Debroy - Mahabharata Volume 2

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First published by Penguin Books India 2010
This edition published 2015

Translation copyright Bibek Debroy 2010

All rights reserved

ISBN: 978-0-143-42515-1

This digital edition published in 2015.
e-ISBN: 978-8-184-75403-2

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publishers prior written consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser and without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above-mentioned publisher of this book.

For my wife, Suparna Banerjee (Debroy),
who has walked this path of dharma with me

Ardha bhry manuyasya bhry rehatama sakh
Bhry mulam trivargasya bhry mitram mariyata

Mahabharata (1/68/40)

Nsti bhrysamo bandhurnsti bhryasam gati
Nsti bhryasamo loke sahyo dharmasdhana

Mahabharata (12/142/10)

Praise for the Series

The modernization of language is visible, its easier on the mind, through expressions that are somewhat familiar. The detailing of the story is intact, the varying tempo maintained, with no deviations from the original. The short introduction reflects a brilliant mind. For those who passionately love the Mahabharata and want to explore it to its depths, Debroys translation offers great promise...

Hindustan Times

[Debroy] has really carved out a niche for himself in crafting and presenting a translation of the Mahabharata... The book takes us on a great journey with admirable ease.

Indian Express

The first thing that appeals to one is the simplicity with which Debroy has been able to express himself and infuse the right kind of meanings... Considering that Sanskrit is not the simplest of languages to translate a text from, Debroy exhibits his deep understanding and appreciation of the medium.

The Hindu

Overwhelmingly impressive... Bibek is a truly eclectic scholar.

Business Line

Debroys lucid and nuanced retelling of the original makes the masterpiece even more enjoyably accessible.

Open

The quality of translation is excellent. The lucid language makes it a pleasure to read the various stories, digressions and parables.

Tribune

Extremely well-organized, and has a substantial and helpful Introduction, plot summaries and notes... beautiful example of a well thought-out layout which makes for much easier reading.

Book Review

The dispassionate vision [Debroy] brings to this endeavour will surely earn him merit in the three worlds.

Mail Today

Thoroughly enjoyable and impressively scholarly...

DNA

Debroys is not the only English translation available in the market, but where he scores and others fail is that his is the closest rendering of the original text in modern English without unduly complicating the readers understanding of the epic.

Business Standard

The brilliance of Ved Vysya comes through.

Hindustan Times

THE BEGINNING

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Family Tree

Bharata/Puru Lineage

Map of Bharatavarsha

Bharatavarsha (sixth century BCE)

In the second volume, we cover Sections 16 to 32 of the 100-parva classification. This completes Adi Parva (the origins), Sabha Parva (the assembly hall) and begins Aranyaka Parva (the sojourn in the forest). Arjuna is banished and the story of Sunda and Upasunda is recounted. He is married to Subhadra. Krishna and Arjuna burn down the Khandava forest. The assembly hall is built. After killing Jarasandha, the Pandavas conquer the world. Shishupala is also killed. The two games with the dice lead to the Pandavas being exiled in the forest. Kirmira is killed and Arjuna encounters Shiva. As a side story, we are told about Krishnas destruction of Soubha. Arjuna goes to Indras abode in search of celestial weapons. The volume ends with the story of Nala and Damayanti.

Acknowledgements

C arving time out from ones regular schedule and work engagements to embark on such a mammoth work of translation has been difficult. It has been a journey of six years, ten volumes and something like 2.25 million words. Sometimes, I wish I had been born in nineteenth-century Bengal, with a benefactor funding me for doing nothing but this. But alas, the days of gentlemen of leisure are long over. The time could not be carved out from professional engagements, barring of course assorted television channels, who must have wondered why I have been so reluctant to head for their studios in the evenings. It was ascribed to health, interpreted as adverse health. It was certainly health, but not in an adverse sense. Reading the Mahabharata is good for ones mental health and is an activity to be recommended, without any statutory warnings. When I embarked on the hazardous journey, a friend, an author interested in Sanskrit and the Mahabharata, sent me an email. She asked me to be careful, since the track record of those who embarked on unabridged translations of the Mahabharata hasnt always been desirable. Thankfully, I survived, to finish telling the tale.