Book Review #41: 99 Thoughts on Ganesha By Devdutt Pattanaik

We all love this elephant headed god, aren't we? He is by far the most loved and respected God throughout India. He is worshipped by each and every one without any religion hindrance. His stories would always fascinate anyone. Probably he is the cutest God that was loved by everyone regardless of the age or gender.

Pattanaik, by now, one of my favorite mythology story tellers, had done ample research before penning this book. His anecdotes are very impressive pertaining to the information he has provided in this book. Though it’s a short book spanning over 160 odd pages, it has everything to know about Lord Ganesha.

Even after having known so many tales and information about Ganesha. What makes this book unique is the extra mile that the author has gone to garn more interesting details and connecting the dots together. Who is Ganesha? What is his background? What makes him so special among the Indians and particularly Hindus? What are the tales behind Ganesha getting the elephant head? What occasion made Lord Shiva to behead Lord Ganesha? Why he has been referred as the obstacle remover? What’s the story behind people chanting Ganapati Bappa Morya? The questions never stop right? Well, if you are finding it hard to get all these information, then this book is the one stop solution to all your doubts. It is rich and resourceful to know about God Ganesha. I must admit that, I had come to know many tales which I never came across all these years.

Like his many other books, Pattanaik has juxtaposed the modern day rituals that can be directly linked to the mythological tales and symbolism with respect to Ganesha. I liked how he had narrated the details that go from India, Thailand till Mongolia. We all know the regular tale behind Ganesha’s elephant head. But Pattanaik has given us few other tales and folklore beliefs behind this story.

What I really liked about this book is, Ganesha that riding on a peacock. Peacock is called “Mor” in Hindi. Thus, it makes clear for the readers that, why people chant, “Ganapati Bappa Morya”. He also mentions about the race between Ganesha and his brother Kartikeya. This race was set up Narada Maharshi to see who has more wisdom and who can think profoundly. Well, Ganesha having a Mouse as his vehicle couldn’t race with his brother Kartikeya who had a flying peacock as his vehicle. So, Lord Ganesha decides to walk around his parents Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati symbolizing them as the whole universe, thus displaying the profound thought. This was a good takeaway from the book.

At the end of the book, author Pattanaik has given a list of popular Ganesha temples across the world. He explained the probable reasons behind why these temples marked as a prominent place of worship. He also explained the different names of Ganesha and its meaning. One such example is “VINAYAKA”, meaning one who was born without the help of a male companion (In Sanskrit VI means “without” and NAYAKA means “male person"). Thanks to the author for explaining something which I was not aware of. The explanation for the Ashta Vinayaka is a fantastic section from the book.

Pattanaik doesn’t forget to mention about the freedom fighter Lokamanya Balagangadhara Tilak who made Ganesha Chaturthi as a public festival. This particular movement has combined people from different walks of life, thereby giving the required momentum for the India’s Independence movement.

I recommend this book to every reader that wants to learn more about Lord Ganesha. May the blessings of Lord Ganesha bestow upon you.

“Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha!!”

My Rating:

5/5

Book Review #36: Shikhandi and Other Tales They Don't Tell You By Devdutt Pattanaik

This is short and very informative book on the most infamous QUEERNESS ideology in India and other parts of the world. He has researched every nook and corner for the queerish tales from the epics of Hindus and several queer examples from the Greek, Egypt and China as well.

This book is an important book for India and Indians considering the LGBT community is not getting enough support from the government for their recognition in the mainstream world. To add ghee to the fire, Our Indian supreme court has ruled out a judgement an year ago which was against the LGBT community. So, these people became criminals and outlaws overnight. Author Devdutt has written an excellent piece of information that serves as a befitting reply to all those moral policing morons that roam around in the country in the name of culture and tradition.

This book is just about 170 odd pages covering close to 30 short stories of queer people from the Puranas, Vedas and epics such as the Mahabharata, Ramayana, etc.. Devdutt also established the context of "Queerness" from the global mythological sphere bringing stories from Vikings, Egyptian Gods, Chinese legends, Bibliographic readings, etc..


In the first half of the book Devdutt explains the pretext behind this "Queerness" and its origins from various places around the world. Later in the 2nd half, there are 30 stories that was available from the Mahabharata, Ramayana, Puranas, Vedas, from even the gods, etc..

Having read his previous books Jaya, The Pregnant King and Sita, I was aware of most of the "QUEER" stories that he has captured in this book. Especially the story of Yuvanashva from The Pregnant King is a fantastic one. Also, I was well accustomed to the stories of Shikhandi, Mohini, Brihannala, Ardhanareeshwara, etc.. I am glad that I came to know about many other queer characters such as Chudala, Gopeshwara, Aravan, Sudyumna, Makara, Samaran, Alli, Pramila, Samba, etc.. The fascinating tales of Narada the messenger forgets that he was a man, God Krishna is a cross-dresser and most of all, Rama when he was leaving for his 14 years of exile, he informs his fellow citizens to head back to the kingdom and wait for his arrival, but addresses them as "All you men and women of my kingdom, please go back to Ayodhya and wait for my arrival", and Rama forgets to address the Queer people who didn't go back but stayed on the banks of the river. Hence, all these people of Queer nature wait for the arrival of Rama at the same river shore where Rama had left 14 years earlier!!.

These are amazing tales that proves time and again that Queerness is not a crime and it is existed since time immemorial. Author has added an excellent note from the vedas at the end of the book which says "Vikruti Evam Prakruti" that can be translated as "Queerness too is a part of nature".

My Rating:
4/5

Book Review #33: The Pregnant King By Devdutt Pattanaik

My fawning over the tales of Mahabharata and its oddities never stops. It is rich, it is endless and it is window to witness what one could’ve only imagined. I have become a great fan of Devdutt Pattanaik after reading his Jaya (Retelling of Mahabharata), Sita (Retelling of Ramayana) and Business Sutra (Management from Indic point of view). He is a true master in compiling the mythological stories. Pattanaik, a medical doctor by profession and Mythological writer by passion, Pattanaik have written his first ever fictional tale that will juxtapose against the tales of the Mahabharata.

I took this book by only reading the title of it. It is strange, isn't it ?. How on the earth ***** ? As you can exclaim!! :). This is the tale of Yuvanashva, the king of Vallabhi, a descendant of Turvasu clan. Vallabhi a city placed adjacent to the kingdom of Kauravas, the Hastinapur.

The novel picks up really well with the introduction of Yuvanashva parents, his father Prasenjit that dies very early, which leads his mother Shilavati to rule the kingdom. Here author brings up a very interesting argument over, why women cannot become the king and sit over the throne, which is a must read from the book. All the villagers and other neighbor kings were not really in acceptance mode, when shilavati was ruling. This was adharma according to them. Hence, Shilavati just became a proxy ruler, until his son is blessed with a child, that’s the right time to allow him to become the king.

To everyone’s dismay, Yuvanashva remained as childless though he was married to 3 different queens. His first wife Simantini, Second wife Poulomi and third wife Keshini. These characters are just the filler roles for this novel. There is not much about them that you can guffaw over it. Hence, Yuvanashva conducts a ritual by calling the sages Yaja and Upayaja to prepare a magic potion by offering richly to the gods through Yagna. But, unfortunately, Yuvanashva drinks this potion accidently and he becomes pregnant! :)

What follows after this accident is a splendid art work of fiction. Author had brought the woman in Yuvanashva through his tales of emotion, happiness and feelings. Yuvanashva's dilemma/jignasa over whether his firstborn son Mandhata, should call him MOTHER or FATHER ?. Whether he can announce the world that, he has given birth to Mandhata ? Whether the world will agree to such story?, etc.. To his surprise, when he revealed this secret to his son Mandhata a few years later, Mandhata also silences Yuvanashva citing the reason “Whatever happened has happened, now I am your son and you are my father”. Yuvanashva pleading his son Mandhata to call him as MOTHER at least once is one of those highly charged scene from the book.

Though this entire story takes place at the time of Mahabharata, The story of Vallahi and Yuvanashva takes the cake. The people of this kingdom were least bothered about what’s happening in Hastinapuri. One such example is when a bard comes and announces that, all the Kaurava army was destroyed in the battle of Kurukshetra, everyone exclaims “Oh, is it so??”, then they carry on with their regular chores. :)

Yuvanashva is one of those kings who don't participate in the battle of Kurukshetra, reason being obvious, he is pregnant. There are multiple references to bulls, fields, soil and seeds as euphemisms for sex and conception, and to illuminate the vexing question of “ownership” that arises when a woman is made pregnant by someone other than her husband (famously called as NIYOGA system). And then there are those troublesome dead ancestors, the “pitrus”, waiting for the arrival of a child so they can be reborn in the land of the living. Taking the form of crows, they perch outside bedchambers, waiting for quick results, flapping their wings impatiently when foreplay goes on for too long. (“Does it not bother you that your son’s seed is weak?” one of them indelicately asks Shilavati.) The book is bit "for adults only" too, that doesn't mean that, it is disgusting to read. I guess it is appropriate for the tale that the author is describing.

There are other supplement tales. Two best friends Sumedha and Somavat(i), their tales of how they were supposed to get married and it was severely dealt by Yuvanashva, by burning them alive. Later they became ghosts and were tormenting Yuvanashva.  These ghosts are responsible for Yuvanashva drinking the potion that was meant for his wives. It’s an interesting section to read. Shilavati, who cannot rule as a king because she is a woman. Pruthalashva (grandfather of Yuvanashva), who must sire a child because he is a man, a Yaksha named Sthunakarna, who surrenders his manhood so thatShikhandi (a woman) can become a man and a husband, and later reclaims it, and of the great warrior Arjuna with his many wives, who is forced to disguise himself as a woman (Brihannala) when a nymph (Urvashi) castrates him. And in this journey, we witness King Yuvanashva's struggle to be just to all, his conflict with himself, and his duty to bring about Dharma in his kingdom.

The climax part is what gave an amazing conclusion. Yuvanashva decides to renounce as a king and becomes a hermit. He wanders through the forests meeting sages and other learned rishis. He realizes there is more to life than what he had imagined. He slowly raises his consciousness and becomes Nilkanth Bhairavi or Yuvaneshwar.

Overall, this is a sporadically successful, intriguing, spectacular, beautiful, yet thought provoking book that tells an engrossing, subversive story but meanders a little too much.

Some of the quotes which I liked from all the characters:

- "What sounds sweetest, being called Mother or being called Father"?

- “Does it not bother you that your son’s seed is weak?”

- "You are assuming you know the boundaries of nature. You don't. There is more to life than your eyes can see."

- “Who is a King? Who can claim to be mother or a father? Who is the rightful heir to the throne?”

- "To be a woman is like becoming a prey, her every move watched by hungry predators. Every glance of man is a violation. No one is spared. No one. Not mother, not sister, not daughter. It is only fear of Dharma that keeps men in check. (Arjuna describing his story to Yuvanashva when he became Brihannala for one long year)"

The realization quotes of Yuvanashva:

- “It will not make sense to your logical mind. You will say, a parent is a parent, whether you are father or mother. But it is not the same. I cannot explain. You have to experience it. All I know is what I feel. I feel, while there is sweetness when your son calls you “father”, there is more sweetness when he calls you “mother”.

- “I am not sure that I am a man…I have created life outside me as men do. But I have also created life inside me, as women do. What does that make me? Will a body such as mine fetter or free me?”

- “That’s what they were. Vehicles of an idea. Two ideas. No. One idea, two expressions. Two halves of the same idea. Mutually interdependent” - (on being Male and Female).

- “Within you is your soul, Adi-natha as Shiva, silent, observant, still. Around you is matter, Adi-natha as Shakti, ever-changing, enchanting, enlightening, enriching, empowering”.

- “The imperfection of the human condition and our stubborn refusal to make room for all those in between”

Endnote (Quote) by the author:

“Did the events actually happen? Does it matter? Is it really about Shilavati, Yuvanashva, Shikhandi or Somvati? Or is it about love, law, identity, gender, power and wisdom? The impossibility of universal fairness?”

My Rating:
5/5

Book Review #27: Sita - An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana By Devdutt Pattanaik

This is yet another good book by my favorite mythological author Devdutt Pattanaik. We might have heard many versions of Ramayana's till today from our parents, teachers, grandparents, friends, colleague, etc.. But, this book stands class apart. This book tries to give us the various details of Ramayana not only a regular Valmiki Ramayana as in practice, but various versions of Ramayana that have been foretold around the world. It even includes the plays and folklore tales through which Ramayana has been passed on from generations to generations.

As I finished reading the book. Not only many of my questions have been answered. But also, many of the misconceptions have also been demystified. It is certainly a well researched book.

I am not going to give you all a regular review of the Ramayana. As most of us know the overall story, at least the overall Ramayana happenings. Instead, I will mention only those things, which I found worth to be noted in my review.

Sita:
First and foremost, the character Sita. She is one of the main protagonists of Ramayana. Is that enough to be known.? Certainly not. This book gives us the various traits of Sita and her tryst with the entire Ramayana. She is a well educated, well versed woman, full of wisdom, love and courage. She assesses the situation from her own point of view. We all admonish Rama as a bad person when he sent out Sita to the woods after their 14 years of exile, by questioning her chastity. But, in this book, Sita assesses her situation from Rama's point of view and she was happy to go!!. She tries to reason with her situation and comes to a conclusion. At sometimes you may feel, Sita is more mature than Rama in terms of actions, decisions and what not. I can say it aloud that, from this book, my respects for Sita has been multi folded.

Hanuman:
Another character worth to be noted is of Hanuman, the monkey god. He was the greatest devotee of Rama that mankind ever came to know. He actually teared down his chest to show the world that his lord, Sri Rama resides in his heart. But, that is not enough. He is full of knowledge and wisdom. He is a vedic scholar. The main section of the book, where Hanuman sets out to find Sita in Lanka. And, when he finds out Sita, the dialogues between them is a treat to read from the book. It is captured in such a fashion by the author that, you actually feel, this might have happened for real between Sita and Hanuman.


Hanuman the funny side: 
A funny incident which I would like to mention here. When Rama's 14 years of exile was over and they come back to Ayodhya. During Rama's coronation ceremony. Sita gifts Hanuman a pearl necklace for his help to fight Ravana. As Hanuman receives the necklace, he starts to bite every pearl and throw all the pearl one by one. Surprised Sita asks Hanuman why he was doing such things?. For which, Hanuman replied, "I was finding Rama in each of those pearls, and I threw it one by one after checking there was no Rama in it!!". This shows us that Hanuman's unconditional love for his master, lord, Sri Rama.

Hanuman the "generous":
It so happened after all the Ramayana tales that. Valmiki, supposed to be the original Ramayana writer was about to complete his writing of Ramayana. Then suddenly, a voice from the space told him that, Hanuman's version of Ramayana is better than yours. Saddened Valmiki thought no one will read his version of Ramayana. So he meets Hanuman and borrows Hanuman's version of Ramayana. To his astonishment, it was indeed a better version than his. So, Valmiki told Hanuman that, "Your version is way better than mine. And, no one will read my version of Ramayana". By hearing this, Hanuman tore down his version of Ramayana once and for all. Surprised Valmiki asks Hanuman, "Why you did that, your version was better than mine!!". Then, Hanuman replied "I wrote Ramayana because, I didn't want to forget my Rama and all those days I spent with him. You expect your version of Ramayana to reach to public, hence your Ramayana deserves to be saved than mine!!". This again shows us that, Hanuman is not just a mere monkey, but above all a generous, wisdomful person, who rose to be a godly figure.

Ravana:
When it comes to Ravana, there was no greater details in the book. As this book mainly focuses on Sita. Still, author had covered Ravana in greater detail and let his readers amuse by reading the knowledge and power that Ravana has possessed. The interesting section arrives when Ravana was shot by an arrow and he was about to leave his physical body. Rama asks Lakshmana to go and learn all the possible things from the greatest brahmana Ravana to gain his knowledge. When Lakshmana was not so welcomed by this idea. Rama himself will go to Ravana and lay down in front of him and asks him to educate him by his vast knowledge. This shows us that, even when you are fighting with your enemy, respect your enemy for his knowledge!!

Not only these tales that the author wrote, he also mentions the cycles of the Yugas and its a repeating phenomenon. Thereby, justifying his writing that, there may be thousands of Ramayana's that have happened in this never ending cycles of Yugas. As per the author, the 4 yugas (4 - Kritha Yuga), (3 - Treta Yuga), (2 - Dwapara Yuga) and the final one (1- Kali Yuga) that marks the end of the Yugas as proclaimed by Brahma. And this cycle repeats from Krita Yuga again. So, there are possibilities that, there may be many many Ramayana's happened that can't be imagined by humans.

This kind of surprising things are lot to find in this book. As a signature writing of Pattanaik, even in this book, he has produced some of the modern age practices that were directly linked to the practices that were followed in the Ramayana times. He also traces some of the modern places that can be directly or indirectly linked to the ancient Ramayana tales.

I would highly recommend this book to everyone. It surely helps you to gain and expand your knowledge on Ramayana.

My Rating:
5/5

Book Review #14: Business Sutra: A Very Indian Approach to Management - Devdutt Pattanaik

Business Sutra is a unique and thought provoking book. Probably, this is the first of its kind to have such a book on management. This book is written by one of my favourite author Devdutt Pattanaik. He has given all of us an idea of what we can easily call as "Going Back To Roots". Indeed, we as a modern society dwellers do not have much time to think about all of our ancient scriptures leave alone analyzing and judging them.

As a Chief Belief Officer (CBO) for future group of companies, Author had the great responsibility to uplift the morale of their staff and explain things in such a delicate manner which led him to write this book. I must admit that, Chief Belief Officer is a very innovative designation; Nowhere in India, this kind of designation has been introduced at the corporate level.

Author has put forth before us a strong point by combining Indic thoughts by comparing with business thought process. Thereby providing an Indic thought to the business management.

This book is neatly arranged in a chronological order having an introduction alone for almost 35 pages. In intro, he talks about the differences between Indic religion and other monotheistic religions and how this has been interpreted over many centuries. He strongly argues about why we as Indians, are in need of such books. He tries to set the stage for the book and tells us how he connected Mythology with Management and how this works for someone and may not work for some other.

This is certainly a readable book. At some point you may feel as if the author is trying to preach us and trying to impose something on us. Nevertheless, you got to skim through the book and you will definitely find it quite appealing. I will only highlight what I liked about the book. You can start at any point and any page in the book, still it makes sense.

I loved the section of the intro and first few pages where his analogy of Drishti, Divya-Drishti and Darshan - which is objective truth, subjective truth and subject in that order. He nearly talks about more than 100 sutras in the book which defines only one thing: To change the approach to the management and at the same time talk about its connection to our roots. Thereby connecting the Myths and Legends.

The book also makes a point about personal growth - which is NARA as opposed to NARAYANA, which really should be a mantra of everybody in a job or business. Author have tactically uses gods as a metaphor for conveying practically everything in an organization. This is about organizations have to to be churned (Samudra Manthan) in order to realize Goals (Amrith).

He compares Aarti of a god to the praises showered on employees - which certainly empowers them. The strong fact, that we employees need organizations and organizations do not need us!!. This takes us to the point where self-development and actualization is the only thing that matters for us as a human growth. He constantly warns the readers that, his book is a not a traditional book on management. He takes it a step further with every turn of the page and you will realize only when you read the book. The illustration diagrams enhances the values of the words which will add more quality to the concept. For instance, in one of his sutra "Mental violence is also violence" with an apt diagram. This will surely sink deep into the reader's subconscious which will help them to get connected with the book.

Overall, Business Sutra takes a look at the business (Western Business) from an Indian perspective and reverses the "gaze" and tries to come up with the "Indic Management Principles". This is a great read and one should not finish this in one sitting, rather, read in a slow and steady manner and be savoured by the way it means to be.

At the very end of the book, he also has a section of "How to reject this book?", for the detractors.

My Rating: 5/5

Book Review #9 - JAYA: AN ILLUSTRATED RETELLING OF THE MAHABHARATA

Book Front Cover

If you are from a traditional Hindu family. The stories of Mahabharatha would never escape you. We might have heard it from our parents, grandparents, teachers, relatives, priests, etc… what is more important thing to notice here is, every time you hear a story from Mahabharatha, you will get a new perception which makes you think more and try to adopt to your lives. This is not an exaggeration. The metaphorical references that the epic gives is beyond imagination and that is why, this epic has maintained its cult symbolism. The entire story, the characters, the references, the lessons to be learned is a complete package that anyone would get out of this.

I have read many books on Mahabharatha. And to that list, I have added this amazingly narrated book “Jaya – An Illustrated retelling of the Mahabharata” by the author, Devdutt Pattanaik. Without a doubt, this book is beyond my thoughts and covers every aspects of Mahabharata including how the title of the epic is decided over many centuries, what are the pre-consequences that led to Mahabharatha’s Kuru-kshetra war, who are all the descendants of Kuru and Pandava’s clan. The sheer brilliance of the author comes when, at the end of every chapter, he tries to set some of the current practices which directly links to the ancient Mahabharata times. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who are insisting on reading Mahabharata. You won’t be disappointed at the end. To cover this entire epic in just 370 odd pages with the illustrated picutres (which was drawn by Author’s car driver, who is also an artist) is not an easy job. Author has done enough ground work and referred ample number of ancient reference texts to justify his writings.

