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Mahabharata #9
Mahabharata: Volume 9
The Mahabharata: Vol 9 by Bibek Debroy (Tr.), 9780143425229
760 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 401
About the author
Bibek Debroy
173 books414 followersBibek Debroy was an Indian economist, who served as the chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India. He was also the Chairman of the Finance Ministry's 'Expert Committee for Infrastructure Classification and Financing Framework for Amrit Kaal'. Debroy has made significant contributions to game theory, economic theory, income and social inequalities, poverty, law reforms, railway reforms and Indology among others. From its inception in January 2015 until June 2019, Mr. Debroy was a member of the NITI Aayog, the think tank of the Indian Government. He was awarded the Padma Shri (the fourth-highest civilian honour in India) in 2015.
Bibek Debroy's recent co-authored magnum opus, Inked in India, stands distinguished as the premier comprehensive documentation, capturing the entirety of recognized fountain pen, nib, and ink manufacturers in India.
In 2016, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the US-India Business Summit. In 2022, he was conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award by The Australia India Chamber of Commerce (AICC). In February 2024, Debroy was conferred Insolvency Law Academy Emeritus Fellowship, in recognition of his distinguished leadership, public service, work and contributions in the field of insolvency.
Bibek Debroy died on 1 November 2024, at the age of 69. He had been admitted to All India Institutes of Medical Sciences in New Delhi one month prior.
Bibek Debroy's recent co-authored magnum opus, Inked in India, stands distinguished as the premier comprehensive documentation, capturing the entirety of recognized fountain pen, nib, and ink manufacturers in India.
In 2016, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the US-India Business Summit. In 2022, he was conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award by The Australia India Chamber of Commerce (AICC). In February 2024, Debroy was conferred Insolvency Law Academy Emeritus Fellowship, in recognition of his distinguished leadership, public service, work and contributions in the field of insolvency.
Bibek Debroy died on 1 November 2024, at the age of 69. He had been admitted to All India Institutes of Medical Sciences in New Delhi one month prior.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 16, 2016
Now that there's a complete translation, I'm finally on the last leg of my read-through of the Mahābhārata, eight and a half years after starting. I picked up where the last Clay Sanskrit Library volume finished, which is about a hundred pages into this volume.
We're still in the long dialogue between Yudhiṣṭhira and the dying Bhīṣma. Most of the volume is very abstract philosophy. It's not arranged very systematically and sometimes contradicts itself, and sometimes acknowledges multiple valid answers to the same question, but there are some repeating ideas. Mostly they have to do with escaping all sorrows by becoming aware of the underlying unity of the universe, called the brahman or ātman. You can do that through yoga or through a more intellectual program of philosophizing, but either way the goal is to forget your individuality and quite literally stop caring about everything. Most often Bhīṣma talks about the brāhman as an impersonal idea, but it is also personified as Viṣnu. Then there's a smaller part that personifies it as Śiva and talks about him rather than Viṣṇu as the supreme god beyond all gods. Part of that section jumps up a level of narration for questions and answers between King Janamejaya and the sage Vaiśampāyana. In case you're curious, it also has a list of all of Śiva's 1,008 names (actually 897, by Debroy's count and excluding repititions). The last part of what's covered in this volume moves on to gender and caste roles, which makes easier but more depressing reading.
We're still in the long dialogue between Yudhiṣṭhira and the dying Bhīṣma. Most of the volume is very abstract philosophy. It's not arranged very systematically and sometimes contradicts itself, and sometimes acknowledges multiple valid answers to the same question, but there are some repeating ideas. Mostly they have to do with escaping all sorrows by becoming aware of the underlying unity of the universe, called the brahman or ātman. You can do that through yoga or through a more intellectual program of philosophizing, but either way the goal is to forget your individuality and quite literally stop caring about everything. Most often Bhīṣma talks about the brāhman as an impersonal idea, but it is also personified as Viṣnu. Then there's a smaller part that personifies it as Śiva and talks about him rather than Viṣṇu as the supreme god beyond all gods. Part of that section jumps up a level of narration for questions and answers between King Janamejaya and the sage Vaiśampāyana. In case you're curious, it also has a list of all of Śiva's 1,008 names (actually 897, by Debroy's count and excluding repititions). The last part of what's covered in this volume moves on to gender and caste roles, which makes easier but more depressing reading.
July 22, 2018
So much philosophy!
Some were amazing and a few stories interesting.
Overall pretty nice
Some were amazing and a few stories interesting.
Overall pretty nice
Read
July 26, 2020For the past three years, I've been slowly reading Bibek Debroy’s prose translation alongside P. Lal’s verse trans-creation. I typically read one sub-parva from Debroy, then the corresponding parvan in Lal, alternating as I go. I am currently in Udyoga Parva, although I have read ahead in both editions, for example the Gita. Preciously, I read the Ganguli translation.
It has turned out to be a good system. Debroy’s copious footnotes are useful in providing a grounding in things for example like the many names of the protagonists (and everybody). Debroy used the Critical Edition, which excised what scholars considered egregiously spurious interpolations, while Lal incorporated the Calcutta edition in an attempt to create an encompassing edition of his own. As a result my second reading of each Parva in Lal is usually longer, containing what seems to be more outright mythology. At times it can be a little punishing; I spent two years dawdling over Tirtha-yatra Parva, with its agonizing recitation of lake after lake.
It has turned out to be a good system. Debroy’s copious footnotes are useful in providing a grounding in things for example like the many names of the protagonists (and everybody). Debroy used the Critical Edition, which excised what scholars considered egregiously spurious interpolations, while Lal incorporated the Calcutta edition in an attempt to create an encompassing edition of his own. As a result my second reading of each Parva in Lal is usually longer, containing what seems to be more outright mythology. At times it can be a little punishing; I spent two years dawdling over Tirtha-yatra Parva, with its agonizing recitation of lake after lake.
