Mrityunjaya, The Death Conqueror: The Story Of Karna

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Mrityunjaya, The Death Conqueror: The Story Of Karna

4.54 of 5 stars 4.54 · rating details · 894 ratings · 95 reviews

The search for the meaning of Being is man's eternal quest and the subject of his greatest creations. Shivaji Sawant's Mrityunjaya is an outstanding instance of such a literary masterpiece in which a contemporary Marathi novelist investigates the meaning of the bewildering skein that is life through the personae of the Mahabharata protagonists. For over two decades since i...more

Hardcover, 697 pages

Published (first published January 1st 2002)

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Mar 14, 2012 Anu Cauvery rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a tremendously well written book. unlike books written by other Indian author`s who go on about a character's looks for pages and pages, this book has just enough pertinent details to help the reader to instantly 'see' the character andconjure up an image that is as close as possible to the way you see them in your mind.

It is aphilosophicaland psychological insight into theMahabharat. Itportraystheidiosyncrasy of eachcharacter. Their wealthy and decadent lifestyle, which is overpowered b...more

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Feb 09, 2010 Mihir rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

I managed to read this book after searching for it for nearly 3-4 years. The English translation is a bit clunky as some sentences are directly translated and therefore they do not hold the same impact. That being said this book is a work of genius.

Shivaji Sawant has written about Karna and re-imagined the Mahabharata around him. The book is made of nine section with 4 of them being from Karna's viewpoint, and the rest from the Viewpoints of Duryodhana, Kunti[His biological mother:], Vrishali...more

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Jun 07, 2012 Purav rated it 5 of 5 stars

For months, I tried finding this book in bookstores and libraries but couldn't find it. Thanks to Tim Berners-Lee, I finally managed to buy a copy of it online. But I had to shell out a hefty amount on the hardbound edition with shining golden-bordered pages and velvet coating. But the book is totally worth it.

The book is a psychological insight into various characters of Mahabharat - primarily that of Karna. The English version of the book, although a little hazy with language, nonetheless form...more

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Mar 19, 2009 Kavitha is currently reading it

I have one "new in a box" book to sell. It is signed by the publisher and is a collector's edition; the cover is made of raw silk. English edition.
Let me know if you are interested.

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May 13, 2012 Pallavi rated it 5 of 5 stars

I must start off by admitting that this review may be extremely biased. Biased by the fact that I consider the Mahabharata the best epic ever! Every character has an interesting story, and despite a few supernatural elements, every human character is...human. Human, with all the flaws and strengths, and no one is more so than the protagonist of Mrityunjaya, Karna. Since this review also goes on my blog and there is a slight problem with the spoiler HTML tag on my blog, I have removed it. Please...more I must start off by admitting that this review may be extremely biased. Biased by the fact that I consider the Mahabharata the best epic ever! Every character has an interesting story, and despite a few supernatural elements, every human character is...human. Human, with all the flaws and strengths, and no one is more so than the protagonist of Mrityunjaya, Karna. Since this review also goes on my blog and there is a slight problem with the spoiler HTML tag on my blog, I have removed it. Please stop reading further if you do not want to be exposed to spoilers.

As a kid, I had heard a lot about Mrityunjaya, and seen the book at home, but the fact that it was written in Marathi dissuaded me from touching it. Even though Marathi is my mother tongue, I have never studied it formally and therefore have a greater comfort level with reading English than Marathi. So a combination of my new Nook, Barnes and Noble gift cards from my company (yeah baby!) and Goodreads, revived my interest in hunting for a translated copy. Thanks to an Indian version of Amazon (www.flipkart.com/india), and my sister, I finally laid my hands on a beautiful hard-bound English translation. And then I lived the phrase "lost in translation" right from the first sentence! However, despite the clunky phrases, I was able to translate it back to what it would have sounded like in Marathi in my head and enjoy the beauty of the book.

