Ramayana vs. Mahabharata

Difference Between Ramayana and Mahabharata

The Ramayana and the Mahabharata are the two epics of India. The major differences between them are their dates of composition, authors, characters and others like Sage Valmiki is the one who wrote The Ramayana while the Mahabharata was written by Sage Vyasa.

The Ramayana contains 24,000 verses, while the Mahabharata is considered the longest poem ever written, and contains about 100.000 lines. It is also a true fact that the Mahabharata has found its way into the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest poem in the world.

The Ramayana contains the story of Rama, the son of King Dasaratha of Ayodhya. It deals with how Rama won the fight against the evil king of Lanka- Ravana and killed him in the end. Ravana had erred in the charming wife of Rama, Sita was her name. On the other hand, the Mahabharata contains the history of the rivalry between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, both were known jointly in the name of Purus.

The Mahabharata ends with the war of Kurukshetra, in which all 100 Kauravas were killed by five Pandavas, with the help of Krishna. Pandavas finally win the throne to Hastinapura for several years and finally fall into the sky. This is how the Mahabharata ends. The Ramayana ends Rama being coronated s the as then Ayodhya king. Vibhishana, who was  Ravana’s brother, ends up being the king of Lanka.

Rama finally enters the river Sarayu to fulfill his incarnation. His son, Lave and Kusha are the cloak of royalty. This is how the Ramayaua ends. It is also interesting to note that the Mahabharata is associated with the number 18.

The Mahabharata contains 18 long chapters. We call each chapter as a Parva. Now, there are altogether 18 parva in the Mahabharata. On the other hand, the Ramayana has parts called Kanda. There are seven in all Kanda in the Ramayana. 7 Kanda of the Ramayana are Bala, Ayodhya Kanda, Aranya Kanda, Kishkinda Kanda, Sundara Kanda, Kanda and Uttara Kanda Yuddha.

It is believed that the Uttara Kanda could have been an addition or a last interpolation according to some scholars. They believe that Bala Kanda is also a kind of added to the last original as Ramayana might have contained only 5 Kanda to start. It is interesting to note that we have not ever spoken Rama as the incarnation of God in the Ramayana. In other words, it has been described as a pure human being by the poet Valmiki Sage.

On the other hand, Krishna is sometimes described as an incarnation of God in the Mahabharata. In many other places, it was also considered a human being who ruled the city of Dwaraka. They say he killed many demons when he was a child. It is said that Rama on the other hand, in the Ramayana has killed Subahu a demon when he was a teenaged boy.

The Ramayana describes the battles in their first phase in which sophisticated weapons were not used. On the other hand, the Mahabharata has described the battles in which sophisticated weapons were used. This shows that the Ramayana has happened in the Treta Yuga and the Mahabharata came later in the Dwapara Yuga.


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