The Mahabharata. Volume 1
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The Mahabharata, India's longer epic, was first composed by Maharishi Vyasa and has been passed down through the oral tradition of guru and sishya, significantly influencing the history, culture, and art of the Indian subcontinent and much of Southeast Asia. With 100,000 couplets, it is seven times longer than the Iliad and the Odyssey combined, making it the greatest recorded epic known. The narrative is a profound exploration of life, encompassing a spectrum of human experiences, including violence and tragedy. It recounts a monumental war from around 5000 years ago, resulting in the death of ten million warriors on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, marking the end of the dwapara yuga and the beginning of the current kali yuga. At its core lies the Bhagavad Gita, where Krishna imparts eternal dharma to the warrior Arjuna amidst the chaos. The Mahabharata's relentless action ultimately seeks the Gita's sacred stillness, which endures as a symbol of hope amid desolation. Featuring a rich cast of characters, both human and divine, this epic continues to captivate readers and scholars alike. This new rendering presents the story in modern prose, reviving the excitement, magic, and grandeur of the original for contemporary audiences.