Parva: A Tale of War, Peace, Love, Death, God and Man

Book Specification

Book Description

About the Book

Parva is acknowledged to be S.L. Bhyrappa’s greatest work. Non- Kannadigas who have read it in its Hindi and Marathi translations consider it one of the masterpieces of modem Indian literature. It is a transformation of an ancient legend into a modem novel. In this process, it has gained national credibility and a human perspective. The main incident, the Bharata war, symbolic of the birthpangs of a new world-order, depicts a heroic but vain effort to arrest the disintegration and continue the prevailing order. It is viewed from the stand points of the partisan participants and judged with reference to the objective understanding of Krishna. Narration, dialogue, monologue and comment all are employed for its presentation. Shot through with irony, pity and understanding objectivity, the novel ends with the true tragic vision of faith in life and hope for mankind.

About the Author

S.L. Bhyrappa is one of the foremost Indian novelists writing Kannada. Born in 1934 in Santeshivara, a village in Hassan district in Karnataka he took Ph.D. degree in Aesthetics from M.S. University and then taught Philosophy at Regional College of English, Mysore for nearly four decades.

Author of more than twenty five novels, four volumes of literary criticism and an autobiography, Dr. Bhyrappa is a major voice. Vansha Vriksha, Daatu, Saakshi and Parva are some of his important novels. Recipient of Karnataka Sahitya Akademi Award (twice), Sahitya Akademi Award (1975) and Pampa Award from Govt. of Karnataka. Dr. Bhyrappa represented India on several literary assignments to various parts of the world.

Foreword

My thinking about the historical veracity of the events of the Mahabharata began about twenty years ago, and took an interim shape during a discussion I had with Dr. Narayanappa in 1966 in Chikamagalur. He had tried several times earlier to persuade me to write a novel based on the Mahabharata. The following year, when I was roaming round in the Gadhwal area in the Himalayan region, I had the occasion to spend some time in a small hamlet which practised polyandry. The local folk believed that this custom had been in existence since the time of Draupadi. The practice was predominant in the rural areas of two Taluks. Later I visited Pandukeshwar, nestling in the green land between Badri and joshimarh, where I learnt the details about the local customs and history. It was then that I began to conceive hazily some of the characters in the Mahabharata. From 1971 on, I was deeply engaged in serious research pertaining to the historicity of the epic. After a thorough reading of the original Vyasa version I of the text; I undertook a deep investigation into the economic, political, religious and social life during the last phase of the Vedic culture. After a study stretching over years, in 1974 I toured and briefly lived in those parts of the Himalayan region which were associated with the Mahabharata. Subsequently in 1975, I visited and studied Dwarka, Aravali ranges, Viratanagar, Mathura, Delhi, Kurukshetra, Hastinavati, Barnava, Chakranagar, Rajgir and other places connected with the epic. But prior to this study tour and investigation, I armed myself with the necessary knowledge, thanks to the help of Dr. Ramesh, then with the Mysore unit of the Archaelogical Survey of India. Mrs. Leela, incidentally a granddaughter of the great teacher and scholar, A.R. Krishnasastry, who was on the staff of the Library of Mysore University, assisted me generously with relevant books and documents. Throughout my researches, Sri N. Balasubrahmanya played a key role in help’ing me clarify my ideas on the subject, through intense discussions. At one stage, such help flowed from Pa. Yem. Acharya. Experts like Dr. J.J. Thakur, Acharya Devendraji Sharma and Dr. H.A. Phadke provided me with historical data pertaining respectively to Dwaraka, Yiratnagar and Kurukshetra. In Delhi, Dr. B.Y. Subbarayappa, Chief Editor, Indian Council of History of Science, placed at my disposal very useful material.

I completed writing this novel between 12 October 1975 and 27 December 1976, covering a period of one year and two months. Some of the early portions were written in a room in the Yedanta College of the Ramakrishna Ashram in Mysore. Later M.S.K. Prabhu, Prabhushankar