Mahabharata Katha: Adi Parva

These are some recordings I have made of Mahabharata Katha from the Adi Parva of Mahabharata

https://soundcloud.com/rasikananda/sets/krishna-stories

List of Characters,etc. for The Illustrated guide to the vedic universe

ABHIMANYU
ADHARMA.
ADHIRATHA. Foster father of Karna.
ADITI
AGASTYA.
AGASTYA KUTTA. This is the sacred mount where the sage, Agastya, sat and did penance during his sojourn in the
southern parts of India. In the Kiskindha Kanda of Valmiki Ramayana we find King Sugriva commanding that all .his
soldiers going in search of Sita should pay homage to the sage Agastya.
AGASTYA-ASRAMA.
AGHA.
AGNI.
AGNILOKA.
AGNIVESA
AHALYA.
AHICCHATRA (M). A state under the sovereignty of  King Pancala. On the completion of his studies under  Drona
Arjuna brought before his preceptor King Dru  pada as a captive in discharge of the duty he owed to  him  as his
master. Drupada then gave the state- of  Ahicchatra to Drona
AHIMSA. Non-injury.
Airavata
AITAREYA
AJAGAVA. Ajagava is a bow made of the horns of a goat and a cow. Brahmins tormented the right hand of the King
Vena. From it the brilliant Prthu who shone brightly like the God Agni, appeared as the son of Vena. At that time the
very first Ajagava bow, divine arrows and armours dropped from the sky. (Visnu Purana, Part I, Chapter 13 ) .
AJAMILA. AKRTAVRANA.
Akrura
AKSAHRDAYA. A sacred chant or mantra.
One who knows this sacred chant can find out all secrets of a game of dice and can count within rap time the
number of leaves, fruits and flowers on a tree.
AKSAUHINI. A big division of an army
AKSAYAPATRA. This is a copper vessel given to Dharmaputra by Surya (Sun
ALAKANANDA. River Gariga of devaloka.
ALAMBUSA 1. Son of the Rackshasha
ALAMBUSA 2. A Rackshasha, the son of Jatasura. Ghatotkaca killed this giant in the battle.
ALAYUDHA. A Rackshasha. He was the brother of Bakasura.
AMARAVATI. It is the city of Indra, the King of the Devas.
AMBA. Dauter of a King of Kasi.
AMBALIKA. (1) The youngest of the three daughters of the King of Kasi
AMBARISA I. A King of the Iksvaku dynasty.
AMRTAM  a delicious and precious food obtained from the ocean of Milk when the Devas and Asuras churned it
ANANTA . (ADI-SESHA).
ANASIYA. Wife of Sage Atri, son of Brahma.
ANDHAKA . An Asura.
ANGA. A King belonging to the Candra varhsa. (Lunar dynasty).
ANGADA . A son of Bali.
ANGA (M) . The kingdom ruled by King Anga. Other details
ANGARAKA . An Asura who took the form of a pig.
ANGIRAS
ANIRUDDHA. Grandson of Sri Krsna.
ANJANA.  Mother of Hanuman-Wife of Kesari,
ANJANA. This is an elephant belonging to the Asuras. ANJANA PARVAN. He was the son of Ghatotkaca
ANUHLADA. Brother of Prahlada.
ANUVINDA  The puranas refer to one Anuvinda, a prince of Avanti.
APSARAS. * An Apsaras is a nymph (devastri). These apsara women were born at the churning of the ocean of Milk.
(Valmiki Ramayana, Balakanda, Chapter 45, Verse 32 and Visnu Purana, Part I, Chapter 9 and Agni Purana, Chapter
3) . There are thousands of Apsaras. (Details given against the names of Apsaras).
ARAKKILLAM. (Palace of wax).
ARAYANNAM. The swan (Harirsa).
ARISTA (ARISTAKA). An asura, a servant of Kamsa.
ARISTANEMI  One of the six sons of Vinata.
ARJUNA. The third of the Pandavas.
ARUNA
ASIKNI  A wife of Daksa
ASITADEVALA.
AS0KA I. The charioteer of Bhimasena
ASTADOTAGUNA(S). The eight qualities of a good messenger. (1) He should not stand perplexed when he is being
given the message to carry. (2) He must be smart and enthusiastic. (3) He must have compassion for those in
distress. (4) He must run his errand quickly. (5) He must be mild. (6) He should not be duped by the cunning words
of others. (7) He must be healthy. (8) He must be able to talk convincingly.
ASTAKA . A Rajarsi born to Visvamitra of Madhavi, wife of Yayati.
ASTAKASTA(S). Kama (lust), Krodha (anger), Lobha (greed), Moha (delusion), Mada (arrogance), Matsarya (rivalry),
Dambha (pride) and Asuya (jealousy).
ASTALOHA(S). Eight metals.
ASTAMANGALA. Brahmins, bow, Fire, gold, ghee, Sun, water and King.
ASTA-VASU(S). 8 Vasus
ASTAVIDHANAYIKA(S). Eight kinds of heroines of the stage
ASTAVIDHAPRAKIZTYAVASTHA (S) . Earth, Water, Agni, Air, Ether, Mind, Intelligence and Egotism.
ASTAVIVAHA (S) Eight kinds of marriage. (1) Brahma (2) Daiva (3) Arsa (4) Prajapatya (5) Gandharva (6) Asura (7)
Raksasa (8) Paisaca.
ASTRA. Asura
ASVATTHAMA.
ASVINIKUMARA(S) (ASVINIDEVAS). Satya and Dasra, the two sons of Surya (The Sun) are called Asivianikumaras.
ATALA. This is one of the seven sections of Patfila. The seven sections are : Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talatala, Mahatala,
Rasatala, Patala.
ATHARVA(M). Among the Vedas, this has the fourth place.
ATIKAYA. One of the sons of Ravana.
ATITHI (guest). In ancient Bharata Atithi-satkara (hospitality to a guest) was considered as a yajfia.
ATRI
AVANTI  VAIVISA. (The Dynasty of Avanti) .
AVATARA. (Incarnation). The incarnations of Mahavisnu
ACAMANA. First drink water three times accompanied by incantations
ADITYA. The twelve sons born to the sage Kasyapa
AJAGARAVRATA. The vrata practised by the sage, Ajagara
AJAGAVA. The bow of Mandhata and PTthu and the Gandiva of Arjuna bear the name Ajagava.
ANA (Elephant).
ARYANS.
ASTIKA. The son of the Maharsi Jaratkaru and his wife
ATREYA. A sage
AYURVEDA. It is the •science which Dhanvantari taught

