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nishalovesbooks's review
adventurous
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
mithil92's review
And thus, the epic begins.
Mahabharata is en epic not only its grand scope but also in its astounding narrative. We begin with Ugraśravas Souti, who begins the narration of Mahabharata before a group of sages. A brief period of time later, he begins the narration of Vaishmpayana, a student of Ved Vyasa. Already at this point, we have a narrator inside a narration, a meta level like a story being told inside a story. Things only get crazy when these narrations go down three levels, sometimes even four.
And at this point one realises the true nature of Mahabharata: it is an ancient tale passed down through generations, with narrators helping move the story forward in time so that it may reach us modern viewers someday. It gives the epic narrative a grandiose flair, as if we are witnessing something ancient as old as time itself. By some miracle, these stories have come down for us to enjoy and learn from. So powerful is the timeless qualities of this lengthy poem.
The first volume takes a long time to get to the root of the story. We have narrators setting the stage, the primary being Janmejaya's snake sacrifice carried out as a revenge for his father's, King Parikshit's, death. These precursors to the main story sometimes mirror what will happen in the future, one notable example being Indra's encounter with Lord Shiva which mirrors the infamous gambling match between the Pandavas and Shakuni.
The first volume successfully generates incredible hype for the things to come. We get multiple narratives focusing on the major players, a sort of context that makes us relate to even the most vile of all the characters. Although Dharma plays a major role in deciding the fate of the story, it is not a doctrine applied simply. The complexities of Dharma often conjures up astonishing moral dilemmas, with no discernible way to tell the right from wrong or vice versa.
Since I have not read the original Sanskrit text, I do not know whether this is a good translation. But Bibek Debroy's absolute passion is visible, especially in the way he gives us incredibly detailed footnotes on ideas that need context. I really wish he had opted to write a diacritical translation. Without this, I have a hard time gauging the actual pronunciations of nouns. Here's hoping some later and/or special editions remedy this.
Mahabharata is en epic not only its grand scope but also in its astounding narrative. We begin with Ugraśravas Souti, who begins the narration of Mahabharata before a group of sages. A brief period of time later, he begins the narration of Vaishmpayana, a student of Ved Vyasa. Already at this point, we have a narrator inside a narration, a meta level like a story being told inside a story. Things only get crazy when these narrations go down three levels, sometimes even four.
And at this point one realises the true nature of Mahabharata: it is an ancient tale passed down through generations, with narrators helping move the story forward in time so that it may reach us modern viewers someday. It gives the epic narrative a grandiose flair, as if we are witnessing something ancient as old as time itself. By some miracle, these stories have come down for us to enjoy and learn from. So powerful is the timeless qualities of this lengthy poem.
The first volume takes a long time to get to the root of the story. We have narrators setting the stage, the primary being Janmejaya's snake sacrifice carried out as a revenge for his father's, King Parikshit's, death. These precursors to the main story sometimes mirror what will happen in the future, one notable example being Indra's encounter with Lord Shiva which mirrors the infamous gambling match between the Pandavas and Shakuni.
The first volume successfully generates incredible hype for the things to come. We get multiple narratives focusing on the major players, a sort of context that makes us relate to even the most vile of all the characters. Although Dharma plays a major role in deciding the fate of the story, it is not a doctrine applied simply. The complexities of Dharma often conjures up astonishing moral dilemmas, with no discernible way to tell the right from wrong or vice versa.
Since I have not read the original Sanskrit text, I do not know whether this is a good translation. But Bibek Debroy's absolute passion is visible, especially in the way he gives us incredibly detailed footnotes on ideas that need context. I really wish he had opted to write a diacritical translation. Without this, I have a hard time gauging the actual pronunciations of nouns. Here's hoping some later and/or special editions remedy this.
darshbakshi's review against another edition
5.0
I am not religious by any means. I wanted to read this book because everyone thinks about this story as a black-and-white thing and I wanted to understand the gray parts of it. The good, the bad, and the complicated. I also wanted to take away the principles from this book. And although this was just the start ( there are 9 more parts to go ) this book did not disappoint. This story won't tell you how you can fix your finances or discipline but it will certainly help you in navigating life and problems.
wincher2031's review
5.0
Notes taken while reading the complete 10 volumes are listed below, reserving my full opinion until I complete the full text.
Notes on Volume 1
- Section 1: Explains loss vs expectation of victory, the 5 elements (inspiration for sci fi movies, Saturday morning cartoons e.g. Captain Planet, Fifth Element, Terry Pratchett's The Fifth Elephant parody). Argument for moderation (things become sins when abused).
- Section 2: Rama creates the 5 lakes of blood, rest acts as table of contents
- Section 3: Early examples of the Quest plot and McGuffin literary device (Utanka being sent to retrieve stolen earrings from the underground Kingdom of Nagas).
Ruru sacrificing 1/2 his life for his love Pramadava mirrors Yayati passing his old age curse later, though out of love rather than penance.
- Section 4: The poisoning of innocent Pramadava establishes the inherent evil of the snake, shared in Christian mythology via Genesis.
- Section 5: War between Gods and Demons, Vishnu disguises himself as a woman to distract a high-ranking Demon (early example of the Trickster Trait possessed by many magical beings in the pantheon of ancient-to-medieval mythologies and folk tales. Elves, pixies, faeries and their untrustworthy nature pre-"Disneyification").
The 60,000 Rishis each the size of a thumb, make high pitched noises instead of speech and recur throughout with mischievous antics (comic relief, today akin to Minions, A Bug's Life's Tuck and Roll, Terry Pratchett's Wee Free Men, Oz's Winged Monkeys etc).
The 6 Vices presented here (Desire, Anger, Greed, Ego, Delusion and Envy) crossover with the 7 Deadly Sins of Biblical literature.
- Section 6: "The grandfather of the Pandavas was born on an island in the river Yamuna, in the womb of the virgin Kali..." The concept of the Virgin Birth presented here long before the writing of the New Testament.
- Section 7: The consumption of wine is forbidden as it leads to the surrender of secrets and power. Similar to the forbidding of consuming alcohol in The Qu'ran as it "allows Satan to enter one's heart."
Yayati's story of being cursed with old age is told here. The curse and re-acquiring youth by having to pass the curse on to another/take another person's youth is retold and upended through several contemporary fantasy stories e.g. Dorian Gray, Neil Gaiman's Stardust and Philip K. Dick's The Cookie Lady.
Yayati living for 1000 years and becoming a hermit in the forest draws comparison to Methuselah (Noah's father in the Old Testament with similar mannerisms and temperament as Yayati, explored further in Darren Aronofsky's movie adaptation).
The 5 elements, lakes of blood, sacrificial fires, sons of Yayati, The number 5 is of great importance in keeping with many other religious scriptures written afterwards, certain numbers are repeated (3 = The Divine Number, Holy trinity, 3 gifts at the birth, the 8 nights of Hannukah, 7 days in the week, 7 sins, 7 dais of the temple etc).
The 6 senses presented here connect to Descartes' later Meditations on how the 5 senses cannot always be trusted, but the mind can perceive more. But if the sixth sense IS the mind, as proposed in the Mahabharata, this presents another difficulty for Descartes' argument 2000+ years before he presented it. Yet it can also be said that the mind cannot always be trusted and deceives itself in cases of brain damage and severe mental illness, degenerative diseases etc. The Rationalist vs Empiricist debate over the reliability of the senses is put in new light as, it seems, we were initially considered to have 6 senses before 5 was later adopted.
The 8 forms of marriage (rather than 1 uniform marriage) suggests the manipulation of legal loopholes, rigged bloodlines for political gain and (in part) explains the complexity of the caste system.
Shortly after the start of the Bharata lineage there is a drowning of sons allowed by the King, the son Gangadatta is saved a becomes a great leader, an act which builds to a great chariot escape. Story beats shared in Moses' rise to power in Exodus. Various rules and ceremonies are put in place following this (a structure also mirrored by Leviticus and Numbers, with the writing style shifting between stories and records, novel and journal, drama and document): the forbidding of adultery, rule on promiscuity, curses as punishments for crimes, the science of weapons, pursuit of self control and the invention of cricket as a sport.
- Section 8: The creation of the elements from weapons by Bibhatsu, tools of creation AND destruction simultaneously. Indra's "radiant and coloured bow" appearing in the sky following an immense thunderstorm.
Explanation for weather as acts of the gods, still called so to this day even in legal documentation, the rainbow promise following the 40 day flood in Genesis, the flood story echoing throughout ancient scriptures from various cultures as an apocalyptic event.
The three ways to become a king lend to more speculation of loopholes as with the 8 kinds of marriage.
