The Mahabharata, Volume 3: Book 4: The Book of the Virata; Book 5: The Book of the Effort

by J.A.B. Van Buitenen (Translator/Editor)

The Mahabharata, an ancient and vast Sanskrit poem, is a remarkable collection of epics, legends, romances, theology, and ethical and metaphysical doctrine. The core of this great work is the epic struggle between five heroic brothers, the Pandavas, and their one hundred contentious cousins for rule of the land. This is the third volume of van Buitenen's acclaimed translation of the definitive Poona edition of the text. Book 4, The Book of Virata, begins as a burlesque, but the mood soon darkens amid molestation, raids, and Arjuna's battle with the principal heroes of the enemy. Book 5, The Book of the Effort, relates the attempts of the Pandavas to negotiate the return of their patrimony. They are refused so much as a "pinprick of land," and both parties finally march to battle.

Genres: Religion, Classics, Spirituality, India, Poetry, Mythology

572 pages, Paperback

First published November 15, 1983

About the author

Johannes Adrianus Bernardus van Buitenen (1928 - 21 September, 1979) was an Indologist at the University of Chicago where he was the George V. Bobrinskoy Professor of Sanskrit in the Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations. His interests ranged widely over literature, philosophy and philology but toward the end of his career he focused primarily on the Mahābhārata.

van Buitenen studied with Jan Gonda at the Rijksuniversiteit, Utrecht (since 1990 Universiteit Utrecht). His proefschrift was published in 1953 and he emigrated to America where he took a position at the University of Chicago, remaining there until his death in 1979 at the age of fifty-one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._A._B....

Reviews

[Rebekah Sturgill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whew. I don't even know how to review this. The Mahabharata claims that all things are within its pages and as.you read on, I think you become more convinced of this yourself.

[Ryan Guide · Rating 5 out of 5]

Get ready for the good stuff...