Ramayana is about man. Mahabharata is about mankind. Ramayana stresses on the micro. Mahabharata stresses on the macro. Ramayana is about love. Mahabharata is about justice. Ramayana warms the heart. Mahabharata lights up the brain. Ramayana and Mahabharata are two brilliant epics and it would be unproductive to rate them as one better than other. The Dilemma At the core of both epics are two very honest kings who go to the extremes to keep their family, spouse and citizens happy. However, as with any leadership story, there is a moral dilemma when these different pieces start falling in conflict with each other. Both men find it hard to pick the sides and eventually end up taking the tradeoffs for protecting their citizens that make their personal life miserable. The people who trivialize their moral dilemmas and pass quick judgment are usually folks who have never been posed such challenges in a leadership role. Let's take a very simple case - if your mother and wife fight, do you know which side you would pick? Would you place heart over the brain? Multiply that by 1000 times and that is the dilemma of Rama and Yudhisthira. If you think their choices are easy, how many such hair-splitting feuds have you helped resolve? Love vs. Justice Ramayana's emphasis is on the individual. It is a story of love and separation. Rama's love for his wife Sita, respect for his father Dasaratha, affection for his brothers and later the longing yearning for his lost sons are the key parts of Ramayana. In the middle, we see the unflinching loyalty of Hanuman & Guha, the devotion of little creatures that pave the bridge of Rama in search for his wife and the sacrifice of Jadayu. Extraordinarily brilliant. There is a reason why Ramayana is among the most revered epics of Asia - in more than a dozen countries. The epic is human. Rama is lovable. Love, affection and sacrifice are the key elements of Ramayana. While Valmiki [Ramayana's author] handles some of the leadership dilemma [like in the case of Rama breaking the rule to attack an enemy - Vali - from behind or in the case of Rama letting his wife Sita leave the city after the citizens of Ayodhya were not fully convinced of her innocence], he stresses more on the individual. King Rama had to make a choice - should he be partial to his wife by not questioning her [even if man Rama's heart knows she is innocent], should he punish her without evidence or should he just resign from the throne and put his subjects to peril. No easy answer. Even today, leaders are forced to choose between personal life and public life and often their personal life takes the brunt [even Mahatma Gandhi faced this conundrum] Yudhisthira's Desperate Actions to Prevent a War In case of Vyasa's Mahabharata, the author makes these moral dilemma as a central element. It is less about the individual and more about justice. Its characters are more controversial and emphasis is on the strategic elements of leadership. Given its complexity it is also much harder to represent. Artists depicting Mahabharata usually take shortcuts and make it as though Arjuna and Bheema are the key characters of the epic. Neither of them are as important as their older brother whose wisdom is hard to represent. Yudhisthira had to walk a thin line in making sure his brothers and his subjects get the things they deserve, while not angering his cousins who are on the other side. He tried hard to avoid a war; he did everything to please and by accepting everything his cousins wanted - including the invitation to play a game of dice, fully knowing his weakness of not being able to pull back his temptations when he is in the middle of the game. That game changes his whole life and the life of near & dear. This complex dance of trying to please both sides eventually fall apart and his worse fears come true - war. the Dice that changes everything the war of epic proportions This war becomes a key element of Mahabharata. During this time, **** Krishna gives an extraordinary treatise of wisdom - Bhagvad Gita. It deals with how leaders should manage complex decision making. It offers very practical prescriptions on keeping a cool head when you are leading a side. Gita prescribes everything from the right diet to managing emotions and prayer. Finally, guys let us try more to understand these two brilliant epics. It is not without reason that leaders in all walks of life fell in love with these epics. It is not without reason that legendary men and women spent their lives enjoying these books. Stop trivializing them. In summary, Mahabharata is about the strategic elements of leadership, while Ramayana is about the human element of leadership. One talks about the prescriptions and other is about the pains. You take Ramayana's characters to heart and Mahabharata's concepts to the brain. Both are India's national treasures with unfathomable beauty.