Indian Epics Topics Brainstorm

1. Possible Topic: Hanuman. To be honest, Hanuman has been a character of interest in Indian folklore since before I took this class. I met someone while skiing one time who's name was Hanuman. Since that isn't something you hear everyday, I was intrigued. I know I am late on this assignment, but after reading the second part of the Ramayana I think Hanuman is one of the most interesting characters of the tale. His ability to move mountains and save Rama during his struggle in Lanka makes him very interesting for me. I hope to better understand his position/relation to Indian Epics on a deeper level.
Research So Far. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Week 2 readings of the Ramayana. After reading about his deep involvement with the story and steadfast devotion to Rama, the readings gave me an insight into what kind of character Hanuman was. Also reading about him on Wikipedia (birthplace and childhood) it is clear that he is a very prominent character in the story.

2. Possible Topic: Karma. I have read about the topic of Karma in various books on Buddhism and other books written by the Dalai Lama. It is something that I know a little bit about but want to see how it is applied to these stories. Is the word "karma" used in the stories as it is used in everyday conversation? Or is there a more serious or spiritual undertone to it.
Research So Far. I started researching Karma once it appeared in the Ramayana surrounding the death of Dasharatha and his life experiences. I became especially interested in the topic after reading about it under the Story Book Topics where it talks about how universal the topic is, literally being able to be applied to any story. Also browsing the Indian Epics Story Book Archive. I really liked the setup of The Karma Times site.

3. Possible Topic: Avatars of Vishnu. My interest in this was sparked from reading about Rama in the week 2-3 readings. His heroism is constantly reinforced throughout the story and most everyone supports this. I think it is interesting that the God's would animate themselves in order to carry out their will.
Research So Far. Again, reading from the Ramayana has given me some insight into this topic. For example, when Rama is confronted by Parashurama, also an avatar of Vishnu. After looking into it more on Wikipedia, I found out that there are 10 major Avatars of Vishnu, which are referred to as Dasavatara. Involving many different figures and stories, this is a fairly diverse topic that I find very interesting.

4. Possible Topic: Astra. To be honest the reason I chose this as a possible topic is because I was a little confused when they would reference these magical weapons during the readings. I think it is interesting how they are endowed to specific characters and are more powerful that generic weapons.
Research So Far. Reading about this in last week's reading was interesting. For example when Rama is able to bend Shiva's bow and also when he gains the weapon of Parashurama by passing his test. Through reading the various sources on the course site I found out that these weapons can take any form. While the majority of the time they take the form of an arrow, a blade of grass has been used an an astra.

Hanuman: Wiki Commons