The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Translated into English Prose

Project GutenbergProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 4.5
Word count
1.3M words
Chapters
135

Tags

English Originals Religion Religious PhilosophyMilitary StrategyFamily FeudPower GameHumanistic CareMoral DilemmaMythic NarrativeAncient Indian CivilizationEpic TraditionCross-Cultural View

Summary

This is the Project Gutenberg electronic edition of the prose English translation of the Mahabharata, a classic of Indo-Iranian literature. Its value lies first in being "complete and usable": it renders the epic in prose, lowering the barrier of reading verse and making it a suitable entry text for understanding the narrative framework of the Indian epic. Second, the Gutenberg version is easy to search, copy, and read offline, which is especially friendly to researchers who need to cite plot points, characters, or conduct textual comparisons. It should not be treated as a highly literary translation, but rather as a reliable content carrier: read the core narrative threads first, then return to character relationships and ethical discussions. Given its enormous length, it is advisable to use it alongside a guide, chronology, or character list to avoid getting lost among the many interpolated stories. It suits readers with a clear reading plan rather than those seeking light entertainment.

Editor's review

This is the Project Gutenberg electronic edition of the prose English translation of the Mahabharata, a classic of Indo-Iranian literature. Its value lies first in being "complete and usable": it renders the epic in prose, lowering the barrier of reading verse and making it a suitable entry text for understanding the narrative framework of the Indian epic. Second, the Gutenberg version is easy to search, copy, and read offline, which is especially friendly to researchers who need to cite plot points, characters, or conduct textual comparisons. It should not be treated as a highly literary translation, but rather as a reliable content carrier: read the core narrative threads first, then return to character relationships and ethical discussions. Given its enormous length, it is advisable to use it alongside a guide, chronology, or character list to avoid getting lost among the many interpolated stories. It suits readers with a clear reading plan rather than those seeking light entertainment.

Who it's for

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Reading tips

  1. Read the character relationship chart and main plot summary first, then enter the main text to reduce disorientation.
  2. Read in stages by book, making brief notes on characters and events after each part.
  3. When encountering many interpolated stories, skip the branches first, grasp the main thread, then return to read them.
  4. Read alongside background material on the Indian epic to help understand the ethical discussions and narrative structure.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

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FAQ

Is this version a verse translation or a prose translation? According to the title information, this is an English prose translation, not verse. Prose is usually easier for understanding plot and dialogue, but the literary rhythm is weaker, making it suitable for readers focused on content comprehension.
Can I read it without a background in Indian culture? Yes, but it is advisable to first learn the main characters and basic framework of the epic. The book contains many interpolated stories, genealogies, and ethical discussions, which can be disorienting without background knowledge; a guide or character list will make reading smoother.
What kind of reading is the electronic edition suitable for? The Gutenberg electronic edition is easy to search, copy, and read offline, making it suitable for course reading, textual comparison, and note-taking. If you want a beautifully typeset reading experience, you may need to choose another edition.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Project Gutenberg Author

Project Gutenberg is not a single author but a nonprofit digital library founded by Michael Hart in 1971 and one of the world's earliest free ebook platforms. It relies on volunteers to digitize, proofread, and freely distribute public-domain works and is now operated by the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Its collection contains 2,692 works, mainly religious texts, epics, and story collections, including the King James Bible and the Douay-Rheims volumes, the epic Mahabharata, a literal translation of the Arabian Nights, and Danish editions of the Old and New Testaments. Public information is limited, and its nature is closer to a public-interest compiling and dissemination body; these texts are open to the public, easy to consult and circulate, and have had a profound influence on the spread of ebooks and the preservation of public-domain resources.