The Mahabharata, which is Sanskrit for a “Great Epic of the Bharata Dynasty” is indeed a great epic. Alongside the Ramayana, it is one of the greatest and most significant epics in Indian literature.
However, its significance extends beyond India and beyond Hinduism. It is, in fact, one of the greatest and longest epics in world literature as a whole. The Mahabharata is the greatest epic ever created in the world.
This famous ancient literary work reflects the rich & powerful Indian civilization. Composed around 4 thousand BC, the Mahabharata story was based in the Indian sub-continent and the neighboring areas.
It is not just an epic or a religious book but an ocean of knowledge and wisdom. The book teaches us the way of life. Moreover, the Mahabharata is an all-in-one source of learning religion, philosophy, politics, rights & duties in human life, and many more. So, let’s go through the prime attributes of this notable book.
Lord Ganesha Seated on Blooming Lotus Scripting The Mahabharata
It is the longest epic ever written. It is composed of 1.8 million words, creating one hundred thousand verses divided into 18 sections. The Mahabharata is almost ten times longer than the combined length of the Iliad and the Odyssey.
It is four times longer than the Ramayaṇa. Besides, there is an annexure named Harivamsha, which means “Genealogy of the God Hari.” For its exceptional length, many scholars opined that the Mahabharata book is unlikely to be the creation of a single individual.
This legendary epic was composed by the sage Krishna-Dwaipayana Veda Vyasa. He also compiled and divided the vast Vedic knowledge into 4 parts. It is believed that Veda Vyasa recited the Mahabharata slokas, and Lord Ganesha wrote it.
As per mythology, Vyasa couldn’t find anyone on the earth to write the Mahabharata. He, therefore, asked for the help of Lord Ganesha, who blesses success and ends all obstacles. As per legends, Lord Ganesha took three years to write the Mahabharata.
However, he was writing the epic at an incredible pace and broke his stylus. And as he vowed to complete the writing at a stretch, he broke a piece of his tusk and finished the task.
The mighty feud between the cousins, and the many wars and conflicts throughout the Mahabharata builds up to a series of grand battles on the Kurukshetra field, in the Haryana state.
At the end of the battle, all the Kaurava brothers are defeated and killed. While the side of the Pandavas emerge victorious, the only survivors are the five brothers, Draupadi, and the god Krishna.
The main storyline of this great epic can be summarized as a tale that revolves around two brothers. They were the princes of Hastinapura, Dhritarashtra, and Pandu.
Their respective family branches engaged in war, fighting for the throne of Hastinapura. Vyasa’s role in the Mahabharata was not only as a composer, but he also appeared in the story itself as the grandfather of the princely brothers.
Prince Dhritarashtra, the older of the two princes, couldn’t sit on the throne due to his blindness from birth. Although he was the rightful heir to his father’s throne, his disability deprived him of his birthright.
Instead, his younger brother, Pandu, was crowned king upon their father’s death. However, Pandu, while enjoying hunting in the jungle, was cursed by a sage, which made him unable to become a father.
So, he left the kingdom and went to the forest with his two wives, Kunti & Madri. Kunti was granted a boon by sage Durvasa that she could request God for a child.
She shared the secret mantra with Madri, and both gave birth to 5 children, Yudhishthir, Bhim, Arjun, Nakul, and Sahadev, unitedly known as Panch Pandav.
☸ Lord Pavan (God of the Wind), fathered Bhima
☸ Lord Dharma fathered Yudhishtira
☸ Lord Indra fathered Arjuna
☸ The twin Gods, Ashvin, fathered the twin children Nakula and Sahadeva.
Upon the death of Pandu, the Pandavas returned to Hastinapur with their mother, Kunti. Conflict, jealousy, and resentment arose between the Pandavas and their cousins, the Kauravas, who were the children of Prince Dhritarashtra.
Duryodhana, the eldest Kaurava, plans a conspiracy against the Pandavas to kill them. The 5 brothers escape the distress with their mother & go underground. Eventually, the 5 brothers jointly marry Princess Draupadi and return to Hastinapur.
However, on their return, Duryodhana, the oldest of the Kauravas, invites Yudhishthira to a game of dice where the latter loses everything. It forces the Pandavas out of the kingdom once again. They then spend twelve years exiled in the forest.
The mighty feud between the cousins, and the series of conflicts throughout the Mahabharata results in the grand battle of Kurukshetra. This part of the epic focuses on Lord Sri Krishna and his teachings which is compiled in The Bhagavad Gita. So, this part can also be considered as the Krishna Mahabharata.
At the end of the battle, all the Kaurava brothers are defeated and killed. While the Pandavas emerge victorious, the only survivors are the five brothers, Draupadi, and Lord Krishna.
The five brothers then head towards heaven. However, along their way, each of the four brothers falls, and only Yudhisthira makes it to the gates of paradise. The story doesn’t end here, as Yudhisthira is still made to face further tests of his faithfulness.
After passing these final tests, Yudhisthira is not only reunited with his Pandava brothers and their wife Draupadi, but also with his enemy cousins, the Kauravas. They all enjoy eternal bliss together.
The original Mahabharata was in Sanskrit, but you can read the Mahabharat book in Hindi and many regional languages. Among many Hindi translations of the Mahabharata, one written by Rameswar Shukla is the most popular.
The attempt to translate the Mahabharata into regional languages was made so that people in different regions may benefit from the epic's wisdom, which held the best information on how to live a peaceful and just life. Books like
☸ Mahabharata-Ashtadashi (Analysis of Eighteen Female Characters of Mahabharata) by Nrisingha Prasad Bhaduri
☸ Mahabharat Kaleen Shikshan Pranali by Veena Vishnoi Sharma
☸ Mahabharata Mool Katha (Set of 3 Volumes) by Dr. Rahul
☸ Maharthi Shikhandi by Dheer Singh Pavaiya
☸ Yuganta (An Analysis of Some Exceptional Characters of the Mahabharata) by Sasta Sahitya Mandal Prakashan
☸ A Heroic Tale Barbaric (Punjabi) by Padma Sen
☸ Strategic Arrangement and Strategy Described in Mahabharata by B. R Publishing Corporation
Are some of the books that might prove beneficial for the readers who what to explore different aspects of Mahabharata and its influence on daily life.
Famous scholar Kabindra Parameswar translated the Mahabharata in Bengali in the 16th century. Since then, several other writers have written the epic in Bengali.
So, you can buy the Bengali Mahabharat book written by your favorite writer online. Apart from this classic, other similar books might help enrich a person's spiritual intelligence. Books like
☸ “Cheledera Mahabharata (Bengali)” by Upendrakishore Roy Choudhury are perfect for children to be acquainted with the epic.
☸ Droupadi: Swyambhutar Jiban Charit (Bengali), a book by Madhuboni Chattopadhyay talks about Draupadi, her birth as the Swayambhuta, and her life turmoils.
☸ Kashidasi Mahabharata (Bengali) by Kashiram Das
☸ Mahabharate Barnita Janajati (Bengali) by Sudhir Kumar Bhoumik
☸ Puranakosa (An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Mahabharata, Ramayana and Puranas in Bengali (Set of 3 Volumes) by Nrisinha Prasad Bhaduri are also essential books that could benefit the readers.
The evergreen story of the Mahabharata inspired the Gujarati scholars & writers to translate the book in this language. Buy the Mahabharata in Gujarati written by renowned writers.
To help the readers other books delve into delve into different aspects of the epic. Books like
☸ Mahabharatni Maitre Kathao (Gujarati) by Jay Narayan Vyas
☸ Mahabharatano Yuddhakala (Gujarati) by Shree Vasant A. Godbole
☸ The Mysteries of the Mahabharata (Gujrati) by Vijaya Lele
☸ Mahabharatman Matruvandana (Gujarati) by Dinkar Joshi are some of the gems that might help the readers to discover other fascinating aspects of the epic.
For the readers of southern India, it's a popular book. So, several writers have written the Mahabharata in Malayalam that you can buy from an online store.
The best part about the Malayalam Mahabharat and it has been written by different writers is that every book has something different to offer to the readers. Books like
☸ Kuttikalude Mahabharatham (Malayalam) by Aranmula Hariharaputhran
☸ Vidura Neethi in Malayalam (An Old and Rare Book) by K. R. Ramakrishnan
☸ Araneyopakhyanam- Mahabharatam (Malayalam) by K. R. Ramakrishnan
☸ Mahabharata (Malayalam) by M. P. Chandrasekharan Pillai
☸ Yato Dharmastato Jaya: Study for Mahabhartha (Malayalam) by Narendra Kohli, K.C. Ajaykumar are other very important works by different prominent writers that shed light on unpopular aspects of the epic.
There are several popular translations of Mahabharata in Kannada. Among them, Mahabharata written by Jnanpith award winner Kuvempu is the most popular.
The Mahabharata being an epic and Kannada being one of the oldest languages makes an epic combination and writers have attempted to bring out different aspects of the Mahabharata time and again. Books like
☸ Panchamaveda Mahabaratha (Kannada) by G. V. Sharma Pandit
☸ Bheeshma Darshana Arthath Mahabharath in Kannada by Rangarao Swamirao Deshpande
☸ Kumaravyasa Bharata Emba Karnata Bharata Kathamanjari (Set of 2 Volumes in Kannada) edited by T. V. Venkatachala Sastry
☸ The Story of Mahabharata (Kannada) by Geeta Press are popular and reliable sources of knowledge that could help the reader understand how Mahabharata teaches us about actions and their consequences.
