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The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 4 Books 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18
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1030 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 7, 2010
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May 21, 2023
The Mahabharata translation of Kisari Mohan Ganguly remains always my personal favourite, despite what may be considered today tortuous repetition. The translator has done an excellent job, and it must be remembered that this version is already more than a hundred years old. Its very languor brings to mind forgotten memories of a golden age. However, the translation in Volume IV is decidedly patchy, not surprisingly, since this volume deals with philosophical concepts unique to Hinduism, unknown in Western thought, and therefore untranslatable. Even a paraphrase does little to clarify the ideas of the different kinds of Mind, Word, Breath, Life, not as physical attributes, but as spiritual and philosophic ones.
The main action of the epic (ended in Vol 3 of this edition) is behind us. The victor, Yudhishthira, has been crowned and has appointed his council of advisers. However, he is sunk in despair, for he is now king of a land of widows and infants, all but a very few able-bodied men of the land killed in the great carnage of the last eighteen days.
At the deathbed of Bhishma on the battlefield, he is given a final grounding in kingship, ethics and policy by the mighty hero. The volume is notable for the praises of Siva, Ganga and Vishnu, which comprise some of the most lyrical hymns of Hinduism, and are recited today as devoutly as when Bhishma first expounded them. At the same time, it is notorious for its extreme casteist attitudes. Today this book would be rightly condemned, with its emphatic repetition in every chapter of the superiority of the Brahman caste, and the merits that accrue by endowing a Brahman with gifts, as well as its denigration of the Shudra, or the peasant, caste. Most of the volume is devoted to the more abstruse concepts of Hindu philosophy, as well as the rituals of different kinds of penances and sacrifices, during the shraddhas or ceremonies connected with the veneration of ancestors. Some are now observed more in the breach than otherwise. Much might be comparable, in fact, to the Old Testament Book of Leviticus.
Arjuna, the archer, naïvely tells Krishna that the Gita that had been told him on the battlefield has all but been forgotten in the heat of action and griefs of the last few days, and would Krishna just go over it again?! Krishna obligingly repeats what he had recited on the field of battle, after a brief reproach: "It is exceedingly disagreeable to me to learn that thou didst not, from folly, receive what I imparted," though there is no manifestation this time. This is the Anugita Parva, which paraphrases and expounds on the original Bhagavad-Gita, which formed part of the previous volume.
This volume, as the previous one, though it is heavily larded with little fables, riddles and parables, will not perhaps attract readers who are looking for a story. Yes, during the Horse Sacrifice, there are some battle scenes and action, including Arjuna's death at the hands of his Manipuri son (and subsequent revival) but without the great villains Shakuni, Duryodhana and Karna, and the excitement they generated, these are almost perfunctory. One last time, for the space of a night, all the fallen of the Kurukshetra war, heroes and villains alike, come back to life to delight their families. The book, in essence, defines the end of glory, the emptiness of victory, as one by one, each player exits the stage, in internecine warfare, a forest fire or, burdened with age, in a slow, painful march to death.
There are more modern versions of the Mahabharata in contemporary English, and the ten-volume translation by Bibek Debroy has received the maximum positive critical reviews, and is the most widely quoted after the Ganguli translation. It is simple and yet poetic.
Translations by Ramesh Menon and Devdutt Patnaik have also proved to be immensely popular, attesting to their contemporaneity. The abridged children's version by C Rajagoplachari, though slightly dated, is a classic. It is said that he used to recount the stories to the convicts in prison, while he served time as a political prisoner, and later put them together in the version we have today. The Clay Sanskrit Library has a modern poetic translation side by side with the original Sanskrit version. All modern editions are still under copyright. For modern novels based on individual events or legends, including regional legends that are recounted in one part of the country but not another, there are literally thousands of books of a new sub-genre of pseudo-myths from the Mahabharata.
The main action of the epic (ended in Vol 3 of this edition) is behind us. The victor, Yudhishthira, has been crowned and has appointed his council of advisers. However, he is sunk in despair, for he is now king of a land of widows and infants, all but a very few able-bodied men of the land killed in the great carnage of the last eighteen days.
At the deathbed of Bhishma on the battlefield, he is given a final grounding in kingship, ethics and policy by the mighty hero. The volume is notable for the praises of Siva, Ganga and Vishnu, which comprise some of the most lyrical hymns of Hinduism, and are recited today as devoutly as when Bhishma first expounded them. At the same time, it is notorious for its extreme casteist attitudes. Today this book would be rightly condemned, with its emphatic repetition in every chapter of the superiority of the Brahman caste, and the merits that accrue by endowing a Brahman with gifts, as well as its denigration of the Shudra, or the peasant, caste. Most of the volume is devoted to the more abstruse concepts of Hindu philosophy, as well as the rituals of different kinds of penances and sacrifices, during the shraddhas or ceremonies connected with the veneration of ancestors. Some are now observed more in the breach than otherwise. Much might be comparable, in fact, to the Old Testament Book of Leviticus.
Arjuna, the archer, naïvely tells Krishna that the Gita that had been told him on the battlefield has all but been forgotten in the heat of action and griefs of the last few days, and would Krishna just go over it again?! Krishna obligingly repeats what he had recited on the field of battle, after a brief reproach: "It is exceedingly disagreeable to me to learn that thou didst not, from folly, receive what I imparted," though there is no manifestation this time. This is the Anugita Parva, which paraphrases and expounds on the original Bhagavad-Gita, which formed part of the previous volume.
This volume, as the previous one, though it is heavily larded with little fables, riddles and parables, will not perhaps attract readers who are looking for a story. Yes, during the Horse Sacrifice, there are some battle scenes and action, including Arjuna's death at the hands of his Manipuri son (and subsequent revival) but without the great villains Shakuni, Duryodhana and Karna, and the excitement they generated, these are almost perfunctory. One last time, for the space of a night, all the fallen of the Kurukshetra war, heroes and villains alike, come back to life to delight their families. The book, in essence, defines the end of glory, the emptiness of victory, as one by one, each player exits the stage, in internecine warfare, a forest fire or, burdened with age, in a slow, painful march to death.
There are more modern versions of the Mahabharata in contemporary English, and the ten-volume translation by Bibek Debroy has received the maximum positive critical reviews, and is the most widely quoted after the Ganguli translation. It is simple and yet poetic.
Translations by Ramesh Menon and Devdutt Patnaik have also proved to be immensely popular, attesting to their contemporaneity. The abridged children's version by C Rajagoplachari, though slightly dated, is a classic. It is said that he used to recount the stories to the convicts in prison, while he served time as a political prisoner, and later put them together in the version we have today. The Clay Sanskrit Library has a modern poetic translation side by side with the original Sanskrit version. All modern editions are still under copyright. For modern novels based on individual events or legends, including regional legends that are recounted in one part of the country but not another, there are literally thousands of books of a new sub-genre of pseudo-myths from the Mahabharata.
March 7, 2018
Books 12 & 13 really should be their own work. Since the first books are so detailed , I was left wondering why the final books are so short and devoid of detail. To me it seemed like they weren't supposed to be as important, but I don't know why.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews