The Complete Mahabharata

by Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Kisari Mohan Ganguli (Translator)

The "Mahabharata" tells the narrative of the Kurukshetra War and the fates of the Kaurava and the Pandava princes who are part of it. Along with the "Ramayana" it is one of two Sanskrit epics of ancient India. The authorship of the work is generally attributed to Vyasa, who is also a major character in the epic. Intermixed within the descriptions of conflict between the warring factions of this epic are numerous philosophical digressions and discussions of Hinduism. One of the more famous of these digressions is the "Bhagavad-Gita", a battlefield conversation between Pandava prince Arjuna and his guide Lord Krishna on a variety of theological and philosophical issues. Also included within the "Mahabharata" are the story of "Damayanti" and "Rishyasringa," often considered as works in their own right. This sweeping epic, the longest every written in Sanskrit, is widely considered as one of the most important works to ever be authored in any language. This four volume edition collects together the complete epic in a translation by Kisari Mohan Ganguli. Here we have the fourth volume which includes books thirteen through eighteen.

660 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 1, 2013

About the author

Krishna Dvaipāyana Vyāsa, also known as Vyāsa or Veda-Vyāsa (वेदव्यास, the one who classified the Vedas into four parts) is a central and revered figure in most Hindu traditions. He is traditonally regarded as the author of the Mahābhārata, although it is also widely held that he only composed the core of the epic, the Bhārata. A significant portion of the epic later was only added in later centuries, which then came to be known as the Mahābhārata. The date of composition of this epic is not known - It was definitvely part of the traditions in Indian subcontinent at the time Gautam Buddha (~500 BCE) which would suggest it having been already around for atleast a few centuries. It was chiefy put down in the written form only somewhere between 300 BCE to 300 CE.

As the name would suggest, Vyāsa is believed to have categorised the primordial single Veda into its four canonical collections. He is also considered to be the scribe of Purānās, ancient Hindu texts eulogizing various deities, primarily the divine Trimurti God in Hinduism through divine stories.

Reviews

[Kelli Bacon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Books 12 & 13 really should be their own work. Since the first books are so detailed , I was left wondering why the final books are so short and devoid of detail. To me it seemed like they weren't supposed to be as important, but I don't know why.