Week 4 Reading Diary, continued: Twenty-Two Goblins

Part 2 of my notes about Twenty-Two Goblins, Arthur Ryder's translation of the Sanskrit Vetālapañcaviṃśati.

Shiva, by Arumugam Manivelu

The Snake's Poison

• "The Brahman who died because Poison from a Snake in the Claws of a Hawk fell into a Dish of Food given him by a Charitable Woman. Who is to blame for his death?"
• The beautiful lost wife has nothing to do with the riddle, the story could have worked without this section
• I think the snake murdered the Brahman, but the riddle answered that the man who ate the food was at fault for his own death. 

The Girl and the Thief

• "The Girl who showed Great Devotion to the Thief. Did he weep or laugh?"
• These riddles have a lot of story behind them, there may be a final question, but the stories are more than that, and for this particular story, I don't think the answer effects the stories outcome. 

The General's Wife

• "The King who died for Love of his General's Wife; the General follows him in Death. Which is the more worthy?"
• I am noticing a theme with these stories, all of the women are extremely beautiful, and they don't seem to have many other qualities.  All of the stories focus on virtue, beauty, and marriage.

The Four Brothers

• "The Four Brothers who brought a Dead Lion to Life. Which is to blame when he kills them all?"
• What are the odds that all four brothers find skills that work with each other, it takes all four brothers to create the lion. 
• This was one of the easier riddles in my opinion, the final step to creating the lion was the one that mattered the most, since otherwise the lion could not hurt people. 

The Old Hermit

• "The Old Hermit who exchanged his Body for that of the Dead Boy. Why did he weep and dance?"
• This question is similar to the girl and the thief, instead of weeping and dancing, the old hermit weeps and dances.  Life is full of bittersweet events, which is essentially what the answer to both riddles was.

Father and Son, Daughter and Mother

• "The Father and Son who married Daughter and Mother. What relation were their children?"
• I am curious to know the answer to this question, since it was not given in the story.
• It takes a lot of patience to answer 22 riddles and retrieve the body, now I find it ironic that patience is the name of the monk, and not the king. 

Conclusion

•  I did not really care for the ending to this story, it was abrupt and weird. How did the Monk get so many fruits filled with jewels?  Why did he wait 12 whole years to ask the king a favor, and who was the goblin?  Why was the goblin in the tree in the first place? I might create a answer for one of these questions in the next story that I write.