Classics

The Mahabharata

The Mahabharata

  • Downloads：5681
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-05-18 10:53:57
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Anonymous
  • ISBN：0140446818
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
  • Download

Summary

Centuries ago， it was proclaimed of the Mahabharata: "What is not in it， is nowhere。" But even now， we can use the same words about it。 He who knows it not， knows not the heights and depths of the soul; he misses the trials and tragedy and the beauty and grandeur of life。
The Mahabharata is not a mere epic; it is a romance， telling the tale of heroic men and women， and of some who were divine; it is a whole literature in itself， containing a code of life， a philosophy of social and ethical relations， and speculative thought on human problems that is hard to rival; but， above all， it has for its core the Gita，which is， as the world is beginning to find out， the noblest of scriptures and the grandest of sagas in which the climax is reached in the wondrous apocalypse in the Eleventh Canto。

Download

Reviews

MALAVIKA S NAIR ，

Very well written with proper details and it feels like I am witnessing it infront of me。 The knowledge points of each incident is well quoted which makes us think more about each events and to practice the wisdom in our life。

Ayshwarya ，

The book reads like a guide for an impending exam。 The author just blandly writes the various incidents in the Mahabharata。 It does give a comprehensive overview of all the important incidents。 I expected more from an erudite scholar such as Rajaji。 He could have written about the nuances of Dharma or devoted more than a footnote to Bhagavad Geeta。 A disappointing read for someone who already knows the Mahabharata story。

Alpha Centauri ，

Karena aku menempuh pendidikan di jurusan Ilmu Sejarah di salah satu universitas di Yogyakarta， aku ngerasa cerita pewayangan sangat menarik。 Gimana cerita-cerita wayang selalu memiliki keunikannya sendiri， terutama tentang silsilah hingga hubungannya dengan para dewa。 Akhirnya aku menautkan pilihan pada buku Mahabharata， sebuah sastra kuno India yang ditulis atau diceritakan kembali oleh C。 Rajagopalachari。 Keajaiban-keajaiban yang ada di dalam cerita itulah， khususnya， yang mendorongku untuk m Karena aku menempuh pendidikan di jurusan Ilmu Sejarah di salah satu universitas di Yogyakarta， aku ngerasa cerita pewayangan sangat menarik。 Gimana cerita-cerita wayang selalu memiliki keunikannya sendiri， terutama tentang silsilah hingga hubungannya dengan para dewa。 Akhirnya aku menautkan pilihan pada buku Mahabharata， sebuah sastra kuno India yang ditulis atau diceritakan kembali oleh C。 Rajagopalachari。 Keajaiban-keajaiban yang ada di dalam cerita itulah， khususnya， yang mendorongku untuk mempelajari seluk-beluk sastra kuno yang cerita aslinya ditulis oleh Begawan Vyasa。Selama membaca buku ini gak bisa kalau gak ngerasa takjub， apalagi bagi mereka yang menyukai Pandawa kayak aku。 Bagaimana asal usul dari Pandawa dan Kurawa sebelumnya di ceritakan di bab awal， sehingga memudahkan para pembaca agar nantinya paham alur cerita dari Mahabharata。 Klimaks dari cerita ini adalah pertempuran di Kurusetra， banyak tokoh dari kedua belah pihak -Pandawa dan Kurawa- yang akhirnya gugur。 Salah satu yang membuat cerita ini begitu menyedihkan adalah gimana gejolak hati para tokoh yang sebetulnya tidak menginginkan perang ini terjadi， namun terpaksa harus terlibat。 Tata bahasa yang sederhana namun begitu detail menggambarkan situasi yang terjadi， C。 Rajagopalachari berhasil menguras emosi pembacanya。 。。。more

Abhishek Shrivastava ，

Finally i have read an abridged version of Mahabharat - Jay。 Instead of writing how great the book is - which obviously it is， i can write about myself @ the start of a journey with the completion of this book - Journey of understanding Mahabharat。 I am still discovering how much less i understand the learnings from this epic。 I feel propelled to find more ， learn more。May be some day i can gather the courage and the wisdom to " read " the unabridged version of this Epic。 Finally i have read an abridged version of Mahabharat - Jay。 Instead of writing how great the book is - which obviously it is， i can write about myself @ the start of a journey with the completion of this book - Journey of understanding Mahabharat。 I am still discovering how much less i understand the learnings from this epic。 I feel propelled to find more ， learn more。May be some day i can gather the courage and the wisdom to " read " the unabridged version of this Epic。 。。。more

