Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata

I have been reading the works of Mr Devdutt Pattnaik for over a year now and I have become a fan of his collection. This book is another masterpiece of his like his "The Book of Ram". This book follows the story of the Mahabharata and does it in the best possible way. Consisting of stories collected by sages and retold as folklores it gives many insights and different perspectives of the numerous events in the epic. The author has also explained the significance of many things and given proper references of the stories which are presented, you will have a lot more knowledge about the Mahabharata, the Hindu religious principles, Indian culture and Dharma once you have finished reading this book. Written in simple and understandable language this is one of the best content made on the topic. Though not very detailed, it covers every small emotion of the characters, and at no point does it feel stretched or slow or rushed. So, readers, keep reading, and Devdutt sahab, keep writing. Thanks

I started reading the book and on the second page of it was written, "Abhimanyu, father of Arjuna". I was almost given up at this point, but continue to pardon this horrendous editing. It is most certainly an interesting read. There are probably over 100 novel insights. However, to those who have read the original Mahabhrata, it is rather unclear whether these insights are author's interpretations or whether it is what Vyasa intended. There were many that are simply wrong and do not conform to any Bharatha that I have read (For example Killing of Iravan, why Kunti stops after having 3 kids. These border on being down right absurd and contradictory, thereby doing great injustice to the epic). Some episodes that were a part of original Mahabharata are left out (Jayadratha's Penance for example) and some of them are interchanged. Some of the sub-stories show principles of jainism, which leads me to believe that the author relied on a Jain version of Bharatha. Lastly, the author reports 1 Billion deaths in the Kurukshetra war. I am horrified (not about the deaths, but at the author's math). 18 armies with 2 Lakh soldiers each fought the war not 1 Billion.

We all know the overall story of Maharashtra,have read in school books or watched some or several adaptations of the epic in TV serials,yet this familiar story is presented in such a way that it feels like a total different story. This interpretation drives home the fact that there are no good or evil people,just good or evil acts which all must be accounted for either in this life or the next. The good old Indian philosophy of making sense of the non sensical world. Highly recommended.