From the Jacket :

The Mahabharata, the longest poem ever written, is one of the world's greatest epics. It is the origin of thousands of beliefs, values, legends, thoughts and teachings tht constitute an inextricable part of Indian life today. Thus this epic has become an invaluable source book for any one interested in knowing India. At the same time, its intricate structure of texts within texts and numerous characters and complicated relationships and continuous interaction between human beings and divinities, make it difficult reading. The Samsad Companion to the Mahabharata offers the modern reader a convenient entry into the world of this masterwork; identifying all its characters with their relationships to other characters, locating all its events in specific space and time, and documenting the background, course, and components of the great confrontation between the Kauravas and the Pandavas culminating in the battle of Kurukshetra. The general reader can use it as a desk companion to unravel and locate any reference to the epic that comes his/her way, however obscure it may be. The Companion will bring the Mahabharata closer to the thought and imagination of every Indian, and thus will restore it to a position that had been waning for so many years.

About the Author :

Madhusraba Dasgupta, born in 1945, had her Masters in English Literature at Jadavpur University, Calcutta, and trained as a painter and a dancer. Her expertise extends to interior architecture, natural dyes, and the Japanese style of wash painting. She has exhibited in several art shows, lectured extensively on the arts. She has written on the arts, history and culture. She has translated short fiction and poetry from Hindi and Gujarati into English and Bengali. The Samsad Companion to the Mahabharata is the first work in a project in which she is currently engaged.