Light on the Mahabharata

“This book is an invaluable resource for anyone encountering the Mahabharata for the first time. Containing summaries of each of the Mahabharata’s eighteen books, brief biographies of its principal characters, and illuminating discussions of its main religious and philosophical teachings, this book is a reader-friendly and reliable guide through one of the world’s longest and most complex texts.” – Brian Black, Lancaster University, author of In Dialogue with the Mahabharata“Written in the voice of a seasoned scholar and teacher, Light on the Mahabharata provides a rich and lucid introduction to India’s great epic. It honours the epic as a whole, identifying unifying themes and central teachings throughout. In taking seriously the epic’s masterful story world, Sutton offers insightful examination into the epic’s complex cast of characters and their ethical deliberations. As such, this study affords the opportunity not only to learn about the epic, but from it.” – Raj Balkaran, author of The Goddess and the Sun in Indian Myth and host of the New Books in Indian Religions podcast

Nicholas Sutton is the Director of the Continuing Education Department of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, an academy for the study of Hindu cultures, societies, philosophies, religions, and languages. He received his PhD from Lancaster University, writing his doctoral dissertation on the Mahabharata, and currently develops and tutors online courses on Hindu religious traditions. His publications include The Bhagavad Gita: A New Translation and Study Guide (Mandala Publishing, 2019) and Religious Doctrines in the Mahabharata (Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 2000).