This book writing is not a one dimensional; rather, it is very lucid in style and engaging till the end. As I told before, at the end of every chapter, author tries to explain the practical aspects of the story for a better clarity and understanding. For example: Why Draupadi is worshipped in Tamil Nadu, Duryodhan is worshipped in Uttaranchal or Barbareek (The talking head) is worshipped in Rajasthan, etc...

The first section of the book stated that it was Lord Ganesha who, at the request of sage Vyasa, wrote down the entire text of Mahabharatha on Vyasa’s dictation. It was also said that, Ganesha told Vyasa to never stop reciting in between, which was agreed by Vyasa. Also, Vyasa requested God Ganesha to write only when he understands the meaning and intentions of the verses.

The plot opens up when Janamejaya, great grandson of Arjuna, grandson of Abhimanyu, Son of Parikshit was doing a Sarpa-Sattra yagna to kill all the snakes (there is an interesting story of why Janamejaya is conducting this ritual of killing snakes, which can be read in the book). It was stopped by Astika, a descendant from the Naga Clan. Opposing this, Janamejaya asks why this has to be stopped, When Astika tries to explain about his forefather’s sins against the Nagas which led to the great war Kuru-kshetra. Another Sage, Vayshampayana begins to explain the story of Jaya or Mahabharatha to Janamejaya. While all the snakes, which were falling onto the yagna fire were suspended in the mid-air.

The next sub-sequent chapters describes the stories of the innumerable ancestor characters which made it very complicated (rather you will forget most of them) to read. I went back to re-read about some of the characters to make the exact connections.

To make the entire big story as short one, I am going to put forth only the main events of the epic.

The main characters of the Mahabharata were 5 Pandavas, 100 Kauravas brothers, 1 sister, Krishna-Balarama brothers, Shakuni and others.

The story opens up when Panduraja (Husband of Kunti & Madri) was cursed by a sage that he will die the moment he touches his wives. Saddened by this curse, Panduraja along with his wives Kunti and Madri went down to forest.

There is an interesting story of Kunti having a boon that, she can have child from any god with a short recital of a special verse. Due to her very young curious age, Kunti initially tries to test mantra, she invokes the sun god to test it. Due to her astonishment, Sun God Surya descends infront of her and grants her the boon, a child is born, who is none other than Karna. By fearing about the society that will mock her having a child without marriage, Kunti decides to throw that child, she leaves that child in a cradle and leaves it in the river. And, from then on she never reveals about this child, even after she got married to Panduraja.

These 3 people lived in the forest, without any desires for the worldly affairs. Then one day, Panduraja reminds Kunti about her secret boon for having a child. This makes Kunti to invoke 3 other gods. Then the first 3 pandavas were born, Yudhishtira, Bheema and Arjuna.  Also, Kunti prays on behalf of Madri, thus Nakula and Sahadeva were born to Madri.

One day, when Panduraja were roaming in the forest, he sees his wife Madri taking bath in the river. Forgetting about the curse he got, he touches his wife. He dies on the same day. In the funeral process, Madri decides to follow the Sati system and she enters the funeral pyre leaving her kids to the care of Kunti.

As the story further reveals, having lost everything in a game of dice to Kauravas, Pandavas went on to exile for 13 years. During those 13 years, Pandavas listened to various stories from Sages, story of Nala-Damayanti and other important aspects of life. They learnt Humility, wisdom, and learned to be humble because of the tests that they went through. They were truly enlightened morally and spiritually. Whereas, Kauravas went on to becoming more and more selfish, greedy and were following outlaw practices.

After the exile, Pandavas initially seeks out a peace discussions with Kauravas asking them their part of the land, by sending Krishna as a mediator. When they learnt that Duryodhana refuses to give even a needle-tip of land, that’s when the actual war broke out. The battle of Kuru-Kshetra.

The book covers in greater details about the war. And how the war was fought between these 2 clans, who all dies in the war, who led the kaurava side and the pandava’s side. The fallout of Bhishma by Shikandi, Arjuna’s vow to kill Jayadratha, Arjuna’s dilemma to fight their own brothers, uncles, teachers and friends, Krishna’s teaching of following the Dharma through Bhagawad Geeta to Arjuna, the fall out of Karna, Krishna praising Karna, Yudhishtira’s only lie, Killing Drona through Yudhishtira’s lie,  fight between Arjuna and Yudhishtira, Ghatothkacha’s fight, Ashwatthama’s dreadful act of killing 5 sons of Draupadi, Bhima’s vow of killing Duryodhan and presenting his blood to Draupadi, Tale of Barbareek (the talking head), Gandhari’s curse to Krishna, fight between the Yadavas within themselves, Death of Krishna, etc...

At the end of the war, Pandavas have won the battle with the help of Krishna. Eldest Pandava, Yudhishtira became the rightful king. Full of guilt, he thought he didn’t deserve to be ruling the kingdom on the dead corpses, crying widows of Kauravas. But, with the strong persuasion of Krishna and fellow Pandavas he accepted the throne.

According to the book, it is believed that Yudhishtira rules for over more than 38 years after the Mahabharata war. Eventually, Pandavas decides to renounce the world and decides to walk towards the mount Mandara in Himalayas, it was believed that, this mountain leads to Heaven or Swarga, where all their desires are fulfilled. While walking towards the Heaven, a dog followed Yudhishtira till the end, whereas, the other Pandavas including draupadi tired of walking and fell down dead. He alone reached the swarga and even that dog has reached along with him.!!

To his surprise, Yudhishtira finds out the all the Kauravas are there in Swarga. When he enquires about his brothers and common wife draupadi, he was informed that they all are in Naraka or Hell. Having disappointed with this, he was wondering why the criminals like Kauravas are in Swarga, but not his brothers. This shows that, Yudhistira though reached swarga, he is still not detached from the materials desires. When gods explained him everything about the detachment form the worldly affairs, he was convinced and he went to bathe in Ganga to purify himself and eventually renewed and humbled himself.

At the end...

“Jaya” shouted Indra. “Jaya” Shouted the Gandharvas. “Jaya” Shouted the Devas, “Jaya” shouted the Rishis. For Yudhishtira it was ultimate triumph over himself. This is the spiritual victory or Jaya. This is the ultimate aim of the epic “Jaya” or “Mahabharatha”.

Having heard this tale, finally Janamejaya asks “Why do you call this Jaya?, as there in no real victory".

Then Vaisampaayana explains Janamejaya that.

“There are 2 kinds of victories in this world.  “Jaya” and “Vijaya”.

Vijaya means material victory, where there is a loser and a winner.

Jaya means a spiritual victory, where there are no winners, no losers.

In Kuru-kshetra war there was Vijaya and not Jaya. When Yudhishtira overcame his rage and forgave Kauravas, there was Jaya. This is the true ending of the tale.

Janamejaya finally inherited the wisdoms of his forefathers. Peace descended upon Janamejaya, son of Parikshit, grandson of Abhimanyu, Great grandson of Arjuna.

He finally said, “Shanti”, “Shanti”, “Shanti”.

This marks the end of the book.

Some of my favorite quotes from this book:

“..the point of existence in this dynamic, ever-changing world then was not to aspire or achieve, but to introspect.” Pg xi

“Who decides what justice is? How does one end this unending spiral of revenge where everyone believes they are right and their opponents are wrong?” pg 6

“When  I die, eat my flesh and you will be blessed with great knowledge. That shall be your true inheritance.” Pg 53 (Panduraja’s secret message to his sons, the Pandavas; Only Sahadeva manages to do this by eating a piece of his father’s flesh. But, a voice from the air told him not to reveal this until his death. Thus sahadeva remains as a neutral character in the epic, though he knew the exact results of Kuru-kshetra war and other story).

“…Strength alone is not enough in this world; divine grace is needed.” Pg 123

“…Civilization comes into prosper when the small fish is rescued from the big fish; civilization comes to an end when the fish keeps growing bigger than its pond.” ( My Most Favorite Quote) Pg 141

“Thus, conflict comes from rage, rage comes from fear, and fear comes from lack of faith. That lack of faith which corrupted the Kauravas continued to lurk in the minds of the Pandavas. It had to be purged.” – pg 343

My Rating: 5/5