JAYA - Devdutt Pattanaik

JAYA

An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata

There's something about the biggest epic of the world that makes people come back to it time and again. Mahabharata is probably the most retold story in the world; and deservedly so.

Of all the stories I've read of the characters of this legendary epic, this version by Devdutt Pattanaik has got to be one of the most detailed and thought-out ones. There's been neither the humanizing of the demigods of the tale, nor any attempt to make the story more realistic. He has presented the same story in all its beauty, keeping all its strengths and flaws alike.

Almost everyone is familiar with the story of the Mahabharata. This book is written as a flashback; as Astika, king of the Nagas and Vaisampayana, guardian of Vyasa's great tale, tell Janamejaya, the son of Parikshit, the grandson of the Pandava, Arjun, the story of his forefathers just before he was about to perform the Sarpa Sattra, a sacrificial ritual with the power to destroy all the snakes on Earth. The story starts right from the concept of the city of the Devas, Amravati. Thus, initially, a lot of disconnected stories appear with a lot of characters. However, they get sorted only later in the tale.

Pattanaik has tried to cover all aspects, including the existing folklores associated with it, and has even backed up each of his stories with little boxes providing the factual details and the sources of his information at the end of every chapter. There are also parts where he discusses the probability of what might have actually happened and how it got altered in the writing and later in translation.

The language is definitively simple, but with a flow so effortless, you'd want to read the whole book despite knowing the story.

For people unfamiliar with the Mahabharata, this would be a good book to start. Initially, the names might get jumbled up in your mind, but that's alright. Remembering every name is not really a necessity for this one. What must also be appreciated is that he's used tables and charts at various places to make the reader understand the circumstances as clearly as possible.

In short, the author is someone who's researched Indian mythology deeply; and it shows in the book too. Also, his style of narration is of someone who wants to get his thoughts across to the reader.. And here, he's definitely successful!