Indian Epics Fall 2019

Siddhartha (the first Buddha) had grown up a prince and was sheltered from the real world for most of his early life. He was even married before getting the explore the world outside of the palace that he lived in. One day, The prince wanted to go into the city and see how the people around the palace lived. What he did not know, is that the king ordered all of the old, sick, poor, and weak people to be taken out of the city. This was done so that the prince would not see the bad things in the world.  While the prince was riding his chariot through the city he was struck with happiness at all of the youth that he saw in the people and buildings. He continued to ride through the city until he saw and old man come out from around the corner. The chariot stopped and the prince saw the old man. He was confused at first at the lack of youthfulness. He asked his adviser if this was normal and he replied that everyone awaits this same fate. The prince fell sad and returned the palace....

A family of five stand in the long line at the Mexico/US border trying to get through. The mother asks the father if he has the correct paperwork needed to cross through. They believe there will be no issue as they are only seeking refuge in the states. With anticipation they wait. Longer and longer as the sun beats down overhead. Finally, after about six hours waiting, their turn comes. The border patrol asks for their paperwork. He stares at it for a long time as if trying to find something wrong with it. Eventually he hands it back to them and tells them to pass. The children start to get excited, but the mother tells them to calm down. They are not in the clear until the border is no longer in sight. As they begin the cross the bridge by foot, they are stopped by another patrol. He tells them to come over for a random inspection. The father does not know what they are going to inspect. All they have are the clothes on their backs. The officer searches each one of them, even t...

A few months had passed since the Jackal/Lion cub was made fun of for using his voice. Many had forgotten as he had fell into the background during the games and activities that he went to. He still had the body of a lion and that was enough to stop others from continuing to make fun of him. The worst part about not using his voice is that the cub was terrified to pursue his true dream: to sing. One day the cub was running errands for his father (the lion). He had some food strapped on his back that he was carrying home and was getting bored on the long walk back home. Then, a thought popped into his head. He looked around and saw that no one was there, so he began to sing. What many do not know about a jackal's voice is that they have the most beautiful singing voice. It had been so long since the cub had been able to use his voice that is was a little hoarse, but shortly it became a lovely clear tune that his mother (the jackal) used to sing for him when he was little. Every ...

It was a sight to behold. Each army is on either side of the battle field. There is a silence; a calmness stretches across the battlefield. The dirt remains untouched by blood and footprints. On one side stands Arjuna, Dhrishtadyumna, Yudhishthira, Krishna, Abhimayu, an Bhima. The weather is cold so Arjuna's heavy breathes can be seen in front of his face, causing the landscape to become foggy with each exahale. On the other side stands Karna, Drona, Shalya, Duhshasana, and Ashwatthaman. Drona is ready to attack. A thumping noise begins to fill the silence. Slowly increasing in speed and volume. It is Drona's heart. Thump..... Thump.... Thump... Thump. Thump.  Thump Thump Thump. As Drona's heart beat faster, the anticipation and adrenaline increased on both sides. Finally, Drona took one deep breathe and the thumping stopped. Silence This silence lasted what felt like hours, but was only a few seconds long. Drona formed a smirk on his face making direct eye contact ...

( The Answers are in the comments) Riddles: What is three letters and is named after the same thing it does? A man rode into town on Friday. Three days later he leaves on Friday. How? Contrary to its name, you only wear this when it is cold outside. Without this, you would never know what you looked like. There once lived a large family. Jennifer was the mother and she was a teacher. Jason was the father and he was a farmer. Judy was the grandma and she was a nurse. Victor was the grandpa and he was a business man. Jackie was the aunt and she was a librarian. Jon was the uncle and he was a pilot. James was the oldest son and was married to Jasmine, they were both artists. Jacob was the middle son and he was a student. Jaxx was the youngest son and he wanted to be a fire. If Jaxx was 5 years old, James was 24 years old, and Jennifer had Jacob when she was 28, who in the family is different than the rest? If OU plays Texas on a Saturday and the stadium has 60,000 people...

All of the gods were happy to see that Ravana was defeated and that Sita was returning home to Rama. After all Rama has went through to save the love of his life, they can finally live in peace. As the gods gathered around to watch the reunion of Sita and Rama at his house, Agni, the fire god, felt that something was off. Rama was not as excited as everyone else and Agni noticed. When Sita finally arrived she knocked on the door to see Rama answer. She began to come inside but Rama blocked her way. "Are you not excited to see me?" Sita asked. "You cannot come in because I do not know if Ravana has tainted you," Rama replied. Sita was not surprised by his answer. She turned around and left without saying another word. Meanwhile, Angi, along with the other gods, were watching this is confusion. Because of this, Angi went down to speak to Rama to clear this up. "Why have you turned away the woman you fought so hard to save?" Angi asked. Rama replied...

(T scene opens at the funeral of Vali. Only a few people are there. Angada (Vali's son) and Tara (Vali's wife) are standing over the grave. Only a handful of monkeys are standing behind them. Quiet sobs are heard from the monkey's, but Angada and Tara remain emotionless. Rama and Lakshmana are standing far from the crowd under a nearby tree as they watch from a distance. Sugriva stand on the opposite site of the grave from Angada and Tara with a piece of paper in his hand.) Sugriva: Growing up with Vali was difficult. Vali was strong. Unbeatable. I always knew he would be superior to me. Even so, I loved him and supported him. He would have became an incredible leader. While most remember him for his strength, few know of his moments outside of battle. When we were young, Vali and I were out on a hunt when we came across a small hut standing alone in the forest. I did not think anything of this, but Vali insisted something was off. We approach the house and knocked on t...

Day 1: Today I, Ahalya, decided to start writing a diary. There has been a lot on my mind lately and this was the only way I could get it out. If I continue to bottle it up any more, I am going to burst.  Day 2: It has been three days since I have returned to Gautama and he still continues to act as if nothing has changed. Typical man. Acts like everything is fine and dandy after turning me to stone for 16 years. He has not even said sorry! Day 4: Gautama asked if I wanted to go on a date in two days. Maybe he will finally apologize for turning me to stone after all those years. All I need is closure and I think I am going to get it. Day 5: Gautama told me to wear my nicest outfit. I have a few to choose from, but I think I am going to go with the red one. It was always his favorite. Day 6: The date was going so well and as soon as I thought he was going to apologize, he asked if i had any money to pay! HE FORGOT HIS WALLET. I am done. Day 7: As I was packing up ...

In a lake far from the lake where the Crab now lived, was the brother of the Crane that was killed. In this lake, the Brother Crane chose not to eat the fish, but rather the fruit from the nearby trees. One day, Brother Crane started to miss his sibling who he had not seen in a long time, so he decided to pay Crane a visit. The flight was long, but there was plenty of fruit on the trees for him to eat. After 9 days of flying, Brother Crane finally arrived. He called out to his brother, "Crane! It is I. For I have flown many nights to see you. Why do you hide from me?" There was no response. Again, Brother Crane called out, "Brother, where are you?" No response. Meanwhile, Crab was resting in a shallow area of the lake when he heard shouting. He was angered by the noise and decided to investigate. When he came to the surface of the lake, he searched the trees for the voice until he spotted Brother Crane. Crab was frightened, for Brother Crane looked exactly like hi...