Saturday Morning Hinduism
April 20, 2013 2:24 AM   Subscribe

Introductions to major figures: Lord Shiva (8:55), Lord Ganesha (10:41), Lord Hanuman (11:25), and Lord Krishna (12:38). But it really doesn't end there.

If maybe you're a little intimidated by or just too young for written sources such as the Mahapuranas, the Ganesh Purana, the Ramayana (or a travelogue based on it), the Mahabharata / Bhagavad Gita, the Srimad Bhagavata Purana, the Kathasaritsagara (perhaps abridged), or even the Panchatantra, these animated adaptations offer a very gentle starting point. Enjoy. Previously: Amar Chitra Katha (regarding these awesome comic books); The Little Book of Hindu Deities (see also Ramayana and Ganesha's Sweet Tooth); and Sita Sings the Blues.
posted by Monsieur Caution (16 comments total) 96 users marked this as a favorite
 
Wow. Just watched the Lord Shiva installment. This is my New Favorite Thing. Thank you.

Or should I say... धन्यवाद (dhan'yavāda).
posted by flapjax at midnite at 2:49 AM on April 20, 2013 [3 favorites]


This is the best usage of 2 frames per second animation ever.

Also, I'd pay to see these with real CC captions. Learning pronunciation of the names is really hard for us midwestern english only speakers.
posted by DigDoug at 6:00 AM on April 20, 2013 [1 favorite]


The impression I'm getting so far is that Lord Shiva is the sexy bad boy of the Hindu pantheon. Noted.
posted by verb at 6:05 AM on April 20, 2013


Krishna's mother doesn't show when she is pregnant with him.
posted by Obscure Reference at 6:21 AM on April 20, 2013


Very cool! Such a rich mythology, which I know almost nothing about.
posted by rosswald at 7:28 AM on April 20, 2013


Very cool! Such a rich mythology, which I know almost nothing about.

Raised in a Hindu house and I still only know a fraction of this. That's the beauty, always something more to learn, to discover.
posted by Fizz at 7:55 AM on April 20, 2013


I have a friend who was a reporter for a weekly in Mumbai. He published an article-cum-satire of Hanuman, the largest property owner in India. Brahmin priests set up temples Hanuman, use it as their house, and get a decent income from donations to the 'upkeep' of the temple. Because Indian courts recognize Hindu deities as parties (look up the legal controversy surrounding the Ayodhya mosque), there is an irresistible satirical allure to the idea that Hanuman is the legal owner of these temples (since everyone knows it's just Brahmins who are the de facto owners and beneficiaries of the reverence for Hanuman).

In any case, his article about Hanuman's property empire went over predictably well in 1990's India, and he was faced with hundreds of death threats. I can't remember how his story ended, but I think he was forced to publish a tongue-in-cheek apology for any offense he caused to Hanuman.
posted by anewnadir at 9:26 AM on April 20, 2013 [3 favorites]


In a similar vein, can I suggest the animated series "Little Krishna"? The original installments were a half hour each, then later collected into three (short) feature-length movies:

"The Darling of Vrindavan"

"The Legendary Warrior"

"Wondrous Feats"

The individual episodes are also available on YouTube. The first one I saw is still my favorite: "Attack of the Serpent King" tells the story of Krishna dancing on the many heads of the serpent Kaliya, which is an image that may be familiar.

All episodes are available in Hindi and English.
posted by eric1halfb at 9:42 AM on April 20, 2013 [1 favorite]


"...By now, Shiva was very angry and started to dance furiously. Everybody, including the sages, was charmed and stopped to watch the dance."

I don't get it.
posted by Sleeper at 10:14 AM on April 20, 2013


Charmed = Bewitched?
posted by Wordwoman at 10:16 AM on April 20, 2013


Sleeper: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMjgSkfQPSY
posted by yaymukund at 12:31 PM on April 20, 2013 [1 favorite]


Seems kinda unlikely.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
posted by Flunkie at 1:44 PM on April 20, 2013


Needs more scenes of Shiva smoking hash.
posted by Liquidwolf at 5:49 PM on April 20, 2013


Begging pardon if it's poor etiquette to point to an item for sale in the outside world, but I searched when I saw mention of "the Peter Brook adaptation of the Mahabharata." The lowest price via the big A was ~$90; I bought a sealed copy on eBay for ~$28 including shipping. The seller had eight more copies for sale. Features included English subtitling.
posted by issue #1 at 6:43 PM on April 20, 2013


Sleeper: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMjgSkfQPSY

Ooooohhhhh.
posted by Sleeper at 10:55 PM on April 20, 2013


Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (Tamil:சக்ரவர்த்தி ராஜ கோபாலச்சாரி) (10 December 1878 – 25 December 1972), informally called Rajaji or C.R., was an Indian lawyer, independence activist, politician, writer and statesman. He also wrote pretty definitive English translations of the Ramayana & Mahabharata - check 'em out.
posted by brainwane at 1:30 PM on April 26, 2013


« Older 'The ECB with hereditary leadership and the right...   |   I've taken people on tour here where they've wept Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments