The Mahabharata: Volume 3

Mahabharata #3

by Bibek Debroy

The Mahabharata is one of the greatest stories ever told. Though the basic plot is widely known, there is much more to the epic than the dispute between the Kouravas and Pandavas that led to the battle in Kurukshetra. It has innumerable sub-plots that accommodate fascinating meanderings and digressions, and it has rarely been translated in full, given its formidable length of 80,000 shlokas or couplets. This magnificent 10- volume unabridged translation of the epic is based on the Critical Edition compiled at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. Volume 1 consists of most of Adi Parva, in which much happens before the Kouravas and the Pandavas actually arrive on the scene. This volume covers the origins of the Kuru clan; the stories of Poushya, Poulama and Astika; the births of the Kouravas and the Pandavas; the house of lac; the slaying of Hidimba and Baka; Droupadi’s marriage; and ends with the Pandavas obtaining their share of the kingdom. Every conceivable human emotion figures in the Mahabharata, the reason why the epic continues to hold sway over our imagination. In this lucid, nuanced and confident translation, Bibek Debroy makes the Mahabharata marvellouly accessible to contemporary readers.

Genres: Mythology, Classics, Philosophy, Religion, Hinduism, Fiction, Epic

645 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 401

About the author

Bibek 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.

Reviews

[Garima · Rating 5 out of 5]

But relative to the first two books, this would be four stars for me.
This book mostly deals with Pandavas and their twelve years stay in forest.
The parts, where the actual plot progresses, are absolutely perfect which overcomes some of the filler story lines, hence keeping the flow intact.
Ramayan, Bhima meeting Lord Hanuman, Confrontation of Karna and Indra, Gandharvas capturing Duryodhan, Rishi Markandeya's narrating about the yugas are few of the top highlights for me.

[Pratik Sarkar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ramayana within Mahabharata! Part 3 completes the Vana parva - Pandava's 12 year's sojurn in the forest. As Arjuna returns with celestial weapons, the Pandavas battles the Gandarvas and the army of Jayadratha. Sage Markandeya visits the brothers and tells them stories of Rama, Skanda, Satyavana-Savitri etc. Yudhisthira engages in philosophical discussions with Nahusha in his serpent form and Yaksha.

[Abhinav Agarwal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume contains most of and completes the Aranyaka Parva. The Pandavas' time in the forest is spent mostly in listening to the words of the wise, and in going on pilgrimages. To some extent, much of the content in this parva seems like later insertions, simply because there is little here that advances the story, and little that happens in this parva has a direct bearing on the story, with three exceptions. Having said that, the stories that are recounted in this parva are themselves well-known and probably owe their survival in no small way to their inclusion in the Mahabharata.

This volume completes the Aranyaka Parva, the third Parva (as per the 18-parva classification), which began in Vol 2, and is a time of learning for the Pandavas. While Arjuna treks to heaven to obtain knowledge of weapons and dance from Indra, Yudhishtra is educated on dharma by a host of learned men, primary among them being sage Markandeya.

From the Aranyaka Parva, this volume contains Sub-Parvas 33 through 44, 33 being the "Tirtha Yatra" parva, and Sub-Parva 44 being the "Araneya" parva (within the 100-parva classification). The very first sub-parva, "Tirtha Yatra" is massive, clocking in at 2,422 shlokas, and is by far the longest sub-parva in the epic so far. (However, there seems to be some anomaly when adding up the shlokas in the Teertha Parva. The table in the Introduction states the Tirtha Parva as having 2422 shlokas, while page 1, where the Tirtha Parva starts, states that it has 2294 shlokas.) This sub-parva however is going to be eclipsed in length by nine sub-parvas before the epic ends!

My complete review at http://blog.abhinavagarwal.net/2012/0...

[Satdeep Gill · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first 200 odd pages comprise the Tirth Yatra Parva and recounts hundreds of pilgrimages across the length and breadth of the Indian subcontinent. That was just too much!

There is another long Parva named Markandeya Samasya but that has some interesting tales.

I liked learning about the tale of Savitri and Satyavan in this chapter, especially liked the fact that Savitri's father gave her permission to roam around and choose a husband. I had only heard a Haryanvi folk song about Satyavan earlier.

[Y · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Pandavas spend their twelve years exiled in the forests. There they deal with different conflicts and there are several subplots where Brahmanas that live with them tell the Pandavas stories from history of those that dealt with similar problems. This involves fights with yakshasas (demons) and gods. The Kouravas (the Pandavas’ enemies) go to the forest to flaunt their wealth and power but are captured by gandharvas (supernatural beings) and rescued by the Pandavas.

At the end of this volume, their twelve years have ended and they have received many blessings and divine weapons. The terms of the lost bet then require them to live in disguise in civilization for a year, which they receive divine help to go undetected.

[Guru · Rating 3 out of 5]

This covers the "Aranyaka Parv" or "Vana Parv" where the Pandavas, along with Droupadi, Dhoumya, and others walk visit the various "Teerthas" (holy places, literally fords). Arjun is away visiting the gods and getting divine weapons for the upcoming war. Sage Lomasha, who is sent by Indra, comes down to visit the Pandavas and takes them on the pilgrimage across the subcontinent.
The Teerth Yatra section is long and winding, interspersed with tales of Agastya and Vatapi, Indra and Vritra, Bhagirath and Ganga, etc. It is fascinating to see the geographical markers of the time, enough though they are not always consistent.
This "Parv" also has the very confusing section about Sage Markandeya's interaction with the Pandavas. Markandeya is a "chiranjeevi"(immortal) and has seen the birth and destruction of the world several times. He narrates the story of the "matsya avatar". The whole section is confusing because it doesn't fit into the narrative, nor does it seem coherent. Very likely added in much later to the epic.

The story of Karthikeya (aka Kumara) appears in this "Parv". However, it is a tad different version. In this, Kumara is born to Agni and Svaha (Daksha's daughter). Svaha impersonates 6 different wives of the sapta-rishis and the 6-headed Kumara is born. The sapta-rishis abandon their wives (eye roll) when they hear about this but the Kumara then turns in the Krittika (Pleiades) constellation. Then, we are told that there was a part of Rudra in Agni and a part of Uma in Svaha, because of which Skanda is also a child of Shiva-Parvati. Somewhat confusing, but a great mythological story nevertheless.

The Kauravas decide to come and mock the Pandavas during their exile but instead are captured by a set of Gandharvas. Finally, Yudhishtir frees his cousins and let's them go. Duryodhan is so humiliated than he decides fast to death but is convinced otherwise by Karna. The "Parv" also covers Droupadi's abduction by Jayadratha. This is followed by the entire Ramayana being narrated!

Towards the end, we have the episode of Indra craftily getting Karna to give up his divine kawacha-kundala (armour and earrings). Karna is forewarned by his father (Surya) but decides to donate anyway because it's his dharma to do so. But in return, Karna asks Indra to give him the divine "Shakti" weapon, which Indra gives with the caveat that Karna can use it only one. In the same section, we are also told about how Kunti gave birth to Karna.

Now the 12 years of exile are over, it is time for the Pandavas to go incognito for the 13th year.

Apart from some long running bits of the "Teertha Yatra" and "Markandeya Samasya" sections, it is quite a fast-moving "Parv", with lots of mythological stories including Nala-Damayanti, Satyavan-Savitri, Agastya-Vatapi, Sage Dadichi, Skanda, Nahusha, Ganga, and the entire Ramayana! Sage Chawan appears again after the "Adi Parv" and Sage Agastya pops up several times, as does Kuber.

[Pradeep T · Rating 5 out of 5]

The epic tale of Mahabharata continues in this book from the stage of Yudhistira asking about the sacred places to visit all over the Bharat and the well learned sages explaining him about the sacred and pilgrimage places to visit in every direction possible. The sages explained Yudhistira about the sacred places and its importance and the fruits that one would attain after visiting those places. The book also covers the epic details about various other characters such as King Mandhata, Ashtavakra and his dialogue exchange with a King. The story further explains details about Markandeya and his austerities. The book also covers the Ramayana in detail and how Rama killed Ravana in an epic battle in Lanka. The book ends on the story where all the Pandava brothers except for Yudhistira were laid down dead/unconscious when they went to fetch water from a nearby mystical pond. That's when the great questions and answer session between the Yaksha and Yudhistira takes place. Overall, this volume is huge compared to the first two volumes. Looking forward to begin with the 4th one.

[Zach · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some good things in here, but it's a lot of filler that doesn't really advance much of anything. Some of that filler is fun and amusing, some of it is philosophical and thought-provoking, but a lot of it is just filler.

