Shivani's Blog!

An elephant and his keeper playing in the water. Source: Wikipedia There was once an elephant named Sammy who was a kind and loving animal. His keeper built him a lovely living quarter that was connected to his house so that the elephant did not feel like he was not part of the family. The keeper had a wife and 2 kids who would come play with Sammy every day after school. Sammy was so happy and blessed to be a part of such a great family. He was content with his life. He would help with chores outside the house, like sweeping the outside concrete or watering the plants. Sammy would even help the keeper's wife with hanging laundry outside on the clothesline. Sammy would never do anything to hurt anyone, especially his family who treated him so well. One night, after the family hugged and kissed Sammy goodnight and went to sleep, a group of thieves happened to congregate right outside of Sammy's sleeping quarters. They were planning to break into most of the houses in a nea...

Boon of Indra with Kunti. Source: Wikipedia There was a young girl, around the age of 4 years old roaming the streets of Jaipur. She was constantly abused and beaten at home so she will escape her home environment and found peace in alleys of the city. One day her uncle saw her walking around in tattered clothes and took her in. After that day, her parents never attempted to look for her. This girl, who her uncle lovingly named Kunti, discovered that her uncle was actually a king! She was so happy to be treated with respect and dignity. Only a week after her uncle brought her to his kingdom, she was adopted and formally a part of such a loving family. This was everything this kind, selfless, young girl deserved. As Kunti grew older, she had such an undying love and appreciation for her uncle. She would follow him everywhere and they had a beautiful father-daughter relationship. When Kunti was around 16 years old, her father's friend, a Sage named Dhurwasa came to visit. One ...

Shantanu trying to prevent the drowning of their 8th child. Source: Wikipedia Shantanu stared at the woman he called his wife and couldn't be happier. He wondered how lucky he was to call her his wife. She didn't really have a name, so Shantanu decided to call her Moksha because when he was with her, he felt like he had reached moksha, or at the level with the gods that mean the cycle or rebirth would be broken and was so content with the life he was living. Moksha agreed to the marriage only if Shantanu never questioned what Moksha did, no matter how questionable. Shantanu was so compelled and in love with her, he agreed without a second thought. Many months passed by and Moksha became pregnant with their first child and he was elated. He wanted children of his own so badly and now the time had come. When it was time for the birth of their child, Moksha went away without warning Shantanu, which made him a little irate. When she returned a few days later, the child ...

Valmiki with Lava and Kusha. Source: Wikipedia "How can my Rama just abandon me like that?" Sita thought "I have been through everything with him, even followed him through his exile from his own home." Sita was having mixed thoughts, while she was washing the only other pair of clothes she had at the riverbank. It had been 3 months since she saw another human and Sita was getting lonely and feeling depressed. Sita confirmed to herself, " If I wasn't pregnant with these twins, I would have ended my life the moment I was banished by Rama." All of a sudden, Sita heard some rustling in a nearby bush. Having a large stone ready to launch, Sita advanced towards the rustling, step by step. A figure popped out of the bushes, flailing his arms, begging Sita not to throw the stone at him. Sita recognized the man who came out of the bushes. It was the sage, Valmiki. "How long has it been since I have seen another person. What are you doing here...

Hanuman approaching Sita where she was held captive by Ravana. Source: Wikipedia In Lanka, Ravana is trying to convince me to stay with him. There is not a chance I will ever consider this. "My sweet Sita," spoke Ravana, "Please would you leave Rama for me, as I will give you all of the riches and desires a woman could want!" "Not a chance! My heart belongs to Rama and I will never leave him for an imbecile like you!" I said, "My Rama will come for me!" Ravana got angry and all ten of his head spat in unison, "I spare you two months, and after that, you will be tortured!" Ravana left to go to his palace, while I sat there in tears and dirt, hoping for someone to come for me. However, at that very moment, I saw something move from the corner of my eye. I slowly walked to the tree that was shaking uncontrollably, as if it wanted to catch my attention. As I walked closer and closer, I could hear someone whisper my name repeat...

A painting of Ravana approaching Sita in the jungle. Source: Wikipedia After Rama's marriage to Sita, he returned home to his kingdom in Koshala. However, Rama's father, Dasharatha, exiled him as his wife, Kaikeyi, told him to do so. For this reason, Bharata, Rama's brother, would look after the kingdom. When exiled, Sita and Lakshmana, Rama's other brother, chose to accompany him so that he would not have to journey through the jungle alone and so that he would have company. A while after being in the jungle, Maricha, a demon who was friends Ravana, the king of Rakshasas, took the form of a beautiful red fox and approached Sita. Sita asked Rama to capture the tame fox for her. As he shot the fox, it transformed into Maricha, who imitated the voice of Rama calling out to Sita "Help me! Help me!" When Sita heard the cries for help, she sent Lakshmana to go see what happened and to help Rama through the trouble. As Lakshmana left, Ravana approached ...

Turtle graffiti. Source: Pixabay   Long, long ago, there was a castle in the foothills of the of the Bucegi Mountains in Romania, was an elegant castle fit for the king of kings. At this castle lived King Arjun and his 2 daughters, Eshani and Karishma. One day, on a warm autumn evening, the two girls went out to play in the valley, not far from the castle. After playing with the rocks and mud by the river, Eshani and Karishma came across a strange looking creature upon a hill that resembled a dragon and became fearful. "Should we go tell father?" asked Eshani. "Yes, let's go before it destroys the valley and heads for our home!" said a concerned Karishma. The girls quickly ran inside and screamed for their father. King Arjun was in the middle of polishing his armor when the girls interrupted him. "What is going on?" said King Arjun in a firm and slightly agitated manner. "There is a dragon in the river that runs through the valley...