Even if you haven't read this book, even if your introduction to Karna is through the Mahabharata alone, you cannot help but feel empathy for the eldest son of Kunti. Mrityunjaya only deepens it.
Mrityunjaya was written as a semi-autobiographical take on Karna’s life. The book is written from the POV of six characters. Karna opens and takes us closer to the end of his story, interspersed with chapters by Kunti (his mother), Duryodhana (his best friend), Vrishali (his wife), Shon (his younger foster brother) and a grand ending by the Lord, Sri Krishna himself. Apart from indulging the semi-autobiography of a fictional figure, Sawant touches on one of the biggest realities of human society, one that has not changed since time immemorial. The reality where birth decides the honour/dishonour bestowed upon a child, and not his/her worth. Even though the protagonist is really the son of the Sun-God himself and as radiant as him, the fact that he was fostered in the hut of a poor charioteer strikes out everything right he ever did in his life. The society then treated him as one of low status and unfortunately, because things haven’t changed an iota since then, he’d have been treated as such even now.

Karna is given a three-dimensional personality in Sawant’s version, something which the original Mahabharata does not provide. Sawant also takes a few liberties with the original, but the changes he makes only make the story more realistic. The characters of Vrishali and Shon for example, are given such appropriate voices, that you are left wondering whether Sawant had the fortune of stumbling upon some long lost letters written by them. Kunti’s character is fleshed out very well too, although you can’t help but wonder, what kind of a mother would choose her own honour over her son’s. One revelation on her part would have brought back his lost glory and honour, although it is commonly believed that the war would have happened anyway. Sawant also gives the Pandavas’ characters a darker shade of grey than in any other version of the Mahabharata. Duryodhana’s character remains the same, although it now makes me want to explore Bhāsa’s“Urubhanga”, which is Mahabharata retold from the POV of Duryodhana alone. Some day!

Despite the atrocities heaped upon him throughout his life, Karna grew to be an invincible warrior , a gentle and fair ruler of Anga (after Duryodhana bestowed the title upon him), a loving husband, an indulgent brother, a loyal friend and above all the epitome of generosity. So generous, that when a poor brahmin comes begging even as he lays dying, he breaks his golden teeth to give them away as alms!

While you commend Karna for being a rebel and not succumbing to the unfair norms of the society, you hit upon the obvious flaw in the hero. His egotism. You wonder why he was so ashamed of being recognized as his charioteer father’s son, despite loving his parents immensely. And if that shame, and the resultant blind loyalty to his lone supporter, Duryodhana was the result of his downfall. The Mahabharata is an epic more complex than anyone can ever imagine. You can discuss, debate and argue about it until eternity, and yet cover only a fraction of it. (less)

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Sep 11, 2011 Abhinav rated it 5 of 5 stars

This has to be the best book I have ever read in my life. It took me 6 months to find a copy of this book here in the US and finally had to ship it from India. Although it has been translated in many languages, something is always lost in translation so I would recommend people to read it in the original Marathi language.

The novel is basically an interpretation of the epic Mahabharat from Karan's (a key character in Mahabharat) perspective. It explains his mindset, the choices he made and the eq...more

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Aug 05, 2012 Swapneil Bakde rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It is one of the greatest books i have ever read!
must read at least once.

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Oct 03, 2011 Ajay R rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If one took a poll on the popularity of the various characters of the Mahabharata, Karna would rank amongst the top. His is the legend of a tragic hero. 'Mrityunjay' written by Shivaji Samant is the re-relling of Karna's story. Written originally in Marathi, the English translation of the novel is from the Hindi version of the original. This work reputed to be among the best of contemporary Marathi literature, has an interesting narrative technique. The novel is split into 9 books, each of then...more If one took a poll on the popularity of the various characters of the Mahabharata, Karna would rank amongst the top. His is the legend of a tragic hero. 'Mrityunjay' written by Shivaji Samant is the re-relling of Karna's story. Written originally in Marathi, the English translation of the novel is from the Hindi version of the original. This work reputed to be among the best of contemporary Marathi literature, has an interesting narrative technique. The novel is split into 9 books, each of then narrated as a monologue by Karna and other characters like Kunti, Krishna, (each of the 3 have 2 books of monologue), Duryodhana, Vrishali (Karna's wife) and Shom (Karna's step-brother).

