in third person. I have been thinking about the point of view in which I would choose to write a story and I think it would be easier to write it in third person. However, I am looking to challenge myself and write it in first person and have the plot follow one character throughout and look into their experiences from their perspective. The character that I would choose to narrate in third person would probably be male simply because I want to veer away from narrating a female so that I am able to be creative and not put personal thoughts into the character itself. Some of the sentences in the story can be confusing and I reread twice to understand because of the language used. That is something I would like to do different. Vocabulary that is descriptive but also concise enough to be understood clearly is something very important in my opinion. The image above is from "Dasharatha's Funeral" which I personally like...