4 - Hare-y Tales
Summary
TLDRThe podcast 'Stories from India' explores Indian mythology through engaging tales. Hosted by Narad Monei, a mythological character with eternal life, each episode features a story and a character of the week. This episode discusses two rabbit-related tales, one showcasing the rabbit's wit in outsmarting a lion, and the other illustrating the consequences of blind panic. The character of the week is Durga, a powerful warrior goddess. The episode concludes with a teaser for the next segment on Bikram and Bethal stories, emphasizing the value of critical thinking.
Takeaways
- ποΈ The podcast 'Stories from India' explores myths, legends, and folk tales from India's diverse cultures.
- π§ββοΈ The host, Narad Mone, is a mythological character with eternal life and knowledge of past, present, and future.
- π The first story tells of a clever rabbit that outsmarts a lion by tricking it into looking at its own reflection in a well.
- π¦ The second story features a naive rabbit who panics and causes a mass frenzy by mistakenly believing the sky is falling.
- π° The first story's moral is about the intelligence of the rabbit and the second story's moral is about the importance of not blindly following others.
- π The first story is from 'Panchatantra', a collection of fables, while the second is from 'Jataka Tales', stories conveying simple messages.
- π The character of the week is Durga, a warrior goddess and an avatar of Shakti, who defeated the buffalo-headed demon Mahishasur.
- π Durga's victory is celebrated in the festival of Durga Puja, where she is worshipped for her strength and power.
- π The podcast invites listeners to provide feedback, corrections, and suggestions to improve the content.
- πΆ The podcast features music from Purple Planet and is hosted on sfi-podcast.com with updates on Twitter at @SFI_podcast.
Q & A
What is the podcast 'Stories from India' about?
-The podcast 'Stories from India' is about myths, legends, and folk tales from India, exploring the diverse cultures and their unique mythological stories.
Who is the host of the podcast 'Stories from India'?
-The host of the podcast is Narad Mone, a mythological character who appears in many of the stories and is known for his eternal life, knowledge of past, present, and future, and always speaking the truth.
What is the first story about in the podcast episode?
-The first story is about a jungle where a powerful lion threatens the other animals, leading them to devise a plan to deliver one of their own to the lion daily to avoid further killings.
What solution do the animals in the jungle propose to the lion in the first story?
-The animals propose a daily delivery of one of their own to the lion as food, in exchange for the lion not hunting and killing them randomly.
How does the rabbit in the first story outsmart the lion?
-The rabbit tricks the lion by claiming there is another lion who has been eating the animals meant for the lion, leading the lion to a well where he sees his own reflection, and in his anger, he jumps into the well and drowns.
What is the moral of the first story in the podcast?
-The moral of the first story is that intelligence and wit can overcome strength and aggression, as demonstrated by the rabbit outsmarting the lion.
What is the second story about in the podcast episode?
-The second story is about a rabbit who, after being hit on the head by an acorn, panics and spreads the false news that the sky is falling, causing chaos among the other animals.
What is the source of the second story in the podcast?
-The second story is from the Jataka Tales, a series of stories by Buddha that convey simple messages through short tales.
What is the moral of the second story in the podcast?
-The moral of the second story is to be careful whom we follow and to challenge assertions when necessary, as the animals blindly followed the rabbit's panic without verifying the truth.
Who is the character of the week in the podcast episode?
-The character of the week is Durga, a warrior goddess who is an avatar of Shakti and Parvati, known for her power and the defeat of the buffalo-headed demon Mahishasur.
What is the significance of Durga in Indian mythology?
-Durga is significant as a symbol of feminine power and victory over evil, having been created by the gods to defeat a demon who could not be killed by man or god.
Outlines
ποΈ Introduction to Stories from India Podcast
The script introduces the 'Stories from India' podcast, a platform exploring Indian myths, legends, and folk tales. The host, Narad Mone, a character from these narratives, presents himself as a figure with eternal life and knowledge of past, present, and future. The episode's theme involves stories about rabbits and lions, contrasting their intelligence. The character of the week is Durga, a powerful warrior goddess, likened to a mix of cinematic characters. The podcast aims to discuss two stories, one showcasing the rabbit's wit over the lion, and another reversing the roles.
π° The Rabbit's Clever Bargain with the Lion
This paragraph narrates a story where animals in a jungle, led by an elephant, devise a plan to appease a predatory lion by offering themselves as daily meals to avoid random killings. The arrangement is managed through a draw of straws, and eventually, a rabbit family is chosen. The rabbit, seeking a way to protect his family, tricks the lion by showing his reflection in a well, pretending it's another lion that has eaten the other rabbits. The lion, enraged, attacks his own reflection and drowns, leading to the animals' liberation and the rabbit being hailed as a hero.
π³ The Misadventure of the Rabbit and the 'Falling Sky'
The second story features a rabbit who, after a big lunch, naps under an oak tree and is hit on the head by an acorn. Believing the sky is falling, the rabbit panics and spreads the alarm, causing a mass hysteria among the forest animals. The lion, skeptical of the claim, investigates and discovers the truth about the acorn. The story illustrates the importance of questioning assumptions and not blindly following panic or misinformation, which is a common theme in folklore used to impart wisdom.
π Origins of the Stories and the Character Durga
The script concludes with the origins of the two stories, one from the Panchatantra and the other from the Jataka tales, both ancient Indian texts with moral lessons. The Panchatantra was accessible to common people, while the Jataka tales were stories told by Buddha. The second story is connected to the children's tale 'Chicken Little.' The character of the week, Durga, is introduced as a powerful goddess born from the collective energies of the gods to defeat the buffalo-headed demon, Mahishasur. The script ends with an invitation to listeners to engage with the podcast for upcoming stories and a note of gratitude to the supporters.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Narad Muni
π‘Diversity
π‘Mythology
π‘Character of the Week
π‘Panchatantra
π‘Jataka Tales
π‘Dura (Durga)
π‘Bethal
π‘Folklore
π‘Subscription Fee
π‘Metaphor
Highlights
Introduction to the podcast 'Stories from India' which explores myths, legends, and folk tales from India's diverse cultures.
Host Narad Mone introduces himself as a mythological character with the gift of eternal life and knowledge of past, present, and future.
The podcast discusses two stories involving rabbits and lions, showcasing different perspectives on their intelligence and abilities.
The first story features a clever rabbit outwitting a lion, demonstrating the rabbit's superior intelligence.
The second story humorously portrays a rabbit causing panic by mistakenly believing the sky is falling after being hit by an acorn.
The character of the week is Durga, a warrior goddess with the power to defeat the buffalo-headed demon Mahishasur.
Durga's creation by the gods to defeat Mahishasur, who was made immortal by a loophole in a wish granted by Brahma.
The festival of Durga Puja, celebrated in her honor, is mentioned as a significant cultural event.
The podcast references the Panchatantra and Jataka tales, two ancient collections of stories with moral and practical lessons.
The Panchatantra's accessibility to common people and the Jataka tales' appeal due to their simple moral messages are highlighted.
A discussion on the importance of critical thinking and challenging assertions, inspired by the second story about the rabbit.
The connection between the second story and the children's tale 'Chicken Little' is noted, showing cultural adaptations.
The upcoming episode's preview featuring Bikram and Bethal stories, which use brain teasers to impart life lessons.
A historical king who stood up to a great conqueror and earned respect, to be featured in the next character segment.
Invitation for listeners to provide feedback, comments, or suggestions to improve the podcast.
Acknowledgment of the support from family, friends, and listeners, expressing gratitude for their contributions to the podcast's success.
The podcast's music is credited to Purple Planet, providing a source for the background music used in the episodes.
Transcripts
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
hello and welcome to stories from India
a podcast where we talk about myths
Legends and folk tales from
India now as you probably know India is
a very diverse country there are dozens
of distinct cultures
each with their own brand of Mythology
and in their own
language I'm your host narad monei and
I'm a mythological character myself I
personally appear in many of these
stories and I play an important role in
some of them I was given the gift of
eternal life and knowledge of the past
the present and the
future and I also always speak the truth
I'm a traveling musician and a story
tell by profession so the way I'm doing
my job is by
podcast during each episode we'll be
talking about a story from Indian
mythology followed by a character of the
week
segment we'll cover two stories this
week both involv rabbits the first story
shows how rabbits are smarter than Lions
and the Second Story does exactly the
opposite the character this week is Dura
a warrior goddess who rides around on a
tiger she is sort of a mashup of the
Bride from the killbill movies and
Wolverine from the X-Men but way more
powerful especially if you're an evil
Buffalo headed demon and yes the last
part is exactly what it sounds like so
let's jump
in our first story is set in a jungle
which had a huge and powerful lion
the lion love to kill and eat for
pleasure mostly kill for pleasure
because that's what Lions do in
folktales in actual fact lionesses are
way better at hunting and killing than
Lions but most mythology assumes the
Lions do all the
work the animals in the jungle all got
together after being absolutely certain
that the lion wasn't
around the elephant trumpeted to call
the meeting to order and brought up the
first and only item on the
agenda so he said let's address the
elephant in the
room hello elephant said
everyone that's not what I meant replied
the elephant the fact is we are all in
danger the lion can easily kill us all
mercilessly and maybe not even have the
decency to eat us
afterwards maybe if we all sprinkled on
some garnish said a thoughtful but silly
old monkey that's not the point every
day we step out we can't even be sure
we'll return home safely said the
elephant why don't we take out the lion
asked a wild warar you are bigger and
more powerful than him he said to the
elephant I am bigger admitted the
elephant but it won't work I'm an Asian
elephant I just don't have the
programming for
aggression no one had any other ideas it
seemed all the animals just stared
around at each other until finally a
deer spoke
up we could suggest an agreement instead
we could deliver food to the lion every
day and by food I mean us we could
volunteer to send one of us every day
then we can be in charge of something
even if it's just to decide how many of
us are killed and maybe we can charge
him some sort of a subscription fee
too if he kills for pleasure will he be
happy with that asked the
elephant it's worth a try said the
snake I heard him complaining the other
day about all the chasing and running
around all right it's a good idea said
the
elephant oh it's not mine said the deer
I got the idea from last week's stories
from India podcast when some villagers
came to a similar agreement with
bakasur I verified it with my financial
adviser who suggested that in these
volatile times it is better to convert
your floating rate losses into a fixed
rate
one interesting said the elephant it may
prompt some listeners to hear last
week's episode but it doesn't add any
value to us here so let's just move on
turning to all the the animals he asked
all in
favor I said all the animals but
half-heartedly this isn't quite what
they were hoping for but it was a small
Improvement the eagle was chosen to give
the message to the lion since he could
quickly fly Out Of Reach of the Lion's
Paws if
necessary the lion heard the
proposal you're basically telling me I'm
going to get my four square meals a day
Del to my doorstep every single
day uh uh uh said the eagle not four
square Meals one meal that's all lions
eat anyway you'll not go hungry we may
send a different kind of animal every
day but rest assured we'll make sure
your catered meal is filling you have to
promise us not to kill anyone else
though the lion was happy ooh so my meal
will be a surprise every day I love
surprises he was happy to go along with
the
arrangement and so it
began every day animals Drew straws and
the one who got the shortest went to the
lion and was promptly
eaten this went on for a while the
animals were still miserable but at
least they were okay until the next time
the straws were
drawn finally it was a little rabbit
that Drew the shortest
straw this was horrible news since a
rabbit is hardly enough the arrangement
would have required his entire family to
go as a single package
meal and his family his wife and 10
newly born little babies he was
devastated and yet he had no
choice other animals had sacrific
themselves and their families to the
lion and it would not be fair for him to
hold out
now he needed to gather his family and
head to the Lion's Den
soon it was almost time and the lion
would soon be
hungry but then he decided his babies
and his wife must be protected he would
find a way he said goodbye to his wife
casually Without Really revealing that
he had drawn the Short Straw that
day as he made his way slowly to the
Lion's Den he glanced around everywhere
looking for
inspiration and then he found it right
in the middle of the forest a
well because a perfectly normal
placement for a well is miles and miles
away from the nearest human
settlement the rabbit peaked in and saw
his own Reflection In The Water urea he
said I've got
it the lion was getting hungrier but the
rabbit did stop and celebrate and that
was part of his plan he took the long
way around to the Lion's cave he was
deliberately late but not late enough
that the lion wouldn't just go around
and start killing everyone in
sight he finally reached the Lion's
Den the lion was very very hungry and he
was
raging he asked the rabbit you is that
all they sent after keeping me hungry
for so long this is a violation of our
agreement I'm going to eat you up then
kill everyone in the
forest obviously the lion wasn't
thinking long term if he killed everyone
he'd have no one left to eat the next
day but that was just him being
thoughtless in his
anger the rabbit though completely
frightened of the Lion
managed to say in a very Meek voice
please sir I'll
explain we animals had chosen a dozen of
the plumpest rabbits for your dinner we
were hopping Along on our way here and
we would have reached much earlier but
then we ran into the other
Lion Wait what asked the lion there is
no other lion this is my
Forest that's exactly what he said
continued the rabbit he caught all of us
we begged and pleaded with him to let us
go as we were promised to
you he didn't
listen at least when he was eating the
other 11 rabbits one by one finally and
maybe because he had had enough rabbit
for one night he let me go he ordered me
to come to you as a message of
sorts the lion who was already in a foul
mood thanks to his hunger now roared
with outrage who was this upstart who
dared to enter his forest and intercept
his meal
service he commanded the rabbit to take
him to the other lion right
away and the rabbit took the lion to the
other Li's Castle as he called it which
was actually just the
well he approached slowly and said look
in the castle you'll see the
lion the lion did
and was surprised to see a mean and
scary lion looking back at
him obviously he had never seen his own
reflection
before the lion roared but the other
lion roared right back he could see the
other lion roar and the well echoed the
roar very annoyed and angry the lion
pounced on this
newcomer only to
discover what
water and that the well was deep so
there was no way he could get out he
screamed and roared all he could but
there was no way out he
drowned the news spread quickly and
everyone was delighted to be rid of the
line they hailed the rabbit as their
hero and lived happily ever
after our Second Story is also set in a
forest and also involves a lion and a
rabbit
the rabbit having had a big lunch
decided to take a nap under the oak
tree because wouldn't that be a
perfectly normal thing for rabbits to do
in a forest surrounded by predators of
all
kinds he was sleeping soundly when
suddenly something hit him on the
head instead of bothering to look around
he came to the only reasonable
conclusion possible surely
the sky was breaking and pieces were
falling on him oh no he ran as fast as
he could just a panic reaction given he
couldn't really do anything
else he did one other thing though he
shouted to everyone around him the sky
is
falling the first few that saw the
rabbit had the exact reaction he did
they themselves panicked and ran and
spread the message
soon deers rabbits foxes jackles all
kinds of birds even the elephants were
running in all
directions and then they heard a loud
roar it was the lion their King who had
just been Disturbed out of his
Siesta what's the matter he
said all animals spoke at
once the sky is falling we are all going
to be crushed oh what do we do
two lions aren't good at science as a
rule remember the last
story but even this lion knew how wrong
that
sounded how do you know it's falling he
asked when everyone started shouting all
at once he roared again until there was
Silence You elephant he said how do you
know the sky was falling did you see
something the elephant replied I heard
it from the deer I didn't actually see
it
the deer hadn't seen anything either he
had heard it from the fox who heard it
from someone
else and ultimately everything pointed
to the
rabbit yes said the rabbit I saw it the
sky is falling on our heads a piece of
the sky hit me on the
head all right said the lion show me the
place where that
happened when the rabbit pointed to his
forehead the lion
clarified I meant the geographical
location where this event took
place the rabbit was afraid but couldn't
refuse a direct order from his King the
lion carried the rabbit on his back and
they swiftly reach the oak
tree when the rabbit pointed out the
exact spot where he'd been sleeping and
then seeing the Little Acorn right next
to that spot the lion surmised what had
happened
silly rabbit it wasn't a piece of the
sky it was just an
acorn imagine if it had been a meteorite
the rabbit would have been
right the first story is from the
panchatantra and the second one is from
the jatak
tales the punch Tantra is a collection
of stories that was more accessible to
the common person at a time when other
texts were more exclusive and reserved
for the Eli lead
classes the jatak tales were a series of
stories by the Buddha they were all tiny
stories that conveyed simple
messages the jatak tales appealed to the
masses because of the simple way they
conveyed a message in the second story's
case it was simply that we should be
careful whom we follow and basically be
ready to challenge assertions when
necessary this story probably served as
the inspiration for the children's tale
chicken lien or Chicken Little and many
more adaptations into other
cultures that's it for this week the
character of the week is
dura Durga is a warrior goddess she's an
avatar of Shakti which literally means
energy and also of Parvati who was the
partner of Shiva the Destroyer Dura was
born after my dad messed up yep if you
haven't heard the earlier episodes
Brahma the Creator is my dad and he's
also particularly easy to please worship
him and he gives people whatever they
want so when the Buffaloe headed demon
king called mahishasur prayed to Brahma
to make him Immortal Brahma immediately
obliged There is almost always a
loophole there was one this time as well
mahishasur asked that no man or God
should be able to defeat him yep man he
didn't say person and he didn't exclude
goddesses when the gods failed to stop
mahishasur's reign of terror they
couldn't so they got together and
created Dura a warrior goddess she had
either eight or 10 hands with a
different weapon in each and she was
sitting on either a tiger or a lion she
was happy to help she promptly defeated
mahishasura there's a festival in her
honor called the durap Puja which
literally means worshiping
Dura next week we'll cover the first of
the Bikram and Bethal stories you'll
find out how a Bethal which is a kind of
a vampire like creature can give you
life lessons using brain teasers and
you'll learn why it's better to eat
fruit as soon as you receive it and not
pile it away
somewhere the character next week is a
real historical King not a mythological
one this King stood up to one of the
greatest conquerors of all time and that
one act of defiance earned him
everyone's respect including the
conquerors since I'm several thousands
of years old old naturally my memory may
be imperfect at times so if you see any
errors in my podcast please Point them
out to me if you have any questions
comments or suggestions please leave a
comment or a review on the site it's SFI
podcast.com the site is also linked in
the show notes and the Twitter handle is
@ SFI
podcast the music is from purple
planet.com that's purple planet.com I'd
like to thank my family and friends
there are far too many to call out
individually everyone has shown
incredible support for this podcast and
I'm very grateful for
that I'd also like to thank all of you
listeners for all the feedback I've been
getting it really helps improve the show
thank you very much for that see you
next
[Music]
week
oh
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