Ramayana and Mahabharata

I have read more than half of Ramayana. It is not for nothing that it has been raised to epic status in our country. There is tremendous wealth in every event of it. There are fundamental differences between Ramayana and Mahabharata. In Mahabharata, there is no one hero and heroine. But Ramayana comes very close to our general assumption of a story- it has a hero, Ram- who does all the good things including bashing bad guys and a heroine, Sita- who is embodiment of all the virtues.

But Mahabharata is different. Here even Yudhistira who is known for his 'Truth' and 'Dharma', banishes them on the battle field. Arjun considered a great warrior had to kill Karna, Bhishma and Drona with deception. Even Krishna- who is called God follows "unrighteous" ways to help Pandavas win. These characters seem close to our selves. Pandavas cannot be called good guys and Kauravas bad guys rigidly. They just had varying degrees of grey qualities. To an extent that I felt pity for Duryodhana (the cause of the battle and so much bloodshed) after Bhima kills him. But Ram was white and demons were black in Ramayana. May be people had evolved after all there are so many years between the 2 epics. The description of Sita in Ramayana is to my special liking. Ramayana is Ram through out but in Mahabharata every person gets his/her share.

Mahabharata appears more colourful and happening than Ramayana. In Ramayana one can easily predict what a particular character's response will be to a given incident. But in Mahabharata, no. They surprise you by behaving in exact contrary to their known nature- Arjuna's deception, Krishna's mavericks, Duryodhana's friendship, Karna's loyalty, Bhishma's weakness, Drona's love, Draupadi's angst and so on. But in Ramayana it's impossible for Ram to betray- even his wife's abductors, it's impossible to Lakshmana to disobey his brother Ram, it's impossible for Dashratha to admonish his wife's evil asking of sending Ram in exile. Ramayana is full of love and romance. Dashratha's love for Ram- he even lays his life in the grief of his separation. Bharata's love for Ram- he even rejects the throne. Lakshmana's love for Ram- he even goes to exile when none asked for it. Of course Sita's love for Ram- she being a princess follows him to forest. Ram's love for his 3 mothers, father, brothers and even demons are sublime.

Both the epics are worth many reads and understanding. They enrich us in many ways and exalt our souls. They appear to be 2 oases in this mad mad world.