The monologues of Karna are the best of the lot. Though the book is a sort of paean to Karna, it never goes overboard with it and tries to show his flaws as well. For all his poweress, Karna comes across as internally turmoiled, insecure man, insecure due to his origins about his place in society and obsessed about being recognized as the best archer of all. But sadly he was never given the oppurtunity of a level playing field to prove it. If he was denied by Drona during the archery competition at the beginning, then the curses that are heaped on him at the later stage also play a part in ensuring that he remains a tragic hero. It is a matter of conjecture as to what would have happened, if Drona had allowed Karna to compete with Arjuna. Maybe he would have won, he may have indeed lost, but either way, he would have been a more peaceful man, contended with himself and not obsessed with being the best archer which drives almost all his actions resulting in tragic consequences. But it was to not be. Another feeling that he tries to reconcile with vainly till the very end is his origin. Karna is shown in a subtle way as being unable to accept fully his origins. Though he loves his parents, proclaims that he is proud to a charioteer's son, some parts of his monologue subtly let it slip that maybe he is not as confident and secure about his origins as he shows. Maybe he craved that he were born elsewhere, or to put it clearly he may have desired that his parents had been the same but of a higher standing in society. It is borne out by his reactions to the relevation that he is Kunti's son. It's not any great happiness (or anger) that he feels towards Kunti. What comes through mainly is the relief that he is Kshatriya after all, that he cannot be insulted for his birth. It implies that he accepts the social order for all his posturing and that instead of trying to remove it, he is more than happy to know that he has actually jumped up in the order. Interestingly, Samant brings a twist to Karna's much lauded generosity using this turmoil. It is mentioned that his generosity is due to his craving for recognition. This does not reduce the value of his generosity, but only serves to enhance to the reader, the pain that a person must feel on being insulted repeatedly by society for no fault of his own, other than being born in a particular caste and the extreme lengths that he can go to overcome it. This obsession results in giving his body armour to Indra, therby divesting himself of his greatest protection.

The books of Kunti and Krishna (more than one for each) are middlingly good, but rarely offer any great insight into either Karna or themselves. Kunti's monologue is the usual one we have seen/read earlier of a woman torn between Karna and her other sons. The initial parts of her monologue are her reminiscences about her childhood, her being gifted by her father Surasena to Kunti Bhoja, her marriage to Pandu, in both cases without anyone asking her preference or her feelings are the best of the lot. Krishna's monologue too is pretty much the usual one you come to expect. The monologue of Duryodhana is different in that he is shown as a scheming character who treats Karna as more of his personal employee, a weapon to counteract the Pandavas than as his friend. Yes, I agree that their relationship need not have been as close a friendship as is known generally, but a complete flip around of it results in the relationship becoming completely one-dimensional, with no layers to it. Looks like the author decided to do a paradigm shift of popular perception, but in doing that he actually does Duryodhana an injustice. It cannot have been only personal benefit that made him ally with Karna, as it cannot have been only the goodness of his heart. (If he had been so devious, he could very well have forced Karna to fight under Bheeshma during the first 10 days of the war, instead of agreeing with his decision). Interestingly Aswaththama seems to have a more deeper friendship with Karna than Duryodhana. But ironically, even he abuses Karna in a fit of anger as a charioter's son during a tense moment in the war. This in a way exemplifies Karna's relationship with most people. However close he gets to them, how much ever he feels respected by them, at some point his origins are used by the same people to taunt him. That brings us to the other 2 books, that of his wife Vrishali and Shom his step-brother. It is with them that he does not feel the insecurity of being insulted at any time. But he rarely opens up his innermost feelings to even them. The two monologues are basically adulations of Karna by the two, who literally worship the ground he treads on. I had read somewhere else that Karna did not have a happy marital life as his wife who supposedly was royalty, was contempous of his origins and was insulting to him, but here Samant gives us a different version. Maybe one of the above books could have been done away with for a monologue of Arjuna, it sure would have been interesting to get know his views on his arch rival.

Karna's worship of the Sun-god, the unexplainable (to him, but not to the reader) connect that he feels towards the Sun god are very evocative, as is the part where the Sun god teaches him about the astras. (Yes, it is Surya devta who is mentioned as Karna's teacher in the book, because Drona is pre-occupied with teaching the Pandavas and Kshatriyas.). Some other parts too stand out, one being the killing of Sisupala where Karna's eyewitness account of it is almost psychedelic. The other being Karna's turmoil when Draupathi is being insulted after the game of dice. Torn between wanting to stop Duryodhana and held back by Draupathi's earlier insult of him during her Swayamvar he finally makes the fatal decision of joining Duryodhana. The tipping point for this is rooted in the human ego as Samant slips in a subtle variation of the events. As Draupathi asks everyone in the royal assembly for help, she sees Karna, meets his eye and then moves away without asking him anything. This spurs Karna to insult her. (Ironically it is revealed later that Draupathi did not ask for his help since she was already regretting her insult of Karna at her Swayamvar and did not feel worthy of his assistance). The part where Karna cuts off his armor to give to Indra and the subsequent description of his skinless body which is translucent is bound to shock you. But alongside such parts, others like the description of the events of the war get monotonous at places as do Shon's and Vrishali's monologues in their adulation of Karna.

This is a good, but at times uneven read. Personally for me, the best take on the Mahabharata still remains Bhyrappa's Parva. If you have not read Parva and are interested in reading variations on the epic, the first option should be Parva.

A digression from the novel. At the end of the novel, I found myself thinking about another character in parallel to Karna. If Karna can be said the victim of injustice throughout his life, then what of Eklavya. Probably he was the one who was subjected to the most cruel injustice of them all. Why is he not mentioned as reacting the way that Karna did, why for instance did he not join Duryodhana, (Parva mentions Eklavya as joining Duryodhana ) what happens to him after he gives his guru-dakshina to Drona? Why is he not spoken about more like Karna, why is he not so much entrenched in the general consciousness like Karna. Is there any contemporary work that shows Eklavya in a different light than the obedient, almost naive character that he is portrayed as generally. At the beginning of the book, Karna tells that he wants to tell his story because the truth has to be known, so why is the truth about Eklavya not told. Is it because that Karna was a Kshatriya after all and so had to get his share of fame, albeit posthumously while Eklavya is always in the lower echelon of the social order and hence need not betaken seriously? These thoughts do not have anything to do with this particular novel yes, but it seemed pertinent to discuss and compare both Karna and Ekalyva together.
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Aug 03, 2011 Arun Divakar rated it 4 of 5 stars

It is been often said that Karna is the most powerful of characters in the epic of the Mahabharatha. Born powerful and to the Sun god, ridiculed by all and sundry he retained his nobility and took his secret to the grave.

This is from multiple perspectives from various characters in the epic and gives a very holistic picture of this very human character. As I once wrote in a blog post long ago, Karna is a character who proves to you that Fortune does not always favor the bold.

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Sep 03, 2010 Sarvesh rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Most of the people got acquainted with the mahabharata through the popular sitcom. And whatever books were dedicated to the subject concentrated on accentuating the plight of pandavas and continued condemnation of duryodhana (suyodhana). MRITUNJAY scores high not only by providing the point of view of each and every prominent person but also maintaining a neutral tone. KARNA remains the most mysterious and intriguing character of Mahabharta, mritunjay delves inside the anals of history plunderin...more

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Aug 06, 2012 Ajinkya Kelkar marked it as to-read

An amazing read. A different perspective on the unsung hero of Mahabharat- Karna

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Jul 13, 2012 Sucharita rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I just finished reading Mrityunjay - The Death Conqueror. The original Marathi book written by Mr Shivaji Sawant has been very ably translated into English by Mr Pushottam Lal & Ms Nandini Nopany. Published by Writers' Workshop, Kolkata, at Rs.800/-, the book is very nominally priced, for a hard cover book bound with hand-woven silk cloth and golden lettering on the cover. The pages are golden edged. It definitely does credit to the contents and the homage that is paid to the great character...more I just finished reading Mrityunjay - The Death Conqueror. The original Marathi book written by Mr Shivaji Sawant has been very ably translated into English by Mr Pushottam Lal & Ms Nandini Nopany. Published by Writers' Workshop, Kolkata, at Rs.800/-, the book is very nominally priced, for a hard cover book bound with hand-woven silk cloth and golden lettering on the cover. The pages are golden edged. It definitely does credit to the contents and the homage that is paid to the great character that Karna was. Credit must go to my nephew Suryakalpo Sarker for introducing me to the book.