B
BABHRUDAIVAVRDHA. A Yadava king.
BABHRUVAHANA. A son of Arjuna.
BADARIKASRAMA. (BADARYASRAMA). A very holy place in the Himalayas. It was here that Nara and Narayana did
penance for thousands of years and the Puranas, therefore, give it a very prominent place in them.
BAHU . A king of the Surya-varhsa (solar dynasty). He was the father of Sagara.
BAHUBHARYATVA. (Polygamy).
BAKA I. A demon.
BAKA II. A demon. As young boys Sri Krsna and Balaramabhadra
BALA . A son of Mayasura.
BALABHADRA. (Balabhadrarama, Balarama, Baladeva). The elder brother of Sri Krsna
BALHIKA  A son of Pratipa; a King of the Kuru dynasty. He had two brothers, Devapi and Santanu.
BALI (MAHABALI) I. An emperor of the Asuras. He was the son of Virocana and the grandson of Prahlada.
BALI. A mighty monkey-king.
BANA . A mighty and powerful Asura.
BANDHUDAYADA. A son who can claim to be a heir.
BARBARIKA. Son of Maurvi born of Ghatotkaca,
BHADRAKALI. Another form of Parvati.
BHAGADATTA. Bhagadatta was King of Pragjyotisapura
BHAGTRATHA.
BHAIRAVA  A Parsada of Siva.
BHAKTI. A  devi
BHARADVAJA . The sage Bharadvaja of Puranic fame.
BHARANI. One of the twentyseven constellations.
BHARATA . Son of Dusyanta born of Sakuntala.BHARATA II. Son of Dasaratha.
BHARATA III. A son of Rsabha.
BHARATA (MAHABHARATA). An epic written by Vyasa.
BHARATA . (Bbaratavarsa. India).
BHARYA. Wife.
BHIMA. Bhimasena, one of the five Pandavas.
BHISMA.
Bramha
Brighu

C
CAKRA(M) I. Sudarsana Cakra (disc) of Mahavisnu.
CAKRA-VYUHA. A Phalanx.
CAKSUSAMANU.
CAKSUS. An art, the study of which will enable one to see anything in the three worlds
CAMARA (M) . A rod (handle) with large tuft of hair,.
CANDIKA. A terrific form of Parvati, who is worshipped in temples under the name Candikadevi
CANDRA  (CANDRA DEVA).
CANDRAHASA (M). Ravana's sword.
CANDRAVAMSA. A royal dynasty the kings of which ruled India for a long time.
CATURMASYA. A penance (Vrata) which continues for four months.
CATURUPAYAM. The four means used by Kings in olden times to achieve their objects are called Caturupayam.
Sama, dana, bheda and danda
CATURVARNYAM. (The four Castes, Classes).
CEDI. A king of the Yaduvarnsa.
CEKITANA. king
CERIPPU. (FOOTWEAR). There is a story in Mahabharata of how (footwear and umbrella) were born.
CHAYA. A substitute of Sariljna, daughter of Visvakarma.
CINTAMANI. A diamond.
CITRAGUPTA. A minister of Kala. (God of death). His duty is to examine, after the death of men, a list of the good
and evil actions they had done while living. (M.B. Anusasana Parva, Chapter 130).
CITRAKETU . An emperor,
CITRANGADA  A son of the Maharaja Santanu.
CITRANGADA  A gandharva.
CITRANGADA . A wife of Arjuna.CITRARATHA. A devagandharva.
CITRASENA . A gandharva.
COLA. A very righteous emperor of Kancipura.
COLA (M). The three celebrated kingdoms of SouthIndia of old were Cola, Pindya and Cera.
CYAVANA. A celebrated sage of the Bhirgava dynasty.

