Customer Reviews

The Mahabharata (Penguin Classics)

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I did a translation of Bhagavad Gita which I published under the title of Bhagavad Gita English. I also did three commentaries.These can be seen here:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B002PJ2ZMA
I mentioned this because the Sanskrit (Devanagari) text was taken from an online source which is supervised by the author of this Mahabharata translation. At the time of his allowing the use of that part of the Mahabharata Sanskrit text, I was unaware that he was to publish this book.
This is an exceptional translation and in a way it is on par with the work which was began by J.A.B. van Buitenen for the University of Chicago, except that this is not as extensive.
This is a good primer for the Mahabharata published by University of Chicago. The English is a true rendering and is practically flawless.

This version of the Mahabharata is mostly a paraphrase in English. I have not been able to find more than that without great expense, however it is very good for someone who wants the narrative with the details of the story but also wants to get the feeling of the text. The paraphrase is interspersed with fairly lengthy sections of text. All the things you might get in an English retelling are reproduced in really beautiful prose. The battle scenes are harrowing. Anyone who might be sqeamish at the Illiad (I have not met such a person, but I am told they exist)would be wise to steer clear. I am not a scholar of Indian Literature and have only the most basic grasp of Hindu pantheon and tradition, but I found this accessible and really compelling. The characters are really unforgetable. The enduring message of the work about faith and dharma has not lost any beauty and relevance today. It would be wise to get a good version of the Bhagavad Gita and read that in its entirety when you arrive at the relevant passages, for that really would complete the experience. For the price of a penguin book you could not get better.

This version of the Mahabharata was more of a summary of the Mahabharata rather than the actual epic. Albeit a good summary, I felt like the translation failed to retain its authenticity- over 90% of the book is summarized and paraphrased, and the remaining 10% is written as prose rather than poetry. However, if you are not looking for an authentic reading of the epic then this book definitely serves its purpose.

Some reviews are a bit misleading: this book is half translation half summary (as the author sais, translation occupies more pages than summary.) I prefer to call this book an anthology of translated highpoints with summary intercalated, more than a summary with a few original passages. But in fact, Mahabharata is a very huge and variated book (thousands of printed pages), so the author traslated about a 11 pro cent of the actual text. It is an about 400 page anthology of translation plus an about 400 page of good and complete summary, by far the best readable adbridged edition in the market and far better than retelling or novelized versions. For the translated part, based on the critical Pune edition, is accurate to the sanskrit text and readable, beautiful english. With intermediate knowledge of the Sanskrit language, one can compare the original with the translation and learn a lot. Besides, chapters and paragraphs from the critical edition (available on the web) are provided, so one can search any exact shloka in the original and check the translation. A good tool for Sanskrit students.
Unfortunatly, the Buitenen-Fitzgerald complete and highly accurate translation is far from finished (4 volumes, 7 Mahabharata books)and the old Ganguli is hard to read as a pleasure (the original is beautiful verse)

This anthology/summary fills a gap, and achieves it in the better manner. Is enjoying and accurate, and most time one can read actual translation from the Mahabharata text.

The Mahabharata is not an easy text to understand. This book helps a great deal and is a size that can fit into a large handbag.