This book is extremely popular among the Tamil population. The first translation of the Mahabharata was in Tamil. You will find Mahabharat in Tamil written by several renowned writers.
Every writer contributed thoroughly towards a better understanding of the epic and the life lessons that it propagated. Books like
☸ Mahabharatha Vachana Kaviyam Shanmuga Kavirayar in Tamil (Set of 5 Volumes) edited by R. Srinivasan, D. Gunanidhi
☸ Some Ideal Characters of Mahabharata (Tamil) by Geeta Press
☸ Matru Morumurai Mahabharatam (Tamil) by Sathyadev
☸ Karna Moksha Natakam (Tamil) by B. Rathina Nayakar & Sons
☸ The Mahabharata in Tamil (Set of 10 Volumes) by Sri Bhagawan Nama Publications are some of the very popular books that could help the readers gain some more insight about the epic and its long-term utility in the daily life of people.
The Mahabharata is the best smriti text and epic from ancient India to be translated into Telugu. You can choose to read the Mahabharata in Telugu written by several writers.
Writers of this classical Dravidian language have attempted to simplify the knowledge that has been ingrained in every line of Mahabharata, they also attempted to present an unbiased opinion of other aspects of the epic. Books like
☸ Telugu Mahabharata Ratnamala (Set of 3 Volumes in Telugu) by Salaka Raghunatha Sharma
☸ Bhishma: Bhagavata Murthy in Telugu by K. Parvathi Kumar
☸ Vidura Niti for Younger Generations by Samavedam Shanmukha Sharma
☸ Sri Madandhra Mahabharata (Telugu) by Kompella Ramakrishna Murthy
☸ Campu Mahabharatam-Sarasabhaskari: A Commentary (Set of 2 Volumes in Telugu) by Ramakrishna Suryanarayana
☸ Andhra Mahabharata with Commentary - Set of 15 Volumes (Telugu) by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, Tirupati is lo less than windows to the vast world of the wisdom that each page of the epic holds, reading these books is a guaranteed benefit for the readers.
Many popular writers have translated the Mahabharata into Marathi. So, you can easily find Marathi Mahabharata books online written by your favorite writers. The Marathi language writers have always been very prompt in taking up topics that have humanitarian value.
The existence of so many different types of attempts to understand the Mahabharata in the language shows the eagerness of the writers to propagate the wisdom that is ingrained in the epic. Books like
☸ Shri Madhava Swamy's-Mahabharata Virata Parva in Marathi (An Old and Rare Book) by Madhava Swamy
☸ Mahabhartache Vardhan; Part-1 in Marathi (An Old & Rare Book) by Raghunath Bhinde
☸ Lord of the Indian War (Marathi) by Alka Takte, Radhey Karna (Marathi) by V S Wakaskar
☸ Shri Mahabharat Katha (Marathi) by Gita Press, Gorakhpur
☸ Mahabharatatil Hajar Sarth Subhashite (Marathi) by H A Bhave
☸ Complete Mahabharata in Marathi (Set of 8 Volumes) by Bhalba Kelkar are some helpful sources that could help the readers to be enriched by the wisdom flowing in every page of Mahabharata.
The earliest translation of the Mahabharata into Odia is done by Adi Kavi Sarala Das. Later, several other writers have written the Mahabharat in Odia that you can choose to read.
Odia, a classical language has been a tool for propagating the wisdom of classics like Mahabharata for a very long time. The writers of the Odia language made various attempts to bring different perspectives of the Mahabharata and they have been largely successful in doing so. Books like
☸ Mahabharata in Odiya (Set of 3 Volumes) by Dharma Grantha Store, Cuttack
☸ Khiti Bansa Purana (Odia) by Hadibandhu Das
☸ Gopala Sahasranama (Odia) by Dharma Grantha Store, Cuttack
☸ Shrimadbhagawat Mahatmya (Odia) by Maharshi Vedavyasa
☸ Kanva Samhita (Odia) by Kanva Maharishi
☸ Bibi Tri Mahabharata (Odia) by Yudhisthir Sahu
☸ Teachings of Queen Kunti (Odia) by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada are some of the popular books that have been helping the readers enrich themselves with the infinite flow of wisdom.
Conclusion:
The Mahabharata is a vital source of knowledge and insight on the evolution of the Hindu faith. The great epic is considered both a historical piece of literature, narrating past events in the Aryan genre, and a book about dharma or Hindu moral law.
Along with the major and minor storylines narrated in the Mahabharata, as well as the grand battles, it also includes philosophical discourse and devotional material.
It includes the Purusartha, which is known as the four goals of life. The Mahabharata is so significant in Indian tradition and Hinduism that it is sometimes considered the fifth Veda.
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