Booksandheroes29 ，

I expected this book to be a good read， but the way the author wrote this book made the grand epic of mahabharatha into a below average story。 The intensity， the scale and the grandeur of the epic is missing。 Emotions of characters were not portrayed in a proper manner。 The whole book seemed like a chore that should be completed because you don't want to leave the book in the middle。 Mahabharat is a grand epic。 Retelling it in the form of a five hundred page book is not easy。 But the author coul I expected this book to be a good read， but the way the author wrote this book made the grand epic of mahabharatha into a below average story。 The intensity， the scale and the grandeur of the epic is missing。 Emotions of characters were not portrayed in a proper manner。 The whole book seemed like a chore that should be completed because you don't want to leave the book in the middle。 Mahabharat is a grand epic。 Retelling it in the form of a five hundred page book is not easy。 But the author could have done a better job if he acquired sufficient writing skills before taking up this huge task。 Rajagopalachari was an influential person of his times， resulting in the popularity of this book。 Unfortunately， the book failed to live upto its popularity。 This is a shortened version of mahabharata written badly。 。。。more

Silajit Chakraborty ，

Not a very good version of the great epic！

Christopher Dennis ，

Amazing。 Left me gripped for months。 Spiritual realizations， epic battles， plot twists。 A lot going on。 Recommend for all spiritual aspirants as well as those who like fantasy。

shishir ，

A good summary。 A big portion of epic is excluded （various sermons and explanation of motivation of the participants）。 The narration is in text book format。 Though The prose is free of ornamental words but the moral essence is not diminished。 Rajaji's work will motivate anyone to study the original text by Vyas。 A good summary。 A big portion of epic is excluded （various sermons and explanation of motivation of the participants）。 The narration is in text book format。 Though The prose is free of ornamental words but the moral essence is not diminished。 Rajaji's work will motivate anyone to study the original text by Vyas。 。。。more

Hari Kumar ，

So so dank。 Rereading this story full-through after hearing it so many times as a child， it's cool to see how immersive of a world is created。 So many characters， so many anecdotes。 Went off-track a bit with substandard writing （I wish we dived deeper into Bhagavad gita e。g。。。。 it was mentioned for 2 lines）， but great intro read esp。 for someone who has never read So so dank。 Rereading this story full-through after hearing it so many times as a child， it's cool to see how immersive of a world is created。 So many characters， so many anecdotes。 Went off-track a bit with substandard writing （I wish we dived deeper into Bhagavad gita e。g。。。。 it was mentioned for 2 lines）， but great intro read esp。 for someone who has never read 。。。more

Ishi Bhanot ，

★★★¾ Stars！

Sambakailash Sadhu ，

I've heard a lot of stories within it and around it。 But this is the first time Ive sat down to read it in full。 Part of the reason was I wanted to read a book called ajaya which narrated the Mahabharata from the side of Duryodhana or the head of Kauravas。 This idea fascinated me。 Belonging to the legal profession I couldn't help but wonder if all through we judged Kauravas only on the basis of arguments from one side。 Generally many of us skip the war part as it is not so fascinating to read， b I've heard a lot of stories within it and around it。 But this is the first time Ive sat down to read it in full。 Part of the reason was I wanted to read a book called ajaya which narrated the Mahabharata from the side of Duryodhana or the head of Kauravas。 This idea fascinated me。 Belonging to the legal profession I couldn't help but wonder if all through we judged Kauravas only on the basis of arguments from one side。 Generally many of us skip the war part as it is not so fascinating to read， but after reading it， I began to feel that Pandavas would have never won the war without deceit。 Maybe if it were a court of law the Kauravas would have won the case 😂。 。。。more

Shambhavi Singh ，

Mahabharta is one of the most beautiful epics of India。 It shows and talks of governments， laws， science， moral values， ethical values and ways of living life which in the present times will provide happiness and peace to people。 Read this book with a practical approach and keep no stereotypes and you will find how much this book has to offer to all of us。

Puneet ，

Multiple short chapters which are very well put to make reader wary of righteous life。