D
DADHICA. (DADHICI).
DAKSA.
DAMAYANTI Daughter of Bhima the King of Vidarbha. One of the most noble of all the Vedic heroines,
DANDANITI. (The laws of chastisement).
DANTAVAKTRA . He was the rebirth of Vijaya,
DANU .
DARUKA Sri Krsna's charioteer.
DASARATHA. (Nemi). A famous king of the Iksvaku dynasty. He was the father of Sri Rama.
DATTATREYA. (DATTA). A hermit famous in the puranas.
DAYAKRAMA. (INHERITANCE).
DEVA (S). Gods or deities.
DEVAHUTI. A daughter of Svayambhuva Manu
DEVAKI. Mother of gri Krsna.
DEVALA
DEVAYANI. Sukracarya's daughter.
DEVI. (Prakriti).
DEVIPITHA. The dead body of Sati-devi crumbled into 41. Vipula Vipula  small pieces and fell in different places
DHANURVEDA.
DHANVANTARI   a preceptor in Ayurveda.DHARMA. A deva
DHARMAPUTRA. The eldest of the Pandavas,
DHAUMYA  A hermit.
DHENUKA.. A fierce Raksasa  with the figure of a donkey.
DHRSTADYUMNA. The son of King Drupada. He was brother of Paficali.
DHRSTAKETU
DHRTARASTRA. I. Father of the Kauravas.
DHYANA. ( Meditation)
DIRGHATAMAS. A great Muni.
DITI.
DRAVYASUDDHI. Purifying impure things,
DRONA . The teacher in archery of the Pdndavas and the Kauravas.
DRUPADA. ( Saumaki,' Yajnasena). Father of Pancali.
DUNDUBHI A terrible asura, son of Maya and brother of Mayavi.
DURGA. The goddess of the universe
DURGAMA. An asura chief born in the dynasty of Hiranyaksa and son of Tarn,
DURJAYA
DURMUKHA  One of the hundred sons of Dhrtarastra.
DURVASAS

E

EKACAKRA. A village where the Pandavas lived for some time .
EKADASI. The eleventh day after a new moon or full moon day.
EKALAVYA . Son of Hiranyadhanus, a King of the foresters. He went to Dronacarya to learn archery.
EKAVIRA' (HEHAYA). A founder of the Hehaya line of kings.

G.
GADA. A weapon.
GADA . A brother (Yadava) of Balabhadrarama.
GADHI  Father of Visvamitra.
GALAVA. A celebrated sage.
GANAPATI. A son of Siva with face like that of an elephant.
GANDHAMADANA(M). A mountain famed in the Puranas
GANDHARA. A stretch of land of ancient Bharata.
GANDHARI. Wife of Dhrtarastra.
GANDHARVA . Gandharvas are sons born to the famous Kasyapaprajapati of his wife, Aristha
GANDHARVA-VIVAHA. A marriage settled by the boy and the girl of their own accord. A love marriage.
GANDIVA. The famous bow of Arjuna.
GANGA. The famous and holy river of India.
GARGA.
GARUDA. King of birds.
GAUTAMA
GAYA. A particular locality in North India
GAYA-TIRTHA
GAYATRI
GHATOTKACA.
GHRTACI. She was an exceptionally beautiful apsara woman, and she revelled in disturbing the peace of the sages
GIRIVRAJA. A city which has gained great importance in all the Puranas of India.
GODAVARI. A river of South India. This river has been glorified much in the Puranas.GOKARNA. A sacred place of Puranic importance situated on the extreme north of Kerala*
GOMATI. (KAUSIKI). A celebrated river of Puranic fame. This is worshipped as a goddess.
GOVARDHANA. A mountain of Ambadi (Gokula). This is believed to be a form of Krsna.
GRAHAS (PLANETS).
GRHASTHA. In ancient India the life of a male person was divided into four stages, namely, Brahmacarya
Garhasthya, Vanaprastha and Sannyasa. He who is in the second stage of life is called a Grhastha.
GUHA. King of the country of Nisadas
GUHYAKA. (A division of Yaksas who were prominent members of the court of Kubera).
GURUPARAMPARA. The origin of the Vedas and the lineage of Gurus is given below:                            

H
 
HAHA. A Gandharva,
HAMSA A minister of jarasandha.
HANUMAN. A great servant of Rama
HARISCANDRA . A King of the solar dynasty very much reputed for his unique truthfulness and integrity.
HASTINAPURA. Capital city of the Pandavas.
HAYAGRIVA . An incarnation of Visnu.
HIMAVAN. (THE HIMALAYAS).
HIRANYA. (Hiranyakasipu, Hiranyaksa)
HOMA KUNDA (M). The pit for making offerings during yajfias
HUHU. A Gandharva, son of Kasyapaprajapati by Pradha.