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Back in December 2018, a small accident left me with a spinal injury, forcing me to stay in bed for more than two weeks. Outside my room, the world was moving through a momentous winter: the passing of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, headline-making decisions at the G20 Summit in Argentina, and the afterglow of the dramatic Thailand cave rescue that had captured global attention earlier that year. India, too, had its own share of notable events—sharp cold waves sweeping across the north, the country retaining its position as the world’s largest receiver of remittances, and celebrations in the fields of literature and sports, including Amitav Ghosh being honoured with the Jnanpith Award.

Amid this combination of personal stillness and global motion, I found one unexpected gift of time: the opportunity to read through all ten volumes of Bibek Debroy’s complete English translation of the Mahabharata.

When I entered Volume 3 of Debroy’s Mahabharata translation, I felt like I was walking out of a grand palace and straight into the wilderness, barefoot and bruised, with the echo of dice still ringing in my ears. After the glittering architecture of Sabha Parva, Vana Parva struck me almost like exile from my own body.

Maybe it’s because I had been bedridden when I first read it, spine stubbornly refusing cooperation, that the idea of forced immobility resonated so sharply. The Pandavas, stripped of their kingdom and dignity, stepped into the forest; I, stripped of movement, stepped into the long, internal forest of this volume.

And if Sabha Parva was a stage, Vana Parva is a pilgrimage—sometimes luminous, sometimes torturous, always transformative.

The first thing that hits me every time I read Vana Parva is how vast it is. It sprawls like a broken map glued together with stories, warnings, myths inside myths, and sermons that feel like the philosophical prequel to the Geeta.

Debroy’s translation handles this volume with the same clarity and discipline that I’ve come to expect, but here his restraint becomes almost like a companion. Vana Parva can easily feel unwieldy—it’s a jungle of narratives, an archive of moral anxieties, and a travelogue of inner worlds. But Debroy doesn’t flinch.

He lays out the stories with a scholar’s calm and a yogi’s patience, allowing me to walk alongside the Pandavas rather than drown in footnote jungles. There’s something deeply dignified about that.

The exile itself begins in heartbreak. Yudhishthira’s despair is thick, almost Shakespearean—I could imagine him staring into the forest like King Lear raging at the universe, except Yudhishthira doesn’t rage. He breaks inwardly, quietly, with the kind of softness that’s more devastating than fury.

If Shakespeare had written the Mahabharata, he would have paused right here to deliver a soliloquy: the fall of a just king, undone by his own attachment to justice. But Vyasa chooses something more subtle—he lets the silence speak. And in that silence, I felt my own pain lining up beside Yudhishthira’s, forming a strange fellowship of injured spines and injured destinies.

One of the most beautiful shifts in this volume is Bhima’s anger emerging like a roaring counterweight to Yudhishthira’s philosophical paralysis.

Every time Bhima snaps—whether at Yudhishthira or the wind or fate itself—I feel a rush of catharsis. Bhima is the part of us that refuses to spiritualize suffering. He is the muscle memory of resistance.

And in that winter of 2018, when I could barely turn without wincing, Bhima felt like my proxy—the part of me that wanted to punch destiny in the face.

But the forest doesn’t belong to the Pandavas. It belongs to the sages, the stories, the illusions, and the dreams. And once those begin to appear, the volume transforms into something more mystical. Markandeya arrives with narratives that feel like antique mirrors—reflecting not just the Pandavas’ lives but the architecture of cosmic time.

Then Lomasha steps in, guiding them through pilgrimages that feel both geographical and psychological. For me, reading these episodes was like floating in an ocean of stories where meaning glimmers just beneath the surface. It reminded me of something Rabindranath once said: that the universe is not a problem to solve, but a presence to encounter. Vana Parva is basically that principle wearing the clothes of an epic.

But nothing prepared me for Draupadi’s voice in this volume. If I had been reading the epic casually, her speeches would still be powerful. But lying injured—body refusing to obey, mind racing through rage and helplessness—her words struck me like lightning. Her fury at injustice, her refusal to romanticise Yudhishthira’s dharma, her demand that virtue must be backed by action, not excuses — it all felt like spine-deep truth. Draupadi in the forest is not the ornamental queen of popular retellings; she is the flame the forest cannot extinguish.

Her anger becomes the moral spine of the epic even as mine was physically compromised.

Debroy translates her voice with precision—not sweetening it, not softening it, simply letting it burn. And I’m grateful for that. Draupadi’s clarity slices through the forest fog: she holds the entire epic accountable in ways few characters dare. If Shakespeare had written her, she would be a fusion of Lady Macbeth’s fire and Cordelia’s moral gravity—unbearable to behold, impossible to dismiss.

Then, like a sudden shift of breath, comes the story of Nala and Damayanti. A story within exile. A heartbreak within a heartbreak. A journey of a king losing everything—kingdom, dignity, identity—only to rebuild himself through patience and humility. Reading Nala’s shame while lying helpless in bed felt almost personal. I understood the humiliation of helplessness and the fear of losing agency. And I felt Damayanti’s loyalty like a warm hand held through long pain. Rabindranath would have smiled at this tale—it carries the quiet assurance he loved: that love is a force of reconstruction.

Vana Parva keeps doing this—shifting from cosmic to personal, from philosophical to intimate, like the forest itself breathing in and out.

Vyasa’s philosophical discourses, especially the ones delivered to Yudhishthira, unfold like previews of the Geeta’s moral terrain. Sometimes I laughed because the epic seemed to be setting up the greatest motivational duel of all time— “Sad Yudhishthira vs. Wise Sages.”

But at other times, the teachings cut straight into me. The discussions on desire, destiny, free will, karma—they felt strangely relevant to lying in bed wondering why a spine could hold so much power over one’s life.

The Geeta’s whisper returned often: ‘Samatvam yoga uchyate.’ Equanimity is yoga. Balance is liberation. And in that difficult winter, I realised I wasn’t just reading the Mahabharata — I was participating in it.

One of the most unforgettable episodes in this volume is the encounter with the Yaksha. Yudhishthira’s answers — quiet, poised, rooted in simplicity — felt like the distilled essence of everything the forest had been trying to teach him.

Every question is a philosophical tripwire; every answer is a moral compass. When he chooses Nakula over Bhima or Arjuna, valuing balance over sentiment, I felt a chill. This is the Yudhishthira the epic wants me to respect — the man who has learnt to hold his grief lightly, like a fragile bird.

And Shakespeare, had he seen this scene, would have bowed. It is one of the greatest dialogues ever written — a duel of wit, wisdom, and destiny.

Debroy’s translation here shines. He does not amplify. He does not dramatise. He simply allows the episode to stand in its own stark brilliance. His translation becomes like a lamp: illuminating without altering.

Throughout the volume, the forest becomes a character. Not a passive backdrop but a shifting moral landscape, a teacher wearing foliage. It tests the Pandavas, comforts them, confuses them, breaks them, and remakes them.

And I cannot shake the feeling that my body, immobilised on that bed, had also become a forest — dense with discomfort, echoing with unanswered questions, but offering unexpected doorways into reflection.

Rabindranath once wrote that suffering is not a punishment but an invitation. And Vana Parva, with all its spirals and stories, feels exactly like that — an invitation to look inward until the inward becomes a universe.

By the time the twelve years of forest exile end, I felt an ache that surprised me. I was not eager for them to leave. The forest had become familiar, like a harsh teacher whose lessons I had finally begun to appreciate. The transition from Vana Parva to the next phase of the epic feels like stepping out of a long meditation into blinding sunlight.

Debroy’s translation of Volume 3 left me with a sense of completion — not because exile ends, but because the exile inside me had learnt something. Something about patience. About perspective. About rage that purifies instead of corrodes. About strength that grows in stillness. About the thin, sharp line between suffering and wisdom.

When I closed the book, I felt that I had travelled far — even though my physical world had shrunk to a bed, a pillow, and a window. The Pandavas walked through forests; I walked through sentences.

They endured exile; I endured immobility. And the epic braided our journeys together in ways I never expected.

Volume 3 taught me one quiet truth I still carry: sometimes the forest is not a place you enter; it is a place that enters you.

Read and reread. Keep reading. Every reading gives you a new meaning.

[AYUSH KUMAR · Rating 5 out of 5]

it is one of the most inspiring books in the world, if I can suggest you read one single book for learning lessons that will help you forever then it would be Mahabharata.

mahabharata is the story of the battle between Kaurvas & Pandavas. this battle will thought you many life lessons and by learning these life lessons, you can outperform in life.
The greatest Indian story ever told of a war between two factions of a family, The Mahabharata has continued to sway the imagination of its readers over the past centuries.

While the dispute over land and kingdom between the warring cousins-the Pandavas and the Kauravas-forms the chief narrative, the primary concern of The Mahabharata is about the conflict of dharma. These conflicts are immense and various, singular and commonplace. Throughout the epic, characters face them with no clear indications of what is right and what is wrong; there are no absolute answers. Thus every possible human emotion features in The Mahabharata, the reason the epic continues to hold sway over our imagination.

