The Mahabharata (Narayan book)
Heinemann (UK) Viking Press (US) | |
Publication date | 1978 |
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Media type | |
Preceded by | The Painter of Signs |
Followed by | The Emerald Route |
The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic is a mythological book by
Plot
Narayan's version of the Mahabharata focuses on the central conflict of the epic, the
From there, the story continues building toward the central war of the story, as
Development
In regards to his shortening of the Indian epic, R.K. Narayan states: "I have omitted none of the episodes relevant to the destinies of the chief characters. I have kept myself to the mainstream and held my version within readable limits." On the subject of translation, Narayan notes how an English version of the epic necessitates a process selection and condensation of the poetics into prose, as the "rhythm and depth" and the "hypnotic quality" of Sanskrit would inevitably be lost in translation. Though Narayan is knowledgeable of the scholarly research into the textual history of the Mahabharata (the evolution from a charioteer ballad into Jaya, and then Bharata, and finally the Mahabharata over the course of hundreds of years), Narayan chose to accept the traditional accounts of the narrative's origins, stating in his version's introduction: "The conclusions of cold, factual research seem like 'catching the rainbow with one's finger's', to quote a line from the epic itself."[4]
American
See also
References
- MiD DAY. 14 May 2001. Retrieved 27 August 2009.
- ISBN 978-0-226-87213-1.
- ISBN 978-0-7614-7469-2.
- ^ Narayan, R.K. (1978). The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic. New York City: Viking Press.
- ISBN 978-0226051659.