The Complete Mahabharata (Volume 7)

by S.B. Pillay and Anita Pillay

  1. ISBN: 978-81-291-3584-1
  2. Pages: 620 pages
  3. Date: April 2015

ABOUT THIS BOOK

The Mahabharata of Veda Vyasa is the longest recorded epic of the world. With almost 100,000 verses, it is many times as long as the Iliad and the Odyssey combined and has deeply influenced every aspect of the Indian ethos for some 4,000 years.

The main theme is the Great War on Kurukshetra, but the epic teems with smaller stories, and other stories within these, all woven together with a genius that confounds comparison. As its heart, it contains Krishna’s immortal Bhagavad-Gita, the Song of God. The Mahabharata embodies the ancient and sacred Indian tradition, in all its earthy and spiritual immensity. Famously, ‘What is found here may be found elsewhere. What is not found here will not be found elsewhere.’

Many believe this most magnificent epic to be the greatest story ever told. Yet, the only full Indian translation of the Mahabharata into English is the 19th century one by Kisari Mohan Ganguli. More than a hundred years have passed since Ganguli accomplished his task, and the language he used is now sadly archaic.

This new 12-volume series retells the great epic, line by line, in fresh, easily readable English prose. With it, we hope to bring the Mahabharata alive again, for the contemporary and future reader.

AUTHOR OF THE BOOK

Born in 1951, S.B. Pillay (1951–2014) was a retired Indian Audit and Accounts Service officer. He was educated at St Xavier’s High School (Delhi), Loyola College (Kolkata), and received his master’s degree from Loyola College in Chennai. He went on to study Law at St Xavier’s College, Mumbai.

During an illustrious career in the IA&AS, he worked all over India and abroad, as well, and has a deep insight of Indian life. He was director general of the NAAA in Shimla and retired as additional deputy CAG in 2011.

Anita Pillay is the wife of the late S.B. Pillay.