Apoorva Nadig ，

Loss and win，grief and happiness

Anjali V Raj ，

This abridged version of Mahabharata contains a very elaborate introduction to the epic。 It first explains the plot clearly， then the main characters in details， their virtues and roles。 It also explains how the narrations are carried out to avoid confusions。 Moreover， it has instructions on how to read certain names and Sanscrit texts etc。 which is very helpful。 Since it's an abridged version， at the beginning of the actual narration I felt a certain rush in narration and abrupt jump from one s This abridged version of Mahabharata contains a very elaborate introduction to the epic。 It first explains the plot clearly， then the main characters in details， their virtues and roles。 It also explains how the narrations are carried out to avoid confusions。 Moreover， it has instructions on how to read certain names and Sanscrit texts etc。 which is very helpful。 Since it's an abridged version， at the beginning of the actual narration I felt a certain rush in narration and abrupt jump from one story to another making it hard to relate。 Later as the actual epic events start， the harmony of narration resumes and footnotes are given wherever necessary。 All the main events are covered or at least briefly mentioned in this abridged version given the length of the actual original text。 Bhagavat Gita is not discussed in detail， it is just summarised。 With numerous characters in the text and their difficult names， it is very hard to keep track of each hence I often forgot who is who。 But the book has a key to names and a glossary at the end， in case we forget some character we can go refer to it。 。。。more

Nandhakumar GR ，

Read during my school days- a simple straight forward story tellingOpens a fantastic fantasy world in front of a teenager - 5 pandavas were like super heroes。A must read material for a teenage and childrens starting to read

denudatio_pulpae ，

"Mahabharata" może sobie być największym eposem świata （oposem nawet， jak ma ochotę）， możecie mnie za to co napiszę zacząć odsądzać od czci i wiary， ale bez tych prochów， na których jechali autorzy， to się przez to bezboleśnie przebrnąć nie da。 Opowiem Wam swoimi słowami sam początek:Władca Wiczitrawirja przedwcześnie umarł， nie pozostawiając po sobie potomstwa。 Królowa matka， Satjawati， przekonała obydwie żony zmarłego， że po pierwsze nie mogą dać się spalić razem z mężem na stosie， a po drugie "Mahabharata" może sobie być największym eposem świata （oposem nawet， jak ma ochotę）， możecie mnie za to co napiszę zacząć odsądzać od czci i wiary， ale bez tych prochów， na których jechali autorzy， to się przez to bezboleśnie przebrnąć nie da。 Opowiem Wam swoimi słowami sam początek:Władca Wiczitrawirja przedwcześnie umarł， nie pozostawiając po sobie potomstwa。 Królowa matka， Satjawati， przekonała obydwie żony zmarłego， że po pierwsze nie mogą dać się spalić razem z mężem na stosie， a po drugie trzeba coś wykombinować， żeby jednak zaszły w ciążę， bo bezdzietni królowie są w zaświatach nieszczęśliwi。 Pisma miały na to odpowiedź – zmarłego króla może w łożu wdów zastąpić jego brat， w tym wypadku Bhiszma。 Tylko， że to by było zbyt proste。 Cofniemy się teraz w czasie。 Bhiszma （dawniej Dewawrata） to syn króla Siantanu i jego prawowity następca。 Pewnego dnia król Siantanu podczas polowania poczuł niesamowicie piękny zapach， a jego nos zaprowadził go do Satjawati， która była źródłem oszałamiającej woni。 Od razu postanowił ją poślubić， ale ojciec dziewczyny był przebiegły i postawił warunek – ok， będziesz sobie mógł legalnie niuchać， ale to dziecko mojej córki będzie dziedziczyło królestwo。 Siantanu stwierdził， że to trochę wygórowana cena jak za takie przyjemności i zrezygnował， ale był smutny。 Satjawati też była smutna i prosiła bogów o pomoc， więc pewnego dnia przybył do niej Dewawrata i powiedział， że on się zrzeka tronu i niech już ojciec się żeni， a żeby nie było żadnych wątpliwości to on postanawia wyrzec się przyjemności cielesnych do końca życia （dlatego zmieniło mu się imię na Bhiszma – ten， który złożył surowy ślub）。 No i masz， sprawa się rypła。 Wiczitrawirja będzie smutny w zaświatach， bo jego brat złożył śluby czystości i nie ma kto zapłodnić wdów。 Satjawati musiała wymyślić coś innego。 Na szczęście zdarzyło jej się przed ślubem małe fiku-miku z ryszim Paraszarą， którego owocem był jej pierworodny syn Wjasadewa。 Królowa matka postanowiła wykorzystać go w zastępstwie Bhiszmy。 Plan był genialny， ale był pewien szkopuł – Wjasadewa postawił warunek: ok， spłodzi syna z wdową， ale zjawi się u niej taki， jaki jest。 Pech chciał， że akurat był ascetą， więc się nie mył。 Ambika była tak przerażona jego postacią， że ze strachu zasłoniła oczy podczas aktu， więc ich wspólny syn urodzi się ślepy。 Satjawati trochę się wkurzyła， jak to ślepy król， tak nie może być， więc poprosiła swojego pierworodnego， żeby przeszedł się w celach prokreacyjnych do drugiej wdowy。 Ambalika była twardsza niż pierwsza żona， ale na widok ohydnego dziada zbladła， więc spłodzony syn będzie blady （dlatego dostanie imię Pandu）。 Satjawati znowu była niezadowolona， więc poprosiła o jeszcze jedną próbę， znów z Ambiką。 Ta miała dosyć tych porąbanych pomysłów teściowej， więc zamiast siebie posłała do odrażającego ascety swoją służącą。 Kiedy synowie Wjasadewy dorośli， Bhiszma postanowił ich ożenić， tak też się stało。 Wszystko szło super， aż do dnia polowania， na którym Pandu postanowił strzelić do jeleni w trakcie aktu godowego。 Za taką zbrodnię spotkała go kara – jeleniem tym był bowiem bramin， który rzucił na niego klątwę， że również umrze podczas zażywania rozkoszy。 Pandu musiał więc żyć w celibacie。 Kunti i Madri， jego żony， były załamane， a nad samym Pandu zawisła groźba nieszczęścia po śmierci （za bezdzietność）。 Na szczęście jego żona Kunti miała pewną tajemnicę。 Mistyk Durwasa obdarzył ją mantrą – jak ją wypowie to przybędzie dowolny mieszkaniec nieba i spełni jej życzenie。 Dziewczyna wypróbowała mantrę wzywając boga słońca Surji i z tego spotkania miała syna， dlaczego więc nie wykorzystać jej do powiększenia rodziny。 W ten sposób Pandu doczekał się synów z Kunti， ale Madri była niepocieszona。 Kunti zgodziła się jeden raz użyczyć mantry drugiej żonie， więc ta wezwała parę boskich bliźniaków， żeby od razu machnąć dwóch potomków na raz。 Tym sposobem powstali Pandawowie， a sam Pandu w końcu po dwunastu latach uległ pożądaniu i umarł。To wszystko wydarzyło się na pierwszych trzydziestu stronach。 Już wtedy wiedziałam， że nie będzie lekko。 Ponad osiemset stron tego typu historii to wydawało się ponad moje siły， ale jakoś zmęczyłam :） I nie zamierzam dobrowolnie tego powtarzać， za wysokie progi jak dla mnie。 。。。more

Tom Meade ，

The only real problem I had with this is that the summaries that bridge the translated sections are a bit dry。 I get that there were limitations of space， but I felt Smith could have put more effort into giving them a storytelling quality instead of just being straight summaries。 Still， this was a good book。I still want to read the unabridged version but it costs like 200 dollars。

Apoorva Nagpal ，

Good summary but key details missing Good summary of the epic， but needs a lot of editing。 Some more background （when did it begin orally， when was it written down， by whom） would have been massively useful。 It’s hard to place it in historical context without these details。 And there is absolutely nothing on the Bhagwad Gita。

A Rahul ，

Mahabharata is a very voluminous book and C Rajagopalachari has tried to capture the complete story in brief。 For someone who is reading Mahabharata for the first time it is a great book。 Must read for children。 Even for those who have read other versions of Mahabharata， this version is quick refresh and gives an insight into how the incidences and stories in Mahabharata have relevance in today's time。 It also gives an insight into C Rajagopalachari's thinking and value system。 Mahabharata is a very voluminous book and C Rajagopalachari has tried to capture the complete story in brief。 For someone who is reading Mahabharata for the first time it is a great book。 Must read for children。 Even for those who have read other versions of Mahabharata， this version is quick refresh and gives an insight into how the incidences and stories in Mahabharata have relevance in today's time。 It also gives an insight into C Rajagopalachari's thinking and value system。 。。。more

Pramod ，

The author says it best: "The Ramayana and the Mahabharata are quite a different kind of artistic creation。 When we read them， our inner being is seized and cleansed， so to say， by being passed alternately through joys and sorrows， and we are finally lifted above both and taken to the Transcendent and Real。" The author says it best: "The Ramayana and the Mahabharata are quite a different kind of artistic creation。 When we read them， our inner being is seized and cleansed， so to say， by being passed alternately through joys and sorrows， and we are finally lifted above both and taken to the Transcendent and Real。" 。。。more

