Topic Research: Death Stories by Yama
I think that the most interesting topic for me to pursue is Death Stories. As I said in my earlier Topic Brainstorm post: "Other than birth, death is the singular uniting constant in the human experience, and consequently, the most universal theme in literature and life. To write about death is to write about life -- about what it means to be alive, because life is predicated on the looming certainty of death."
I think that examining the concept of death -- especially what makes a 'good' or heroic death -- in Indian epic, as compared to Greek epic (thus examining the both the Eastern and Western viewpoints), would reveal a lot to me about how the Indian people contemporary with the composition of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata cope with death as an idea-construct.
I think that my stories will center around Yama, the god of death, as narrator who greets the dying and examines whether he/she is 'good,' whether the death was 'good,' and what it means to be 'good' in both of these contexts. I think that a crossover with a character in the Iliad -- Hector, probably -- would be incredibly interesting. This would allow me to examine samsara in comparison to the Western finality of death, and the bearing it has on the judgements placed on the dying person: for the Greek, where in the Underworld he/she will end up (and for the modern Christian, whether he/she will go to Heaven or Hell); for the Indian, what the next reincarnation will be, and whether it will be a 'heaven' or 'hell' to live as the next being. The concepts of Dharma versus the Greek Kleos would be interesting to compare, as well.
I will need to do more research on the nature of samsara, karma, and the process by which someone who dies is 'placed' in the next life, both as a living thing (if not human), and if human, in a higher or lower caste. Also, from what I've read and heard so far, I will likely be working mostly with the Mahabharata and less with the Ramayana.
Story Ideas:
1. Yama and the Mahabharata -- Because Yama is an important character in the Mahabharata and is the father of on of the main heroes, I think that seeing his perspective on death (as the god of death) with the personal attachment of a child in the Mahabharata would be interesting. I have not read the Mahabharata yet so I do not have a very clear vision of this one; I just know that it is similar to the Iliad in many ways and therefore would be good to use in this context.
2. Yama and a Conversation with Hades, (a hero from the Mahabharata/Ramayana), and Hector -- I think the crossover of deities and heroes, acting as a crossover of philosophies and worldviews, would be really cool. The characters would be able to talk about the nature of dying, what comes after, and their approach to the end of their life (at least in their current form).
3. Yama and Dasharatha -- Here, the father of Rama in the Ramayana, Dasharatha, loses his son and dies of grief. Since Yama is a father of a hero in the Mahabharata, I think that an examination of death and fatherhood and the role of parental grief would be interesting to make into a story. I still don't know what happens to Yama's son, nor have I completed the Ramayana so Dasharatha could pop up again reincarnated, but the role of fatherhood, even in death, in ancient Indian society makes for an interesting story, I think.
Sources:
- R.K Narayan's Ramayana
- R.K Narayan's Mahabharata
- Homer's Iliad, trans. Robert Fagles
- Wikipedia: concepts like samsara and Dharma: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
I think that examining the concept of death -- especially what makes a 'good' or heroic death -- in Indian epic, as compared to Greek epic (thus examining the both the Eastern and Western viewpoints), would reveal a lot to me about how the Indian people contemporary with the composition of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata cope with death as an idea-construct.
I think that my stories will center around Yama, the god of death, as narrator who greets the dying and examines whether he/she is 'good,' whether the death was 'good,' and what it means to be 'good' in both of these contexts. I think that a crossover with a character in the Iliad -- Hector, probably -- would be incredibly interesting. This would allow me to examine samsara in comparison to the Western finality of death, and the bearing it has on the judgements placed on the dying person: for the Greek, where in the Underworld he/she will end up (and for the modern Christian, whether he/she will go to Heaven or Hell); for the Indian, what the next reincarnation will be, and whether it will be a 'heaven' or 'hell' to live as the next being. The concepts of Dharma versus the Greek Kleos would be interesting to compare, as well.
The Iliad and the Mahabharata, West and East. A collision course I'm here for. Source.
Story Ideas:
1. Yama and the Mahabharata -- Because Yama is an important character in the Mahabharata and is the father of on of the main heroes, I think that seeing his perspective on death (as the god of death) with the personal attachment of a child in the Mahabharata would be interesting. I have not read the Mahabharata yet so I do not have a very clear vision of this one; I just know that it is similar to the Iliad in many ways and therefore would be good to use in this context.
2. Yama and a Conversation with Hades, (a hero from the Mahabharata/Ramayana), and Hector -- I think the crossover of deities and heroes, acting as a crossover of philosophies and worldviews, would be really cool. The characters would be able to talk about the nature of dying, what comes after, and their approach to the end of their life (at least in their current form).
3. Yama and Dasharatha -- Here, the father of Rama in the Ramayana, Dasharatha, loses his son and dies of grief. Since Yama is a father of a hero in the Mahabharata, I think that an examination of death and fatherhood and the role of parental grief would be interesting to make into a story. I still don't know what happens to Yama's son, nor have I completed the Ramayana so Dasharatha could pop up again reincarnated, but the role of fatherhood, even in death, in ancient Indian society makes for an interesting story, I think.
Sources:
- R.K Narayan's Ramayana
- R.K Narayan's Mahabharata
- Homer's Iliad, trans. Robert Fagles
- Wikipedia: concepts like samsara and Dharma: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
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