The complete and unabridged Sanskrit classic, now masterfully and accessibly rendered for contemporary readers by Bibek Debroy.

[Nishant · Rating 4 out of 5]

This made re-watch the certain episodes of Br Chopra's Mahabharat. Also, an observation like we know the Story of Savitri and Satyavaan is told to us about how a woman can get a husband back from death if she so chooses and the same is told to Yudhistara by Sage Markandya, just tells that even if highly enlightened beings needed hope when they went into despair of how life has treated them. We are just normal humans.

The pilgrimage part would have been interesting if it was explained on map by physical location.

Book #8 series Indic books

[Samyuktha Ell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book does repeat a lot many things, but it's undeniably detailed and comes with multiple subplots. An absolute must-read for anyone interested in Indian mythology.

This is where you see Arjuna making the journey to heaven to gather knowledge of weapons and dance from Indra. We also see Yudhishtira being educated on dharma by a great many learned men, the most notable among them being sage Markandeya.

[Anuraag Godavari · Rating 5 out of 5]

You could call this a beach episode to a degree. The Pandavas are in exile in the forests of ancient India, and spend their days dueling Gods, wrestling with supernatural beings, encountering ancient heroes of a world long dead, defying death (literally) and villainous men, and above all listening to stories about their own ancient past and how the Gods and human civilizations came to be. An entire other epic, the Ramayana, is summarized here. This is a straight up adventure romp and I love it.

[Anjana Prabhu-Paseband · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book started with a long, never ending list of pilgrimage places where the Pandavas are advised to visit. It was indeed tough for me to interpret places in modern India but more or less all places hovered around the Vedic Indian region. I was happy to read Ramayana, Karna's story among other precious nuggets in this book. Quite interesting and motivating enough to go to the next one.

[Milan Savaliya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good descriptive read

It was fun to read all the detail accounts of Aaryna Parva of Mahabharata.

Recommended to those who want to know what happened during Pandavas exile in the Forest.

[Ravi Kumar Dandapani]

The advent of the Kuru Princes was interesting

[Rishita · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far this has felt the longest of the series. But looking forward to more

[Sam Gurvinder · Rating 5 out of 5]

What you can write about this epic ....great writing

[Gourang Ambulkar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great translation.

[Kavya · Rating 5 out of 5]

yeahhhh.. fucked up story tbh but what religion isn't, they're all j reflections of us

[Rohan Rajesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

The opening chapters are dry, but the Vyadha Gita, the summary of the Ramayana, the story of Savitri and Satyavan, and the Yaksha's questioning of Yudhishthira are sublime

[Tomasz Stachowiak · Rating 5 out of 5]

We also get the (summary of) Ramayana for free in this volume. And frogs. More seriously, the review for volume 1 still applies. 5 out of 5.

[Bhakta Kishor]

Vana Parva is a chronicle of the twelve-year journey of the Pandavas in a forest, where they learn life lessons and build character. Yudhishthira regrets his gambling problem and declares himself the most wretched person on earth. Vrihadashwa consoles him with the story of Nala, another prince who erred by gambling, and recovered from his mistake. Nalopakhyana Parva recites the love story of prince Nala and princess Damayanti, who fell in love with each other without having met after learning about each other through a hansa (lit. "swan"). Damayanti's father announces a Swayamvara—a contest between eligible bachelors so that Damayanti can watch and choose the man she wants to marry. The gods arrive to win over Damayanti and pick Nala as their representative and messenger. Nala is conflicted, but tries to convince Damayanti that she marry Indra, or one of the deities. Damayanti picks Nala instead. One of the gods gets upset at Damayanti's choice, so he challenges Nala to a game of dice. Nala loses the game and the kingdom to Pushkara. He goes into exile, Nala and Damayanti are separated. Damayanti runs away from her father's kingdom. Several chapters describe their tribulations and adventures. Damayanti's father finds her and she returns to the kingdom. A second Swayamvara is announced. Nala comes to the kingdom disguised as Vahuka. Damayanti discovers Vahuka and knows his true identity; they meet and talk. Nala reclaims his kingdom from Pushkara. Damayanti and Nala take over the kingdom and live happily ever after. The story inspires Yudhishthira to focus on the future.

[Abhishek Shrivastava · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Volume is about the Pandavas spending 12 years in the forest. A few topics that grabbed my interest were the conservations on -
- What is a Good conduct
- Destiny and Karma
- The 4 Yugas
- Controlling senses