Reading Notes Appendix 2 The History of Visvamitra

This week, I decided that I would chose a story based off of one of the characters that I have previously read about. Last week, in the Sacred Tales of India I read about Visvamitra and planned to use him as an influence and model for one of my characters in this week's story. The reason that I like Appendix 2: The History of Visvamitra,is that this story gave me more information and background about Visvamitra, that I was able to tailor my character to. Also, this appendix gave me details about Visvamitra that would not have been further covered or thought about unless I had come across this illustration.

The Battle for the Sacred Cow. Commons Wikimedia

Appendix 2: The History of Visvamitra, begins the story with a re-telling of the Sacred Cow. I know this because I read the story. Furthermore, the story illustrates how Visvamitra is so memorized by the rishi's magical cow that he is willing to use force. Reading this appendix, I had a better understanding of the cow's ability and why it was so important for Visvamitra to possess the cow. I like how this story, in comparison to the Sacred Cow, capitalized on how much the king lost and how the king was still shown mercy for being greedy. After the cow demolishes Visvamitra's army, he is granted a boon that allows him to possess the knowledge of warfare along all mystic weapons. This new knowledge made Visvamitra's "big head" even bigger. Visvamitra abused his power. After being accosted by the brahmin, Vasistha, for his arrogance, Visvamitra devoted himself to meditation and ascetism.

Bibliography: Dharma, Krisna. Appendix 2: The History of Visvamitra. Ramayana. Print.