The burning of the House of Lac after tricking enemies to enter under false pretence of hospitality coincides with the Trojan Horse manoeuvre while providing thematic inspiration behind The House of Wax horror movie and its remakes.
- Section 9: A story of the power music has over ageing, the following of passions in life slows one's decay both physically and mentally.
- Section 10: The description of one of the hells, the idea of there being more than one type of hell later expounded in Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy with the concept of a layered hell divided into multiple circles based on sins committed.
- Section 11: The best of the forms of marriage is revealed (The Gandharva), the hierarchy of marriages among others present in the lineage and civilisation, their immense benefits and room for manipulation for various ends (good, bad and in between) reflect others both ancient and contemporary that are too many to count.
The 6 tastes are explained here (pungent, sour, sweet, salty, bitter and astringent) [see notes on Section 7 for 6 senses and their implications for the Rationalist vs Empiricist debate]
The cow Nandini creates an army of powerful men. The cow is a sacred animal as is often recounted throughout the volume, with a common compliment being to describe one as a "bull among men", potential connection with the first section of The Qu'ran being named The Cow.
- Section 12: Elements of science fiction here with Panchala's "artificial machine set up above and onto this machine he fixed a golden target." A combat practice machine with moving parts, used in several Rocky-esque training montages in sci fi movies and books alike: Ender's Game, Star Wars and Dune to name a few.
The story of the inexperienced "weakling" Jishnu defeating the powerful giant Partha, well versed in the science of weapons, is all too reminiscent of the David and Goliath story. It is nothing short of remarkable that various BCE cultures share similarities in their mythology, religions and folk tales, to the point where contact between them must have occurred earlier than is often assumed. The civilisations were more advanced than are generally given credit.
- Section 13: A debate on the subject of a woman being wed to two different husbands and whether this is or is not morally sound, consulting a contradiction in types of marriage.
The story of the Mountain King's interrupted game of dice and his punishment. Possibly alluded to in Edvard Grieg's piece 'In the Hall of the Mountain King' and a side character who pops up in the Andrew Garfield movie 'Under the Silver Lake'.
- Section 14: Reputation as the ultimate currency when it comes to meaning in one's life. "A man who has lost his reputation lives in vain... As long as a man's good reputation lasts, he does not die. He is destroyed when his good reputation is lost."
- Section 15: The acquisition of the kingdom as a calm before the storm/pride before the fall. The war between the Kouravas and Pandavas is yet to come so as a story beat it's easy to see why it's lasted throughout the centuries.
Notes on Volume 1
- Section 1: Explains loss vs expectation of victory, the 5 elements (inspiration for sci fi movies, Saturday morning cartoons e.g. Captain Planet, Fifth Element, Terry Pratchett's The Fifth Elephant parody). Argument for moderation (things become sins when abused).
- Section 2: Rama creates the 5 lakes of blood, rest acts as table of contents
- Section 3: Early examples of the Quest plot and McGuffin literary device (Utanka being sent to retrieve stolen earrings from the underground Kingdom of Nagas).
Ruru sacrificing 1/2 his life for his love Pramadava mirrors Yayati passing his old age curse later, though out of love rather than penance.
- Section 4: The poisoning of innocent Pramadava establishes the inherent evil of the snake, shared in Christian mythology via Genesis.
- Section 5: War between Gods and Demons, Vishnu disguises himself as a woman to distract a high-ranking Demon (early example of the Trickster Trait possessed by many magical beings in the pantheon of ancient-to-medieval mythologies and folk tales. Elves, pixies, faeries and their untrustworthy nature pre-"Disneyification").
The 60,000 Rishis each the size of a thumb, make high pitched noises instead of speech and recur throughout with mischievous antics (comic relief, today akin to Minions, A Bug's Life's Tuck and Roll, Terry Pratchett's Wee Free Men, Oz's Winged Monkeys etc).
The 6 Vices presented here (Desire, Anger, Greed, Ego, Delusion and Envy) crossover with the 7 Deadly Sins of Biblical literature.
- Section 6: "The grandfather of the Pandavas was born on an island in the river Yamuna, in the womb of the virgin Kali..." The concept of the Virgin Birth presented here long before the writing of the New Testament.
- Section 7: The consumption of wine is forbidden as it leads to the surrender of secrets and power. Similar to the forbidding of consuming alcohol in The Qu'ran as it "allows Satan to enter one's heart."
