Quotes from Devdutt Pattanaik

Herons and cranes often stand on one foot, to fool fish into believing their solitary legs are reeds. When a fish comes near a heron's leg, it immediately catches hold of its hapless prey.

There are eaters and the eaten. The tiger does not resent the deer that gets away. The doe does not resent the tiger that captures her fawn. They are following their instincts. Plants and animals live; humans need to judge, for we need to feel good about ourselves. That is why we create stories, full of heroes and villains, victims and martyrs

When should we stop?' 'When your needs are met and before you fall prey to greed. Knowing when to stop is the hallmark of a good king,' said Krishna.

Arjuna, your mind is your friend and your enemy. If you control the mind, it is your friend. If your mind controls you, it is your enemy.—Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 6, verses 5 and 6 (paraphrased).

But the world is constantly changing. Things will never remain constant. If we focus only on the coming & going of fortune, we will always be anxious & frustrated. On the other hand, if we focus on learning with every rise & fall, we will keep growing & generating internal Shakti rather than depending on external Durga for our survival.

Hanuman stands on the frontier between the wilderness and the settlement, between the animal and the human world, and has the power to turn the negative into positive, poison into medicine.

Puja makes gods more personal. There are Ishta-devatas or personal gods, Kula-devatas or family gods, Graha-devatas or household gods, and Grama-devatas or village gods. These gods either protected their worshippers or provided for them.

Arjuna, immerse your mind in me and I will uplift you from the ocean of recurring death. If you cannot do that, then practise yoga and work on your mind. If you cannot do that, then do your work as if it is my work. If you cannot do that, then make yourself my instrument and do as I say. If you cannot do that, then simply do your job and leave the results to me.—Bhagavad

But a lot is occurring in your mind—memories resurface as ghosts and imagination descends like a demon. That is why you suffer.

He can only encourage; the action

Unlike dakshina, where wealth is asked in exchange, and bhiksha, where power is asked in exchange, in daan only wisdom is sought in exchange.

Never strike anyone below the waist. Never strike anyone in the back. Never strike anyone who is unarmed or helpless. Fight among equals and win by upholding the rules. Therein lies glory.

In most parts of the world, a new idea suppresses and wipes out the old idea, but in India, thanks to the abstract nature of Vedic ideas, new worldviews—be they native ones like Buddhism or Bhakti or foreign ones like Islam and Christianity—simply helped reaffirm the Vedic way in different ways.

Indian philosophy separates what a man is from what he possesses. We are a set of thoughts and we have a set of things. Ram derives his strength from his thoughts, what he is, while Ravana derives his strength from his possessions, what he has. Ravana has knowledge; he may be learned, but he is not wise. Through Ravana, the bards draw attention to the learned brahmin priest who spouts hymns verbatim but fails to appreciate their meaning or transform himself because of them.

Arjuna, those who cleanse themselves with contemplation and meditation discover me, embrace me, find shelter in me and are liberated from yearning, fear and anger.—Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 4, Verse 10 (paraphrased).

The four couples took seven steps together in front of their elders. This made them lifelong companions who would share seven things: a house, fire, water, income, children, pleasure and conversation.

Red became the colour of valour and fertility. Later, as the doctrine of ahimsa (non-violence) gained ground, blood was represented symbolically using sindoor (vermillion).

Even later, the red colour was replaced by saffron colour, indicating celibacy and continence, a rejection of all things sensory.

Within infinite myths lies an eternal truth Who sees it all? Varuna has but a thousand eyes Indra, a hundred You and I, only two

Arjuna, your mind is your friend and your enemy. If you control the mind, it is your friend. If your mind controls you, it is your enemy.—Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 6, verses 5 and 6

Though formless, the God of Abrahamic mythology is addressed, even visualized, in masculine terms. The God of Hindu mythology is visualized as sometimes male, sometimes female, sometimes both and sometimes neither. Thus,

human memory is short, and history always repeats itself." ? Devdutt Pattanaik, Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata

Rage needs expression. Dhritarashtra expresses it by crushing the iron effigy of Bhima while Gandhari expresses it by burning Yudhishtira's toe with a glance. Once expressed, rage dissipates and reason returns. One

Failure to see the other stopped the mind from expanding. It started contracting, crumpling and getting knotted. It became all about me and mine, not you and yours. Limitless Brahmana thus became the limited Brahma.