The Mahabharata

New selection and translation of the great epic story of ancient India, revealing a mythic world of bloody conflict, magic and beautyThe Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India. It is of immense importance to the culture of the Indian subcontinent, and is a major text of Hinduism. Its discussion of human goals (artha or 'purpose', kama or 'pleasure', dharma or 'duty', and moksha or 'liberation') takes place in a long-standing tradition, attempting to explain the relationship of the individual to society and the world (the nature of the 'Self') and the workings of karma.

John D. Smith was born in Nottingham in 1946. He attended Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he read Sanskrit and Hindi. In the early 1970s he held a research fellowship at Christ's College, Cambridge; this was followed by nine years as lecturer in Sanskrit at the School of Oriental and African Studies in the University of London. In 1984 he returned to Cambridge, where he is now emeritus Reader of Sanskrit. He has worked on both Sanskrit and modern Rajasthani, and his publications include The Visa?adevarasa- a restoration of the text (Cambridge, 1976) and The epic of Pabuji- a study, transcription and translation (Cambridge, 1991).

'The three worlds are set shaking, great one, to see this wonderful, terrible form of yours'The Mahabharata is the story of two warring factions of cousins 100 demons in human form against five sons of gods. Woven into this martial epic tale of great and bloody battles are numerous narrative digressions and much religious instruction including the wisdom of Bhisma [accent note: there should be a dot beneath the s of 'Bhisma'], given from a deathbed of arrows, and the legendary 'Bhagavadgita', spoken by Krsna [accent note: there should be a dot beneath the r, s and n of 'Krsna'] at the very verge of war. An enactment of eternal conflicts, it is also a vital Hindu text on the nature of dharma the right way for each person to live his or her life, and the only way to secure an improved lot in future births.This selection by John D. Smith includes an introduction on the nature and fundamental themes of the Mahabharata, the events of story and the massive cast of characters appearing in it, and its importance to India and Hinduism. This edition also includes a pronunciation guide, map, glossary and key to names, bibliography and index.Abridged and translated with an introduction by John D. Smith

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