I
IKSVAKU.1 A son of Vaivasvata Manu.
ILA . Daughter of Vaivasvata Maim.
INDRA.
INDRADYUMNA  A King born in the dynasty of Svayambhuva Manu, and a king of the Pandya country.
INDRADYUMNA . A king who lived in the Krta yuga, and a devotee of Visnu. He established the jagannatha temple
INDRAJIT. Ravana's son, Meghanada.
INDRANI. Wife of Indra (Saci)
INDRAPRASTHA. Capital city of the Pandavas.
INDRAPUJA: This puja (Indra-worship)
IRAVAN. A son born to Arjuna of the serpent damsel (Nagakanya) named Ulupi.

J
JABALI
JAHNU.  Gangas name Jhanavi comes from this sageF
JAMADAGNI. A hermit of majestic power. He was the father of Parasurama.
JAMBAVAN. A hero of extraordinary might. He was the minister of Sugriva.
JANAKA.Father of Sita
JANALOKA. One of the fourteen worlds.
JANAMEJAYA I. A famous King of the Solar dynasty
JARA. (Raksasi).
JARASANDHA I. A terrible King of Magadha.
JATAYU. A bird famous in the Puranas.
JAYADRATHA 1. A mighty warrior King who ruled over the kingdom of Sindhu.
JAYANTA . Son of Indra.
JYOTISA(M). (Astronomy and astrology).

K
KABANDHA.
KACA. The first son of Brhaspati. That extremely beautiful boy was a great favourite of the devas.
KADRU. Wife of Kasyapa and daughter of Daksaprajapati.
KAIKEIYI
KAILASA
KAITABHA.
KAKA (CROW).
KALA. Art. The sixtyfour arts
KALA  (YAMA). The god of Death.
KALAMANA. (Calculating time
KALI I. Incarnation of sin, the Sin-god.
KALINDI (YAMUNA).
KALINDIDVIPA. It was on this island that Vyasa was born
KALINGA An ancient place in the south of Bharata.
KALIYA.
KALKI. The tenth avatara (incarnation) of Mahavisnu.
K AMA  Cupid
KAMADHENU: (SURABHI-NANDINI).
KAMSA . Son of Ugrasena, King of Mathura, and an incarnation of an Asura called Kalanemi.
KANVA  . (KASYAPA). Foster Father of shakuntalaKAPILA . A fierce sage.
KARNA  The eldest son of Kunti.
KARTAV IRYARJUNA (KARTAV IRYA) . A renowned King of the Hehaya dynasty.
KASYAPA . Chief among the Prajapatis.
KAURAVA (S) .
KAUSTUBHA.
KHANDAVADAHA.
KILI (PARROT).
KIMPURUSA.
KISKINDHA. An ancient kingdom of the monkeys in South India
KRPA  (KRPACARYA).
KRPI.
SRI KRSNA. Born in the Yadava dynasty as the son of Vasudeva and Devaki,
KRTAVARMA. A King of the Vrsni dynasty.
KSETRA (S). Sacred spots.
KSIRASAGARA. Sea of Milk
KUBERA.
KUMBHAKARNA.
KUNTI (PRTHA). Wife of King Pandu and the mother of the Pandavas,
KUNTIBHOJA.
KURU
KURUKSETRA.
KUSA Il. One of the two sons of Sri Rama, the other, being Lava.

L
Lakshman Son born to Dagaratha of Sumitra
LAKSMI I. Consort of Mahavisnu.
LANKA. The kingdom of Ravana.
LOKA.
LOMAPADA (ROMAPADA). A King of the country of Anga.
LOMASA I (ROMASA) I. A sage, who was a great story-.teller.

M
MAGHA . One of the twentyseven constellations.
MAHAMERU. The golden coloured peak of Himavan. The seat of Lord diva, according to the Puranas.
MAHISA. An Asura.
MAINAKA
MAITREYA. A sage of great brilliance of ancient India.
MANDODARI Wife of Ravana.
MANGALA. A deity in the form of Kuja or Planet Mars.
Markendaya
Maya Danava

N
NAGALOKA.
NAGARA. In ancient days there were rules and principles regulating the construction of a city.
NAGASTRA. A destructive weapon (arrow
NAHUSA I. A famous King of the Lunar dynasty.
NAKSATRAYOGA. It is ordained in the Puranas that alms-giving on each star or day will be rewarded by particular
attainments. This is called Naksatrayoga.
NAKULA.
NALA  Nala the King of Nisadha
NALAKUBARA. A son of Vaisravana. He had a brother called Manigriva.
NANDAGOPA. Foster-father of Sri Krsna.
NARA  A hermit of divine power.
NARADA. A very famous sage of the Puranas.
NARAKA  (NARAKASURA). A valiant Asura.
NARAYANA. One of the two Rsis famous as Naranarayanas.
NIMI  A famous emperor who was the son of Ik svaku,

