Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana QUOTES

21 " Stay true to the idea of dharma. Be the best you can be, in the worst of circumstances, even when no one is watching "

― Devdutt Pattanaik , Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana

22 " Ram became revered because he functioned on the basis of the principle that life was not just about pleasure and hoarding things: it was about finding meaning and purpose. "

― Devdutt Pattanaik , Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana

23 " In fact the English word ‘demon’ is full of a value judgement that is wrongly attributed to the words rakshasa and asura. "

― Devdutt Pattanaik , Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana

24 " Ram finally stood up and said in a voice that was clear and soothing, ‘Know this, Ayodhya is not mine to give or Bharata’s to take; Ayodhya is the responsibility of the Raghu clan, not our property. It will be injustice if the kings of the Raghu clan do not keep their word, it will be injustice if the wishes of Kaikeyi are not fulfilled. My father promised to fulfil her wishes and he is obliged to fulfil them, as am I. Do not blame her for asking what is due to her. Yes, the event is unfortunate but it is but one event in our lives; we can call it a tragedy if we wish. Blaming helps no one; let us take responsibility for it. For nothing in life happens spontaneously: it is the result of past actions. This moment is as it is supposed to be. I am repaying the debt of the past and so are you. We cannot choose the circumstances of our life, but we can make our choices. I have chosen to be true to my clan. My wife has chosen to be true to her role as my wife. My brother has chosen to be true to his feelings. Allow us our choices. Come to terms with our decisions. You are angry not with the queen or her son, or the king, you are angry that life has not turned out the way you thought it would. In a moment, the world you so took for granted has collapsed. Expand your mind and understand that the pain comes from your assumptions and expectations. Choose love over hate, by accepting the fears and fragilities of humanity that lead to situations such as these. This moment is the outcome of some curse, or maybe it is a boon in waiting. Who knows? Varuna has a thousand eyes, Indra a hundred, you and I, only two. "

― Devdutt Pattanaik , Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana

25 " Knowledge is like a floating log of wood that helps us stay afloat in the ocean of misery. To find the shore, we have to kick our legs and swim. No one can do that for us, "

― Devdutt Pattanaik , Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana

26 " 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. "

― Devdutt Pattanaik , Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana

27 " Cutting off the nose is a metaphor for shame. The notion of locating honor in the women of the household has led to women in India being objectified and denied their freedom and choices. Whether Sita is physically abused or not, Ram's honor has been stained. Modern notions of justice mock these deep-rooted traditional notions of shame that have been used to justify the violent oppression of women. "

― Devdutt Pattanaik , Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana

28 " For centuries, pilgrims have travelled to Ayodhya identifying it as the birthplace of Ram. But the exact location of the birthplace of Ram, in Ayodhya, is the subject of great dispute and political turmoil in India. Ever since colonial times, Hinduism has felt under siege, forced to explain itself using European templates, make itself more tangible, more concrete, more structured, more homogeneous, more historical, more geographical, less psychological, less emotional, to render itself as valid as the major religions of the Eurocentric world like Christianity, Judaism and Islam. The fallout of this pressure is the need to locate matters of faith in a particular spot. The timeless thus becomes time-bound and the universal becomes particular. What used to once be a matter of faith becomes a territorial war zone where courts now have to intervene. Everyone wants to be right in a world where adjustment, allowance, accommodation and affection are seen as signs of weakness, even corruption. "

― Devdutt Pattanaik , Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana

29 " Such a mind is called manas, which is why humans are called manavas. You are a manava with male flesh and I am a manava with female flesh. We both see the world differently, not because we have different bodies, but because we have different minds. You see the world from one point of view and I see the world from another point of view. But our minds can expand. I can see the world from your point of view and you can see it from mine. "

― Devdutt Pattanaik , Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana

30 " For when a bride enters the husband’s house she brings with her not just the promise of a new generation but also new food, a new culture and with that new thoughts that enrich her husband’s household. "

― Devdutt Pattanaik , Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana

31 " Indra has everything, yet he lives in fear of losing it all. Swarga may be paradise, but it is no heaven.’ ‘What is heaven then?’ ‘Heaven is a place where there is no hunger.’ ‘Does such a place exist?’ ‘Under the Pole Star sits Shiva on a mountain of stone covered with snow. No grass grows there, but his bull, Nandi, does not complain. Nandi does not fear being eaten by Shakti’s tiger either. The snake around Shiva’s neck does not fear being eaten by Kartikeya’s peacock and it does not seek to eat Ganesha’s rat. Clearly, that is a place where there is no hunger. In Swarga there is prosperity, but no peace. I seek peace, I seek Kailas. That must be heaven. "

― Devdutt Pattanaik , Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana

32 " Indic thought is a compilation of many thoughts coming from various sources, from nomadic herdsmen to settled agriculturists, from tribes who lived in forests to settlers who established villages and cities. This is why Indic thought keeps transforming from fire rituals to storytelling to temple rituals. What remains consistent is the fundamental Vedic belief in impermanence and the conflict between seeking immortality and accepting change. From this fundamental belief come ideas like karma (action/reaction), kama (desire), maya (perception/delusion) and dharma (appropriate human conduct in a context). "

― Devdutt Pattanaik , Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana

33 " 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. "

― Devdutt Pattanaik , Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana

34 " Knowledge is like a floating log of wood that helps us stay afloat in the ocean of misery. To find the shore, we have to kick our legs and swim. No one can do that for us,’ said Hanuman. "

― Devdutt Pattanaik , Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana

35 " According to rationalists, Hanuman did not fly, he swam. In the Valmiki Ramayana, words for swimming and flying are used interchangeably. "

― Devdutt Pattanaik , Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana

36 " Actions in Hindu mythology are never ‘right’, though they are often necessary or obligatory, and they always come at a price. "

― Devdutt Pattanaik , Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana

37 " In the Ramayana many women are killed or mutilated on the grounds of them being demons: Tadaka is the first amongst them and Surpanakha is the most well known. But there are others such as Ayomukhi, Simhika, Surasa, Lankini and even Mandodari, the wife of Ravana, and Chandrasena, the wife of Mahiravana. It is difficult to digest that these are simply metaphors for wild, untamed nature. There is clearly an acceptance of male violence against women. "

― Devdutt Pattanaik , Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana

38 " When the mind is knotted in fear, the problem is always outside, never inside. "

― Devdutt Pattanaik , Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana

39 " To be a good spouse, wife or husband, the wilfulness of Ganga needs to be balanced with the serenity of Shiva. Only then will the river of marriage create fertile riverbanks "

― Devdutt Pattanaik , Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana

40 " Control creates domesticated animals. The purpose of society is to inspire humanity, not tame them,’ said Ram. "

― Devdutt Pattanaik , Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana