Volumes from M to N
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Click on the titles for more information about each volume. Málavika and Agni·mitraKālidāsa
Dániel Balogh & Eszter Somogyi While the other works of Kali·dasa are populated by supernatural beings and larger-than-life people, “Málavika and Agni·mitra” derives its plot from history and features thoroughly mortal characters. Its somewhat frivolous subject may have been the reason why it is sometimes considered to be the least significant of the author’s three dramas.... more » Maha·bhárata II: The Great Hall
Paul Wilmot The ‘Great Hall’ is Book Two of the Maha·bhárata, one of India’s two national epics. This magnificent book relates some of the most seminal events of the epic, culminating in the famous game of dice between the Pándavas and the Káuravas. The Pándavas, happily settled in Indra·prastha, enjoy one glorious success after... more » Maha·bhárata III: The Forest (volume four of four)
William J. Johnson Book Three of the great Indian epic the “Maha·bhárata,” ‘The Forest’ covers the twelve years of the Pándavas’ exile in the forest, a penalty imposed upon them by the Káuravas because they have lost a rigged dicing match. A number of the colorful stories told to relieve the tedium of life... more » Maha·bhárata IV: Viráta
Kathleen Garbutt ‘Viráta’ is the fourth book of the Maha·bhárata and details the Pándavas’ 13th year in exile, when they live disguised in King Virata’s court. The Pandavas suffer the humiliation of becoming servants; a topic explored both through comedy and pathos. They manage to maintain their disguise until the very end of the... more » Maha·bhárata V: Preparations for War (volume one of two)
Kathleen Garbutt Foreword by Gurcharan Das At the beginning of “Preparations For War,” the Pándavas have just completed their thirteen year exile, most recently having lived in disguise and in humiliating service in Viráta’s city. The Pándavas believe they have completed the terms of their exile, though Duryódhana claims that they did not manage to live unknown... more » Maha·bhárata V: Preparations for War (volume two of two)
Kathleen Garbutt The fame of this story will exist eternally, for as long as the mountains stand and the rivers flow, Janárdana. When brahmins are gathered together, they will tell the tale of the great war of the Bharatas and tell of the wealth of the warriors’ fame, Varshnéya. The second volume of the... more » Maha·bhárata VI: Bhishma (volume one of two) Including the “Bhagavad Gita” in Context
Alex Cherniak Foreword by Ranajit Guha ‘Bhishma,’ the sixth book of the eighteen-book epic “Maha·bhárata,” narrates the first ten days of the great war between the Káuravas and the Pándavas. This first volume covers four days from the beginning of the great battle and includes the famous “Bhagavad Gita” (“Song of the Lord”), presented here within its original... more » Maha·bhárata VI: Bhishma (volume two of two)
Alex Cherniak This second half of ‘Bhishma’ describes the events from the beginning of the fifth day till the end of the tenth of the great battle between the Káuravas and the Pándavas. Despite grandfather Bhishma’s appeal to conclude peace with the Pándavas, Dur·yódhana continues the bloody battle. The key strategist is general... more » Maha·bhárata VII: Drona (volume one of four)
Vaughan Pilikian After Bhishma is cut down at the end of the previous book of the Maha·bhárata, the book which bears his name, Duryódhana selects Drona as leader of his forces. Drona accepts the honour with Bhishma’s blessing, despite his ongoing personal conflicts as mentor to both the Pándava and Káurava heroes in... more » Maha·bhárata VII: Drona (volume two of four)
Vaughan Pilikian Volume Two of ‘Drona’ begins in the aftermath of tragedy. As evening falls, Árjuna journeys wearily back to camp and is greeted by the ashen faces of his brothers. Before they speak, he guesses the worst. And the worst is right: his son Abhimányu is dead. Árjuna is inconsolable. Insensible with rage,... more » Maha·bhárata VIII: Karna (volume one of two)
Adam Bowles The Maha·bhárata’s ‘Book of Karna’ relates the events of the two dramatic days after the defeat of the great warriors and generals Bhishma and Drona, in which Karna — great hero and the eldest Pándava — leads the Káurava army into combat. This first volume of ‘The Book of Karna’ depicts... more » Maha·bhárata VIII: Karna (volume two of two)
Adam Bowles The Book of “Karna” of India’s great epic the Maha·bhárata tells the events that occurred during the mighty hero Karna’s two days as general of the Káurava army. The second volume of the Clay Sanskrit Library’s edition and translation of “Karna” resumes on the war’s seventeenth and penultimate day. This will... more » Maha·bhárata IX: Shalya (volume one of two)
Justin Meiland “The Book of Shalya” is the ninth book of the Maha·bhárata. It portrays, in grand epic style, the last day of the great battle between the Káuravas and the Pándavas, recounting in gory detail the final destruction of King Duryódhana and his army. This, the first of... more » Maha·bhárata IX: Shalya (volume two of two)
Justin Meiland In one of the most famous passages in the “Maha·bhárata,” Dur·yódhana, the heroic but flawed king of the Káuravas, meets his end when he is dishonorably defeated in battle by his arch enemy, Bhima. Framing a fascinating account of the sacred sites along the river Sarásvati, the duel poignantly portrays the... more » Maha·bhárata X-XI: Dead of Night & The Women
Kate Crosby Three exhausted warriors return to their camp, stunned to find it overrun by their enemies. Their fellow soldiers all lie dead. The sound of their enemies, the five sons of Pandu and their allies the Panchálas, crowing mercilessly in jubilation, assaults their ears. The great war of the “Maha·bhárata” is over.... more » Maha·bhárata XII: Peace: “The Book of Liberation” (volume three of five)
Alexander Wynne “The Book of Liberation” is perhaps the most enigmatic philosophical text from ancient India. Although presented as the teachings of Bhishma as he lays dying on the battlefield, after the epic war between the Pandavas and Kauravas, it was composed by unknown authors in the last few centuries BCE, during the... more » Messenger PoemsKālidāsa, Dhoyī, and Rūpa Gosvāmin
Sir James Mallinson Kali·dasa’s fifth-century CE “Cloud Messenger” is a beautiful and pure expression of an exiled lover’s love. That first messenger poem is imitated in the twelfth century in the “Wind Messenger,” its sentiment diluted with Dhoyi’s praise of his royal patron King Lákshmana·sena of Gauda (Bengal), and the “Swan Messenger,” in which... more » Much Ado About ReligionBhaṭṭa Jayanta
Csaba Dezső The play satirizes various religions in Kashmir and their place in the politics of King Shánkara·varman (883-902). Jayánta’s strategy is to take a characteristic figure of the target religion and show that he is a rogue, using reasoning or some fundamental ideas connected with the doctrines of that very religion. This... more » |
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