The Kuru Princes

Amar Chitra Katha Mahabharata #1

by Anant Pai (Editor), Dilip Kadam (Illustrator)

Mahabharata (Set Of 3 Volumes), published by Amar Chitra Katha, is a comic book version of the famous Indian epic of the Mahabharata. It consists of three volumes, spanning a total of 1200-odd pages.

The Mahabharata is considered to be the longest epic poem in the world. The creation of this ageless epic is traditionally attributed to the seer Vyasa. His disciple Vaishampayana narrated it in public for the first time. King Janamejaya and numerous learned sages were present at the recital. They had gathered for a 12-year-long sacred ritual called Yajna.

The first volume is titled The Kuru Princes of Hastinapura. Beginning with Shantanu, King Janamejaya’s ancestor and the ruler of Hastinapura, this volume narrates the various events that led to the establishment of the Kuru dynasty. It leads the story to the reign of Dhritarashtra over Hastinapura while his brother Pandu has retired to the forest with his two wives Kunti and Madri and five sons (The Pandavas).

Upon the death of Pandu and Madri, Kunti and the Pandavas return to Hastinapura. The return of the Pandavas, and being armed with numerous skills, make the Kauravas (the 100 sons of Dhritarashtra) jealous of them. The eldest Kaurava brother, Duryodhana, plots to send the Pandavas into exile. Forewarned about his intentions, the Pandavas manage to foil his plan and escape from the trap set for them.

Then they spend a year in disguise, and during this time, Arjuna wins the hand of Draupadi in marriage. Without knowing what Arjuna has won in the archery match, Kunti unwittingly asks the Pandavas to share the prize. Thus, Draupadi ends up being married to all of the Pandava brothers. After their wedding, the Pandavas are invited back to Hastinapura to resume peaceful relations.

Genres: Comics, Mythology, Fiction, Indian Literature, Graphic Novels

440 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2003

About the author

Anant Pai popularly known as Uncle Pai, was an Indian educationalist and creator of Indian comics, in particular the Amar Chitra Katha series in 1967, along with the India Book House publishers, and which retold traditional Indian folk tales, mythological stories, and biographies of historical characters. In 1980, he launched Tinkle, a children's anthology, which was started under Rang Rekha Features, India's first comic and cartoon syndicate, that lasted till 1998, with him as the Managing Director.

Today, Amar Chitra Katha sells about three million comic books a year, in English and more than 20 Indian languages, and has sold about 100 million copies since it inception in 1967 by Anant Pai, and in 2007 was taken over by ACK Media.

Reviews

[Tanvi Prakash · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice job by ACK! Definitely going to go for the rest of the series.

[Pranav Gandhi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the best way to read Mahabharat for all age groups. Also these collectors edition books are of good quality. It give classy feeling because of very old artwork from 1970s and 80s. If you are fam of Mahabharata you should read this series by ACK

[Hriday · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE BEST way to read a scriptural classic. Amar Chitra Katha's beautifully illustrated version makes the timeless tale even more of a joy to read. 400 pages of superb drawings and excellent narrative. The entire box-set is 1200 pages but once the tale begins, you will go through it like a hot knife through butter. No surprises if you finish the entire set in a single day.

[Surendhar · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty decent quick-read version of the Mahabharatha, suitable for all ages. But the real charm of the epic lies in its life lessons and deeper layers — most of which are missing here.

The artwork is the next issue. Most of the male characters look the same, and the female characters are also lookalike. Maybe it’s a budget/timeline thing. They even dodge detailed work — for example, when 100 horses had to be drawn, they sketched 2–3 and hid the rest behind a tree in the foreground. The colouring is also quite dull, with mostly pink, blue, and green. If it had matched the vibrancy of the cover, it would’ve been so much better.

There’s a four-page fight with a rakshasa that feels pretty vague, while moments like Karna’s entry during the skills showcase could’ve definitely used more depth.

Still, not a bad read at all. Perfect if you want the full story in a quick and enjoyable format.

Story: 6/10
Drawing: 5/10

[Matthias Hernandez · Rating 3 out of 5]

While beautifully drawn and colored, the illustrations are confusing. Many characters have the same face, height, body, hairstyle, and clothes. They usually only differ in color and moustache shape. That becomes a problem when characters randomly change color from one image to the next.
This first book mostly focuses on building a family tree where the sole obsession of every character is getting sons, and somehow they do... and never get daughter? Anyways, that makes for a lot of names to memorize.

[Deepa Duraisamy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amar Chitra Katha is always a treat to read. The book does justice to the plot and keeps it moving ahead fast. Graphics done well. Mahabharata has soooo many characters, it's tough to keep track. The only thing the book lacks is a genealogy chart considering. Curious as to what the next two books in the series will now have.

[Jahnavi Reddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

yeah was kinda hesitant to read at first ngl but if you continue reading becomes very interesting and I usually hate comic books but I like this and since I'm not familiar with some terms but there were definitions it became easy to understand

[Ben Smitthimedhin · Rating 3 out of 5]

For someone unfamiliar with The Mahabharata (me), the comic medium was helpful for understanding the gist of the plots, but keeping up with all the characters and understanding the significance of the epic was still surprisingly hard.

[Svp]

Good

[UdhAY · Rating 5 out of 5]

vfxdcd

[Sagnik Nag · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nostalgia hits you hard, beautifully depicted

[Ashvaanth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this comic good art and the story narated well🔥

[Monika Sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book to understand Bhartiya Mythology.

[nerdy_bookworld · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best way to teach our children about our great Epics like Mahabharat and Ramayan . Good job Amar Chitra 👏 I've always been a fan of ACK.

Thank you for this wonderful book set