The Mahabharata-a modern rendering/2 Vol Set Paperback – January 1, 2009

such an incredible translation of this ancient story. i originally ordered the penguin classics translation, but i was disappointed to find that a large portion of it is summarized and about half is direct translation from sanskrit poetry. after doing a lot of searching, i found ramesh menon. his translation, however, brings the characters, their stories, and the whole situation to life. it's like reading the greatest romance, drama, action novels ever written all in one place.however, i am not a scholar but a casual reader. i am also not of indian origin and i have little to no familiarity with the hindu religion. the penguin edition has a lengthy introduction explaining the basic story line, sanskrit linguistics, some basic concepts in indian/hindu worldview (like dharma, caste system) which are huge themes in the book. since i had the chance to read that wonderful introduction, i definitely have an easier time reading and understanding menons version, which is lacking in an introduction. to make up for this, menon has a basic appendix and glossary at the end of the book, but if you're not an indian reader his explanations may not be in depth enough to help you understand. menon also cuts out pretty much all the preamble to the story (which he states is over 200 pages) which includes some interesting stories and information not related to the main story including a snake sacrifice. if i were a scholar and wanted a more inclusive (but still abridged) version, i may have stuck with penguin or another more scholarly edit.in conclusion, menon made this ancient story easy to read, exciting, intriguing, romantic, etc etc. if you are not familiar with the story of the mahabharata and you find yourself inexplicably intrigued (as i did), you will find a world of magic inside of menons re writing of this epic. if you want a scholarly version, i would still say menon is the way to go, but maybe you would want to supplement with the free complete translation (available at protect gutenberg online) or some other scholarly editions with more complete introductions. i plan to try to read the complete online version at project gutenberg once i get through menons.

This epic poem so completely entranced me that for two weeks I could not put it down. If I didn't have to work a day job as we all do, I would have gone without sleep until I had finished it. Why is this so? I'm not entirely sure. There is some adage I've heard somewhere that a books have a tendency to find the people who must read them when those people become ready; just as "when the pupil is ready, the teacher appears."Ramesh Menon has done an extraordinary job rendering this 4000-odd year old epic poem into powerful, simple, resonant prose. Not having any background in Sanskrit, I'm not certain what creative liberties have been taken with the translation, but one thing I appreciated was some of the dramatic commentary interspersed between stanzas of the Bhagavad Gita. Menon dramatizes this most-famous section of the Mahabharata so that it comes across as something cinematic; and whether or not such words actually exist in the original text, the idea that Krishna is cognizant of the unborn future generations hanging on his every word to Arjuna for their own salvation was a nice touch.In a word, this is the grandest epic of them all. Prepare to fall in love, to undertake trials, suffer humiliating defeats, mete out justice, travel the land high and low, win the day, live in opulence, and confront death as the words, pictures, and scenes of "Great India" play out before the mind's eye.

This is a great two volume translation of the 100,000 couplet Mahabharata epic. At near 1600 pages it is long enough to capture the spirit of the original epic. Shorter versions such as William Buck's, although very good, only whet the appetite of the reader for a version closer to the original--which are after all religious scriptures that have shaped HIndu civilization. I believe Ramesh Menon is mindful of the Hindu character of the original and has written his version with that fact in mind.It is an easy read; reads much like a novel, and readers new to the great Hindu epics should not be intimidated by the formidable reputation of the work.All in all, a wonderful work.

Very entertaining re-telling of the Mahabharata. Enjoyed it thoroughly.

I'd like to be able to personally tell the author how deeply moving his work is. This book is thick and its material vast and I could not put it down. I've read The Gita in many translations, but reading the sweeping epic from which The Bhagavad Gita was born put the entire story into sharp focus. This author is flawless in his skill and brings what could have been dry and hard to read in its complexity to readers with no previous exposure to the stories contained in the large work. This book is devotional, inspiring, and entertaining. It contains all the makings of perfect story telling, and is available to the western audience because of the fluid and artistic rendering. I've also read The Siva Purana by the same author and absolutely recomend that book as well. After reading well over a thousand pages of this authors work I would be hard pressed not to highly recomend anything he wrote. Thank you.