In literal terms, Mrityunjay means a person who has conquered death. Taken from the story of the Mahabharata, the book is the story of the life of Karna, the great warrior, the greatest giver; Karna, who braved the mightiest of disadvantages, insults, unfairness, injustice, humiliation and contempt to emerge victorious as a person of sterling character. A personality to be the role model for youth all through the ages. Very inspirational.

Karna has forever been my hero. The one personality who left a mark amongst the myriad of persons in the Mahabharat.

A Kshatriya, the son of Kunti & Sun God, Karna unaware of it, lived under the contemptuous shadow of being a Charioteer’s son. His entire life is a striving and yearning to be recognized as the great warrior that he was. Capability should judge a man and not his birth. But that was denied to him right till the end of his life. At every step he has been humiliated, pushed back and sought to be ousted. During the war of Kurukshetra, there were repeated attempts by the great leaders of both the Pandavs and the Kauravs to break his morale. Karna’s feelings, his pain & suffering, his courage & character are portrayed in depth. Divided into sections, the book explores important milestones in the life of the great persona.

Born with a divine set of earrings and a shield covering his entire body, unaware of his true identity Karna, from his childhood, has a strange attraction towards the Sun God. A great devotee of the Sun God, spurned by Guru Dronacharya, Karna makes the Sun his Guru to train as the greatest warrior. Inspite of his obvious superiority over all the Pandava and the Kauravas, or rather because of this, his entire life is a struggle against the injustice meted out to him. Fearing his supremacy he is forced out of all competition for the Pandavas. Humiliated and shunned by all he is befriended by Duyrodhan, the one person who is portrayed as evil, scheming and cunning. But all the others who prided themselves on their character do not come forth to stand by what is right. Though Krishna and Bhishma are aware of reality, both do nothing to set the facts right and establish Karna to his rightful place. His Mother, Kunti does not own him till the end. In fact she reveals his true identity to protect her other sons. So do Krishna and Bhishma, who reveals the truth to make him desist from the warfare. But through all this Duryodhan stands by him and as a mark of gratitude, so does Karna stand by his friend.
Apart from this constant struggle for acceptance, Karna’s life centres round his family. His father Adhirath, mother Radha and brother Shon. His marriage to Vrushali is poetically romantic. Vrushali is the perfect foil for the generosity embodied by Karna. The love and respect that Karna has for his family is returned wholeheartedly by all of them. His life is a Greek tragedy and ends with the death of his wife, sons and in the end himself.
Despite all this cruel injustice, Karna remains compassionate and sympathetic to the needs of others, till the end. Knowing fully well, his donations would be the ruin of him, he discards his divine earrings and the body shield to the utter torture of his physique. But the word of a gentleman is his honour. Even on his deathbed, he removes his gold teeth to give to a dead solder’s poor father to make funeral arrangements for the son. Little wonder then that he is conferred the title of ‘Daanveer Karna’.
Inspite of his great love and devotion for Lord Krishna he rejects the offer to join the Pandavas as the eldest and best of Pandavas as his conscience would not permit him to abandon his friend, Duryodhana who supported him throughout his life.
A must read for all.

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Jan 22, 2013 Pooja Saxena rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Although this has been translated in many languages, something is always lost in the process and i have been lucky to read the original book. This is among the best books i have ever read with the characters so alive that kept lingering in my thoughts for several weeks.

Mrityunjay means the one who conquers death and truly Karna does. This book is about Karna life and death. I can never compliment the author enough for presenting a story already known my all in a way that doesn't allow the reade...more

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May 16, 2012 Indian rated it 5 of 5 stars

