#lakshmana

[h0bg0blin-meat]

:3

LOOK AT THEMMMM

Omg do one for all the siblingssss

[blackknight-100]

It'll never stop being funny to me how Indra's status and power level changes throughout the different texts because initially, you have this absolute badass God-King who defeats a giant monster and gets together with his wife and holds court in heaven. Next the Ramayana rolls up and he is set as a benchmark for battle-skill: Meghnad, as the warrior who defeated him, is an absolute powerhouse who nearly kills both Rama and Lakshmana (and one of those two is a god). In fact, depending on the version, Rama and Lakshmana only survive by semi-divine intervention (Garuda and Hanumana). It is a story about how Lakshmana, an exiled third prince, kills the man who defeated the King of Gods, thereby proving the victory of good over evil et cetera... et cetera... You know the drill.

And then, you have the Mahabharata. Where Krishna, then a young boy, protects an entire settlement from Indra's rage. Which... you know what, fine, he too is a god.

But then, Arjuna defeats Indra, who is his father. Arjuna, who presumably upset the audience a few moments ago after he just burned a whole forest with everyone (including children) in it to supposedly satisfy Agni.

Then, Indra shows up to Karna's doorstep begging for his armour, and Karna who had previously angered the audience by calling Draupadi a harlot gets to demand things from the king of the gods.

See the pattern?

Also they have that absolute disaster of a ceremony and their city is called Indraprashtha.

Like come on, at this point you're just using Indra as the bonus +500 point in games to get your favourites in the audience's good books after they messed up.

[bhrm555]

The great battle between Rama and Ravana c 1780, Guler style, Pahari

[sambhavami]

Krishna: a character adored for over two thousand years, revered as one of the most significant political masterminds of the ancient world with his words forming the philosophical core of the country today. Concurrently, he is the god shrouded in inimitable domesticity- as a friend, a lover, and a child. No other deity in the Hindu pantheon has probably achieved as dear a position in the hearts of people as this flute-wielding cowherd of Gokula.

For generations, he has shined as the muse of countless poetfolk, of unfinished business, of unspoken desires and of repressed lovers' qualms. In Meera's longing for her marble beloved, and in Kothai's dulcet dreams of a celestial wedding, Krishna blossoms not as a warrior, but rather as a confidante of young women- the keeper of all secrets.

Curse, o ye, this wedding of devotion, 

For I was better off unmarried,

Writes the lovestruck Nawab Sadiq Hilm,

I was well enough at my mother's; 

Oh, why did I pine for him?!

Who am I, or what: go ask Rizwan, the gatekeeper

For heaven has been rejected by my forebearers!

He says, in a nostalgic ode to the cowmaids from old tales. To the ones that massage the dust off their feet on Krishna's fevered forehead to soothe his illness, even as the apparent disrespect dooms their afterlives.

Jayadeva notes a more rugged form of Krishna, one that is almost hungry for love. His Radha smiles down upon Radharaman Dutta's kalankini. Of course, she would accept even infamy if it was in relation to her Krishna. However, in time, this epithet has been reclaimed as a celebration of the meteoric, tempestuous love that this unseemly duo had carved out for themselves of the pages of a mostly unwilling history.

Tagore's Krishna is mysterious, eagerly anticipated but rarely seen. Rather, here Radha's pining is crushing and all-encompassing, inherited from Chandidas' virahini. Radha's guttural desire to transform Krishna into herself, subjecting him to the same suffering that she undergoes as a woman in love with a furious ideology more than a man, reverberates eerily against the lighthearted cross-dressing tale of Surdas'.

As often as bards favour the songs extolling the love of the cowherd and the wedded maiden, Krishna's wives are seldom accorded any thought outside of Vasudeva's family tree. Their silence speaks to the stringent rules of a typical patriarchal household. Some of them do speak, and hence Satyabhama becomes conceited and Kalindi wayward. However, the mere few lines that they are mercifully allotted in the text are enough to speak to their resilience. The lines inadvertently hold up a window to the million unspoken words and unexchanged glances. It speaks to the long years, happy and sad. It speaks to the nights of waiting for the beloved to return. It speaks to the quiet lunches in curtained rooms and taste tests in the kitchen.

Each of Krishna's eight wives has their own life, and their own equation with Krishna. Each of their distinct personalities, coupled with their unique introductions to the prince has the potential to bring a distinct flavour to the story of Krishna, the statesman. The understanding that Krishna's heart belonged first to Vrindavana and then to his ambition, must have weighed somewhat on their hearts and yet, the choice to patch up the battle-hardened cowherd, after every blow, sans complaint, and send him out into the world as the architect of history, must have demanded restraint.

The distinct turn of events that brings each of the chief eight queens to Krishna's is quite interesting. Rukmini, the first, demonstrates heart, even if it is born out of desperation. Seizing control of her life, she sends a message, relying solely on rumours of his compassion. Her gamble yields returns manifold as Krishna not only rescues her from an unwanted marriage, but instates her as his chief consort, elevating her, alongside himself, to a divine status. Far from the impulsiveness of her youth, Pandhari's Rakhumai, astute beside her beloved, proudly bears a conch-shell, calling for harmony and community. In life as well, Rukmini brings to Krishna much needed stability, and oversees the blossoming of the city of Dwarika as well as Krishna's growing household.

