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Mahabharta
The Mahabharata or Mahābhārata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Ramayana.
Besides its epic narrative of the Kurukshetra War and the fates of the Kaurava and the Pandava princes, the Mahabharata contains much philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four "goals of life" or purusharthas (12.161). Among the principal works and stories that are a part of the Mahabharata are the Bhagavad Gita, the story of Damayanti, an abbreviated version of the Ramayana, and the Rishyasringa, often considered as works in their own right.
Traditionally, the authorship of the Mahabharata is attributed to Vyasa. There have been many attempts to unravel its historical growth and compositional layers. The oldest preserved parts of the text are thought to be not much older than around 400 BCE, though the origins of the epic probably fall between the 8th and 9th centuries BCE. The text probably reached its final form by the early Gupta period (c. 4th century). The title may be translated as "the great tale of the Bhārata dynasty". According to the Mahabharata itself, the tale is extended from a shorter version of 24,000 verses called simply Bhārata.
The Mahabharata is the longest epic poem in the world and many a times described as "longest poem ever written". Its longest version consists of over 100,000 shloka or over 200,000 individual verse lines (each shloka is a couplet), and long prose passages. About 1.8 million words in total, the Mahabharata is roughly ten times the length of the Iliad and the Odyssey combined, or about four times the length of the Ramayana. W. J. Johnson has compared the importance of the Mahabharata to world civilization to that of the Bible, the works of Shakespeare, the works of Homer, Greek drama, or the Qur'an.
Besides its epic narrative of the Kurukshetra War and the fates of the Kaurava and the Pandava princes, the Mahabharata contains much philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four "goals of life" or purusharthas (12.161). Among the principal works and stories that are a part of the Mahabharata are the Bhagavad Gita, the story of Damayanti, an abbreviated version of the Ramayana, and the Rishyasringa, often considered as works in their own right.
Traditionally, the authorship of the Mahabharata is attributed to Vyasa. There have been many attempts to unravel its historical growth and compositional layers. The oldest preserved parts of the text are thought to be not much older than around 400 BCE, though the origins of the epic probably fall between the 8th and 9th centuries BCE. The text probably reached its final form by the early Gupta period (c. 4th century). The title may be translated as "the great tale of the Bhārata dynasty". According to the Mahabharata itself, the tale is extended from a shorter version of 24,000 verses called simply Bhārata.
The Mahabharata is the longest epic poem in the world and many a times described as "longest poem ever written". Its longest version consists of over 100,000 shloka or over 200,000 individual verse lines (each shloka is a couplet), and long prose passages. About 1.8 million words in total, the Mahabharata is roughly ten times the length of the Iliad and the Odyssey combined, or about four times the length of the Ramayana. W. J. Johnson has compared the importance of the Mahabharata to world civilization to that of the Bible, the works of Shakespeare, the works of Homer, Greek drama, or the Qur'an.
- GenresGnosticismEpicPhilosophy
572 pages, Paperback
First published June 17, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 19, 2016
Despite the archaic language, and the newer translations by Debroy and Van Buitenen, this version (KMG) is still my favorite full translation. There is a natural flow in KMGs language, inspite of the "thou" and "thine". KMG did not have the benefit of the critical edition of the sanskrit text, which was completed 50 years after his translation. He used both the Bombay and Calcutta edition for his work, using his own discretion to resolve conflict.
The Van Buitenen version has much additional context, modern language, and based on the critical version, however the language feels stiff and academic.
The Debroy version is somewhere in the middle, not as stiff as Buitenen, but not as natural as KMG either.
The Van Buitenen version has much additional context, modern language, and based on the critical version, however the language feels stiff and academic.
The Debroy version is somewhere in the middle, not as stiff as Buitenen, but not as natural as KMG either.
June 8, 2020
This is not an easy subject to review.
The Mahabharata is certainly grandiose and part and parcel of the Indian cultural landscape. Nobody is fully ignorant of it, yet not many people have read the entire text.
The English translation by KMG is based on the Bengal and Bombay versions aided by Neelakantha's commentary.The translation is aimed at non-Indian readers. So many trees, plants, animals and other common items that would be familiar to Indian readers are given by their scientific names. We then have to refer to Google to find out the familiar name.
The Mahabharata text itself is very dramatic at some points and very tedious at others. The Virata and Udyoga Parvas move fast. The Shanti Parva does not contains any events- it is mostly philosophical, but not at all boring as it tries to resolve various ethical conundrums like Ahimsa and meat sacrifice, both being recommended practise. Adi Parva is just name dropping with interesting side-stories scattered throughout. Unfortunately, that is the first section. So getting through this section is a bit of a slog. Anusasana Parva is a total crap-shoot.
The war scenes are a mix. Some of the war scenes are wonderfully visualised, including a beautiful night-battle. The soldier tie oil lamps to the chariots. And then the battle resumes.
Trying to kill Bhisma, Jayadratha etc. the reader himself gets frustrated at the number of enemies that the Pandavas have to kill before getting to these guys. The one problem here is the repetition of the metaphor about creating a river of blood, the heads and bodes of the soldiers as the banks and pebbles of the river etc. The metaphor looks good for the first time. Then it is repeated practically every page.
The one unavoidable and common issue is the repetition of various stories and morals. Since this was an oral story, repetition was necessary. But when reading as a text, it becomes tiresome.
Notwithstanding these minor thorns, the Mahabharatha is a magnificent book. I don't think it will go ever out of fashion. One of the best things here is the characterization. The central characters are so well drawn and consistent that it does not leave any scope for doubt that this was probably an actual historical event recorded in-situ.
Overall, an excellent and a must-read if you have patience and time, of course.
The Mahabharata is certainly grandiose and part and parcel of the Indian cultural landscape. Nobody is fully ignorant of it, yet not many people have read the entire text.
The English translation by KMG is based on the Bengal and Bombay versions aided by Neelakantha's commentary.The translation is aimed at non-Indian readers. So many trees, plants, animals and other common items that would be familiar to Indian readers are given by their scientific names. We then have to refer to Google to find out the familiar name.
The Mahabharata text itself is very dramatic at some points and very tedious at others. The Virata and Udyoga Parvas move fast. The Shanti Parva does not contains any events- it is mostly philosophical, but not at all boring as it tries to resolve various ethical conundrums like Ahimsa and meat sacrifice, both being recommended practise. Adi Parva is just name dropping with interesting side-stories scattered throughout. Unfortunately, that is the first section. So getting through this section is a bit of a slog. Anusasana Parva is a total crap-shoot.
The war scenes are a mix. Some of the war scenes are wonderfully visualised, including a beautiful night-battle. The soldier tie oil lamps to the chariots. And then the battle resumes.
Trying to kill Bhisma, Jayadratha etc. the reader himself gets frustrated at the number of enemies that the Pandavas have to kill before getting to these guys. The one problem here is the repetition of the metaphor about creating a river of blood, the heads and bodes of the soldiers as the banks and pebbles of the river etc. The metaphor looks good for the first time. Then it is repeated practically every page.
The one unavoidable and common issue is the repetition of various stories and morals. Since this was an oral story, repetition was necessary. But when reading as a text, it becomes tiresome.
Notwithstanding these minor thorns, the Mahabharatha is a magnificent book. I don't think it will go ever out of fashion. One of the best things here is the characterization. The central characters are so well drawn and consistent that it does not leave any scope for doubt that this was probably an actual historical event recorded in-situ.
Overall, an excellent and a must-read if you have patience and time, of course.
June 14, 2020
The first ever translation to English in 1880s. I really appreciate the dedication with which the translator has translated staying true to sanskrit text, inspite of knowing some of the text could be later addition, or tampered. Ideal as a reference for research, to especially those not having full command on sanskrit. Other important as pect to note, is he was not polluted in 1880 with modern world thought process.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews