-husband of Ganga and Satyavati 

-1st wife of Santanu 

- Mother of Bishma 

- symbol of Maya (creates opposition)

- wife of Santanu 

-fishermaid --> queen

- mother of Vyasa, Citrangada, Vicitravirya 

- son of Satyavati 

-born of Parasara before marriage

- asked to produce children for Vicitravirya through Ambika and Ambalika 

- son of Satyavati that dies very young 

- refuses to marry Vyasa 

- preforms Tapas to be reborn as a man to kill Bhisma 

-son of Ganga

-doesn't want to marry

- husband of Amba, Ambika, and Ambalika 

- dies before he can produce children 

- closes her eyes when having relations with Vyasa

-mother of Dhrtarastra

Dhrtarastra

-blind king

- son of Ambika 

- husband of Gandhari 

- father of the Kauravas 

- wife of Dhrtarastra

- mother of the Kauravas 

- leader of the Kauravas 

- friend to Karna (makes him king) 

- "Charioteer's son"

-son of Kunti and Suria (the sun god) 

- oldest pandava brother 

- only one to make it to heaven alive 

-never lies 

-strongest of the pandava brothers 

- carries his mother and brothers out of the house of lac

- son of the wind god and Kunti

-son of Kunti and Indra

-favorite husband of Draupadi

- audience for the Bhagadvita 

- teacher of the Panadavs and Kauravas 

-childhood friend of Drupada 

-son of a hunter chief

-wants to be a warrior, so teaches himself

- Drona makes him pay a teacher's free of his thumb 

-king of the Pancala kingdom

-Draupadi's father 

- Pandava's wife

- the princess of the Pancala kingdom

-king of the Vrishnis, the cowherds

- cousin of the Pandavas

-8th incarnation of Vishnu 

-the king who was born with three eyes and four arms

- at birth he brayed like a donkey

- killed by Krsna after he insulted him 99 times 

-Kaurava's uncle 

- skilled at dice 

Mahadeva

Siva - testing Arjuna's strength after he did tapas

- Amba fist reborn as a women and then into a man

- wants to kill Bhisma 

-Drona's son

- the elephant killed by Bhima

1. the story of the fishermaid, Satyavati "I will marry you o king only if you allow my son to be king" 

2. Personal pride and gain are more important that social duty

- Bhisma abducts three princesses for his half-brother Vicitravirya

3. Revolt against society

- Amba's story

- the story of Karna 

4. Obsession for power

- Satyavati invites her sone to create progeny with his brother's wife

5. Adultery acceptable 

- Story of Kunt and Madri 

6. The story of Ekalavya 

1. Personal interests over social good 

- Karna vs. Arjuna for personal superiority

- Karna and Duryodhana vs. Arjuna 

- for political power: house of lac, game of dice) 

-Amba/Sikhandini/Sikhandin (for vengence) against Bhisma 

- Sisupala (for pride) against Krisna 

2. Conflict between identities within the same individual 

- Arjuna: warrior vs. cousin

- Karna: a charioteer's son vs. one of the Pandava's 

- Kunti: Karna's mother vs. the mother queen

- Dhrtarstra: king vs. the father of the Kauravas 

1. Maya (satyavati) vs. Brahman (Krsna)

 - satyavati created all conflicts; Krisna asked people to withdraw from Maya 

2. Water vs. Fire

- Arjuna (son of Indra) vs. Kara ( son of Surya)

- Gadvida (Siva's bow) vs. Vasava (Indra's bow) 

3. the Kauravas (human side) vs. the Pandavas (divine side: children of god) 

- heaven is beyond the Himalayan mountains 

- Yudhisthira is the only one who makes it (with his dog)

- the dog is actually an incarnation of Yama/Dharma the god of death

- Others don't make it

- Arjuna proud of his own valor, Draupadi loved Arjuna the most, Bhima

was obsessed with food and the pleasures of eating, nakula the most handsome, sahadeva the most intelligence

1. all conflicts/ wars created by opposites only exist at the level of Maya- the world of multiple forms 

2. when all forms (and thereby opposite) merge back into Eternal water, there is no conflict 

"liberation"

the ultimate goal of life 

a. liberation from the cycle of birth 

b. the knowledge the "I am Brahma"

"Heaven"

not the ultimate goal of life 

results of good actions 

- heat, energy or power

- exercise of body and mind through self- denial and hardship

- Locus of power from the exterior to the interior 

Examples:

- Arjuna: to destroy the Kauravas  - given Gandiva by Siva 

- Drupada- to beget a son Dhrstadyumna to slay Drona

-  Amba- to be reborn as a man to take revenge upon Bhisma

the path of knowledge

1. asana yoga- physical exercise 

2. dhyana yoga- meditation

gain control over one's mind and body 

path of actions

action of the society according to one's social class

abandoning "the fruits of one's actions" 

path of devotion

devotion to a personal god (who is chosen by the devotee as a symbol of Brahman) 

1st Stage: love of personal God 

2nd Stage: intense love for the personal god eventually leads to vision of identity with the God 

3rd stage: the vision of identity with the personal God leads to identity of the cosmos 

the evil king killed by Krsna 

- Krna's uncle

- Devaki's brother 

- Putana- the female monster who tried to kill Krnsa through poison breastmilk 

- make Brahma apologize for stealing his cowheard friends 

"love" 

- cowherd girls are the individual souls striving for union with the Supreme Soul

- Vadudeva's wife

- Balarama's mother

- Krsna's mother

-Vasudeva's wife 

Nanda

- a cowherd girl

- Krsna's Beloved 

1. lives with cowherds

2. dresses like cowherds 

3. behavior- lies, steals, loves 

1. explains the Bahavadita in a ways the common people will understand 

- flute: call of the divine

- steals their clothes

- forest: division between Maya and Bhraman

gopis dance to the point where they each feel that they have their own Krsna

- represents union between Atman and Bhraman 

from folk god to mainstream god 

defeat of Indra 

Krisna lifts the mountain to protect the village from the rains of Indra 

the crane monster 

krsna kills him by ripping apart his beak 

dragon demon killed by Krsna 

looked like a cave, Krsna grew bigger 

the serpent that poisoned the river Yamuna

Pardoned by Krsna  

1. Rukmini, daughter of Bhishmak

2. Satibhama, daughter of Satrajit

3. Jambuvati, daughter of the bear

4. 16000 women captured by Bhaumasura 

Hiranyakasipu/ Ravana/ Shishupala 

given the choice of three births as Krsna's enemy or seven as his friend he chose the former 

Good= balance of opposite forces 

Evil= disturbance in the balance 

'Good' and 'Evil' are not absolute notions 

lives with the common people 

steals and whatnot 

auspicious 

1. descruction is necessary 

2. Siva saves the universe 

Mahakala "the great time"

Mrtyu "death"

Jvara "fever" (cause of destruction) 

a. union of the male and female energies (creation)

b. fusion of the opposite energies to destroy the universe for its recreation (destruction only to be followed by creation) 

pasupati- "lord of the animals" from the Indus Valley civilization

1. the myth of the superior of Siva over Brahma and Visnu

2. the tension between the mainstream "elite" Hinduism and the religion of the lower strata of the society (myth about Daksa and Sati)

represent Siva's power

1. Sati- creation

2. Uma/parvati- love

2. Kali/Durga- destruction

Kumara

Ganesa- elephant headed 

Siva's vehicle

a bull