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Mahabharata #10
The Mahabharata: Volume 10
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 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. *The final volume ends the instructions of the Anushasana Parva. The horse sacrifice is held, and Dhritarashtra, Gandhari, Kunti, Vidura and Sanjaya leave for the forest. Krishna and Balarama die as the Yadavas fight among themselves. The Pandavas leave on the great journey with the famous companion—Dharma disguised as a dog. Refusing to abandon the dog, Yudhishthira goes to heaven in his physical body and sees all the Kurus and the Pandavas are already there. *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 marvellously accessible to contemporary readers.
723 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 401
About the author
Bibek Debroy
169 books416 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 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 11, 2017
On this volume: Unfortunately, Bhishma is still babbling and doesn't finally die until 300 pages in. Okay, that's probably a bit harsh, and some of Bhishma's stories are great, but whoever added them to the Mahabharata might have benefited from reading Aristotle's Poetics.
After Bhishma dies, though, (and a brief recapitulation of the Bhagavad Gita because Arjuna forgot it), we finally get to learn how the characters live happily ever after. Or, well, not. We get some moving scenes with the final resolution of Dhritarashtra and Gandhari. And then the truly wonderful account of the deaths of the Pandavas, finishing with Yudhishthira, his dog, and his visions of heaven and hell. And then it's over.
On the Mahabharata as a whole: There are some definite low points, as one might expect in a ten volume epic. A bunch of the forest exile, some of the repetitive scenes in the war (especially in the first ten days), and Bhishma's unending rambling show an epic sorely in need of an editor (or an abridgement). But so much else is so very good - the game of dice, the Bhagavad Gita, the horrors of the war, especially the final slaughter, the ambiguity of everyone and the treachery of all the deaths on both sides, and the final resolution make for a truly spectacular epic.
A war story that is profoundly anti-war; two obvious sides and yet so many shades of grey, even in the "best" characters (Yudhishthira and Arjuna), and the "worst" (Duryodhana and Karna); a work of epic adventure and deep philosophy; the Mahabharata is an amazing treasure of world literature.
After Bhishma dies, though, (and a brief recapitulation of the Bhagavad Gita because Arjuna forgot it), we finally get to learn how the characters live happily ever after. Or, well, not. We get some moving scenes with the final resolution of Dhritarashtra and Gandhari. And then the truly wonderful account of the deaths of the Pandavas, finishing with Yudhishthira, his dog, and his visions of heaven and hell. And then it's over.
On the Mahabharata as a whole: There are some definite low points, as one might expect in a ten volume epic. A bunch of the forest exile, some of the repetitive scenes in the war (especially in the first ten days), and Bhishma's unending rambling show an epic sorely in need of an editor (or an abridgement). But so much else is so very good - the game of dice, the Bhagavad Gita, the horrors of the war, especially the final slaughter, the ambiguity of everyone and the treachery of all the deaths on both sides, and the final resolution make for a truly spectacular epic.
A war story that is profoundly anti-war; two obvious sides and yet so many shades of grey, even in the "best" characters (Yudhishthira and Arjuna), and the "worst" (Duryodhana and Karna); a work of epic adventure and deep philosophy; the Mahabharata is an amazing treasure of world literature.
August 28, 2018
I cannot express the amount of wonder that is in me after finishing the entire Mahabharata.
Everything from the beginning to the end was spectacular and a roller coaster of emotions.
I'm stupefied and stunned at the enormous knowledge I've gained and how much the epic has changed the way I think about the world.
The Mahabharata will forever be attached to my Jivatman.
:') <3
Everything from the beginning to the end was spectacular and a roller coaster of emotions.
I'm stupefied and stunned at the enormous knowledge I've gained and how much the epic has changed the way I think about the world.
The Mahabharata will forever be attached to my Jivatman.
:') <3
December 29, 2016
This volume starts still in the middle of the conversation between Yudhiṣṭhira and Bhīṣma. Now the topic is how to go to heaven - temporarily, of course, since eventually your merit always runs out and you get reborn on earth again, but the better you've lived the longer a stay in heaven it gets you. The best thing to do is give lots of cows to brahmins, though gold is all right too. Then the topic broadens into a more general discussion of how the cycle of reincarnation works. In there there's a list of the names of Viṣṇu like the one for Śiva in the previous volume (this one is 1000 names officially, or 886 discounting repetitions). After three or four volumes worth of deathbed conversation, Bhīṣma finally dismisses Yudhiṣṭhira until he's ready to finish dying. Afterward, Arjuna confesses that he's forgotten the whole Bhagavad-Gītā and wants to hear it again; Kṛṣṇa won't repeat it but offers some more metaphysics instead. The last part of the volume transitions back into narrative mode to give the story its ending. It amounts to "and they all lived unhappily for a while longer," with some really great bittersweet moments. In the end the Mahābhārata has a more satisfying closure than lots of shorter and more tightly organized texts do. And at last I've finished reading the world's longest epic!