Pooja Arora ，

Quite disappointed with the book。 Earlier had heard and read so much good about this book that I was quite excited to read this but opposite is the feeling during and after I read it。 Biggest problem with this book is it looks like a mere summary， that too without sequences and missing important events。 Per me， the writer has just given translated the B。R。Chopra's Mahabharat serial into a book form。 At places， the dialogues and the words are even same。 A great epic like Mahabharata， can not be e Quite disappointed with the book。 Earlier had heard and read so much good about this book that I was quite excited to read this but opposite is the feeling during and after I read it。 Biggest problem with this book is it looks like a mere summary， that too without sequences and missing important events。 Per me， the writer has just given translated the B。R。Chopra's Mahabharat serial into a book form。 At places， the dialogues and the words are even same。 A great epic like Mahabharata， can not be explained in this way。 Yet for the time， devotion， hardwork and to pick up this task of writing， I bow to the writer。 。。。more

Corey McCleery ，

A very easy and approachable prosified version of the original。 Recommended for anyone who wants to approach ancient epics or Hinduism from a layman's perspective。 A very easy and approachable prosified version of the original。 Recommended for anyone who wants to approach ancient epics or Hinduism from a layman's perspective。 。。。more

Natsuo ，

Shit。

Dimas Anggada ，

Penuh dengan wejangan🔥💥

Gosakan ，

Yet another excellent narration of an epic A beautiful book to be read by one and all。 A page turner - the feelings of human qualities - pride， anger， joy， happiness， jealousy， cheating， motives， bravery， fear， sorrow etc have been brought out without an iota of exaggeration。 The war scenario can be seen with every minute details。 Highly enlightening。

Jennifer Sigman ，

Not as good a translation as his Ramayama。

Saumya ，

4 Stars | Part of Around India in BooksIt is impossible to want to read about Indian culture， and not read at least any one of the epics。 I once read that the purāṇic way of story-telling is very different; building stories within stories， sub-plots and character building through karma of previous births is unique to India。Mahabharata is a beautifully human story of politics and power; it is a story of obsolete laws and the dawn of a new age; it is a story of envy and jealousy; it is a story of 4 Stars | Part of Around India in BooksIt is impossible to want to read about Indian culture， and not read at least any one of the epics。 I once read that the purāṇic way of story-telling is very different; building stories within stories， sub-plots and character building through karma of previous births is unique to India。Mahabharata is a beautifully human story of politics and power; it is a story of obsolete laws and the dawn of a new age; it is a story of envy and jealousy; it is a story of family feuds and the desire for control of kingdom; it is a story of exploitation and lawlessness; it is a story which was relevant thousands of years ago and is still， without a doubt， a document to study and learn from。There are thousands of versions of this epic， with each author bringing in their interpretations and take on the events。 It is a story which has been dramatized and performed over the years and still captures the hearts of the audience。 I myself have watched and re-watched the TV series without blinking an eye while hanging on to the dialogues and monologues。 I have felt the warmth when Krishna says पार्थ （Partha）。In this edition， C。 Rajagopalachari made an honest effort to keep the story as close to original as possible （I am yet to read the original one however）， and blew away a lot of myths regarding many characters that I have personally harbored over the years。 I have begun to appreciate the layers and depth of each one of the characters， slowly letting go of prejudices against supposedly "evil" people and understanding that evil is what we do and not what we are。Mahabharata is a beautiful exploration of both the human mind and spirit and the influence power and politics can have on even honest and uncomplicated people。 It is a story that has grown on me， and will continue to provide both guidance and lessons in life to come。 。。。more

Jitesh Sharma ，

Don't read it if you haven't known the story of Mahabharta or reading Mahabharta for the first time。 It's like watching all seasons of a series at random。 Narration is continuously going to and fro in past and present some times upto frustration。 All chapters are denoted to either an individual or a particular incident breaking the continuity of the story in and out。 More disconcerting is the conversion of the book into "children's version" of the story。 Don't read it if you haven't known the story of Mahabharta or reading Mahabharta for the first time。 It's like watching all seasons of a series at random。 Narration is continuously going to and fro in past and present some times upto frustration。 All chapters are denoted to either an individual or a particular incident breaking the continuity of the story in and out。 More disconcerting is the conversion of the book into "children's version" of the story。 。。。more

Vignesha Aerospace ，

The greatest book ever read， wide range of human character in one book！！！！！！！！！！！！！！！

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Mahabharata

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Mahabharata&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Mahabharata&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0