July 8, 2018
Shanti-Parva and Anushasan Parva
- Shanti parva is the longest parva in Mahabharata- the style of the text in the book- the way ideas appear repeatedly - seems to suggest - the author wants to hardwire these thoughts into the brains of the people- Mahabharata is truly amazing book- fills you with joy, wonder, fear and lays the principles of good conduct
- Shanti parva is the longest parva in Mahabharata- the style of the text in the book- the way ideas appear repeatedly - seems to suggest - the author wants to hardwire these thoughts into the brains of the people- Mahabharata is truly amazing book- fills you with joy, wonder, fear and lays the principles of good conduct
April 18, 2026
The zombie has been instructing Yudhishthira for two volumes now... The length and/or density finally caught up with me - when compared to the other parts, this has to be the most boring one. And I don't just mean that the war is over, and that there are less side-stories or actual events. The previous volume already written as "mirror for princes" contained mostly teachings on ethics and politics. Here it gets worse, as we venture into, among other things, metaphysics and psychology, which have not aged well at all.
On the one hand I do appreciate how medicine or cosmology changed over time, and it is interesting to learn how the ancients imagined the universe, but on the other, the amount of detail that is no longer of any value in those sciences is overwhelming. And it is mixed with religion to the extent that makes it a whole different endeavour to parse. It's not just reading mythology, that you know is mythology - it's reading tens of pages of vocabulary first, then reading the grammar, then reading the vision of the world in the mythology. It's a wealth of information, too much even, when someone wants to place it along other mythologies to gain general knowledge. But remembering that it is jus that - one of hundreds of outdated systems of knowledge - and how little we know of other cultures, the depth is well past the point of diminishing returns. Insofar as history of religion is concerned it's valuable, when insight about the real world is concerned it's empty. But most importantly, when you realize it's a part of an epic poem right after a great war - it's boring.
More or less the same can be said for the psychological teachings - it's a mixed bag, some of it sadly pernicious (especially with the recent resurgence of alternative pseudo-medicine). There are more historic or political topics (I admit I overdosed the book, it's a blur), which do not suffer from the above problems, as they talk about the reality (even if framed through fiction). But then we stumble upon even worse "teachings". And if you thought I confused "history of science" with "science" above, perhaps this will give you a taste of what I was trying to describe:
Yes, such were the times and customs, but a whole volume of distasteful ethics of this kind - whatever its historical value - does detract from my overall positive experience of the whole Mahabharata. So if you need to skip one of the ten volumes, choose this one.
On the one hand I do appreciate how medicine or cosmology changed over time, and it is interesting to learn how the ancients imagined the universe, but on the other, the amount of detail that is no longer of any value in those sciences is overwhelming. And it is mixed with religion to the extent that makes it a whole different endeavour to parse. It's not just reading mythology, that you know is mythology - it's reading tens of pages of vocabulary first, then reading the grammar, then reading the vision of the world in the mythology. It's a wealth of information, too much even, when someone wants to place it along other mythologies to gain general knowledge. But remembering that it is jus that - one of hundreds of outdated systems of knowledge - and how little we know of other cultures, the depth is well past the point of diminishing returns. Insofar as history of religion is concerned it's valuable, when insight about the real world is concerned it's empty. But most importantly, when you realize it's a part of an epic poem right after a great war - it's boring.
More or less the same can be said for the psychological teachings - it's a mixed bag, some of it sadly pernicious (especially with the recent resurgence of alternative pseudo-medicine). There are more historic or political topics (I admit I overdosed the book, it's a blur), which do not suffer from the above problems, as they talk about the reality (even if framed through fiction). But then we stumble upon even worse "teachings". And if you thought I confused "history of science" with "science" above, perhaps this will give you a taste of what I was trying to describe:
It is the nature of women to taint men. That is the reason learned people are not attracted to women.
I think that this is a mystery about all women. As soon as she sees a man, a woman’s vagina is moistened.
destruction, death, the nether regions, the subterranean fire, the sharpness of a razor, the poison of a snake and the fire—all these collectively exist in a woman [...] When men and women were created, these are the sins that were implanted in women.
Yes, such were the times and customs, but a whole volume of distasteful ethics of this kind - whatever its historical value - does detract from my overall positive experience of the whole Mahabharata. So if you need to skip one of the ten volumes, choose this one.
June 20, 2023
The sheer volume at which the information is provided by Bhisma to Yudishitra and the morals of the stories carried on through the whole book of 9th Book of Mahabharata was astonishing. I had to keep reading and re-reading to understand the information provided. It has been the longest read of 21 days at which I have read almost 3 - 4 hour daily.
The format of question and answers with stories made the reading much more easier then it would have been if there were no stories allowed in it. But still it makes you ponder over the psychology of that society.
Book #14 series Indic books
The format of question and answers with stories made the reading much more easier then it would have been if there were no stories allowed in it. But still it makes you ponder over the psychology of that society.
Book #14 series Indic books
September 8, 2021
An undeniably good book. Volume 9 comprises some of section (book) 13 and delves into the ritual topic of dana (loosely translated into "offering gifts").
December 25, 2022
Nice Read. It took me a little longer to read this edition, though this being a longer one as well.
February 2, 2025
This book has so much philosophy that after multiple tries, I failed to complete it fully.
Read
March 1, 2018Got the wrong book by mistake. Didn't actually read it, but need to clear it from my list.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews