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Mahabharata
Binding: Paperback
Author: William Buck
Manufacturer: University of California Press
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Features:
Average Rating: 4.0
Total Customer Reviews: 28
List Price: $22.95
Our Price: $15.61
Sales Rank: 300341
Product Description
Few works in world literature have inspired so vast an audience, in nations with radically different languages and cultures, as the Ramayana and Mahabharata, two Sanskrit verse epics written some 2,000 years ago.
In Ramayana (written by a poet known to us as Valmiki), William Buck has retold the story of Prince Rama--with all its nobility of spirit, courtly intrigue, heroic renunciation, fierce battles, and triumph of good over evil--in a length and manner that will make the great Indian epics accessible to the contemporary reader.
The same is true for the Mahabharata--in its original Sanskrit, probably the longest Indian epic ever composed. It is the story of a dynastic struggle, between the Kurus and Pandavas, for land. In his introduction, Sanskritist B. A. van Nooten notes, "Apart from William Buck's rendition [no other English version has] been able to capture the blend of religion and martial spirit that pervades the original epic."
Presented accessibly for the general reader without compromising the spirit and lyricism of the originals, William Buck's Ramayana and Mahabharata capture the essence of the Indian cultural heritage.
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Users Product Reviews: |
Product Review Summary: A Well-Condensed Classic The Mahabharata is a classic Hindu tale of the struggle of the Pandavas and the Kauravas for the Kingdom of Hastinapura. Arjuna leads the Pandavas to champion the cause of Prince Yudhishthira against the corrupt Duryodhana. Krishna (an incarnation of Vishnu) and other gods make routine appearances, bestowing blessings or curses on the major heroes. The Mahabharata in full form contains the Bhagavad Gita, which is of course classic Hindu scripture. The Mahabharata as it is retold here is not a direct translation, but an abbreviated retelling and summary the immense Hindu epic. Those fascinated with the fantastic and wild tales of Hindu heroes and gods, or simply intrigued by Hindu religion and culture in general should read this book.
Product Review Summary: Buck's Mahabharata I remember reading Buck's version of Mahabharata sometime in 1998-99. While its true that it does not fully conform to the widely accepted plots as known to us through other versions- there in lies the beauty. Most of the old Indian literature use to pass on from one generation to another by word-of-mouth; as stories from parents, uncles and teachers. It was only much later that they started to get documented(Its estimated that they were in existence for over a 1000 years before they started getting documented somewhere in the 3rd or 4th century AD). Therefore whenever you talk about any of these epic's you always prefix the author's name, as in "Valmiki's Ramayana" or "Vyasya's Mahabharata". There are versions and they all differ a bit! With all the inaccuracies, mentioned by other reviewers, you may just call this a Buck's Mahabharata. The supposed factual inaccuracies do not in anyway diminish the author's work.
As with all epics, every time you read or hear the stories again, you get a new insight into the characters and what the story is trying to tell.
The reason I still remember Buck's version of the Mahabharat, even after so many years is because something very dramatic happened to me when I was reading it, in one of the most unlikely portion of this epic battle- it was the scene of Duryodhana's death.
As far as Aswatthama was concerned, it was not possible for Duryodhana to be slain - as he said he could even reconcile to Drona's(Aswatthama's father, their teacher and a great warrior himself) death in the battle field...but how could Duryodhana die!
(Duryodhana) "...I lived like a God; whatever I wanted was easily mine. What man in the world would not wish in his secret heart to be free from laws and rules, able to follow himself whatever the cost, able to do whatever he will? Krishna(God) could not tempt me to peace."
Duryodhana was a learned man. He knew he could never win against Krishna(God). Yet he was (as we all are perhaps) born with a death wish; determined to challenge God.
As I said, every time you read these epics(again and again) you learn and discover something new! Duryodhana's character as shown in his dying stages, in this version, opened a new meaning of life, death, desire, good, bad, evil and ego that I had not understood, through Duryodhana's character, before! My whole view of Mahabharata has changed since then!
Buck's description of Aswatthama's inability to come to terms with Duryodhana's fall in the battle field was surprisingly (and unexpectedly) overwhelming for me! As I read Aswatthama break down in front of a dying Duryodhana, reading alone in my apartment in New Jersey(I almost remember that evening 10 years ago), I suddenly realised I was trying to choke back that lump in my throat. I distinctly remember a tear in my eye.
