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A review by matochok
Mahabharata: A Modern Retelling by Carole Satyamurti
5.0
Mahabharata is the longest epic poem ever written. It primarily follows the events around the great battle fought between the two rival factions of the Bharata clan. But within this main narrative are interwoven multiple narratives each with its own purpose and lesson. The Mahabharata encapsulates within itself discussions on a multitude of dilemmas dealing with ethics and morality.
Carole Satyamurti's work is a brilliant modern retelling for contemporary readers. She has worked from K.M Ganguli's translation of the text. Written in blank verse for rather than in prose, makes it unique among other works available. Since this is my first reading of the Mahabharata, I cannot compare it to other versions.
Needless to say for something as ancient as this text, one can find many of the teachings to be outdated. But personally what I really admired was that the text generally refrains from taking a black and white approach and the discussions are mostly nuanced in their handling of the characters. The protagonists and the antagonists are given both admirable and unlikable qualities.
The story itself never really gets dull and is entertaining throughout, except a few monologues during post war scenes. Apart from the complex web of narratives and innumerable characters, the Mahabharata is also of tremendous religious and philosophic value. It's often called the fifth veda, it introduces the readers to many key ideas of Hinduism.
Given the multiplicity of discussions on ethics, morality and virtue, one theme that remains more or less constant throughout is the discussions around Fatalism and free will. It does lean more in favour of fatalism, where destiny, karma and time itself is used to justify the war. But here again the answer is not straight forward. As Bhishma says to Yudishtira, "dharma is subtle". Krishna says,
“I see you as much greater, a thousand times
greater, than you see yourself, Wolf-belly.
Your strength and courage are beyond question.
I assure you, I shall make every effort.
But human action, however well designed,
may be opposed by the gods. Conversely,
the gods’ intentions may be overridden
by the effort of a virtuous individual.
Therefore, we have to act. For even though
we may not succeed, or only partially,
we have to do our best, then accept calmly
whatever happens. That is true wisdom.”
Similarly Krishna tells the story of Kaushika to drive home the point that scriptures are well and good but sometimes one has to use one's power of reason.
Dharma is another concept dealt with in great detail. Here the emphasis is on doing the needful and what is beneficial for the larger good. Dhritarashtra the blind king's inability to take action is depicted as weakness as he constantly blames fate for the consequences of his inability to control his evil son. Yudishtira the sensitive, compassionate and the embodiment of dharma is hell bent on renunciation after being overwhelmed by the destruction of the war. A significant portion of the book are scenes where his kins and seers are explaining to him a king's dharma.
Another significant section is devoted to the dialogue between Bhishma and Yudishtira, where his doubts are cleared by the noble grandfather lying on his deathbed made of arrows. They discuss everything from taxation, functioning of a republic, nature of truth, rod of punishment, three fundamentals of a good life i.e. virtue, wealth and pleasure, refugees, metaphysics, sex and nature of time. Ultimately laws of nature and time itself, has been said to be above everything else, even gods.
In our rebirths—hundreds of children, mothers, fathers, brothers.
Which are ours? To whom do we belong?
The foolish allow grief and fear to torture them dozens of times a day.
The wise do not.
A person in the grip of greed or pride is happy to tell others how to live,
but does not want to learn himself.
Time treats everyone alike:
the lowest outcast, the greatest king.
No one can negotiate with time.
Nothing, and no one, lasts;
our lives are inscribed on a flowing stream.
The wise do not grieve over this.
Heartache does not leave the man who dwells on it; it settles in and makes itself at home.
Knowledge is for this:
to fight disease with medicine and misery with wisdom.
We cannot escape the fruits of our deeds;
like burrs that we have brushed past thoughtlessly they cling to us everywhere we go.”
Carole Satyamurti's work is a brilliant modern retelling for contemporary readers. She has worked from K.M Ganguli's translation of the text. Written in blank verse for rather than in prose, makes it unique among other works available. Since this is my first reading of the Mahabharata, I cannot compare it to other versions.
Needless to say for something as ancient as this text, one can find many of the teachings to be outdated. But personally what I really admired was that the text generally refrains from taking a black and white approach and the discussions are mostly nuanced in their handling of the characters. The protagonists and the antagonists are given both admirable and unlikable qualities.
The story itself never really gets dull and is entertaining throughout, except a few monologues during post war scenes. Apart from the complex web of narratives and innumerable characters, the Mahabharata is also of tremendous religious and philosophic value. It's often called the fifth veda, it introduces the readers to many key ideas of Hinduism.
Given the multiplicity of discussions on ethics, morality and virtue, one theme that remains more or less constant throughout is the discussions around Fatalism and free will. It does lean more in favour of fatalism, where destiny, karma and time itself is used to justify the war. But here again the answer is not straight forward. As Bhishma says to Yudishtira, "dharma is subtle". Krishna says,
“I see you as much greater, a thousand times
greater, than you see yourself, Wolf-belly.
Your strength and courage are beyond question.
I assure you, I shall make every effort.
But human action, however well designed,
may be opposed by the gods. Conversely,
the gods’ intentions may be overridden
by the effort of a virtuous individual.
Therefore, we have to act. For even though
we may not succeed, or only partially,
we have to do our best, then accept calmly
whatever happens. That is true wisdom.”
Similarly Krishna tells the story of Kaushika to drive home the point that scriptures are well and good but sometimes one has to use one's power of reason.
Dharma is another concept dealt with in great detail. Here the emphasis is on doing the needful and what is beneficial for the larger good. Dhritarashtra the blind king's inability to take action is depicted as weakness as he constantly blames fate for the consequences of his inability to control his evil son. Yudishtira the sensitive, compassionate and the embodiment of dharma is hell bent on renunciation after being overwhelmed by the destruction of the war. A significant portion of the book are scenes where his kins and seers are explaining to him a king's dharma.
Another significant section is devoted to the dialogue between Bhishma and Yudishtira, where his doubts are cleared by the noble grandfather lying on his deathbed made of arrows. They discuss everything from taxation, functioning of a republic, nature of truth, rod of punishment, three fundamentals of a good life i.e. virtue, wealth and pleasure, refugees, metaphysics, sex and nature of time. Ultimately laws of nature and time itself, has been said to be above everything else, even gods.
In our rebirths—hundreds of children, mothers, fathers, brothers.
Which are ours? To whom do we belong?
The foolish allow grief and fear to torture them dozens of times a day.
The wise do not.
A person in the grip of greed or pride is happy to tell others how to live,
but does not want to learn himself.
Time treats everyone alike:
the lowest outcast, the greatest king.
No one can negotiate with time.
Nothing, and no one, lasts;
our lives are inscribed on a flowing stream.
The wise do not grieve over this.
Heartache does not leave the man who dwells on it; it settles in and makes itself at home.
Knowledge is for this:
to fight disease with medicine and misery with wisdom.
We cannot escape the fruits of our deeds;
like burrs that we have brushed past thoughtlessly they cling to us everywhere we go.”