P
PANCABHUTA. Prthvi (earth), Ap (water), Tejas (fire), Vayu (air) and Akasa (ether)
PANCALI. Draupadi, wife of the Pandavas.
PANDAVAS.
PANDU . Father of the Pandavas.
PARASARA
PARASARAMA
PARVATI. Wife of Siva.
PASUPATA. . The missile of Siva.
PATALA. The last of the seven regions or worlds under the earth
PATTU (TEN).
PRACETAS.
PRADYUMNA.
PRAHLADA .
PRITHU . A King of great virtue part of Vishnu born in the line of Dhruva.
PULASTYA. One of the Prajapatis.
PURU  A celebrated king of Candravamsa.
PURURAVAS.  A prominent king of the (lunar race).
PUSKARA .
PUSPAKA . A divine Aerial Chariot.

R
RADHA Sri. Krsna's dearest consort.
RAGHU.
RAHU. An Asura.
RAJA (N) . All the important Puranas have laid special emphasis on the importance of rules for Kings.
RAJANITI. (Politics and administration).
RAKSASA  Bhutalords
RAKTABIJA. Blood demon
RAMA (SRI RAMA). The seventh incarnation of Mahavisnu, a very powerful king of the solar dynasty.
RAMAYANA.
RANTIDEVA. The Kindest and the most liberal of the Kings in ancient India.
RATI  Wife of Kamadeva
RAVANA. The Raksasa King of Lanka who had ten heads.
RBHUS.Rbhus are a group of divine beings who attained divinity by performing tapas
RSABHA  A muni (sage) who was the grandson of King Agnidhra.
RUKMI
RUKMINI. The chief queen of Sri Krsna.

S
SABARI. A woman of the tribe of forest-dwellers. Sri Rama, during his life in the forest, gave her salvation.
SACI. Daughter of Puloma and wife of Indr a.
SAGARA. A king of the solar dynasty, Sagara ruled Ayodhya.
SAHADEVA
SAIVACAPA. Siva's bow. It was made by Visvakarma.
SAKUNA.(OMENS).
SAKUNI
SAKUNTALA. Foster-daughter of sage Kanva.
SALAGRAMA. A stone emblem of Visnu.
SALVA
SALYA.
SAMBA . The son born to Sri Krsna by his wife jambavati.
Sibi
Siva
Sveta
Shikandi
Satyaki

T
 
TAKSAKA I. A fierce serpent.
TAPATI. A daughter of Surya.
TATAKA. A fierce demoness.
TEJOVATI. The capital city of Agni.).
TILOTTAMA. A prominent celestial maiden.
TRIGARTA. A powerful kingdom of ancient Bharata.
TRIPURA. A phantom city built by Maya.
TULASI. (Holy Basil plant.
TUMBITRU 1. A Deva Gandharva. He was the best musician among the Gandharvas.

U
UCCAISSRAVAS
UDDHAVA.
UGRASENA . King Ugrasena, father of Kamsa:
ULUKA. The son of sakuni.
ULUTPI. Wife of Arjuna.
URAGA. A class of serpents.
URVASI I. A famous celestial damsel.
USA . The daughter of Banasura and the wife of Aniruddha.
UTTANKA
UTTARA . The son of King Virata of Matsya
UTTARA Daughter of Virata, the King of Matsya.

V
VAIKUNTHA . The trancendental dwelling place of Mahavisnu.
VAISAMPAYANA.
VAJRAYUDHA (Thunderbolt). The famous weapon of Indra.
VALMIKI . A hermit who was the first among poets and the author of Ramayana.
VAMANA I. An incarnation of Mahavisru.
VARAHA. (Boar). One of the ten incarnations of Mahavisnuu
VARUNA . One of the eight guardians of the quarters. God of the ocean
VASISTHA. A hermit who was the son of Brahma
VASUDEVA. Father of Sri Krsna.
VASUKI. One of the famous Nagas (serpents).
VASUKITIRTHA. A holy place situated on the banks of the Ganga in Prayaga.
VAYU - One of the eight guardians of the world. (God of Prana).
VENA . An ancient King who was notorious for his bad rule.
VIBHISANA . Brother of Ravana.
VIDURA .
VIKARNA I. One of the hundred sons of Dhrtarastra.
VIKRAMADITYA. Vikramaditya, who is believed to be one of the mighty emperors of Bharata,
VINDA. A prince of Avanti. It is stated that this Vinda had a brother called Anuvinda. The information obtained about
Vinda from Mahabharata is given below
Vishnu
Vishvamrita
Y
YADU . The founder of Yadava
YAJIVAVALKYA. scholar.
YAKSA.
YAYATI. An eminent king of the Lunar dynasty.
YUDDHA (WAR). In ancient times in India war was considered a "Rajadharma". A war declared under this law was
known as "Dharmayuddha"
YUYUTSU

Update

I have spent the past 2 months acquiring and  reading the Puranas.

