Epics of India

The Ox who won the Forfeit  Long ago a man owned a farm where he raised and sold animals of all kinds. He owned chicken, sheep, horse, ox and more. One day while the man was strapping one of his ox up to tug his carriage around, something phenomenal happened.  The ox was accidentally attached to the wrong carriage and began tugging the whole line of carriages along with him. Astonished by the strength of this ox, he began testing the ox's abilities by increasing the weight of what the ox could handle. Starting with his line of carriages, he began to fill all of these carriages up with rice, making them heavier and heavier. The man began talking to the ox saying, "How much more can you pull? I continue to add more and nothing seems to phases you." Until it got to the point where there was no more weight that he could add, yet the ox was still able to pull it along.  The man was speechless, proclaiming "only if you could speak to me then we could move mountains." ...

 The Pandava's The Pandava's, consisting of Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva, are the five sons of Pandu. Three of the sons, Yudhishthira, Bhima, and Arjuna, were birthed by Kunti, who mated with three different gods, as commanded by Pandu. The two remaining sons, Nakula and Sahadeva, were born by Mardi, who had the sons with the Ashwins.  These five sons escape from Hastinapura, where Dhiritarashtra is king. Duryodhana, the son of Dhiritarashtra, is very upset to hear the news that the Pandava's are still alive. As for the king himself, he cannot find a reason to dislike them. Dhiritarashtra being the king, he decideds that he would like to see the Pandava's again and proceed to invite them back to Hastinapura. In order to gain the Pandava's trust, Dhiritarashtra gives them a part of the kingdom for them to rule themselves. This part of the kingdom becomes known as Indraprastha.  Yudhishthira is crowned the king of Indrapratha. Many people attend th...

 King Dasharatha wants Rama to succeed him as king. He only fears that Rama will renounce the world and become a forest rishi. Because he has suspicion about Rama, Dasharatha sends Vashishtha to ask Rama is he really wants to renounce the world. Rama understands that whenever one renounces the world, it is basically the same as renouncing God. He then told Vashishtha that he is ready to become king.  Word gets around about Rama to be the next king which upsets Manthara, the maid of Kaikeyi. Manthara then pursuades Kaikeyi to use her boons, that Dasharatha had promised her, to have Rama exiled.  Dasharatha honors his word and exiles Rama. Rama did not try to retaliate and agrees to this exile, but he wasn't the only one to leave. Once Rama's wife, Sita, and his brother, Lakshmana, heard of this exile, they immediately said that they would join Rama in his exile.  During Rama's exile, Lakshmana did not sleep but protected Rama and Sita throughout the night. Lakshmana w...

 The Hawk and the Snake's Heart Once upon a time, while Brahmadatta was king of Benares, the Bohdhisatta came to life at the foot of Himalaya as a snake. He grew strong and sturdy, and lived by a curve of a canyon.  Now at that time there was a Hawk dwelling in the sky. The Hawk's mate spotted the great frame of the snake, and she had a burning desire for his heart to eat. So she said to her lord, "Sir I desire to eat the heart of that great king of the snake!" "Good wife," said the Hawk, "I live in the air and trees and he hides in his underground tunnels: how can we catch him?" "By hook or by crook," she replied, "caught he must be. If I don't get him, I shall die." "All right," answered the Hawk, consoling her, "don't trouble yourself. I have a plan; I will give you his heart to eat." So when the Bodhisatta was slithering near the side of the canyon, after taking his final sips from a small puddle,...