Yayati's story of being cursed with old age is told here. The curse and re-acquiring youth by having to pass the curse on to another/take another person's youth is retold and upended through several contemporary fantasy stories e.g. Dorian Gray, Neil Gaiman's Stardust and Philip K. Dick's The Cookie Lady.
Yayati living for 1000 years and becoming a hermit in the forest draws comparison to Methuselah (Noah's father in the Old Testament with similar mannerisms and temperament as Yayati, explored further in Darren Aronofsky's movie adaptation).
The 5 elements, lakes of blood, sacrificial fires, sons of Yayati, The number 5 is of great importance in keeping with many other religious scriptures written afterwards, certain numbers are repeated (3 = The Divine Number, Holy trinity, 3 gifts at the birth, the 8 nights of Hannukah, 7 days in the week, 7 sins, 7 dais of the temple etc).
The 6 senses presented here connect to Descartes' later Meditations on how the 5 senses cannot always be trusted, but the mind can perceive more. But if the sixth sense IS the mind, as proposed in the Mahabharata, this presents another difficulty for Descartes' argument 2000+ years before he presented it. Yet it can also be said that the mind cannot always be trusted and deceives itself in cases of brain damage and severe mental illness, degenerative diseases etc. The Rationalist vs Empiricist debate over the reliability of the senses is put in new light as, it seems, we were initially considered to have 6 senses before 5 was later adopted.
The 8 forms of marriage (rather than 1 uniform marriage) suggests the manipulation of legal loopholes, rigged bloodlines for political gain and (in part) explains the complexity of the caste system.
Shortly after the start of the Bharata lineage there is a drowning of sons allowed by the King, the son Gangadatta is saved a becomes a great leader, an act which builds to a great chariot escape. Story beats shared in Moses' rise to power in Exodus. Various rules and ceremonies are put in place following this (a structure also mirrored by Leviticus and Numbers, with the writing style shifting between stories and records, novel and journal, drama and document): the forbidding of adultery, rule on promiscuity, curses as punishments for crimes, the science of weapons, pursuit of self control and the invention of cricket as a sport.
- Section 8: The creation of the elements from weapons by Bibhatsu, tools of creation AND destruction simultaneously. Indra's "radiant and coloured bow" appearing in the sky following an immense thunderstorm.
Explanation for weather as acts of the gods, still called so to this day even in legal documentation, the rainbow promise following the 40 day flood in Genesis, the flood story echoing throughout ancient scriptures from various cultures as an apocalyptic event.
The three ways to become a king lend to more speculation of loopholes as with the 8 kinds of marriage.
The burning of the House of Lac after tricking enemies to enter under false pretence of hospitality coincides with the Trojan Horse manoeuvre while providing thematic inspiration behind The House of Wax horror movie and its remakes.
- Section 9: A story of the power music has over ageing, the following of passions in life slows one's decay both physically and mentally.
- Section 10: The description of one of the hells, the idea of there being more than one type of hell later expounded in Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy with the concept of a layered hell divided into multiple circles based on sins committed.
- Section 11: The best of the forms of marriage is revealed (The Gandharva), the hierarchy of marriages among others present in the lineage and civilisation, their immense benefits and room for manipulation for various ends (good, bad and in between) reflect others both ancient and contemporary that are too many to count.
The 6 tastes are explained here (pungent, sour, sweet, salty, bitter and astringent) [see notes on Section 7 for 6 senses and their implications for the Rationalist vs Empiricist debate]
The cow Nandini creates an army of powerful men. The cow is a sacred animal as is often recounted throughout the volume, with a common compliment being to describe one as a "bull among men", potential connection with the first section of The Qu'ran being named The Cow.
- Section 12: Elements of science fiction here with Panchala's "artificial machine set up above and onto this machine he fixed a golden target." A combat practice machine with moving parts, used in several Rocky-esque training montages in sci fi movies and books alike: Ender's Game, Star Wars and Dune to name a few.
The story of the inexperienced "weakling" Jishnu defeating the powerful giant Partha, well versed in the science of weapons, is all too reminiscent of the David and Goliath story. It is nothing short of remarkable that various BCE cultures share similarities in their mythology, religions and folk tales, to the point where contact between them must have occurred earlier than is often assumed. The civilisations were more advanced than are generally given credit.
- Section 13: A debate on the subject of a woman being wed to two different husbands and whether this is or is not morally sound, consulting a contradiction in types of marriage.