June 21, 2019
It took me 18 months of assiduous efforts to complete the reading of The Mahabharata in its original form and size. 1 million+ verses of excellent storytelling with a grand plot and all so many subplots. VedVyasa created an epic story with timeless characters with stories that are time tested and still relevant.
As it is said in Mahabharata itself “What is here can be found elsewhere. But what is not here cannot be found elsewhere.”
Special mention to Bibek Debroy for an excellent unabridged translation of the whole epic to make it available to people like me who haven’t been lucky enough to learn the beautiful Sanskrit language.
As it is said in Mahabharata itself “What is here can be found elsewhere. But what is not here cannot be found elsewhere.”
Special mention to Bibek Debroy for an excellent unabridged translation of the whole epic to make it available to people like me who haven’t been lucky enough to learn the beautiful Sanskrit language.
July 11, 2018
No review possible
It would be inappropriate to review this book- this book is about good conduct and talking about the importance of doing your task without thinking about the outcome -
It would be inappropriate to review this book- this book is about good conduct and talking about the importance of doing your task without thinking about the outcome -
Read
April 8, 2023Finally - i have been able to complete the journey called " Mahabharata ". I am not able to believe that i have been able to complete the un abridged version of this Epic. I think its purely due to the blessings of the lord that i was able to complete this journey.
Now after reading this once - i
- feel i have just started on this journey of " realization ". there is an ocean of knowledge and a lot to learn.
- This is an enormous epic and filled with extremely deep meanings and messages. There has to be a learned soul to explain it.
- I feel like a different person after reading the unabridged version.
- I am pulled towards reading it again and also read different versions to understand " Jaya "
The translator has done a decent job in simply translating the shlokas in this book - and he has not added his own interpretation or explanation of the same. I am extremely motivate to read this epic once again , infact i will be exploring the other 2 translators as well - to increase my own understanding of the epic. I started reading this epic by 25th Sept 2021 and finished the 10 vols by 8th April 23 - almost 19 months - along with 3 more books in between - that means a little less than 1 and a half years to complete this interesting journey of reading Mahabharata.
Now after reading this once - i
- feel i have just started on this journey of " realization ". there is an ocean of knowledge and a lot to learn.
- This is an enormous epic and filled with extremely deep meanings and messages. There has to be a learned soul to explain it.
- I feel like a different person after reading the unabridged version.
- I am pulled towards reading it again and also read different versions to understand " Jaya "
The translator has done a decent job in simply translating the shlokas in this book - and he has not added his own interpretation or explanation of the same. I am extremely motivate to read this epic once again , infact i will be exploring the other 2 translators as well - to increase my own understanding of the epic. I started reading this epic by 25th Sept 2021 and finished the 10 vols by 8th April 23 - almost 19 months - along with 3 more books in between - that means a little less than 1 and a half years to complete this interesting journey of reading Mahabharata.
Read
August 9, 2023it 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.
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.
Read
July 26, 2020Bibek Debroy has done tremendous job to translating complete Mahabharata including with Harivamsha (Last Parva Of Mahabharata). There are errors too and some misinterpretations of the Shlokas and translated it in wrong way, ignoring singular and plural of Sanskrit. I mean, he used the Sanskrit dictionary for the Translation, but he has ignored the Sanskrit Grammer (vyakarn).
If you’re not the Sanskrit reader than you may use Hindi Translation by Ramnarayan Shashtri by Gita Press (best Translations with less error) or Kisari Mohan Ganguli Translations in English or BORI Hindi Translations by Pundit S.D. Satawlaker. In my opinion, no translations is sufficient for the Mahabharata researcher. I always refer Sanskrit Verse rather than translations. Finally, Bibek sir has done great Job.
If you’re not the Sanskrit reader than you may use Hindi Translation by Ramnarayan Shashtri by Gita Press (best Translations with less error) or Kisari Mohan Ganguli Translations in English or BORI Hindi Translations by Pundit S.D. Satawlaker. In my opinion, no translations is sufficient for the Mahabharata researcher. I always refer Sanskrit Verse rather than translations. Finally, Bibek sir has done great Job.
July 10, 2023
This concludes the Mahabharat for now. I did a very quick read for this book as even the author seems to be in a hurry to conclude it.
I want to revisit Mahabharat again but preferably in Sanskrit if possible if I can find a good Hindi or English translation along with Sanskrit slokas.
If anyone can suggest it would be very helpful.
Book #15 series Indic books
I want to revisit Mahabharat again but preferably in Sanskrit if possible if I can find a good Hindi or English translation along with Sanskrit slokas.
If anyone can suggest it would be very helpful.
Book #15 series Indic books
September 19, 2020
After a whole year, I've finally finished this great Epic. Kudos to Bibek Debroy (the translator) for taking up the task of translating this great Epic. I hope people would remember your efforts for a time to come.
December 8, 2020
Five months of Mahabharata
September 13, 2021
Once more, the language is easy to understand. Wonderful translation. A must-read if you're into epics.
May 14, 2025
What an ending, really made me feel emotional. And with that the great epic comes to an end
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews