The longest Sanskrit epic ever written, Mahabharata has a collection of more than 74,000 verses, divided into

18 books. The Mahabharata story is much revered in India and basically among the Hindus. The Mahabharata contains the Bhagawad Gita, the famous gospel of duty that was taught to the great warrior, Arjuna by Lord Krishna. The Mahabharata dwells on the aspect of the important goals of a human being in his mortal life. The epic aims at making people realize the relation between the individual and the society and how they both are inter dependent on each other. Read on further a summary of Mahabharata, the greatest epic ever. The epic revolves around the struggle for the throne of the kingdom of Hastinapura. The struggle is between two branches of the same family, the Kauravas and Pandavas. The Kauravas were collectively the hundred sons of the blind king Dhritarashtra and the Pandavas were the five sons of Pandu, who died of a curse. The five brothers named Yudhisthira (eldest son), Arjuna, Bheema, Nakula and Sahdeva were always obedient and dutiful, which made them the most loved in the kingdom. Each of the Pandavas had a special virtue in them that made them stand apart from the rest of the world. This made the Kauravas hate them and they planned many devious ways to get rid of them. As time went by, the Pandavas got married and shared a common wife named Draupadi. The Kauravas got even more enraged and challenged the Pandavas to a game of gamble. The Pandavas lost and were banished from the kingdom for an exile of 12 years. There was a condition that if they were recognized by the end of 12 years, they would have to begin from scratch. One of the most important and dramatic character in this epic is Lord Krishna. He was the sole advisor, guide and true friend of the Pandavas and helped them in each and every difficulty in their exile. He is said to be the incarnation of God, who came to earth in human form to relieve the world of evil people and restore faith in his devotees. During the great battle of Kurukshetra fought between the Kauravas and the Pandavas, Lord Krishna took upon himself the duty of driving Arjuna's chariot. He imparted the valuable and practical lessons of the Bhagawad Gita, a text of the conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjuna, where Lord Krishna shows Arjuna a glimpse of his majestic divine form. The Pandavas won the battle and ruled over Hastinapura for a number of years. It is said that Dhritarashtra and his wife retired into the forest to lead a stress-free life of an ascetic and Krishna left after around thirty six years after the battle took place. When the Pandavas realized that it was time to leave this earth, they all set out on a journey towards the North on foot. It is said that the gates of heaven opened on the northern horizon. One by one they dropped dead, until Yudhisthira finally reached the gates of heaven to be united once again with his brothers and wife. RAMAYAN amayana is one of the most read and famous epics of all times. Maharshi Valmiki wrote the Ramayana epic. Every boy and girl in India knows the Ramayana story by heart. Every Hindu has the highest respect for this great epic, which is also given the status of a holy book. The flawless values and idealistic principles highlighted in the epic are something that is taught to every kid in a household. Given here is a summary of Ramayana epic by Valmiki. Long time back, in the kingdom of Ayodhya, there lived a noble king known as Dashratha. He had three wives, but no children. After performing an elaborate Yagna to please Gods, he was granted with four sons. The eldest one was called Rama and was known for his idealist values and outlook. He is considered to be the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The king decided to crown Rama, as he was the rightful heir to the throne. But the king's second wife, Kaikeyi grew jealous and she wanted her son to be the king. She reminded the king of a promise he gave her long back and made him announce that hr son would be the king. Rama was exiled for a period of 14 years. Being the obedient son and an idealist, Rama obeyed his father and bid farewell to the kingdom and riches and donned the robes of an ascetic. Thus set out Rama with Sita and Lakshmana on his 14 year long exile in the forests of India. Then one day, a Demoness saw Rama and was mesmerized by his charming personality. She tried to seduce him but he ignored her completely. She then tries to seduce Lakshmana, but enraged, he cuts off her nose. Thoroughly insulted, she goes back to her brother Ravana, the Demon king of Lanka and complains about what happened. Ravana seeks

revenge by abducting Sita and captivating her in his palace. Determined and confident, Rama sets out to find her. He is helped by a group of monkeys who put in their best efforts to get Sita back from Lanka. Ravana is spoken of as a powerful demon, who was blessed by many Gods. His only flaw was vanity. A battle ensued between the monkey army of Rama and the demon army of Ravana. In the end, Rama emerged victorious and was united with Sita. By this time, their exile had ended and they returned back to their kingdom victorious. Rama was crowned the king and he proved himself to be a devoted ruler. The moral of this epic is good always triumphs over evil. No matter what happens, one must never accept anything wrong and never deter from his path of duties of life.

RELEVANCE TO MODERN LIFE Embodiments of Love! Life is like a game of chess; not merely that, it is like a battlefield. The story of Rama teaches us the threefold Dharma (code of conduct) pertaining to the individual, the family and the society. You have to make every effort to understand the duties of the individual, the family and the society. Rama is the ocean of compassion. He is love personified. It is possible to understand His divinity only through the path of love. Love is the undercurrent of human life. Man will be able to manifest his innate divinity only when he develops love within. The modern society needs to follow the Dharma that is contained in the epic Ramayana. What is the reason? Today, the son is not paying heed to his father's advice and the parents are not concerned about the future of the son. Devotion to the Guru should be the aim of the students. But, the students are not having regard for their teachers and the teachers are not imparting anything good to them. In such a situation, everyone needs to follow the ideals of the Ramayana. The Ramayana speaks of the true identity of the individual, the real significance of the family and the sanctity of the society. The Ramayana teaches the importance of human values. Today corruption is rampant in all fields such as business, education and politics. Under these circumstances, the principles of the Ramayana are very important. It explains in detail the relationship that should exist between brothers, the father and the son, the preceptor and the disciple. All of us live on the same earth. The same sky is above all of us. We breathe the same air and drink the same water. Ignoring this underlying principle of unity man visualizes multiplicity, which is a big mistake. The Ramayana centers on the principle of unity in diversity. Today as man has lost the ability to see unity in diversity, he is immersed in restlessness. What we need today is to see unity in diversity and the divinity behind this unity.