The story of the Mountain King's interrupted game of dice and his punishment. Possibly alluded to in Edvard Grieg's piece 'In the Hall of the Mountain King' and a side character who pops up in the Andrew Garfield movie 'Under the Silver Lake'.
- Section 14: Reputation as the ultimate currency when it comes to meaning in one's life. "A man who has lost his reputation lives in vain... As long as a man's good reputation lasts, he does not die. He is destroyed when his good reputation is lost."
- Section 15: The acquisition of the kingdom as a calm before the storm/pride before the fall. The war between the Kouravas and Pandavas is yet to come so as a story beat it's easy to see why it's lasted throughout the centuries.
zmb's review
4.0
Parvas 1-15: It's kind of hard to believe this is just ~10% of the entire Mahabharata. The two long parvas, about the snake sacrifice and the story from Shantanu down to the birth and childhood of the heroes of the story, are probably the most interesting. But aside from some of the framing at the beginning and a little bit of repetition in Bhima's fighting the whole 15 parvas are filled with interesting stories, and I particularly like how the text wraps around and attacks stories from different angles, circling back to flesh out new viewpoints.
zmb's review against another edition
3.0
There are some good things in here, but it's a lot of filler that doesn't really advance much of anything. Some of that filler is fun and amusing, some of it is philosophical and thought-provoking, but a lot of it is just filler.
zmb's review against another edition
4.0
This contains the last bit of the exile in the forest, in which the Pandavas are in hiding. A war breaks out and Arjuna beats everyone up (amusingly, in the guise of a eunuch). And then there's a long series of negotiations, which eventually and obviously fail, and the armies march to battle.
zmb's review against another edition
5.0
This is mostly Bhishma Parva, the account of the first ten days of the war, with a little bit before (including an important story for the end of those ten days) and a little after (two more days of fighting in Drona Parva).
The highlights are the Bhagavad Gita, which to this Westerner reminded me an awful lot of Neoplatonic-style monotheistic polytheism, and is probably the highlight of the Mahabharata so far. It's also the first time we've really seen Arjuna struggle to do, well, anything, so it's nice for his character as well.
And then there's a surprisingly compelling account of the first ten days of the war after that. There's a little bit of filler, but also some pretty crazy imagery - a very detailed river of blood is evoked several times. And then there's the death of Bhishma, the first casualty of the war, and probably the most noble non-Pandava in the book, which is also treated extremely well.
The highlights are the Bhagavad Gita, which to this Westerner reminded me an awful lot of Neoplatonic-style monotheistic polytheism, and is probably the highlight of the Mahabharata so far. It's also the first time we've really seen Arjuna struggle to do, well, anything, so it's nice for his character as well.
And then there's a surprisingly compelling account of the first ten days of the war after that. There's a little bit of filler, but also some pretty crazy imagery - a very detailed river of blood is evoked several times. And then there's the death of Bhishma, the first casualty of the war, and probably the most noble non-Pandava in the book, which is also treated extremely well.
zmb's review against another edition
4.0
This covers most of (and concludes) Drona parva. The battle, having gone on for half a volume before this, continues throughout the entirety of this as well, and starts to become fairly repetitive. With that said, there are some standout scenes in this volume. Abhimanyu's death and Arjuna's grief in particular; Abhimanyu is a significantly more minor character than Bhishma but is also a lot younger and in his prime, so his death feels pretty tragic, and certainly Arjuna takes it badly.
And then there's the effect the war is having on the Pandavas. Krishna, of all people, goads Ghatotkacha into attacking Karna and rejoices when Karna kills him using the weapon he was planning on using on Arjuna. This is quite a ways to fall for the author of the Bhagavad Vita. And then Bhima, and more surprisingly, Yudhishthira, lie to Drona, saying that his son was killed so that he no longer desires to fight. And then he gets brutally beheaded.
The first half volume covering the war has plenty of dark imagery, but it's in this volume that the destructive and dehumanizing effect of the war becomes very, very clear.
And then there's the effect the war is having on the Pandavas. Krishna, of all people, goads Ghatotkacha into attacking Karna and rejoices when Karna kills him using the weapon he was planning on using on Arjuna. This is quite a ways to fall for the author of the Bhagavad Vita. And then Bhima, and more surprisingly, Yudhishthira, lie to Drona, saying that his son was killed so that he no longer desires to fight. And then he gets brutally beheaded.
The first half volume covering the war has plenty of dark imagery, but it's in this volume that the destructive and dehumanizing effect of the war becomes very, very clear.