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We welcome back Evan Kingston to tell him some of the strangest stories yet- and that really is saying something! We meet the great and powerful rishi Agastya whose mightiest power is...digestion??

From his own birth, to the creation of his lady friend out of animals, to his ability to seemingly eat and drink anything!- Azure and Evan are so weirded out that they don't even know if they should be rooting for this bizarre yet reputed hero.

S.P. Jayaraj is the creator of the mythic world of Adijari that is the setting of his two novels, The Secret of the Zipacna Dragons and Legacy of the Crow.  He is also a Creative Life Coach through his business Imagination Life Coaching. The Mahabharata and other global mythology inspires him in all his projects. 

spjayaraj.com

Azure Anderson-Jayaraj is a musician, a maker, a cat mom, an arts administrator and now a podcast editor.

Evan Kingston is a writer living in the Twin Cities Metro Area. If you would like a wonderful Christmas gift this year that challenges and honors the spirit of Christmas, email Evan at [email protected]

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Artwork and music by Azure Anderson

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While waiting for the arrival of their brother Arjuna, Bheema and Draupadi discover that the flowers of the heavens have found their way to the Himalayas. Bheema decides to find more for Draupadi, but comes across some demons (as he often does) and also an old and very perplexing monkey.

Musician, Trivia Author and Host, and Berry Farmer John McConville

makes his NYMM debut. John comes in not knowing what to expect and is excited to get into heavenly flowers, talking monkeys who are not who they appear to be, and plenty more weird demons beings smashed. Plus, Arjuna finally returns, but a simple ask from his brothers sets an epic scene for John to suddenly meet a bunch of new characters at the end.

S.P. Jayaraj is the creator of the mythic world of Adijari that is the setting of his two novels, The Secret of the Zipacna Dragons and Legacy of the Crow.  He is also a Creative Life Coach through his business Imagination Life Coaching. The Mahabharata and other global mythology inspires him in all his projects.

spjayaraj.com

Azure Anderson-Jayaraj is a musician, a maker, a cat mom, an arts administrator and now a podcast editor.

John McConville is a musician, a trivia author and host, and a Berry Farmer. Check out each of the websites bellow to see all the places in the Twin Cities where you can come face to face with his creative talent and fabulous personality.

https://butterboys.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/jawsyband

https://www.triviamafia.com/331

#Mahabharata #ComedyMeetsCulture #Comedystorytelling #IndianMythology #MahabharataRetold #MythologyNerd

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Artwork and music by Azure Anderson

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The four Pandavas and Draupadi are missing Arjuna, but the time has come to take the extended long route to the Himalayas where Arjuna will join them, but not before doing as Arjuna did a while ago by visiting the holy water sites.

Creative and fellow storyteller Aaron Fiskradatz is back to hear of the Pandavas adventure and the stories behind each of the holy water sites. Satish is excited to introduce Aaron to Ghatotkacha, Bheem's sage-like demonic son from the Pre-Draupadi years.

S.P. Jayaraj is the creator of the mythic world of Adijari that is the setting of his two novels, The Secret of the Zipacna Dragons and Legacy of the Crow.  He is also a Creative Life Coach through his business Imagination Life Coaching. The Mahabharata and other global mythology inspires him in all his projects.

spjayaraj.com

Azure Anderson-Jayaraj is a musician, a maker, a cat mom, an arts administrator and now a podcast editor.

Aaron Fiskradatz

is a Technician, Artist, and Educator in the arts who is proud to work for Upstream Arts.  Aaron is a master at broadcasting live performances, whether it is to  hundreds of fans, or sharing an online classroom with half a dozen students. He’ll take care of the technical know-how so that you can concentrate on your presentation. 
If you live in the Twin Cities Metro Area and you would like your in-person event streamed live to distant participants. Aaron can help you with the proper equipment setup, and even run tech for the event as it happens. Weddings, concerts, parties, whatever you’re doing to connect with others, Aaron can help you do it online at the same time.

aaron.fiskradatz.com

#Mahabharata #ComedyMeetsCulture #Comedystorytelling #IndianMythology #MahabharataRetold #MythologyNerd

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Artwork and music by Azure Anderson

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Yudhishthira is still lamenting over his gambling addiction. Luckily the visiting sage Brihadashva brings some hope to the eldest Pandava by telling him the tale of Nala And Damayanti.

Our friend Andy Caranicas joins us to hear the wondrous story of Nala and Damayanti, a prince and princess who are deeply in love with each other despite having never met. To be together they will need to outmaneuver the gods, a demon, a heroic turned villain hunter, and another king. Fortunately- to the pleasure of both Andy and Azure, Nala has a talking swan on his side.  

Andy Caranicas plays competitive bridge, rides his bike as often as he can, plays trombone in a community band, and formulates stories for the Moth story hour.

