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R. K. Narayan

The Indian Epics Retold: The Ramayana, The Mahabharata, Gods Demons and Others Paperback – December 31, 2000

by R.K. Narayan (Author), S. Krishnan (Author)

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One of India s finest novelists retells the two great Indian epics as well as some well-known tales from Hindu mythology and folklore. While the eleventh century Tamil poet Kamban s version inspires his Ramayana, Narayan s Mahabharata is based on Vyasa s monumental work. In Gods, Demons and Others, he includes stories from Kalidasa s Sanskrit classic Abhijnana Shakuntalam, the Tamil epic Silappadikaram, the Shiv Purana and the Devi Bhagwatam.

Print length

630 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Penguin Books
Publication date

December 31, 2000
Dimensions

7.99 x 10 x 1.85 inches
ISBN-10

9780140255645
ISBN-13

978-0140255645
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Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0140255648
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books (December 31, 2000)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 630 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780140255645
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0140255645
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.17 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.99 x 10 x 1.85 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,438,891 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews:
140 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5

140 global ratings

5 star		73%
4 star		16%
3 star		6%
2 star		2%
1 star		4%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Raja Dev

Great Book

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 24, 2017

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A great book by a wonderful author. Very revealing stories in a smooth flowing language.

One person found this helpful

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Ruth

Lovely

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 7, 2001

Narayan retells the Ramayana and Mahabharata epics as well as some of his favourite tales from within them. Obviously, the epics are much condensed (the original Mahabharata is over 100,000 stanzas of verse and the longest composition in the world). Narayan describes his method as writing from memory the stories, focusing on personalities and plot, and ignoring the massive philosophical interludes (which can run to hundreds of pages - the Bhagavad Gita for example - and are often published separately in the English interpretation) and so this is a retelling rather than a translation.
The stories themselves are wonderful, the Mahabharata especially. They are thought to have been writen several thousand years B.C., and still important in India today. In the Ramayana, the demon Ravana is given protection so that he cannot be killed by a supernatural being, so Vishnu comes to earth in human form (as the perfect prince Rama) to defeat Ravana. In his task he is assisted by various people including the monkey god Hanuman.
The Mahabharata is the story of the conflict between the five divine Pandava brothers and their one hundred cousins who want to destroy them. This story is particularly interesting, and wise, and sometimes funny.
I found the stories to be fascinating and a good insight into Indian culture. I'm in India at the moment, and a lot of things have become more clear to me after reading this book. It's fun to read.

5 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Emma Gurhy

Accessible interpretation that maintains the essence of the originals

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 7, 2017

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A truly superb and accessible rendition of the Hindu epics. Summaries the stories without losing the essence of the original and it's a great opportunity to read the story without feeling overwhelmed. The cast list at the beginning of each story is very useful although I found I didn't need to refer to this too often as the footnotes explain the name changes. The author presents some brief reviews at the end of each tale. I really love the way the Mahabarrata contextualises the Gita, there is so much more background to the story than simply Arjuna defending his brother's right to the throne not to mention the explanation of how Arjuna acquires his renowned warrior status and the major role his wife plays in the story.

One person found this helpful

Sagnik Jana

An amazing introduction to the corpus of Indian literature

Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on April 5, 2022

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R. K. Narayan does an impartial job at not just selecting the literature of North India, but also that of South India, abridging them in his own wry style while preserving the humour and pathos of the original. The simplicity of style does not betray the complexity of the texts he deals with. The pages are thick and can the font size big and easily readable without straining the eyes.

Furthermore, this copy is incredibly cheap, because separate editions of Narayan's Mahabharata and Ramayana cost around 400. Here, however, both the epics and more are available at around 450.

Overall, this omnibus is highly recommended if one is looking for a gateway, an INTRODUCTION into Indian literature, with one of the best writers India has ever produced as their guide, or a comfortable revision of some of the most influential texts in the history of Indian literature.

5 people found this helpful

Mrinalini

Wonderful re telling of our greatest epics

Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on July 16, 2022

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Great read in simple language. A must have for those who want to know about our great epics. Also, the book arrived as if dipped in some chemical. Many pages were soiled. But the replacement with a new book was done in two days very efficiently.

One person found this helpful

Ashwin Parmar

The Indian Epics Retold!

Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on July 10, 2021

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Breezy read! However many spelling mistakes, proof reading prior to printing falling short miserably! Reduces the charm and impact to some extent due to that. There are better versions of the epics available though. Since this gives you 3-in-1, worth the spend ☺️

2 people found this helpful

Ak

Must Have.Interesting Read.

Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on June 17, 2020

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Must Read.This book is good for both Kids and Adult. Narration style is very simple and easy to understand.Must have in collection of every reader.

Book and Print quality is very Good.