Example sentences: Ramayana:  Rama’s acceptance of his exile as destiny is much more difficult for us moderns to relate with than is Lakshmana’s critique of such acceptance as passivity. Mahabharata:  Vidura’s instructions to Dhritarashtra, which contain a strong critique of excessive family attachment, has come to be celebrated as Vidura-niti.  Bhagavad-gita:  The Bhagavad-gita’s critique of

Example sentences: Ramayana:  As the monkeys raced towards the ocean to find Sita, they realized that their meeting with Sampatti was no fluke; providence was guiding them in their service to Rama.   Mahabharata:  The sages pointed out to Duryodhana that each time he had persecuted the Pandavas, they had emerged stronger — such repeated good

Example sentences: Ramayana:  Ravana’s statement to his assembly that Sita had agreed to give herself up to him after a year was balderdash. Mahabharata:  Drona angrily rejected as balderdash Duryodhana’s accusation that he was fighting half-heartedly against the Pandavas because he was partial to them. Bhagavad-gita:  The mind is so cunning that it can make

Example sentences: Ramayana: When Rama conquered Lanka, he didn’t take away its autonomy, but enthroned Vibhishana as its sovereign ruler.   Mahabharata: When Karna accepted the kingdom of Anga as a gift from Duryodhana, little did he know that in exchange he would end up losing his autonomy as a man of principles.  Bhagavad-gita: The Gita

Example sentences: Ramayana: When the lusty Ravana neglected all good advice and held on to Sita even to the point of his death, he unwittingly ensured that he would be remembered by posterity as the personification of lust.   Mahabharata: When Ghatothakacha was requested by Krishna to attack Karna, Ghatothakacha became delighted and declared, “Today I

Example sentences: Ramayana: Akampana assured Ravana that the rout at Janasthana hadn’t been due to the demons’ ineptitude; it had been due to Rama’s unmatchable prowess.  Mahabharata: When Arjuna tore through the entire Kaurava army to kill Jayadratha, Duryodhana refused to acknowledge the unstoppability of the Krishna-Arjuna duo; instead, he blamed the defeat on the

Example sentences: Ramayana: The Ramayana’s second half has been likened to an extravaganza for kids, filled as it is with talking animals, shape-changing monsters, floating stones, ten-headed demons and flying monkeys.  Mahabharata: The Kurukshetra battlefield resembled an extravaganza, with bellicose warriors eager for a contest of skills that would reward them either victory on earth

Example sentences: Ramayana: Though Kishkinda was the habitat of monkeys, it was no backwater; it was replete with royal luxuries.  Mahabharata: Khandava had been a backwater when the Pandavas received it, but they soon converted it into a flourishing kingdom by Krishna’s grace.  Bhagavad-gita: To grow spiritually, we don’t have to renounce our ambitions and

Example sentences: Ramayana: In the Ramayana’s Sundara-kanda, the primary protagonist is not Rama but Hanuman, which reflects the epic’s endearing shift of spotlight from deity to devotee.  Mahabharata: During the ill-fated gambling match, the protagonist who acquits oneself most honorably is the one who is most dishonored: Draupadi.  Bhagavad-gita: The more we immerse ourselves in

Example sentences: Ramayana: When Angada challenged the demons to budge his foot, that challenge was not his vainglory; it was his confidence in Rama’s glory, for Rama would make his devotee’s foot immoveable.   Mahabharata: The incidents that Karna presented as evidences of his bravery, Bhishma downplayed as mere expressions of vainglory.  Bhagavad-gita: The vainglory of