S.P. Jayaraj is the creator of the mythic world of Adijari that is the setting of his two novels, The Secret of the Zipacna Dragons and Legacy of the Crow.  He is also a Creative Life Coach through his business Imagination Life Coaching. The Mahabharata and other global mythology inspires him in all his projects.

spjayaraj.com

Azure Anderson-Jayaraj is a musician, a maker, a cat mom, an arts administrator and now a podcast editor.

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Artwork and music by Azure Anderson

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Arjuna has learnt warfare from some of the best of the best, and has been god -given some the most terrifying weapons ever to exist for the future Kurukshetra war. Time for a test run...? 

Lindsay Ohse  joins us for this epic out of this world battle/massacre. Indra has given his son Arjuna all he has asked for and more. But before Arjuna can return to his family on earth, Indra has a small request- to massacre somewhere between three thousand to thirty thousand demons- (whom we hope are either irredeemably evil or are metaphors for something a lot nicer than flat out genocide.)

It's a fantastical battle with flying horse drawn chariots, a flying city,  innumerable demons of various kinds, and of course magical arrows!

Somehow its another laugh filled episode of Not Your Mother's Mahabharata.

S.P. Jayaraj is the creator of the mythic world of Adijari that is the setting of his two novels, The Secret of the Zipacna Dragons and Legacy of the Crow.  He is also a Creative Life Coach through his business Imagination Life Coaching. The Mahabharata and other global mythology inspires him in all his projects.

spjayaraj.com

Azure Anderson-Jayaraj is a musician, a maker, a cat mom, an arts administrator and now a podcast editor.

Lindsay Ohse is a professional opera singer who has performed for numerous opera companies across the U.S. since 2014. She will be performing with the MN Opera in the upcoming performance of Cosi fan tutte. Get your tickets at https://mnopera.org/season/2025-2026/cosi-fan-tutte/.

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Artwork and music by Azure Anderson

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The Himalayas were great, but not high enough for Arjuna.

We welcome our friend Laura Tanner to tell her the continuation of Arjuna's bold adventure to another realm- some would argue the 'best' realm. Arjuna'a father Indra once again invites Arjuna to the realm of the gods and this time Arjuna says yes! Aside from magical jeweled palaces and magical flying horses of different colors, Arjuna also learns warfare from his father and other skills from the magical denizens of this heaven. Laura and Azure are also very excited for a very promising tryst ;) But there is a twist to the tryst, an awful awful twist- at least if you're mortal.

It's another laugh filled episode of Not Your Mother's Mahabharata.

S.P. Jayaraj is the creator of the mythic world of Adijari that is the setting of his two novels, The Secret of the Zipacna Dragons and Legacy of the Crow.  He is also a Creative Life Coach through his business Imagination Life Coaching. The Mahabharata and other global mythology inspires him in all his projects.

spjayaraj.com

Azure Anderson-Jayaraj is a musician, a maker, a cat mom, an arts administrator and now a podcast editor.

Laura Tanner is the Director of Development for Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity and has been in non-profit fundraising for the past seventeen years. Laura is an avid reader, enthusiastic traveler, and member of the VocalEssence Chorus, where she sings in the alto section with Azure.

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Artwork and music by Azure Anderson

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We are thrilled to welcome Erika Gesme to the podcast to begin the tale of Arjuna's solo adventure.

All the Pandavas and Draupadi have come to accept their exile, but they also accept that once they return from it, they will not be given everything back as was promised to them. They need to prepare for the eventual war, and for that, Arjuna needs to visit the Himalayas and speak to the god Shiva.

Erika and Azure are enthralled as the mighty Arjuna can't seem to gain the upper hand over a seemingly simple tribal hunter.

After the battle Arjuna, a procession of some of the main gods in Hinduism visit Arjuna with their magical processions in tow, including Arjuna's father, Indra, the king of the devas who proposes Arjuna takes what could be the most awe inspiring journey of his life.

S.P. Jayaraj is the creator of the mythic world of Adijari that is the setting of his two novels, The Secret of the Zipacna Dragons and Legacy of the Crow.  He is also a Creative Life Coach through his business Imagination Life Coaching. The Mahabharata and other global mythology inspires him in all his projects.

spjayaraj.com

Azure Anderson-Jayaraj is a musician, a maker, a cat mom, an arts administrator and now a podcast editor.

Erika Gesme is a hearing instrument specialist and medical sales rep who can also be seen (or heard) moonlighting as a musician through the Twin Cities.
She is a supporter of End the Back Log

www.endthebacklog.org is an initiative of the Joyful Heart Foundation

Every 68 seconds, someone is sexually assaulted in the United States.

After a sexual assault, the survivor can choose to have a medical professional photograph, swab, and conduct an invasive and exhaustive examination of the survivor’s entire body for DNA evidence left behind by the attacker—a process that takes four to six hours to complete. That evidence is collected and preserved in a sexual assault evidence kit When tested, DNA evidence contained by rape kits can be an incredibly powerful tool to solve and prevent future crimes.

Despite this, it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of rape kits sit untested in police department and crime lab storage facilities across the country in what is referred to as the “rape kit backlog.”

The mission of End the Back Log is that every rape kit booked into evidence and connected to a reported sexual assault should be submitted to a crime lab for testing, and crime labs must commit to testing rape kit evidence in a timely manner. 

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Artwork and music by Azure Anderson

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For this very special episode of Not Your Mother's Mahabharata the tables are turned.

Satish joins Azure on the listening side of the recording studio to hear from Shambhu Nath. Shambhu shares his own journey with the Mahabharata on how it led him towards healing his anxiety and other ailments. Deeply familiar with the spiritual symbolism within the Mahabharata, Shambhu answers every question that Satish and Azure can fit into the hour.

It's an extraordinarily insightful episode of Not Your Mother's Mahabharata.

We recommend listening to the following episodes to better appreciate everything we cover.

Episode 1. The Old Man and the Young Fish Lady

Episode 2. The King, His River Queens and the Son Who Gave It All Up

Episode 8. The Man Named "Bucket"

Episode 9. The Jungle Kid with Mad Skills.

Episode 30. What's a Little Gambling Between Murderous Cousins

S.P. Jayaraj is the creator of the mythic world of Adijari that is the setting of his two novels, The Secret of the Zipacna Dragons and Legacy of the Crow.  He is also a Creative Life Coach through his business Imagination Life Coaching. The Mahabharata and other global mythology inspires him in all his projects.

spjayaraj.com

Azure Anderson-Jayaraj is a musician, a maker, a cat mom, an arts administrator and now a podcast editor.

Shambhu Nath is the author of The Manthan Code: Seven Secrets to Emotional Healing under the name Shambhu Sundriyal, a work of fiction that takes us on an exploration of Hindu Philosophy through two young adults. Under the pen name 'Sam Nath' he has also written numerous other self help books with spiritual teachings from Hindu texts and the Bible. 

Shambhu has an extraordinary knowledge base on the spiritual metaphors within the Mahabharata. NYMM is honored to share a fraction of his wisdom with this episode.

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Artwork and music by Azure Anderson

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Satish tells Azure the story of how the Pandavas and Draupadi are doing as we continue seeing how they handle being exiled.

The Pandavas are visited by the 16 year old Immortal Markandeya, and of course we can't go further without learning how that phenomenon happened.

Markandaya comforts Yudhistira by telling him more stories from Indian mythology.

But Draupadi and Bheema aren't having it. They want to understand why Yudhishthira isn't showing more pain and regret from losing everything at the game of dice, and once again push to wage war and take everything back.

Yudhishthira holds his ground, and maybe, even gains some sympathy from Satish and Azure...?

S.P. Jayaraj is the creator of the mythic world of Adijari that is the setting of his two novels, The Secret of the Zipacna Dragons and Legacy of the Crow.  He is also a Creative Life Coach through his business Imagination Life Coaching. The Mahabharata and other global mythology inspires him in all his projects.

spjayaraj.com

Azure Anderson-Jayaraj is a musician, a maker, a cat mom, an arts administrator and now a podcast editor.

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Artwork and music by Azure Anderson

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Our Season 3 begins with Book 3 of the Mahabharata, Vana Parva, - AKA the Book of the Forest

We welcome Ben Kopnick to tell him how the Pandavas are dealing with being exiled following Yudhishthira's failure. Spoiler- not well. Yudhishthira is most concerned about how he's going to feed the loyal brahmins who decide to join the Pandava in their exile.

Duryhodhana in the mean time, swimming in insecurity, wants to deal with the weaponless Pandavas but is stopped by the all knowing Vyasa, whose sage advice he still rejects. Worse, he insults the Sage Maitreya. (D is quite the idiot.)

The Pandavas are then graced with a visit from Krishna, Balarama and other members of the Yadava clan, as well as Draupadi's twin fire born brother Dhrishtadyumna. Poor Draupadi bawls to Krishna about her recent suffering, and dear Ben coming into this story right now doesn't yet have the highest respect for the Pandavas. Who can blame him.

S.P. Jayaraj is the creator of the mythic world of Adijari that is the setting of his two novels, The Secret of the Zipacna Dragons and Legacy of the Crow.  He is also a Creative Life Coach through his business Imagination Life Coaching. The Mahabharata and other global mythology inspires him in all his projects.

spjayaraj.com

Azure Anderson-Jayaraj is a musician, a maker, a cat mom, an arts administrator and now a podcast editor.

Ben Kopnick is a freelance writer and pet care provider. Ben would like you to know about Minnesota Pit Bull Rescue.

https://mnpitbull.com/

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Artwork and music by Azure Anderson