The Mahabharata: Vol I & II

such an incredible translation of this ancient story. i originally ordered the penguin classics translation, but i was disappointed to find that a large portion of it is summarized and about half is direct translation from sanskrit poetry. after doing a lot of searching, i found ramesh menon. his translation, however, brings the characters, their stories, and the whole situation to life. it's like reading the greatest romance, drama, action novels ever written all in one place.however, i am not a scholar but a casual reader. i am also not of indian origin and i have little to no familiarity with the hindu religion. the penguin edition has a lengthy introduction explaining the basic story line, sanskrit linguistics, some basic concepts in indian/hindu worldview (like dharma, caste system) which are huge themes in the book. since i had the chance to read that wonderful introduction, i definitely have an easier time reading and understanding menons version, which is lacking in an introduction. to make up for this, menon has a basic appendix and glossary at the end of the book, but if you're not an indian reader his explanations may not be in depth enough to help you understand. menon also cuts out pretty much all the preamble to the story (which he states is over 200 pages) which includes some interesting stories and information not related to the main story including a snake sacrifice. if i were a scholar and wanted a more inclusive (but still abridged) version, i may have stuck with penguin or another more scholarly edit.in conclusion, menon made this ancient story easy to read, exciting, intriguing, romantic, etc etc. if you are not familiar with the story of the mahabharata and you find yourself inexplicably intrigued (as i did), you will find a world of magic inside of menons re writing of this epic. if you want a scholarly version, i would still say menon is the way to go, but maybe you would want to supplement with the free complete translation (available at protect gutenberg online) or some other scholarly editions with more complete introductions. i plan to try to read the complete online version at project gutenberg once i get through menons.

I had first read C.Rajagopalachari's classic book on Mahabharata in my university library, which is a concise and to-the point book, while CR's book is certainly very good it doesn't give the reader all the intricate details of the greatest epic of our motherland. When i read Ramesh's book, i was amazed by the level of detail he offered, it was as though he himself was watching the great epic unfold in live. He describes superbly even the thoughts that the various characters in the epic went through. Ramesh's vivid description of the scenes of the war (especially those involving the dark god) are simply excellent. Some of the chapters which i liked the most were when Arjuna meets Ekalavya, where Ramesh very nicely describes the jealousy that Arjuna might have felt. Overall I would recommend this to everyone who wishes to read the immortal epic of our country. It would be even exciting if one reads this book after reading C.Rajagopalachari's classic.

First of all, let me thank Mr. Menon for his wonderful rendition of this great epic! I am very impressed with his powerful writing. Some of his descriptions are visually stunning, just waiting for a new Peter Jackson to create a movie trilogy that will match the high quality of his masterpiece: Amba bent on revenge, climbing the Himalayas and wending her way through ice and snow to seek out Lord Shiva; Kunti reciting her mantra from rocky cliffs at sunset, summoning the wind god Vayu. These are well written scenes that stay with you and haunt you long after you have read them. The author has also recreated the characters' feelings and emotions in such a way that makes them more human: Bheesma rejecting Amba as he is falling in love with her; Pandu's two wives living out a love-hate relationship with jealousy flaring up at times. I own several abridgements of the Mahabharata, and in terms of sheer readability, this is by far the best! The writing is so good, you want to keep on reading even if you know the plot. Bravo Mr Menon and again a great big thank you!

Ramesh Menon has so far recounted the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.Great works of literature that everyone should read at least once in their lifetime.

I'd like to be able to personally tell the author how deeply moving his work is. This book is thick and its material vast and I could not put it down. I've read The Gita in many translations, but reading the sweeping epic from which The Bhagavad Gita was born put the entire story into sharp focus. This author is flawless in his skill and brings what could have been dry and hard to read in its complexity to readers with no previous exposure to the stories contained in the large work. This book is devotional, inspiring, and entertaining. It contains all the makings of perfect story telling, and is available to the western audience because of the fluid and artistic rendering. I've also read The Siva Purana by the same author and absolutely recomend that book as well. After reading well over a thousand pages of this authors work I would be hard pressed not to highly recomend anything he wrote. Thank you.