Marvels & Mysteries of the Mahabharata (Probing The Folds of Indias Epochal Tragedy)

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About the Book

The Great Epic of India is also the universal epic of humanity. In Peter Brook’s film adaptation, Vyasa calls the Mahabharata the ‘political history of mankind’. A great war leaves no lasting fruits of victory. Does not the prediction of a mournful existence for his victors by the dying Duryodhana, remind one of the victorious Duke of Wellington’s words that only a battle lost is as sad as a battle won? This message, apart from the inexorability of Time and Destiny, is central to the essence of the Mahabharata. It is exalted tragedy, made unique by the central role of Krshna as the Blessed Lord of the Bhagavad- Gita – the main mover for good in the Just War at Kurukshetra; by the valour of Bheeshma, Drona, Arjuna, Bheema, Kama and others; by the uniqueness of Draupadi as a many-faceted heroine; and by the scholarship and philosophy of the righteous Yudhishthira. The Mahabharata is tragic not only because of the mutually destructive civil war it depicts, but also for the ushering in of the amoral Knli-yuga. The Mahabharata tragedy, with its deep message of stoical quietism, sensitizes us into viewing the ephemerality of life’s pleasures and pains, with tranquil detachment.

About the Author

ABHIJIT BASU, one-time research scientist and former administrator of government finances, is presently engaged as part-time independent director in the corporate sector. An avowed admirer of the ideal of the Renaissance Man, Basu has also been a life-long follower of the liberal arts, especially Sanskrit, English and Bengali literature, and history, apart from his keen interest in the sciences.

Of late, Basu has been busy as an author and polymath editor, covering a broad spectrum of topics and ideas. His first book, ‘a collection of critical, scholarly and absorbing essays,’ titled Prophets, Poets and Philosopher-Kings: Sketches on India’s Spiritual & Literary Heritage (Celestial Books 2012), was well received:

Versatile scholar Abhijit Basu’s analytical and interdisciplinary research into the eternal and transnational relevance of the overwhelming ancient India, enriched with lucid prose and current bibliography, is invaluable for aspiring researchers and students of literature and cultural studies. (The Tribune, 20 May 2012.)