Review: Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata

Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata by Devdutt Pattanaik
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I could not finish this book as this is a not a retelling of Mahabharat. This is an ego trip. The conclusion drawn are absurd, illogical and have no basis in the text of original Mahabharat. That is not the only defect. The story telling is for kids it seems. There is no story. This is just a description of series of events. That is not fiction. There are hardly any dialogues.

Some absurd conclusions:

1. Shiva is considered ardh narishwara, a god who is half woman. The children born through his grace possess both male and female qualities. He gives example of Shikhandi. But what about many other like Hanuman.

2. Kunti insists they marry the same woman because she fears if Draupadi marries only Arjuna, sexual jealousy will cause a rift between the brothers. (Later on he tells besides Draupadi, each pandva had other wives. )

3. The epic ends not with the victory of the Pandavas over the Kauravas but with Yudhishtira’s triumph over himself. This is spiritual victory or Jaya. This is the ultimate aim of the great epic.

4. Vyasa is well aware how the old are treated by many families especially when they do not have children of their own and when all their power is gone. Yudhishtira symbolizes how things should be, while Bhima personifies the grudges the youth bear towards the older generations for actions in the past that have left them scarred for life.




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