Mahabharata, one of the integral parts of Bharatavarsha, holds the most sacred place in the hearts and minds of the populace for time immemorial. Mahabharata is filled with vedantic and upanishadic wisdom throughout so much that, it is considered as the 5th veda (panchama veda), Mahabharata contains vivid descriptions related to every facet of the creation and perhaps, an instance and solution to every problem one encounters in their life. Numerous acharyas, authors of repute of the past and present have always presented nuanced anecdotes and interesting versions of Mahabharata. It would be fully fair to say that every new reading opens up a new layer or perspective that augments our understanding of the epic a little more.
Deepak M R is a well known author who has written extensively on Mahabharata and related topics on various forums. This book is a concise or rather an abridged version of the original Mahabharata which spans across the original 18 chapters or parvas of the epic. Written in very simple and refined English, the book takes the reader through the journey of the magnum opus across 150 pages covering all all aspects of the same upto and including the swargarohana of Yudishtira and his final test by Dharma.
During the book launch, the author mentioned the vast and vivid description of the Great War which forms the bulk of the text. Even in this abridged version, one can really feel the essence of the war, the mayhem and bloodshed across the 18 days which resulted in a catastrophe of unheard proportions. The concise nature of the book doesn’t provide enough freedom to the author to go for very vivid descriptions, yet the brilliance of the author is on ample display in elucidating the harsh realities of the war.
There are 2 specific chapters which are a definite must read for anyone in life. Even in the original these 2 parvas have one of the largest repositories on dharma, its tenets and subtleties and applicability thereof in everyone’s life i.e. Shanti Parva and Anushasana Parva where Bheeshma on his bed of arrows conveys the lessons of Raja Dharma and Dharma in general to Yudhishtira. Though the original epic has a more detailed explanation, this book provides a very good overview and quick summary of the deep philosophical and dharmic dialogue between the 2 famed warriors.
The book does suffer from some minor typographical errors, which I am quite sure will be corrected in future revisions. Beyond these minor glitches, I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book, to old and young alike. A fantastic gift idea for budding minds. In the collection of abridged versions, I would place this book in the same league of C. Rajaji and Kamala Subramaniam’s versions.
MUST BUY, MUST READ BOOK
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