Back in 1999 I was a bachelors student of chemical engineering at IIT Kanpur. This particular IIT has always been very particular about academics & we 2nd year students had to spent 4-5 hrs@daily in the fantastic central library.
The library was three storied & centrally air cooled. In the humid summer of the Gangetic plains (Kanpur) the library the only oasis of certitude.
It was one of those days when our of sheer boredom from my technical subjects, I wandered off towards the 2nd floor s...more Back in 1999 I was a bachelors student of chemical engineering at IIT Kanpur. This particular IIT has always been very particular about academics & we 2nd year students had to spent 4-5 hrs@daily in the fantastic central library.
The library was three storied & centrally air cooled. In the humid summer of the Gangetic plains (Kanpur) the library the only oasis of certitude.
It was one of those days when our of sheer boredom from my technical subjects, I wandered off towards the 2nd floor section of religious/spiritual section. Therein among the many version of Koran, Gita & Ramayan, tucked away was this book 'Mrityunjaya' English translation by the Writer's Workshop Calcutta.
Flipping away few pages got me hooked & I got this book issued. The book is a absolute gem. I couldn't get myself detached from it ever since. Completed this book within 3 days & was mesmerized.
Read it again 5-6 times in my 3rd & 4th year, till the time I was there in IIT.
Graduation completed, had to leave IIT. Out of all things this book was rigging my imagination. I wanted to keep a copy of this forever with me, tried multiple times to search this book but to no avail (Those were nascent internet days 1999-2002)
At one time felt like keeping this only copy in the library with me & claim to the librarian that it was lost, I would have to pay its price & some additional fine. The book would at least be mine.
Thought it over many times, but than better sense prevailed. I realized to do this heinous crime would be a sure undoing of the philosophy of this book, the purpose of it would have been defeated. Let this book be a testimony to future generations of engineering students. Many could be besotted as me.
Many years later, saw it's Hindi translation in Jabalpur railway station. I couldn't stop myself.
Re-read the Hindi (hindi version is as magical as the English one) atleast 4- times. Recommended & shared my book with as many as 10+ hindi book lovers. They all were as enthralled as me, wondering why didn't they read this before.
Now after so many years I see this English version available in www.flipkart.com.
Looking forward to reading the version I did back in 1999 as a teenager. Nostalgic?! (less)

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Mar 30, 2009 Nbcindia added it

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The search for the meaning of Being is man's eternal quest and the subject of his greatest creations. Shivaji Sawant's Mrityunjaya is an outstanding instance of such a literary masterpiece in which a contemporary Marathi novelist investigates the meaning of the bewildering skein that is life through the personae of the Mahabharata protagonists. For over two decades since it...more

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Mar 01, 2013 Varssha Chavan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Absolutely Ultimate book .. "Mrityunjaya" is a must must read book !If you havnt read it yet,you are are are misssing out on something called Great! The only thing I regret about "Mrityunjaya" is, i came to know about this book so damn late..pardon me. I am a big fan of Karna now, thanks to Shivaji Sawant. I cant wait to read his other book 'Yugandhar'. i was never so eager to read anything, Shivaji Sawants writing is so fascinating,it alwayz keeps you on the edge of your seat. :)

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May 15, 2011 VINOD NIKAM rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: my-favourate

Really no words to say...my exams are going on then also i have completed this book. Last night when i completed it, it was 3 am, upto that time i was at 'kurukshetra', the battle field of the KAURAVA's & PANDAVA's. Last scene when THE GREAT KARNA was dying i'm feeling that i was there and really witnessing his death, i was simply crying.
Really nice, THE GREAT KARNA, his wife VRUSHALI, THE KRISHNA, his horse VAYUJEET, lot of characters to hold u there at that scene's.

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May 11, 2013 Swati Kedia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My mom read the book ages back and recommended it to me. I started reading the Hindi version. It was beautifully written. But unfortunately, not being exceptionally good at reading difficult Hindi .. Couldn't maintain the flow. Finally reading the English translation. Not the best translation work but the book is engrossing. Perhaps would try and read the Hindi version again. Probably the best to read would be the original Marathi one

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Jul 11, 2012 Shree rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Most of the people who know more or less about Mahabharat, will alwaz have a soft corner towards Arjun and will put Karna into the blacklist, as they did about Sadashivrao Peshwa during Panipat.
Thankx to these remarkable writers like Vishwas Patil and Shivaji Sawant. They rejected the easy way of writing what the most readers wanted to read n make their book popular, they choose to go for the truth.
Salute to them.
.$.

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Dec 02, 2012 Prasad Jachak rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

One of the best book i have read.. Author just take you there in past in imagination which sometimes feels confusing as we are actually there to watch what happening in mahabharta.Even i can sense river side tree...Author have great Story telling ability . Its 600 pages book which i finished in just 5 days..I was not able to put this book down i remember two days i slept at 6 oclock in morning.Great book...

