Epics

Epics Jan 11, 2018

Mahābhārata – Episode 3 – Birth of the Pāṇḍavas and Kauravas, Death of Pāṇḍu

Back at Hastināpura, Gāndhārī too was pregnant; even as she was carrying, she heard that Kuntī had given birth to Yudhiṣṭhira. She hadn’t given birth even after...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj, Hari Ravikumar

Epics Dec 28, 2017

Mahābhārata – Episode 2 – Birth of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Pāṇḍu, and Vidura

The two children who were born to Satyavatī passed away at a young age. Satyavatī was saddened, thinking about her responsibility towards the lineage of her par...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj, Hari Ravikumar

Epics Dec 14, 2017

Mahābhārata – Episode 1 – Birth of Bhīṣma

ĀDI-PARVA नारायणं नमस्कृत्य नरञ्चैव नरोत्तमम् । देवीं सरस्वतीं व्यासं ततो जयमुदीरयेत् ॥ Having saluted Nārāyaṇa, the human and the divine; Sarasvatī...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj, Hari Ravikumar

Epics Nov 28, 2017

The Literary Approach in the Composition of Vacanabhārata

With this part, we conclude the translation series of the preface to Vacanabhārata. The current article describes the literary approach of AR Krishna Sastri in...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj, Hari Ravikumar

Epics Nov 21, 2017

Mahābhārata’s Message for Today’s World

The primary characteristics of the modern world are material wealth and individual freedom [c. 1950]. Today, an individual desires to be independent as much as...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj, Hari Ravikumar

Epics Nov 14, 2017

Mahābhārata and the Aspects of 'Karma'

The word ‘karma’ means ‘activity.’ In a narrower sense, it can also mean the Vedic rituals of yajña and yāga, building of socially useful amenities such as lake...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj, Hari Ravikumar

Epics Nov 07, 2017

Mahābhārata - Difficulties

There are times when we face difficulties as a result of our own ignorance, indiscretion, dullness of intellect, stupidity, etc., but at other times, we face di...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj, Hari Ravikumar

Epics Oct 31, 2017

Mahābhārata - The Vagaries of Comforts and Discomforts

The Vagaries of Comforts and Discomforts Why are there difficulties, troubles, sorrows, and atrocities on earth? Nobody desires for these. Everyone wants to be...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj, Hari Ravikumar

Epics Oct 24, 2017

Mahābhārata - Ahiṃsā

Mahābhārata - Ahiṃsā The trait of sattva does not mean non-activity or lack of valour. The same can be said of ahiṃsā too. We have seen earlier that ahiṃsā is...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj, Hari Ravikumar

Epics Oct 17, 2017

Mahābhārata: - Saṃnyāsa, Yajña-dāna-tapas

  Saṃnyāsa, Yajña-dāna-tapas By the time of the Mahābhārata, it seems that several people had given up worldly life and had taken up saṃnyāsa; they pract...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj, Hari Ravikumar

Epics Oct 10, 2017

Mahābhārata: Deities, Temples, Rituals

Bhīṣma, Yudhiṣṭhira, and Kṛṣṇa have been portrayed as the noble characters in the Mahābhārata. Among these, Yudhiṣṭhira looks upon Kṛṣṇa as an elder brother and...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj, Hari Ravikumar

Epics Oct 03, 2017

Mahābhārata: Worship of the Deities

According to the Gītā, dedicating every activity to the all-pervading brahman or working with divine inspiration is called ‘arcana’ (roughly translated as ‘wors...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj, Hari Ravikumar