The Mahabharata: A Modern Rendering, Vol 1

In India in 2005, I prayed to be guided to a version of the Mahabharata that would be best for me. I found myself in a bookstore looking at the two huge volumes of Ramesh Menon's translation. These I shipped home and didn't see for some months. When they arrived I started reading and didn't come up for air till both volumes had been consumed during an intense reading binge that transported me into that world as an eyewitness. Ramesh Menon's story-telling skills are superb; his prose beautiful. In the Mahabharata lie the seeds of so many of the hero's journeys we flock to in modern tales and in film. (My biggest surprise is that George Lucas, Peter Jackson and the like have not yet seized upon it to make a full-scale Hollywood trilogy). After reading this version, I ordered Menon's rendering of the Ramayana; equally compelling. Recently I had the urge to re-read his Mahabharata, and as I am about to start the big fat second volume, discovered it is available in kindle format, which will spare me of lugging around the huge volumes as I doubtless return to it many more times. Menon acknowledges Kamala Subramaniam as a one of the sources for his translation. I've read her version of the Srimad Bhagavatum and find their styles very similar. Yet Menon is a true poet with a gift for bridging the ancient world in a modern rendering, as he calls it, and those weaned on the great epics can look forward to a great read. I should add that prior to reading this, I had very little background in the epics of India. These two volumes turned on a great interest in them, which has led to much broader readings. The Mahabharata an adventure and war story that is first and foremost is a disguise for a treatise on dharma. The agonizing of the main characters on the fine points of right-action as determined by law, virtue and motive under trying circumstances is set forth through many lenses. All the attributes of human emotion and existence from the most noble to the depraved, are embodied in divine and demonic spirits born to play out a great drama of and upon the earth. As in all great spiritual traditions, timeless truths are encoded in parables; our human attributes as characters in a play. This version is a great entry for anyone seeking to approach this ancient fountain of wisdom from which so much of earth's treasured lore has sprung.

I've looked around a lot both in the US and in India for good translations of this epic. The problem is that translations are either a) way too long for a casual reader (the original is, after all, some 5000 to 10,000 pages long depending on which version you look at), or b) they are too short and leave out too much of the subtle and rich detail, or c) they contain awkward language that sucks the poetry out of the story. Until I found this, the best retelling of it was actually the 94 episode DVD set, which required an inordinate amount of time and attention, and which dragged a bit here and there. In terms of books, the best condensed version I had come across was the one translated by Kamala Subramaniam. It told the story well enough, but it lacked the soul and spirit that the story deserved; it was more of a straight, matter-of-fact retelling. Then I came across this Menon translation. It is a brilliant version that deserves a wide audience. It is 1500 pages long (it is a 2 volume set), but cuts out a lot of the stuff you don't need to know, but not so much that you're left with the skeleton of the story. The story is told with an elegance and poetry that I have not seen in any other translation. Once you pick it up, you do not find the length intimidating, but instead you feel glad that it is so long because you can tell immediately that it's going to be intensely rewarding to read all the way through. A great translation that I would recommend to anyone who wants to read this amazing book that has few peers in literature.

Mahabharat is truly an epic and FASCINATING to say the least! This is a well written English version and paints in lyrical details the magic , drama , emotions and characters of the heroes of a diffrent era - Lord Krishna and the Pandava princes. It is human and divine just as the original Sanskrit text may have been.The wisdom is deep too and its essence is not lost in the book. If you really want to explore a piece of history , a different era(yuga) and get to journey in other divine realms, this is a must read! Feels like I re-lived that era and grew close to the super heroes of that time! Superb book!

Very detailed but never loses the reader.

I won't try and comment on how good a translation this is as I have no idea. I bought it on the recommendation of my mediation teacher. I was initially put off when I saw the size of it and then realised this was just volume 1! However, both volumes were a really easy read and incredibly thought provoking. There are lots of layers of meaning in it and the story helps to really illustrate the meaning very clearly. It has it all - excitement, deeper meaning, spiritual guidance and at times quite a bit of raunch. But it also has something I really can't put my finger on. Even though its been a month since I finished both books, I keep finding my mind wandering back to various sections for reasons I can't fathom. Clearly it touched something deep inside and I know I will read it again and again over the years. I can't think of any other book I have read before where I can say that.

Probably one of the best books I have ever read. The size of it can be daunting, but 3 pages in you will never want it to end.

Lovely rendition of the Mahabharata- I found it a bit difficult to read and keep track of at first, but once you get into the book it is really good

Possibly the greatest story ever told. Rich in imagination, depth and emotions. Menon's rendition is good for most parts and is clunky in others. But a must read for anything interested in the rich storytelling culture and history of India.

Long and many different small and big story about life haven earth love and funny a horrible war which just beat all other war a fight between relatives dysfunktion and greed