The Mahabharata: An English Version Based on Selected Verses

by Chakravarthi V. Narasimhan

Book Overview

Intended to be a treatise on life itself, this epic poem embraces religion and ethics, polity and government, philosophy and the pursuit of salvation. This collection of more than 4,000 verses is... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0231110553
• ISBN13: 9780231110556
• Release Date: April 1997
• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Length: 254 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Thanks

This was amazing that i got this book on time. The book is new like untouched even though it was said used book. Good job!! I thank you.

In response to Rick's Question

Relationships in Indian Culture are somewhat different than in Western Culture...First Cousins are often times regarded as brothers and sisters. Similarly, Yudhistra looked to his own grandfather's half brother (Bishma), as his own grandfather.

Excellent introduction to the epic. I have a question.

From page 193: "Bhisma...addressing his grandson in a sweet voice..." After all the fuss about Bhisma being celebate, where did this grandson come from? If you know the answer, please let me know.The translation is very easy to read, but you should watch the DVD first -- it helps greatly in keeping the characters straight. And you will want a separate edition of the Gita, which is here condensed into just a couple of pages!Rick Norwood

Mahabharata I was looking for

Reading any abridgement gives me a bad feeling of missing something important, but this book deserves five stars:- It is written in simple English, without archaic words, so I was able to read it without using my dictionary too much. It means much to me, English not being either my mother or second, but learned language. - Every Sanskrit word is written using diacritics, so that you know how to pronounce names and places. I like to know that Pandu's brother is DhritaraSHtra and not DhritaraStra.- All the ninety-nine chapters are self-contained, each forming a logical unit, so you can read one chapter at a time.- It has very useful genealogical tables, glossary and list of alternative names.Like the Mahabharata by Rajagopalachari this is a very good book for introduction to this great epic.

The best abridgment of the Mahabharata available

This is the best abridgment of the Mahabharata currently available. Unlike other abridgments it is based on an actual translation of Sanskrit verses Chakravarti Narasimhan has selected. He includes an index of the verses and a glossary of names at the end of the book, as well as several simplified genealogical tables. The introduction could be more inofrmative, but at least it is accurate in its refrences to previous translations. In my opinion more verses should have been inlcluded from the Philosophical portions of the Mahabharata, especially from the Santi- and Anusasanaparva. Still, the translation is accurate and it a much better introduction than some of the other abridgnents. For the beginning student, wanting to get a glimpse of the Epic, I highly recommend this book.