I have obtained

Ramayana (sankrit with english translation)
Garuda Purana 3 vol
Varaha Purana 2 vol
Bhrama vivarvata purana 2 vol
Vishnu Purana 1 vol
Narasimha purana 1 vol (Sanksrit with english translation)
Markendaya Purana
Garga samhita
Shalpa Shastra
Vayu Purana
Linga Purana
Bramha Purana
Brahmanda Purana
Kurma Purana
Matsya Purana
Padma Purana
Hari Vamsa Purana
Narada Purana
and Puranic Encyclopedia

and of course Mahabharata which I already have

I still am looking forward to the Skanda and Agni Purana

I have been making a character list and getting info on the characters I am using for The Illustrated guide to the vedic universe 270 characters and 30 locations (more to come) and at least 80 animals plants and miscellaneous things like swords and bows and customs like the different marriages and swayambaras. Just working off of Mahabharata, and Ramayana have gotten over 800 pages down. watch out purranic encyclopedia.

I will post a list of the characters soon

We will be relaunching our Fundraiser for The Illustrated Guide to the Vedic Universe this summer Hopefully this year we can be successful.

The Next step to success

Dear friends,

Thank you so much for your support, encouragement and inspiration!

As our time for this Kickstarter campaign is nearly complete, we've decided to continue our efforts along with you from our own site http://www.vedicuniverse.org

We've devised a way to produce The Illustrated Guide to the Vedic Universe in phases, which combined will form the complete work as originally intended!
These smaller phase books will be more affordable and expedient to produce and will be fun and intriguing all on their own!
We'll be beginning with The Illustrated Guide to the Bhagavad-Gita, detailing the many characters throughout that great classic, many famous heros and saintly kings, and some most readers have known no more than by a passing name.

The pledges you've made on Kickstarter will not be charged, but if you would like to see this project happen, you can quickly and easily continue your support and receive your gifts by clicking here.

Thank you again for all the love and blessings you've given. We are deeply moved by this great opportunity to serve.

Sincerely
your servants
Rasikananda Das
Jagannatha Das

Article about our book on ISKCON NEWS website

New Illustrated Guide Promises Detailed Look at The Vedic Universe

By Madhava Smullen for ISKCON News on 6 Aug 2011

The book`s cover

Two second generation ISKCON devotees—Rasikananda Fitch and Jagannath Cassidy—are following in the footsteps of their parents and engaging their friends to create brand new devotional art for a modern age.
They’ve begun work on a fascinating series of books entitled The Illustrated Guide to the Vedic Universe, which will be presented in a similar format to existing popular guides on the Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, or Harry Potter universes, with a twist—the world portrayed in their books will be real.
And that’s not the only unique angle. The series is intended as the framework for all the pop media dream projects that gurukulis and devotees all over the world hope to either see or create themselves.
“To make a major production, you need to have source material to work from,” explains Rasikananda. “You need to know the scripturally accurate physical descriptions of your characters, information about what they wear and where they live, etc. So we decided to do the research which will enable ourselves and others to realize our dream projects, and put it in a series of books. They will be the spin-off point for anyone who wants to see a Mahabharata movie, or a Ramayan video game, or a Broadway Bhagavad-Gita, or cool children’s toys of famous figures like Krishna, Arjuna, and Bhima.”
In fact, it was Rasikananda and Jagannath’s own work on such an exciting project, that led them to the decision to create The Illustrated Guide to the Vedic Universe.
Inspired by his parents’ sculpture work at the ISKCON Los Angeles FATE museum, and a self-taught 3D animator at sixteen, Rasikananda received a call in 2005 inviting him to Ujjain, India, to work on a Mahabharata video-game concept funded by ISKCON guru Bhakti Charu Swami.
There, Rasikananda met Jagannatha, who was working as a research consultant on the project.
“We worked for one year developing the spiritual epic for the X-Box, PlayStation 2, and PC, and received interest from companies like Microsoft Games, Atari, and Capcom,” says Rasikananda. “But eventually the project was put on hold when our main investor decided to go with a company that had an existing track record instead. So I decided that the best way to go was to start with something small, such as this series of books, and build up. Then, by the time I was ready to start a major project again, I’d have excellent source material for it as well as a strong portfolio.”
In 2007, Rasikananda began collaborating on the Illustrated Guide to the Vedic Universe book series with Jagannath, who had garnered somewhat of a reputation for himself as a scholar of the Mahabharata. Jagannath had also already done around a thousand hours worth of research on the epic while working on his video game project.

Concept art by Dridha Vrata Dasa of the Pandava warrior Arjuna, according to the traditional Shilpa Sastra proportions
“I studied several versions of the Mahabharata in depth, beginning with Krishna Dharma’s edition, and going on to Kisari Mohan Ganguli’s, and then M.N. Dutt’s, which includes the authoritative Sanskrit verses as well as the English,” he says. “Finally, I studied the Vaishnava saint Madhavacharya’s 2,000 verse commentary the Mahabharata-Tatparya-Nirnaya, which the Mahabharata’s author Veda-Vyasa personally asked him to write.”
The result—The Illustrated Guide to the Vedic Universe will be packed with plenty of fascinating information many haven’t heard before.
The work will be divided into four sections, beginning with Places. “All the key locations in the Vedic Universe, such as Indra’s capital Amaravati, Brahma’s planet Brahmaloka, and the heavenly Nanda-nandana Gardens in the planet Svarga will be included in alphabetical order, so they’re easy to find,” Jagannath says. “There’ll be three to five pages giving you every detail you need to know about the place in question—such as what it looks like, what kind of architecture it has, who lives there, what the inhabitants look like, and how long they live.”

Concept art by Dridha Vrata Dasa of the Pandava warrior Arjuna, according to the traditional Shilpa Sastra proportions
The second section of the work will discuss the different species of the Vedic Universe, such as Kinaras, Kimpurushas, Rakshasas, Yakshas, Gandharvas, and Manushas.
The third section will feature hundreds of prime characters from the Mahabharata, Ramayana, and Puranas, with juicy yet scripturally accurate details about each one.
Bhima, the might Pandava hero from the Mahabharata, for instance, is described as wearing black and gold armor, a red and yellow sash, and a half black and half white dhoti.
“He had a huge sword that was fifteen finger-widths wide, which looked like a spinning wheel when he swung it around,” says Jagannath. “And on the end of his signature weapon, the mace, he had a silk rope. This enabled him to swing the mace around like a whirlwind, throw it, destroy a chariot or elephant, and then pull it back by yanking on the rope!”
The fourth and last section of the work will cover the many named items, plants, or otherworldly animals mentioned in the Vedic scriptures. There’s the Shyamantaka jewel, which protected the land it rested in from natural disasters, and gave its owner 1.5 tons of gold every day. There’s Arjuna’s bow, the mighty Gandiva, which had a string that would regrow whenever it was cut. And there’s the sacred Tulasi plant, a form of one of Krishna’s greatest devotees.
“There’s also the sacred cow Kamadhenu, who appeared from the ocean of milk when the demigods and demons churned it millennia ago,” says Rasikananda. “In the Shanti-Parva of the Mahabharata, she’s described as sometimes taking on an anthropomorphic form, with a human head, a cow’s body, a peacock’s tail, and the wings of a parrot.”
The Kamadhenu, it is said, was stolen from her owner Vasistha Muni by the Mahabharata warrior Bhishma, in a previous life as one of the heavenly Vasus. As punishment for this, Vasistha cursed the Vasu to take birth on earth and be killed by his wife, on whose request he had stolen Kamadhenu. Thus the Vasu’s wife became Amba, who was slighted by Bhisma and brought about his death.

Art by Dridha Vrata Dasa depicting the sacred Kamadhenu, an anthropomorphic creature described in the Mahabharata.
Rasikananda and Jagannath expect The Illustrated Guide of the Vedic Universe to appear as a series of separate volumes, the first dealing with the places, species, items and especially characters described in the Bhagavad-gita.
“We hope it will give people who read the Bhagavad-gita a better understanding of the context,” Jagannath says. “They’ll know who everybody is, what their history is, what their relationships are, what they looked like, where they served, and where they fought. For instance, the beginning of the Bhagavad-gita mentions Yudhamanyu and Uttamaujas. Most people don’t know who they are, and probably don’t give them a second thought.”
But they were important characters, Jagannath explains. “They were cousins of Drupada, the Panchala king whose daughter Draupadi married Arjuna,” he says.
“They liked Arjuna a lot, and would visit him and his brothers regularly in their kingdom of Indraprastha. They were tough, powerful warriors, and served in the battle of Kurukshetra as Arjuna’s wheel-guards. Every Maharathi general had warriors like this protecting the wheels of his chariot.”
Every one of the characters featured in the Illustrated Guide to the Vedic Universe will be accompanied by side, front and perspective drawings showing their likeness according to traditional Shilpa-Sastra proportions. Still-existing locations, such as Kurukshetra and the castle at the Kingdom of Virat, where the Pandavas stayed in hiding, will be illustrated with photos.
Meanwhile some characters and species will be further illustrated with historical paintings or photos of sculptures located in ancient Indian temples, to add authenticity. Finally, in-house artists will render full-color paintings showing the events of the stories.
Rasikananda and Jagannath are already working on concept artwork with second generation artist Dridha Vrata, who studied traditional iconography, iconometry and painting according to the Shilpa Shastras in Mahabalipuram, South India. They also hope to work with BBT artists trained by Srila Prabhupada in the future.
“As well as being an attractive, informative resource, it’s also very important to us that The Illustrated Guide to the Vedic Universe is extremely accurate and authoritative, and can be used in schools, universities, libraries and museums as a reference book,” says Rasikananda. “So all the information in it will be annotated and referenced, so that you can see where we got it from, and check the original work yourself.”
Rasikananda and Jagannath hope to release the first volume of The Illustrated Guide to the Vedic Universe, focused on the Bhagavad-gita, by fall 2012. The book, which they are funding by themselves and with donations, is expected to come in at around 200 pages, and will be coffe-table sized at around 16” x 10”.
“There’s been a bit of a devotional art drought since the 1980s, and this project is about us gurukulis stepping up and continuing the tradition that our parents started,” Rasikananda says. “Our spiritual guides and the rest of the devotee community have encouraged us to do so, and in turn, we encourage others to use our books as a framework, and launch their own dream projects.”
To find out more about The Illustrated Guide to the Vedic Universe, or to donate, please visit http://vedicuniverse.org/

Read more: http://news.iskcon.com/node/3819#ixzz1ULdk7Tcr

New Update

We have placed a sample of our work on Kickstarter so please look

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/142439212/the-illustrated-guide-to-the-vedic-universe/posts

Bhima and Narayan Astra

Dronacarya was killed on the battlefield on the 15th day. Dhristadyumna jumped on the chariot, grabbed him by the dreadlocks and cut his head right off. He grabbed his severed head by the thick dreadlocks spun it around and slam-dunked it right there on the ground of the battlefield. When Dhristadyumna did that to Drona who was so strong, all the Kurus who saw it ran. They just started running for there lives.

Aswathama started walking towards Duryodhana because he wanted to know what had happend. He wanted to know why everyone was running because his father was the general and if everyone was running than that meant that something bad had happend. When he met Duryodhana, Duryodhana couldnt even look him in the eye.

Now I have to explain something about Aswathama. He was very vicious. He was very tall. He was tall like Bhima tall. Very thick bodied. He was a Brahmin but he was like a bull. They said in three ways he was like a bull: His deep voice, His tread, and his neck. He wore red because he was a Brahmachari which was what Bhramacharis wore at that time. He covered his body with red sandal paste, had three tilak lines of red on his forehead and massive dreadlocks on his head. His eyes glowed from his potency. People didn't even want his shadow to touch them.

So this grim figure was standing there before Duryodhana and demanded “What happend.” The great king of Hastinipura could not even look at him so he said “Kripacarya, you tell him.”  So Kripacarya was his uncle because Drona had married Kripi who was the sister of Kripa. Kripa said, “They tricked Drona, they told him that you were killed, so he decided to quit the battle and seeing your father in that depressed state Dhristadyumna leapt upon his chariot and cut his head off, so now the whole army has run away."

Aswathama started roaring and the whole fleeing army stopped because his roar was so loud. He jumped off his chariot and started pounding his feet on the ground. He started leaping and dancing like a mad man roaring louder and louder like a lion. All the warriors immediatly stopped running because they realized that here is this great hero who has so much mystic power and who has been enraged by the death of his father.

Raising his bow and standing before the assembled heroes Aswathama spoke with a voice like thunder, “My father has given me a very special weapon in case of emergency called the Narayanastra and this weapon has the potency as Narayan. If I unleash this upon the enemy then they are all destroyed.”  To a chorus of raised cheers Aswathama chanted the mantras for the weapon and unleashed it at the Pandavas.

All of a sudden big black clouds formed on the battlefield which began raining hot coals and severe winds began to swirl. A giant wave of fire formed on the horizon which sped at the Pandava host like a giant tsunami of fiery doom.

All the generals came before Krishna and asked him what had happened.

Krishna said “Aswathama has used the Narayanastra which will certainly kill us all. However I know a secret to this weapon which will nullify it. We must all cast aside our weapons and armor and lay on the ground prone. In this way the weapon will pass right over us.”

The whole army began to dismount and discard their arms and armor. However one person stood firm at the head of the army dressed for war; Bhima.

Bhima stood at the head of the army with his club on his shoulder.

Arjuna came forward and said “Hey! Hey Bhima get down! Take off your armor and throw down your club!”

Bhima looked out across the battlefield at this tidal wave of flaming weapons and then looked back at Arjuna and said. “Look, I will tell you three reasons I am not going to do that. The first is that this weapon is called Narayanastra and it has the same potency as Narayana. So I am not worried because if it kills me I will get moksa. The second reason is that Krishna is my friend. Here is Krishna.” He pointed to Krishna who was broadly grinning the whole time. “In case you did not know, he is all powerful and the cause of all causes. So I have no fear because he is my friend and he will not let me be hurt.” He had such firm faith. “The main concern is, you see Duryodhana is standing over there and I’ll be damned if I am going to lay down on the ground like some coward in front of him. So younger brother I am afraid I cannot do that.”

So this terrible weapon started speeding at him. This tsunami of flaming weapons came racing at Bhima, its total power concentrated on him alone. And he is just staring it down with the club on his shoulder and his arms crossed. His total faith that no harm would come to him. The flames started to singe his eyebrows and he snorted "Hummf" then all of a sudden it was gone!

You see the thing is, his faith in the protection of Supreme Lord was so strong that it couldn’t touch him.

Anyone who hears this story will also gain complete faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krishna.