Maha-Bharata: The Epic of Ancient India Condensed into English Verse

“What is the greatest wonder in the world? That, every single day, people die, Yet the living think they are immortal.””

— Unknown

“Pleasure from the senses seems like nectar at first, but it is bitter as poison in the end.””

— Unknown

“When everything in this world is temporary, why do you grieve for that which is lost?””

— Unknown

“free of the five evils which assail men: excessive sleep, fear, anger, weakness of mind, and procrastination.””

— Unknown

“And, having killed him (Abhimanyu), your people danced round his dead body like savage hunters exulting over their prey. All good men in the army were grieved and tears rolled from their eyes. Even the birds of prey, that circled overhead making noises seemed to cry 'Not thus! Not thus!””

— Unknown

“Scriptural knowledge is successful when it results in humility and good conduct, wealth is successful when it is both enjoyed and given away in charity, and marriage is successful when the wife is enjoyed and bears offspring.””

— Unknown

“Yudhisthira replies that anger leads to evil and should not be indulged; better far is forbearance. (3.30)””

— Unknown

“A wise man laments neither for the living nor the dead. Both you, I, and all these assembled kshatriyas have always existed and will always exist. We are eternal souls, passing from body to body. Even in this life we see how the body changes, even though we remain the same person. In the same way, when death comes, we are given a new body. A self-controlled person is not bewildered by such a change.””

— Unknown

“Desist, brother. Great men never care for the harsh words uttered by inferior men. Even if able to retaliate, they do not take seriously acts of hostility, preferring instead to remember even a little good that their enemies may have done them.””

— Unknown