PURUSHARTHA - A journal of Management, Ethics and Spirituality

Hanuman's Wisdom & Sita's Peace: A journey from divine thoughts to modern learnings through sacrifice in Ramcharitmanas

Saurabh Kumar Srivastava, Aviral Mishra, Kishore Kumar, Sandeep Singh — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 22:03:22 +0530

Religious scripture like Ramcharitmanas and Ramayana, are considered as philosophical guides that shape modern human values and societal well-being. These holy scriptures not only provide the story of the divine life and virtues of the theological context, but also offer a comprehensive philosophical guide for compassion, justice, human values, and societal well-being. The current study examines the philosophical essence built in the chosen and selected couplets from the Sundar Kand of the holy scripture Ramcharitmanas, aiming via sacrifice, wisdom and peace as three important constructs. Further utilizing interpretive textual analysis, the study posits Hanuman’s journey as a spiritual and philosophical metaphor that exhibits the ideal integration of intellectual acumen, selfless devotion, unmatched sacrifice, and inner harmony. The analysis reveals that the Hanuman’s acumen crosses intellectual apprehension, rooted in faith-driven vision; the sacrifice portrays his relinquishment of the self-bizarre identity towards a divine service and cause. On the other hand, Sitaji’s character via peace reflects a state of calm endurance even after being hostage, expressing it as an act of grace and thereby dismantling the cruel opponent's courage and plan. The present paper significantly contributes to the limited extant literature on the contribution of Ramcharitmanas for propagating righteous living and everlasting harmony. Hence, this study thereby adds to the expanding interdisciplinary dialogue between ancient Indic literature and the contemporary psychological, human values, and leadership frameworks.

Gender Inequality in India: Saga of Contradictions

Ashwani K. Gupta, Santosh Kumar, Akhand Pratap Singh — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 22:17:04 +0530

This paper discusses the nature of gender inequality and its various dimensions in India. Based on the secondary data from different censuses and indexes from 2001 to 2020, it assesses the reasons behind gender discrimination in Indian societies. It analyzes the panel data on socio-economic condition indicators such as Female - Male Ratio (FMR), Child Sex Ratio (CSR), Infant Mortality Ratio (IMR), Literacy Rate (LR), Gender Employment Ratio (GER) Property Rights (PR) Access to Credit (AC), etc. from the prominent states of India. It also examines the cross-state similarities and disparities concerning gender discrimination through regression analysis. This work will determine the trends in various areas of discrimination through convergence tests. It analyzes the cross-time and cross-state pattern of gender discrimination and tries to develop a composite gender discrimination index. The prime objective of this paper is to develop a composite gender discrimination index that enhances the clarity of gender discrimination status in India. This might help policymakers in drafting better policies, plans, and procedures for mitigating gender inequality in India.

Ancient Wisdom, Modern Dilemmas: Reframing Decision-Making through the lens of Indian Epics

Sanjay Fuloria, Shubhagata Roy — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 22:29:17 +0530

This paper explores the enduring relevance of ancient Indian philosophical traditions in enriching modern decision-making frameworks. Despite rapid advancements in technology and increased competitive pressures in contemporary organizations, persistent challenges related to ethics, sustainability, and leadership call for a more holistic, value-centered paradigm. Drawing on primary texts—including the Vedas, Upanishads, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Bhagavad Gita, and Arthashastra—and supported by rigorous analysis of interdisciplinary literature, this study systematically evaluates key principles of Indian thought such as Dharma (righteous conduct), Karma (action and consequence), and Viveka (discriminative wisdom).

Findings reveal that these traditions advocate a deeply integrated view of decision-making that emphasizes ethical responsibility, long term stewardship, intuitive discernment, and community-centric leadership. Analysis also identifies substantial contrasts with Western centric utility-based models that often privilege short-term goals and empirical data, suggesting the need for leadership practices that balance material outcomes with moral and spiritual well-being. Moreover, the research underscores the practical application of Indian philosophies in contemporary leadership development, ethical decision tools, sustainability practices, and cross-cultural management frameworks, positioning these teachings as a robust foundation for leaders operating in volatile, diverse, and uncertain environments.

By bridging ancient Indian insights with modern theory and practice, this study advances a transcendent, ethically grounded model of decision-making that responds to global imperatives for sustainability, inclusion, and moral integrity. Furthermore, the findings highlight future avenues for interdisciplinary research and underscore the capacity of these philosophies to inspire enduring, ethically resilient leadership across cultural and organizational contexts. Ultimately, this work asserts that time-honored Indian thought can serve as a vital resource for cultivating responsible decision-making and fostering holistic leadership that harmonizes individual ambitions with collective flourishing and planetary well-being.

Marketing Ethics and Participation in Online Brand Communities: A Bibliometric Analysis

Joy Patra, Sanchita Bansal — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 22:42:06 +0530

Research on brand communities in online scenarios has seen a significant surge over the past two decades, fueled by an increased interest among scholars in areas such as online commerce, especially through social media platforms. This study aims to present a novel approach to map the literature related to marketing ethics with respect to participation in brand communities in online scenarios. The study was conducted with 336 research articles obtained from Scopus database, for the period 2000 to 2025. VOSviewer v1.6.20 and Biblioshiny tools were used to analyze the meta-data, further.

Participation in brand communities in online scenarios, coupled with marketing ethics, are the central purpose of discussion. Using bibliometric tools such as R Studio and Biblioshiny – an online tool based on Bibliometrix platform, meant for scientific analyses (Aria M. and Cuccurullo C. (2017), the major findings of this research reveal significant opportunity areas for enhancing present literature on marketing ethics while seeking participation by members in brand communities in online scenarios, as well as the highest cited authors, the most influential journals, and countries producing the maximum research articles that enriched the field of ethics and participation in brand communities in online scenarios.

The objective of this study is to contribute to the present-day literature in the fields of marketing and business ethics, as well as social media.