Discuss Karma, and cite examples where it comes back to haunt despicable characters, or works in the favor of characters of virtue.

Compare the idea of the ideally virtuous Indian wife with the idea of the modern woman, in view of modern feminism. Include in this discussion the idea that it was prudent at one time in Hindu culture for a wife to cremate herself - meaning, burn herself alive - on her husband's funeral pyre.

In light of feminism, discuss Devi and the role that she plays in the story involving the demon Mahishasura. Is she truly a feminine heroine, considering that she is an incarnation of the patriarchal ultimate God, Iswara?

How is the character Savitri a heroine, and how does her persistence and unwillingness to take no for an answer save her family in the end? Considering that she must face...