Epics of India

Crash Course Logo Source I truly enjoy crash course, even if I am not using it for this class. I have used crash course in my philosophy, history, and science classes in high school, and the way they convey their stories is done so well, that sometimes I just watch these videos for fun. I started by watching " What Is A Myth? " where they go over what myths are and what to expect from the rest of the videos in the series. One of the things that stuck out most to me was when they explained that when you take myths for the stories they are, it allows for you to enjoy them without thinking of their values as structures of religious belief. I think this really describes why videos like crash course and books like the Percy Jackson series are so popular. When you tell someone a myth, they think of the deeper context. But when you just tell a story and leave it up for interpretation, the stories are very interesting and you get hooked in. This point is furthered in " ...

The battle of Lanka Source 1: Rama prayed to the god of the sea, in hopes that he would allow for his army to pass into Lanka. Nothing happened, so Rama shot the ocean, which caused the earth to shake and lighting and thunder roared. Rama ignored this warning and lit a arrow on fire and threatened to dry up the entire ocean. This prompted the king of the ocean to rise up, and he said "Rama, I like you, but according to ancient laws, I cannot help you. But you should hit up Nala, a monkey chief, and he'll help you" Then the king went back into the ocean and everything went back to normal. Nala came forward and began constructing a bridge of rocky islands. 2: The weather became dreadful as the comings of war were known. Rama prepared to lay siege to Lanka, and Ravana knew of this as his spies had come back from their disguised monkey forms to report the news. They advised Ravana to surrender Sita, but he was just more enraged. Ravana faked Rama's death and told ...

Statue of Hanuman Source 1: The brothers run into Hanuman, the messenger of the virtuous monkey Sugriva. Hanuman asked why the boys were wandering, and Lakshmana told him the story so far. Hanuman explains that Sugriva is in a similar situation, and that he will help, and he takes them to Sugriva. 2: Sugriva explained his story and how his brother, Vali, hated him. Sugriva thought his brother died, so he basically buried him alive, but his brother didn't believe that Sugriva thought he died, he thought Sugriva was just a terrible brother. Vali took Sugriva's wife. Rama asked Sugriva to challenge Vali to battle. 3: Tara, Vali's wife tells her husband how powerful Rama is and advises him to avoid the battle. Vali doesn't listen and prepares to battle. 4: Rama hides from the battle, and ambushes Vali and kills him. 5: Tara, Sugriva, and the counselors of the monkey kingdom all mourn the death of the king. Sugriva is named the new king 6: Sugriva holds up his en...