Mahabharata

This epic is ancient India's greatest epic. It is over 100,000 verses and references the story of the battle in which the Aryans gained power of the Ganges River Valley. It has served as a "religious and social doctrine for India" for many years. It tells of warfare and religion.

Ramayana

The Ramayana is a much shorter epic of the Aryans. The story is of King Rama and his wife, Sita. Sita is kidnapped by King Ravana. The rest of the story tells of the heroic actions King Rama does to rescue his wife. It teaches the values of behavior and priests look to Rama as the image of a perfect king and Sita as an image of a loyal and obedient wife.