Inspirational Quotations

Inspirational Quotes from the Mahabharata (Hindu Religious Text)

The Mahābhārata (“The Great Story of the Descendants of Bharata”) is one of the two great Sanskrit epics of the Hindus. Possibly the world’s longest literary work, the Mahābhārata, like the epic Rāmāyaṇa, is a primary source for Hindu mythology.

Existing in its present form since c.400 CE, the Mahābhārata’s authorship is legendarily attributed to the sage Vyāsa, who dictated to the elephant-headed god Gaṇeśa. Versions of the Mahābhārata have existed in ancient oral histories long before that.

The Mahābhārata’s full Sanskrit text extends to 100,000 verses. It is the world’s longest book—15 times the length of the Bible and 7 times the combined length of the Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.

The core premise of the Mahābhārata is the nature of dharma—the Hindu notion of righteous duty. The Mahābhārata’s narratives run the whole gamut of human sentiment—euphoria, acrimony, allegiance, lust, empathy, and virtue. Its central story is the Kuruksetra War (9th Century BCE) involving the five Pandava brothers on one side and their one hundred cousins, the Kauravas, on the other at Kuruksetra near present-day Delhi.

The Mahābhārata is divided into eighteen books (parvas,) supplemented by a nineteenth, the Harivaṃśa. The first five books give details of the causes and introduce the factions of the Kurukshetra War. Books six through ten describe the eighteen-day war. The other eight books tell of happenings after the war.

Other than the Kuruksetra War, the Mahābhārata comprises numerous episodes including the legendary stories of Śakuntalā, Sāvitrī, and Nala—not to mention the Mahābhārata’s own adaptation of the Rāma story (Rāmopākhyāna.) More significantly, among the more didactic portions of the Mahābhārata is the Bhagavadgītā (part of the book six, the Bhīṣmaparvan.) The Bhagavadgītā is treated by many as a stand-alone sacred text—in effect it is regarded as authored by the divine charioteer Kṛṣṇa to the warrior Arjuna, one of the Pandava brothers.

The Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata have long promoted Indian popular culture, whether using rural storytelling, puppet-shows, theatrical performances, visual representations, devotional music, television series, or Bollywood movies.

More: Wikipedia READ: Works by The Mahabharata

One should practice what one considers to be one’s duty, guided by reasons,
instead of blindly following the practices of the world.
The Mahabharata

Arjuna chose Krishna, though Krishna had vowed to lay down his arms on the battlefield …
… Krishna asked: “Why did you pick me, knowing I would not fight?.”
I can handle the soldiers myself, O Krishna, if I have your presence to give me moral support. Some of your glory will surely rub off on me.
The Mahabharata

Truth, self control, asceticism, generosity, non-injury, constancy in virtue—these are the means of success, not caste or family.
The Mahabharata
Topics: Success

What is weightier (more sustaining) than the earth? – Mother
What is higher than the sky? – Father (bestower of more benefits)
What is swifter than the wind? – Mind
What is more numerous than grass?-
Thoughts (of a sorrow stricken mind) are more numerous than grass.
The Mahabharata

Good action you will get happiness. Bad actiions you will get misery. To get anything one has to act, perform. Without action one does not get anything.
The Mahabharata

Revenge is not always better,
but neither is forgiveness;
learn to know them both,
so that there is no problem.
The Mahabharata

This is the sum of duty: do naught to others which if done to thee, would cause thee pain.
The Mahabharata

Anger is the enemy of men difficult to conquer and covetousness (greed) is the endless desire. A good man is one who seeks welfare of all beings and a bad man is one who has no compassion or mercy.
The Mahabharata

This is the sum of all—righteousness. In causing pleasure or in giving pain, in doing good or injury to others, a man obtains a proper rule of action by looking at his neighbor as himself.
The Mahabharata
Topics: Neighbors

I do not blame you, O King, for hitting an innocent man. For, cruelty comes quick to the powerful.
The Mahabharata

Time consumes everything and hence one should utilize
the available little time for his own emancipation.
Many people do not realize that they are gradually being consumed
by time and hence that is the news deserving widest publicity.
The Mahabharata

Cleverness does not always lead to gain nor stupidity to poverty.
The Mahabharata

These three people are the golden flowers that blossom on the creeper named Earth – the courageous, the learned and the person who knows to serve.
The Mahabharata

A pessimistic ignorant fool is always disturbed by thousands of reasons to cry and hundreds of reasons to be afraid everyday. A wise person is never affected by these.
The Mahabharata

The intoxication with power is worse than
drunkenness with liquor and such,
for who is drunk with power does not
come to his senses before he falls.
The Mahabharata

An ambitious person should overcome the following six weaknesses—resting (oversleeping), lethargy, fear, anger, laziness and procrastination.
The Mahabharata

Youth, beauty, life, accumulated wealth, health, loved ones none of them are permanent. A wise man will never run behind these.
The Mahabharata

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One response to “Inspirational Quotes from the Mahabharata (Hindu Religious Text)”

  1. […] between the 2nd century BCE and the 2nd century CE, and incorporated into the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. Popular translations and commentaries include the writings of Ādi […]

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