Mahabharata: A Modern Retelling

Mahabharata: A Modern Retelling

<p>“Astonishing. . . . [Satyamurti’s <em>Mahabharata</em>] brings [the] past alive . . . as though it were a novel in finely crafted verse.”—Vinay Dharwadker</p><br /><p>Originally composed approximately two thousand years ago, the <em>Mahabharata</em> 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 <em>Iliad</em> and the <em>Odyssey</em>, writes Wendy Doniger in the introduction, the <em>Mahabharata</em> 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 <em>Bhagavad Gita</em>, it is also one of the most important and influential works in the history of world civilization.</p><br /><p>Innovatively composed in blank verse rather than prose, Carole Satyamurti’s English retelling covers all eighteen books of the <em>Mahabharata</em>. This new version masterfully captures the beauty, excitement, and profundity of the original Sanskrit poem as well as its magnificent architecture and extraordinary scope.</p>