Jambavati and Satyabhama are given in marriage to the prince by their respective fathers and do not seem to have much of a voice at the time. Jambavati fulfills an ancient destiny, a forgotten promise, then going on to mother the child that ultimately brings about the demise of the Yadava clan. Satyabhama, though often maligned with unfair accusations, is self-reliant. Making no attempt to hide herself from the eye of society, takes her rightful place beside Krishna, not on a throne, but by his side in battlefields. Kalindi however, is an extremely interesting character in Krishna's story. Enmeshed between mortal and divine, she exists as neither. Chancing upon the prince, she unabashedly declares her intentions to be married, and yet she is uncharacteristically silent after her marriage. Lakshmana and Mitravinda, are both won in conquest. They might have been able to sympathize with Rukmini, given their kin had turned against them, on account of their choice of a life partner. Bhadra, on the other hand, has no fancy contests to boast of, or an adventurous rescue. She marries Krishna at the behest of her brother, the only highlight being the arduous journey she undertakes from Kekaya to Dwarika.

After their marriages, these women practically disappear from the narrative until their last moments. We can assume that they were all presumably content with a life outside the spotlight. One can only hope to be privy to their lives after marriage, to know their dreams, nightmares and daily chores. They enter Krishna's life at crucial junctions, and I choose to believe they each had a unique effect on Krishna's worldview, bringing with them a fresh outlook into the mostly stagnant golden city.

[sanatanaxtales]

sa hi devai rudīrṇasya rāvaṇasya vadhārthibhiḥ | arthito mānuṣe loke jajñe viṣṇuḥ sanātanaḥ || 2-1-7, Valmiki Ramayana

That Rama - was He not the eternal Vishnu who was born on earth as prayed by celestials to kill the egoistic Ravana?

Valmiki Ramayana gives me answers to sooth my soul but light it too! Rama as the hero is beyond explanation, and yet is everything.

[philoursmars]

Au Louvre-Lens, une expo : "Exils" (aussi bien réels qu'intérieurs, les mythes que les trajectoires personnelles de certains artistes)

Edouard Manet - "L'Evasion de Rochefort"

"Rama, Sita et Lakshmana à l'ermitage du sage Bharadvaja" - Rajasthan, 1800

Rembrandt - "Abraham reçoit les trois Anges"

Henri Matisse - illustrations pour "Ulysses" de James Joyce - "Polyphème"

Zao Wou-Ki - "04.05.64"

Roméo Mivekannin - série "Béhanzin" (roi du Danhomé), "Avant le dernier exil en Algérie, escale à Marseille"

[arcadiiian]

a world where they get to grow up together 🪷🗡️

[bhagavanbhakthi]

भगवान राम और उनके परिवार में कौन-कौन हैं और वे किसके अवतार हैं? | Who is there in Lord Ram and his family, and whose incarnations are they?

[15pantheons]

Laxman: How are you today?  Rama: Please don’t make me think about my life. 

[friend-shaped-but]

New fic!!!

[h0bg0blin-meat]

Ok I'm spamming you but

Ram and Lakshman

LMFAOOOOOO HELP

[blackknight-100]

Rama: *yeets Maricha into the ocean*

Shiva: ...he's supposed to be human

Parvati: Give them another chance dear.

Lakshmana: *stays awake for 14 years*

Sita: *takes shortcut to Vaikunth via earth*

Parvati: Umm...

Krishna: *lifts up a mountain*

Balarama: *starts dragging a whole city*

Krishna: *makes solar eclipse happen*

Krishna: *shows his actual form*

Parvati: ...dear, what are you doing?

Shiva: *bribing Pavan dev* IT'S LIAR LIAR TAILS ON FIREEEE!!! FLYING MONKEY LETZGOOOOO!!!

[bhrm555]

Capture of Demons in Lanka

With the help of his army of monkeys, Rama's invasion of Lanka is successful. Rama and his brother Lakshmana are depicted seated under a tree at left, as monkeys bring captured demons to them. The palace of the demon-king Ravana stands on the hill at top right in this illustration from the "Ramayana."

[herawell]

i wonder if Lakshman and Shatrughna still good terms?

I’d like to think that they are. They did spend fourteen years apart though, and when Bharata was approaching Chitrakut, Lakshmana was prepared to kill his own twin brother as well if he took Bharata’s side. If you take the Uttarakanda as canon, I also wonder how Shatrughna reacted to Lakshmana leaving Sita in the woods.

[sambhavami]

Women in Mahabharata - The Masterlist II

This list will be as chronological as I can make it, and will be periodically updated with the new posts as I get through my list.

Link: Part 1

Ghritachi

Gadhi Satyavati

Jara

Jatila

Vaarkshi

Shaaradandayani

Amba

Ambika

Ambalika

Parishrami

Aahuki

Marisha

Padmavati

Gandini

Kandali

Kripi

Renuka

Rukmini

Jambavati

Satyabhama

Kalindi

Mitravinda

Nagnajiti

Bhadra

Lakshmana

Pramadvara

[sanatanaxtales]

sarva eva tu tasyeṣṭa ścatvāraḥ puruṣarṣabhāḥ | svaśarīrādvinirvṛttāścatvāra iva bāhavaḥ || 2-1-5, Ayodhya Kanda, Valmiki Ramayana

Dasaratha was bestowing his equal love to all his four sons who were best among men, as though they were his four hands emerging out of his own body.

I have read and seen so many interpretations which say Maharaja Dasaratha loved Rama the most. Yet, Maharishi Valmiki, the contemporary of Sri Rama seems to differ in this aspect, and says that the King loved his four sons equally.

The eldest son is the one who is the crown Prince, the heir, the first one nurtured, especially if the eldest is the first child in the family. In that way, of course Rama was very special and different. But it is clear here that Maharaja Dasaratha did not really see a difference between his sons.

@ahamasmiyodhah @thegleamingmoon @ramayantika @theramayana @theramblergal @krsnaradhika @chaliyaaa @hum-suffer @nidhi-writes @yehsahihai @krishna-premi @krishna-sangini @braj-raj @mahaswrites