1 review for Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata
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Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata
by Devdutt Pattanaik
Description:
High above the sky stands Swarga, paradise, abode of the gods. Still above is Vaikuntha, heaven, abode of God.
The doorkeepers of Vaikuntha are the twins, Jaya and Vijaya, both whose names mean ‘victory’. One keeps you in Swarga; the other raises you into Vaikuntha.
In Vaikuntha there is bliss forever, in Swarga there is pleasure for only as long as you deserve. What is the difference between Jaya and Vijaya? Solve this puzzle and you will solve the mystery of the Mahabharata.
In this enthralling retelling of India’s greatest epic, the Mahabharata originally known as Jaya, Devdutt Pattanaik seamlessly weaves into a single narrative plots from the Sanskrit classic as well as its many folk and regional variants, including the Pandavani of Chhattisgarh, Gondhal of Maharashtra, Terukkuttu of Tamil Nadu and Yakshagana of Karnataka.
Richly illustrated with over 250 line drawings by the author, the 108 chapters abound with little-known details such as the names of the hundred Kauravas, the worship of Draupadi as a goddess in Tamil Nadu, the stories of Astika, Madhavi, Jaimini, Aravan and Barbareek, the Mahabharata version of the Shakuntalam and the Ramayana, and the dating of the war based on astronomical data.
With clarity and simplicity, the tales in this elegant volume reveal the eternal relevance of the Mahabharata, the complex and disturbing meditation on the human condition that has shaped Indian thought for over 3000 years.
About The Author
Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik (born 11 December 1970) is an Indian physician turned leadership consultant, mythologist, author and communicator whose works focus largely on the areas of myth, religion, mythology, and also management. He has written over 600 articles and 30 books on the relevance of sacred stories, symbols and rituals in modern times, including Myth = Mithya: A Handbook of Hindu Mythology, Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata, Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana, Business Sutra: An Indian Approach to Management, Shikhandi: And Other Tales they Don’t Tell You.He worked in the pharma and healthcare industry (Sanofi Aventis and Apollo Group of Hospitals, respectively) for 14 years and spent his spare time writing articles and books on mythology, which eventually became his full-time passion. He has also worked as a consultant at Ernst and Young. His first book Shiva: An Introduction was published in 1997. Devdutt illustrates most of his own books
Skryf Review
Hats off for accomplishing the task of rewriting the Mahabharat in such a lucid easy fashion, fit to be enjoyed by everyone who don’t want to weigh themselves down with dreary details, but taste the brilliance of the world’s longest epic.The book started well as it provided a fresh and clear take on Mahabharata without rationalizations and without apology. Devdutt adopts a very traditional stance and uses his small boxes to put in folk tales and other views on the topics.But as the book progresses the reader gets the feeling that the incidents are treated a bit too cursorily. Pattanaik has a wonderful way of looking at things, I only wish he had cared to look deeper with that vision.The author’s take on what the driving philosophy is makes the book a worthwhile read but it all smacks a bit strongly of Buddhism.In the end, I was disappointed that so little was explored by an obviously very insightful author.