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Oct 11, 2012 Ajinkya Deshmukh rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well not good as yugandhar but it was best too ...... it shows 'how was Karna from Mahabharata' and why he always chose duryodhana's side ....... There is always painful life to some people no matter what they think ..... it wasn't his fault that he was raised as 'sutputra' and nor kunti's because she was 'kumari mata' ...... as i already told you some people always get pain from their life .. .....

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Aug 20, 2010 Premjish Achari rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This Marathi novel is my favorite one which is narrated through the perspectives of Karna and Kunti. I have read its Malayalam translation. Shivaji brilliantly crafts the entire novel with the emotional turmoil of an individual who was dejected all through his life. Sawant reminds us that Mahabharata is more than Kourava-Pandava war. Stands equal to Randaamoozham (The Second Turn) of M. T. Vasudevan Nair.

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Jan 11, 2010 Venu Menon rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book will always be on the top of the list of all the books that I read. Nothing can beat this one. The way it has been written, truly makes you feel as though you are there in each and every moment. Karna has always been my favourite character from Mahabharata. The book proves the point that there shall be none like Karna ever amongst the humans.

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May 13, 2013 Rajesh Jha rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Awesome. Character of karna has been portrayed with sheer honesty, both positive and negative colors of his characters are on display. Readers are given facts without any bias and they are free to understand Karna's character as per their own imagination.
It's an epic in itself, writing is very effective, though I have read hindi version. It gives me sense of how much it would have been effective if I would have able to read it in Marathi (original language).

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Jun 22, 2012 Kimaya rated it 4 of 5 stars

Leaving the indisputable story-line apart, a tale told with close-to-alarming attention to detail, although I don't appreciate the de-humanizing of the characters in the light of glorious war. The futility of the war, and its causes should have been discussed with greater stress. The part of the story told by Krishna was not utilized to its full potential.

Another point is that one cannot help comparing Mrityunjaya to The Palace of Illusions. Both in their turn make up for each others flaws- on o...more

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Apr 16, 2013 Jitendra Patil rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the first novel I read in my life. This book is the story of Karna one of the greatest warriors in Mahabharat. I liked the style of the book, The story is narrated by different characters in Mahabharata itself as the story progresses.

As far as I know almost every native Marathi person have read this novel.

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Sep 25, 2012 Avadhut rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Must read book for everyone. This book shows the qualities of real MAN.
Until now all TV serials or other medias showed KARNA as a one villain from the team of Kourava's.
But this book shows that, he was not a villain. Rather he was the real Hero than any Pandava's.

The book should be in your Library!!

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Dec 21, 2012 Shweta rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: marathi

A CLASSIC creation in Marathi Literature! It takes you to a different world! The journey of Karna from a charioteers son to Digvijayi Angraj Karna and then to Danveer Karna is worth bows! The reasons for which he stood by Kauravas side makes us look at the epic from a different perspective. The best part is the conflicts that occur in Karna's mind and the decisions made by him. These are the questions that arise in every ones mind. The book helped me resolve many such conflicts and confusions! T...more

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Sep 15, 2012 Swat Ej rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The best book stating in a very proficient manner the Strength, Generosity & Abilities of Karna' as well as how superior was he from all the 'Panch Pandavas'
Especialy, the Arjun award given today is deserved by Karna'.....! Yet it is not....???? WHY?????
MUST READ, ESPECIALLY BY THE YOUNG...!

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Mar 30, 2009 Nbcindia added it · review of another edition Recommends it for: Every One

Recommended to Nbcindia by: teacher

This book was originally written in Marathi. To Buy the Book Please visit nbcindia.com or click the link given below:

http://www.nbcindia.com/Descriptions....

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About Shivaji Sawant

After extensive research he wrote a book Mrityunjay (English: Triumph Over Death) based on Karna, one of the leading characters of the epic Mahabharat. This book was translated in Hindi (1974), English (1989), Kannada (1990), Gujarati (1991), Malayalam (1995) and received numerous awards and accolades. In 1980 he wrote a book Chhava based on Sambhaji's life.

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