The Complete Mahabharata (Volume 2 of 4, Books 4 to 7)

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By Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa

Publisher Description

The "Mahabharata" tells the narrative of the Kurukshetra War and the fates of the Kaurava and the Pandava princes who are part of it. Along with the "Ramayana" it is one of two Sanskrit epics of ancient India. The authorship of the work is generally attributed to Vyasa, who is also a major character in the epic. Intermixed within the descriptions of conflict between the warring factions of this epic are numerous philosophical digressions and discussions of Hinduism. One of the more famous of these digressions is the "Bhagavad-Gita", a battlefield conversation between Pandava prince Arjuna and his guide Lord Krishna on a variety of theological and philosophical issues. Also included within the "Mahabharata" are the story of "Damayanti" and "Rishyasringa," often considered as works in their own right. This sweeping epic, the longest every written in Sanskrit, is widely considered as one of the most important works to ever be authored in any language. This four volume edition collects together the complete epic in a translation by Kisari Mohan Ganguli. Here we have the second volume which includes books four through seven.

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The Complete Mahabharata (Volume 2 of 4, Books 4 to 7) Reviews

4.0

Jimil

Created 6 months ago

“One must do their duty. I felt homesick reading Mahabharata again. I've been told bits and pieces of stories throughout my childhood Such a complex tale of acceptance and consequences that asks and provides answers to so many philosophical inquiries. This version of the epic is very barebones though, you can consider it as a summary of a real text. I yearned for more conversations between some of my favourite characters and explore themes in more depth but you can do so much in 200 or so pages. It's really good for beginners who's looking for entry point to the tale and then they can explore further in detail. People who're looking for English version of original text would be disappointed but nonetheless it has some great tension and dialogues.”

Syed Mohammad Saqlane

Created about 1 year ago

“After reading the abridged version, I was really curious about reading the original text and it is going to be a behemoth task to read it all. I don't know if I'll ever make it to the 10th volume, but I have finally started. The first volume explains the creation of the universe with a proper family tree and thousands of unique names of gods and Demi gods and finally to the family of Pandu and Dhritarashtra. It starts with the snake sacrifice where the Bharata was recited in its entirety, and ends with the marriage of Draupadi. It is slow but never boring or even repetitive (other than the slangs and names) Just from the beginning, some really fascinating stories got me hooked, the snake sacrifice and the curse, the council of snakes planning the birth of their messiah, the extremely badass Garuda: Mighty bird who couldn't be stopped by the combined pantheon of gods , the story of shakuntala carries lots of wisdom and leads to the birth of King Bharat. Every character is melodramatic by today's standards, even that would be an understatement. Just run into someone on the road and if you tell him to move a little, instead of giving him path, BOOM he will get a little angry and curse you to become a flesh eating monster for your remaining life. Each character is true to his dharma, and dharma becomes more important than the survival of the entire human species as you'll find in one of the stories. Dharma (duty) is a really complicated concept that lies at the core of the Mahabharata. The bharmans get special treatment and are always shown as the greatest people, always superior to most men. They, with their dharma get away with some of the most questionable things, which in the modern world will not just get you arrested, but even death sentenced. So it is really interesting to read about the norms and beliefs of those times. Bhishma for example takes three women from their svayamvara by force and says something like " Those who are literate in the ways of dharma know that the best brides are the ones that are taken by force. " He see's this act as righteous because it was his dharma to get the king Vichitravirya married. It becomes difficult to read all this and act normal towards it. Indra is the favourite punching bag of the author as clearly every third mortal character becomes his equivalent in his strength and wisdom. Or maybe it is just a metaphor, this book has too many detailed metaphors. Had to wait till the very end till Lord Krishna finally made his appearance, I can't wait to read more about him. There's something about him that just gravitates you to him, his every action carries some beauty. Bibek Debroy does an excellent job at translating the original text, I don't know about the authenticity but it was really easy to understand as each page had glossary at the bottom which always helped. So yeah, It is off to a great start and let's hope it stays that way. 8/10”

lily

Created about 1 year ago