## The Palace of Illusions ### The Palace of Illusions  #### Metadata * Author: [[The Palace of Illusions]] * Full Title: The Palace of Illusions * Category: #books #### Highlights * "In righteous war, you fight only with men that are your equal in rank. You don't attack your enemies at night, or when they're retreating or unarmed. You don't strike them on the back or below the navel. You use your celestial astras only on warriors who themselves have such weapons." (Location 418) * He said: Have you heard the fable of the donkey that wrapped himself in a lion's hide so the other animals would fear him? Or of the wolf that hid under sheepskin so he could mingle undetected with his prey? I feel like both sometimes. A fake—or a hidden menace. (Location 656) * "Could he really have been Amba in a previous incarnation?" I persisted. "Or did he—through some strange empathy—feel her sorrow so deeply that he resolved to avenge her?" "We all have past lives," Krishna said, though that wasn't what I'd asked. "Highly evolved beings remember them, while lesser souls forget." (Location 699) * "As for being pawns," Krishna was saying, "aren't we all pawns in the hands of Time, the greatest player of them all?" (Location 820) * But I was a woman, and I had to practice them—as Sikhandi had suggested—in my own way. I would approach the problem aslant. No matter what my father's intention, I could still make Arjun's heart beat faster. I could still influence how he thought. Perhaps Time was the master player. But within the limits allowed to humans in this world the sages called unreal, I would be a player, too. (Location 826) * The sorceress had taught me a yogic breath that filled me with energy so that I needed no other sustenance. (Location 850) * Arjun, then I'll share my own inheritance with him! He calls for holy water and pours it over the stranger's head. To the cheers of the crowd, he says, King Karna, I now pronounce you ruler of Anga, and my friend. Karna embraces him fervently. I'll never forget your generosity, he says. You have salvaged my honor. Earth may break asunder, but I will not forsake you. From this moment, your friends are my friends, and your enemies my bitterest foes. The crowd roars its admiration. This, they tell each other, is how heroes should behave! The three old men exchange looks of concern. Things have not worked out the way they planned. The upstart Karna has found (Location 1120) * But her gaze was that of a swordsman who sees a chink in his opponent's armor and does not hesitate to plunge his blade there. (Location 1283) * For isn't that what our homes are ultimately, our fantasies made corporeal, our secret selves exposed? The converse is also true: we grow to become that which we live within. That was one of the reasons why I longed to escape my father's walls. (Location 1489) * Note: That explains why my room is always a mess * As he helped me up into the carriage with old-fashioned gal-lantry, telling me that we must do (Location 1812) # The Palace of Illusions  ## Metadata - Author: [[The Palace of Illusions]] - Full Title: The Palace of Illusions - Category: #books ## Highlights - “In righteous war, you fight only with men that are your equal in rank. You don’t attack your enemies at night, or when they’re retreating or unarmed. You don’t strike them on the back or below the navel. You use your celestial astras only on warriors who themselves have such weapons.” (Location 418) - He said: Have you heard the fable of the donkey that wrapped himself in a lion’s hide so the other animals would fear him? Or of the wolf that hid under sheepskin so he could mingle undetected with his prey? I feel like both sometimes. A fake—or a hidden menace. (Location 656) - “Could he really have been Amba in a previous incarnation?” I persisted. “Or did he—through some strange empathy—feel her sorrow so deeply that he resolved to avenge her?” “We all have past lives,” Krishna said, though that wasn’t what I’d asked. “Highly evolved beings remember them, while lesser souls forget.” (Location 699) - “As for being pawns,” Krishna was saying, “aren’t we all pawns in the hands of Time, the greatest player of them all?” (Location 820) - But I was a woman, and I had to practice them—as Sikhandi had suggested—in my own way. I would approach the problem aslant. No matter what my father’s intention, I could still make Arjun’s heart beat faster. I could still influence how he thought. Perhaps Time was the master player. But within the limits allowed to humans in this world the sages called unreal, I would be a player, too. (Location 826) - The sorceress had taught me a yogic breath that filled me with energy so that I needed no other sustenance. (Location 850) - Arjun, then I’ll share my own inheritance with him! He calls for holy water and pours it over the stranger’s head. To the cheers of the crowd, he says, King Karna, I now pronounce you ruler of Anga, and my friend. Karna embraces him fervently. I’ll never forget your generosity, he says. You have salvaged my honor. Earth may break asunder, but I will not forsake you. From this moment, your friends are my friends, and your enemies my bitterest foes. The crowd roars its admiration. This, they tell each other, is how heroes should behave! The three old men exchange looks of concern. Things have not worked out the way they planned. The upstart Karna has found (Location 1120) - But her gaze was that of a swordsman who sees a chink in his opponent’s armor and does not hesitate to plunge his blade there. (Location 1283) - For isn’t that what our homes are ultimately, our fantasies made corporeal, our secret selves exposed? The converse is also true: we grow to become that which we live within. That was one of the reasons why I longed to escape my father’s walls. (Location 1489) - Note: That explains why my room is always a mess - As he helped me up into the carriage with old-fashioned gal-lantry, telling me that we must do (Location 1812)