“Astonishing. . . . [Satyamurti’s Mahabharata] brings [the] past alive . . . as though it were a novel in finely crafted verse.”―Vinay Dharwadker
Originally composed approximately two thousand years ago, the Mahabharata tells the story of a royal dynasty, descended from gods, whose feud over their kingdom results in a devastating war. But it contains much more than conflict. An epic masterpiece of huge sweep and magisterial power, “a hundred times more interesting” than the Iliad and the Odyssey, writes Wendy Doniger in the introduction, the Mahabharata is a timeless work that evokes a world of myth, passion, and warfare while exploring eternal questions of duty, love, and spiritual freedom. A seminal Hindu text, which includes the Bhagavad Gita, it is also one of the most important and influential works in the history of world civilization.
Innovatively composed in blank verse rather than prose, Carole Satyamurti’s English retelling covers all eighteen books of the Mahabharata. This new version masterfully captures the beauty, excitement, and profundity of the original Sanskrit poem as well as its magnificent architecture and extraordinary scope.
Chapter 2. Dhritarashtra and Pandu
Chapter 4. Learning the arts of war
Chapter 10. Draupadi’s bridegroom choice
Chapter 11. Acquiring a kingdom
Chapter 13. The burning of the Khandava Forest
Chapter 16. Duryodhana’s despair
Chapter 18. The dice game resumes
Chapter 23. Duryodhana’s mistake
Chapter 27. Suing for peace, preparing for war
Chapter 28. Diplomacy continues
Chapter 30. The temptation of Karna
Chapter 31. Marshaling the armies
Chapter 32. The song of the Lord
Chapter 34. Bhishma in command
Chapter 35. Bhishma implacable
Chapter 36. The fall of Bhishma
Chapter 37. Drona leads the Kauravas
Chapter 38. The death of Abhimanyu
Chapter 39. In pursuit of Jayadratha
Chapter 41. Drona and Ashvatthaman
Chapter 44. Defeat for Duryodhana
Chapter 46. Dhritarashtra’s grief
Chapter 48. Yudhishthira, reluctant ruler
Chapter 49. Yudhishthira listens to the seers
Chapter 50. The education of the Dharma King (1)
Chapter 51. The education of the Dharma King (2)
Chapter 52. Dharma in difficult times
Chapter 53. The path to absolute freedom
Chapter 54. The teaching continues
Chapter 55. The death of Bhishma
Chapter 56. King Yudhishthira turns to the future
Chapter 57. The horse sacrifice
Chapter 58. The retreat of the elders
Afterword: The Poetry of the Mahabharata
Suggestions for Further Reading
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