Example Sentences: Ramayana: When Ravana rejected all of Rama’s efforts for peaceful resolution, Rama decided that punitive measures were called for. Mahabharata: When Dhritarashtra failed to take any punitive action against Duryodhana after his shocking attempt to dishonor Draupadi, most of the courtiers recognized that Dhritarashtra would never control his son. Bhagavad-gita: If we see
Example Sentences: Ramayana: That Rama made an overture for peaceful resolution even though it was he who had been wronged, shows that he wanted to avoid war as much as possible. Mahabharata: No overture for peace could be as great or clear as demonstrated in the Mahabharata: the Supreme Lord himself went as a peace
Example Sentences: Ramayana: The question of why Rama banished Sita is so morally complex that any facile explanation will alienate more than illuminate. Mahabharata: When Arjuna is grief-struck at the death of Abhimanyu, Krishna doesn’t offer any facile explanation for the perennial problem of evil: why do bad things happen to good people? Bhagavad-gita: To
Example Sentences: Ramayana: Ravana’s lust for Sita embroiled all the demons in an unnecessary war with Rama and send them to a hapless death. Mahabharata: Duryodhana’s envy for the Pandavas embroiled the Kuru dynasty in a series of palace intrigues that culminated in a horrendous fratricidal war. Bhagavad-gita: By impelling us to speak without thinking,
Example Sentences: Ramayana: Though Kaikeyi’s demands caused Dasharatha more pain than he could bear, still he knew that he couldn’t renege on granting the boons he had promised her. Mahabharata: Through their letter, the Pandavas conveyed that the Kauravas had reneged on their promise to return the Pandava kingdom after the thirteen-year exile. Bhagavatam: As
Example Sentences: Ramayana: Not wanting the citizens of Ayodhya to blather on about the events surrounding his exile, Rama announced to them that he was happily going to the forest to honor his father’s word. Mahabharata: As the delighted villagers blathered on about who might have killed the mighty demon Baka, the Pandavas departed discreetly,
Example Sentences: Ramayana: While searching for Sita, what queered the effort was Hanuman’s celibacy: “Was it right for him to peer into a woman’s private chambers even if his intentions were pure?” Mahabharata: What queered the war against evil for Arjuna was the presence on the opposite side of many virtuous venerable elders such as
Example Sentences: Ramayana: The repeated rendition of the Ramayana in various vernacular languages throughout history prevented its ossification into a book meant only for the elites who knew Sanskrit. Mahabharata: Dhritarashtra’s ossification into a powerless figurehead happened not because of his blindness or his age, but because of his attachment to his wicked son, Duryodhana.
Example Sentences: Ramayana: When Kumbhakarna asked Vibhishana how he had become a turncoat, Vibhishana replied that it was Ravana who had turned away from his royal responsibilities while satisfying his selfish lust. Mahabharata: When Yuyutsu went over to the Pandavas’ side just before the start of the war, Duryodhana glared at the turncoat, resolving to
Example Sentences: Ramayana: For Sita, the turnkeys were scary-looking demonesses who materially threatened her with dire consequences if she didn’t submit to Ravana. Mahabharata: Bhishma told Duryodhana that Krishna had been doing miraculous things right from birth: when he was born in a prison cell, the turnkeys mysteriously fell asleep, giving his father the chance