Mahabharata: The Greatest Spiritual Epic of All Time Hardcover – July 13, 1999

Gripping read. Do not hesitate!

I've always wanted to read the Mahabharata, but have always been blocked by the huge length. I'm interested, but just not *that* interested. So when I saw this version, even thought it's still pretty long, I jumped on the chance. It's a great story itself, but the problem is that the author has the difficult task of shortening it and making it attractive to the average reader. This is not an easy job. The result is that there is a lot of summarizing, and I actually wonder if there's any translation that actually made it into the book.I really noticed it when they got to the Bhagavad Gita chapter. I'm actually quite familiar with that work, and have read it many times. But here, it was so chopped up and summarized that it was almost a completely different work. All the spirituality was gone, and I barely recognized it. If you squeeze all the juice out of an orange, then leave what's left, one person might argue that it's still technically an orange, but from another perspective, no not really. That's exactly how this felt. Yeah, that was basically what Krishna was saying, but no, that's not what Krishna was saying at all. The juice was gone. So extrapolating out from there, if that's what happened to all the other chapters too, yes, this is the Mahabharata, but a version with all the honey squeezed out of it.I still gave it 3 stars, because I think it's great to have something like this around (this is better than not reading it at all), but if you are really serious about this work, I really think you should set aside some time and read a translation of the original without all the corner cutting and summarizing. My 3 stars is for this particular version, not for the actual Mahabharata itself. ;-)

I listened and read this version of the Mahabharata with another version of the Bhagavad Gita translated and performed by Stephen Mitchel.I feel I have come closer to knowing the Blessed Lord by listening and reading this and other wonderful books by Krishna Dharna.Peace to all.

This book is the GOAT. You have to read it for yourself to understand. Everything in this book has been copied in other holy books, but this seems to be the source of them all.

I am very much a student of Eastern philosophies and the Mahabharata was a must read book. Even though this an abridged addition it took me several months to complete it. First of all the reading caused me to better understand the various Hindu religious ideas that were being discussed. The second stumbling block that caused me to understand were the names of both mortals and Gods, how they related to each other, and the story. I had to repeat the process again as I either forgot or became confused which added to the timeI think this a must reading, especially the Bhagavad Gita, which to me is condensed in the book, thus must be read by itself.I spent time on some Hindu websites reading the synopsis and this greatly assisted my understanding.It is worth the time and effort to understand the book.Redsoxpapa

""Krisna, my Lord, don't you recognize me?" he said amid spurts of laughter while standing up with due respect. "I am the real winner of this war, the uncontrolled ego, the Prince of this world. I welcome You and all the Gods to my production. Isn't it amazing that I can turn human beings into deranged homicidal maniacs with a flick of my wrist? Look at the thousands of dismembered bodies and the flowing river of blood. Look at all the suffering produced in the name of self-importance. Incredible, isn't it?" He roared with laughter and continued. "Congratulations to all the Gods, humanity deserved the punishment.""--Excerpt from my newsletter: The Eye of the Dragon

The author writes with such flow that reading this is like watching an epic movie unfold in your mind.

Amazingly brilliant!! A beautifully spiritually rich read.What can one say about one of greatest spiritual epics of all time- Roma-harsanam

I an already half way through the book, the story is amazing, and it is well written and an epic tale.I have read other reviews that said it was hard to follow because of the names, I made a family tree as I went along and by 100 pages I knew who everyone was without having to refer to the family tree.Loving it so far and don't want the story to end.

Took me 6 months to read on/off love the book, will read it again in near future, author was very precise and kept me glue to the book

Beautifully written epic story of the Mahabharata. The words transport you back in time whereby the reader can visualize the great scenes set by the author. Truly marvellous. If you are looking for a Mahabharata book than this is definitely for you. Highly recommended. Thank you.

The book is beautifully done. Very artistic illustrations and the fun for there text is also high class. I bought it for my sister, but will read it before I send it top her for Christmas. I have seen the 3 part film of this a few times and am looking forward to reading the whole story. I can recommend buying this edition of the Mahabharata without any hesitations. Even if you don't ever read it.

Brilliant book, I loved it...I know my family kept going on about the teachings of the Mahabharata, but this was the book that finally made me come to an understanding of the great tale!