RAG Demo

Tag: Mahabharata retelling

  • Mrityunjay

    Mrityunjay, published in 1967, tells the life of Karna, the great archer of the Mahabharata who was born to Kunti before her marriage, set adrift on a river and raised by a charioteer. Sawant gives most of the narration to Karna himself, with sections spoken by Kunti, Duryodhana, Karna's wife Vrushali, his brother Shon and Krishna, so the story builds from many vantage points.

    The novel dwells on the humiliations of birth and caste that dog Karna: the tournament where he is mocked as a charioteer's son, the teachers who deny him, the bride who refuses him. It also traces his loyalty to Duryodhana, who gave him dignity when no one else would, and his legendary generosity, which becomes both his glory and his vulnerability.

    The book was a sensation in Marathi and has been translated into many Indian languages and into English, where it appeared as Mrityunjaya: The Death Conqueror. Its emotional, almost operatic style and its sympathy for an outsider who never stops seeking recognition have made Karna one of the most popular epic figures in modern Indian reading.

    Book details

    AuthorShivaji Sawant
    First published1967
    Original languageMarathi
    Translated byP. Lal and Nandini Nopany
    GenreMythology
    TypeFiction
    Pages (approx.)700
    SettingChampanagari, Hastinapura and Kurukshetra in the age of the Mahabharata

    Themes

    • Identity and birth
    • Loyalty
    • Generosity
    • Caste humiliation
    • Fate

    Who should read it

    Anyone who has felt for Karna in the Mahabharata and wants his full story told with passion.

  • Randamoozham

    Randamoozham, meaning the second turn, retells the Mahabharata through Bhima, the second of the Pandava brothers. In the epic he is the muscle of the family, the eater, the fighter who keeps his vows of vengeance. In this novel he is a thinking, feeling man forever placed behind Yudhishthira in rank and behind Arjuna in Draupadi's affection.

    M. T. strips away most of the supernatural. Gods become men whose origins are hinted at in earthly terms, miracles are rumours, and the great war is the outcome of human ambition, resentment and statecraft. Bhima's relationships with his mother Kunti, with Draupadi, with the forest woman Hidimbi and their son Ghatotkacha, and with his own brothers are explored with psychological depth.

    Published in 1984, the novel won the Vayalar Award in 1985 and is often ranked among the finest works of Malayalam fiction. Its spare, poetic prose and its sympathy for the second-placed have made it a touchstone for later modern retellings of the epics. Gita Krishnankutty's English translation appeared as Bhima: Lone Warrior.

    Book details

    AuthorM. T. Vasudevan Nair
    First published1984
    Original languageMalayalam
    Translated byGita Krishnankutty
    GenreMythology
    TypeFiction
    Pages (approx.)300
    SettingHastinapura, the forests of exile and Kurukshetra, the age of the Mahabharata
    AwardsVayalar Award 1985

    Themes

    • Being second
    • Brotherhood and rivalry
    • Demythologised epic
    • Unrequited devotion
    • War and its cost

    Who should read it

    Readers who know the Mahabharata and want a humane, realist reading of it from a neglected hero's eyes.

  • Parva

    Parva, published in Kannada in 1979, re-imagines the Mahabharata as a story of a real Bronze Age society. Bhyrappa travelled through the regions named in the epic to picture how its people might actually have lived, fought, married and eaten. There are no divine weapons or miracles; the gods are titles, the births are explained through customs such as niyoga, and Krishna is a shrewd political leader.

    The narrative is built from long interior monologues. Kunti, Draupadi, Bhima, Arjuna, Karna, Bhishma, Drona and others look back over their lives as armies gather, so the same events are seen repeatedly from conflicting angles. Old age, failing bodies, sexual politics, polyandry, food and drink, and the brutal arithmetic of war are given weight the epic usually skips.

    The book runs to well over eight hundred pages and is demanding, but it rewards readers with a sense of the epic as a tragedy of ordinary human limitation. It has been translated into many Indian languages and into English by K. Raghavendra Rao, and it is widely considered Bhyrappa's masterpiece and a defining work of the realist approach to Indian myth.

    Book details

    AuthorS. L. Bhyrappa
    First published1979
    Original languageKannada
    Translated byK. Raghavendra Rao
    GenreMythology
    TypeFiction
    Pages (approx.)870
    SettingNorthern and central India in the age of the Mahabharata, on the eve of the Kurukshetra war

    Themes

    • Demythologised epic
    • Ageing and memory
    • War
    • Dharma questioned
    • Gender and polyandry

    Who should read it

    Serious readers of the Mahabharata who want an unsparing, rationalist version of its world.

  • The Palace of Illusions

    Draupadi, here called Panchaali, is born from a sacrificial fire as the answer to her father King Drupad's wish for vengeance. Growing up in Panchaal with her twin brother Dhri, she chafes against the limits placed on princesses and listens closely to the prophecy that she will change the course of history.

    Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni follows Panchaali through her swayamvar, her marriage to all five Pandava brothers, the building of the magical palace at Indraprastha, the humiliation of the dice game and long years of exile. Her complicated friendship with Krishna and her secret attraction to Karna, the Pandavas' greatest rival, give the familiar epic a fresh emotional centre.

    The novel is accessible to readers who do not know the Mahabharata, while those who do will notice how much the female perspective changes. It is a popular entry point to mythological retellings, praised for its lyrical voice and its proud, flawed heroine. Its palace becomes a fitting symbol of ambition.

    Book details

    AuthorChitra Banerjee Divakaruni
    First published2008
    Original languageEnglish
    GenreMythology
    TypeFiction
    Pages (approx.)360
    SettingPanchaal, Hastinapur, Indraprastha and Kurukshetra in the world of the Mahabharata

    Themes

    • Female perspective
    • Pride and revenge
    • Fate
    • Friendship
    • Desire

    Who should read it

    Readers who want a feminist, intimate retelling of the Mahabharata.