I am otherwise not a very emotional person, and I had not anticipated this, certainly not in an English translation of the Mahabharata. It was as if emotions just sneaked up on me! To me that experience was itself worth the book and qualifies it as a great narration!
Definitely recommended!
Product Review Summary: Enchanting, but at best a starting point William Buck's retelling of the world's greatest (and longest) epic is beautiful and moving to read, but it is not really the Mahabharata. He can be forgiven for leaving out a great deal, and he did well to take some of the independent stories from the very long first part of the original and telling them later on in the action. He is producing a retelling, as he wrote--not a translation. But the changes in detail are troubling, and eventually they betray the work as a whole.
Buck is commendably willing to find humanity in Duryodhana, so often painted as a devil; but he whitewashes the ethically questionable conduct of the Pandavas and of Krishna, too. Part of the greatness of the Mahabharata is its clear insight into the tragic split between what is necessary and what is right. It leaves us both wondering and disturbed. Buck's Pandavas are too good and, perhaps even worse, too much like ourselves. He said that he wanted to make readers love Arjuna, Yudishthira, and their brothers as much as he did. His book would have been better had he trusted that his readers would love the characters and the stories that he had found in the Sanskrit. By making them more pleasing to a modern Western audience Buck showed a lack of faith in both the Mahabharata itself and in his readers.
I enjoyed this book tremendously, but for a sense of what can be found in this great work and why it remains alive after 2000 years of more I would recommend Ramesh Menon's two-volume rendition. (Amazon's indexing isn't helpful; Volume One is best found by going to the page for Volume Two and clicking on "other editions -- paperback.") This has its own problems, but it conveys the intent of the original much more truly. And for anyone who becomes a Mahabharata junkie it has the added advantage of being four times as long. This is a book you don't want to finish. Longer is better.
Product Review Summary: "Once Hearing This, Who Can Bear Listening to Other Stories?" India has two great Epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, which have influenced popular Hinduism more over the last 2,000 years than the Sacred Scriptures, the Vedas, themselves.
The Ramayana tells of how Sri Rama, helped by the monkey/god Hanuman, rescues his wife Sita, kidnapped by the demon Ravana and held captive in his fortress on Sri Lanka. The Mahabharata is a more complex tale of war, betrayal, thoughtless oaths and the tragedies of loyalty.
The Ramayana is a literary epic, shapely and polished.
The Mahabharata is a titanic, sprawling miscellany, filling half a shelf on a book-case. Complete sets gather dust and nourish weevils in University Libraries.
In what was both a labour of love and a virtuoso feat, William Buck distilled the pure story into one small magical paperback. Sure, it's a beginner's version, but most of us are beginners at Hindu epic. This is a book that makes all fantasy fiction look lame. It is as enchanting as "The Lord of the Rings" and as credible as "All Quiet on the Western Front." The giddying intricacy of the plot is the organic intricacy of a fern unfolding, not the mechanical intricacy of a thriller. It took generations and a whole civilisation to create this book. There are not many like it.
In two words. Read it. If you have children of 9, 10 or older, get them to read it, buy it on CD, download it, or read it to them. Friends, neighbours, people you bump into at the supermarket, get them to read it. Traditionally, reading the Mahabharata was believed to convey a blessing, like performing a religious rite. I can't think of any reason to doubt it.
Product Review Summary: Not for the Scholarly anyway This is by far the best written English version of this epic; William Buck strives for the essence and feeling of the text, not a scholarly literal translation that is archived elsewhere and is inaccessible to the many. There are other reviewers who criticise Buck's rendition for this very reason, however Buck never intended his rendition to BE scholarly, and as for the differences in the content mentioned elsewhere, it must be understood that there isn't any one version of the story, and instead Buck's approach was to develop the characters themselves and THEN the essence and spirit of the story, focusing on what the lessons and values instead of tedious accuracy.
Bottom line: If you know Sanskrit, go elsewhere as this wasn't meant for you. If you don't, and want the essence and spirit of this great epic; Buck rules supreme.
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