Sita: Warrior of Mithila (Ram Chandra #2)

by Amish Tripathi

‘There are bad people too, Sita. People who do criminal things. You find them among the rich in the inner city and the poor in the slums.’

Not everyone has the spirit to keep their character strong when their stomachs are empty.’

You must use your heart to decide the destination, but use your head to plot the journey.

Too much of anything creates an imbalance in life. This is true even of virtues such as nonviolence. You never know when the winds of change strike; when violence may be required to protect your society, or to even survive.’

‘No, I am not committed to the Charvaks, Guruji. If I am pragmatic, then I should be open to every school of philosophy. And accept only those parts that make sense to me, while rejecting other bits that don’t. I should learn from any philosophy that can help me fulfil my karma.’

Reverse-bias is also bias. Reverse-racism is also racism. Reverse-sexism is also sexism.’

‘I’m all right,’ said Naarad heartily. ‘Any better would be a sin.’

He believed that rather than trying to force-fit an artificial equality, one must remove the curse of birth determining one’s life prospects. Societies would always have hierarchies. They existed even in nature. But they could be fluid. There would be times when Kshatriya soldiers comprised the elite, and then, there would be times when skilful Shudra creators would be the elite. The differences in society should be determined by merit. That’s all. Not birth.

Don’t be afraid of the dark, my child. Light has a source. It can be snuffed out. But darkness has no source. It just exists. This darkness is a path to That, which has no source: God.

Vishwamitra pulled Vashishtha towards himself. ‘Divodas is my friend. You mess with him, you mess with me.’

Vashishtha was pulled back from the ancient, more than a hundred-and-forty-year-old memory. He quickly wiped his eyes. Tears are meant to be hidden.

Grief overwhelms you when you are alone. But when you find your soulmate, you can handle anything.