Quotes from Devdutt Pattanaik

The obsessive passion of Pururava for Urvashi that led to his downfall would become manifest generations later in Shantanu, not once but twice, first in his love for Ganga and then his love for Satyavati, with the same disastrous consequences. Because human memory is short, and history always repeats itself.

Rationalists believe Gandhari had only two sons, Duryodhana and Dusshasana, who are the only two of the hundred to play a significant role in the epic. They were probably twins, the 'two-year' pregnancy probably meaning 'twin' pregnancy.

To protect her son, Shishupala's mother gets from Krishna a boon that he will forgive a hundred crimes of her son. But she does not bother to warn her son never to commit a crime. Thus Vyasa draws attention to a peculiar human trait of trying to solve a problem through external means without bringing about any internal transformation.

If they became possessive and demanded exclusive attention, he disappeared completely, filling them with great misery and longing. They realized that bliss comes when love is shared with all.

Krishna is wisdom. You are action. One without another is useless. All your battles you will win only when you are together.

In the famous temple sculptures of Khajuraho, one finds beautiful women disrobing themselves on the excuse that a scorpion is climbing up their thighs.

The people find great solace in the idea of a personal God whose grace, obtained through devotion, can overpower the shackles of karma and samsara. The

In humility, there is faith. When there is faith, there is no fear.

By associating Arjuna and Krishna to Nara and Narayana, Vyasa makes them creatures of destiny. Their birth is not random; they are born for a reason.

Within every fortune (the pot of gold) lies wisdom, an idea to be trusted: a belief that makes success sustainable.

You give them too much dignity,' said Lakshman as he lit the pyre. 'It is the only way to remind ourselves that we are still humans,' said Ram. 'Let the forest and its fears not claim you. Stay true to the idea of dharma. Be the best you can be, in the worst of circumstances, even when no one is watching.

Humans alone of all living creatures can reject the law of the jungle and create a code of conduct based on empathy and directed at discovering the meaning of life.

The makara is often confused with magara, the crocodile, due to their similar sounding names. The crocodile is a metaphor for worldly attachments that entrap us. While the makara refers to the bounty of material life, the magara is a warning of the perils of materialism.

They were participating in a war where father would fight sons, brother would fight brother, uncle would fight nephew, friend would fight friend. This was a war that would mark the end not just of one household but of an entire civilization.

If one believed that current caste privileges were the result of merits earned in past life, then one would not spend this life exhausting merit. One would instead focus on accumulating merit.

peculiar human trait of trying to solve a problem through external means without bringing about any internal transformation.

The personalities of the two incarnations of Vishnu are quite different. Rama is august; Krishna is winsome. Rama is straightforward; Krishna is guileful. Rama is monogamous; Krishna is polygamous. Rama is regal; Krishna is charming. Rama follows the rules at all costs; Krishna redefines the rules. Rama is a conformist; Krishna is a maverick. Rama is rectitude personified; Krishna is playfulness personified.

Everything that exists is a manifestation of the divine. And so nothing can be devoid of divinity. And so nothing can be evil.

If Jews, Christians and Muslims pray to God for the food He provides; Hindus pray to food as God.

Every religion has a positive side that teaches love and inclusion, and a horrible side that celebrates hatred and exclusion.

The intellectual approach to Ganesha is called gyan yoga. The emotional approach to Ganesha is called bhakti yoga. And a mechanical, ritualistic, approach to Ganesha is called karma yoga. Different

God had no form or name. But God existed—conscious, sentient. Humans refer to God in the masculine, but that reveals the inadequacy of human language. God is neither male nor female, neither human nor animal, neither plant nor mineral, neither wave nor particle. He is beyond it all, an entity uncontained by measurement or word.

Become a master of your intellect as a charioteer masters his horses and you will realize it is not about the war, it is not about fighting or not fighting, it is not about winning or losing, but it is about taking decisions and discovering the truth about yourself. When you do this, there will be no fear, there will be no ego; you will be at peace, even in the midst of what the deluded call war.

Fate. Free will. God. Three frames of reference that have sustained cultures for centuries. Three frames of reference that can never be proved or disproved.