《摩诃婆罗多》的复述将整部史诗浓缩成一个小胶囊，这部史诗最初被称为《摩诃婆罗多》。除了复述《摩诃婆罗多》中有趣的部分外，这本书最受观众喜爱的是帕塔尼克对与史诗相关的各种当地民间传说和故事的演绎，这些故事以全新的体裁呈现。作者巧妙地将史诗中鲜为人知的民间故事包括在内，同时保持了其原始形式和风格。
这本书共分108章。巴巴拉克、阿拉万、阿斯蒂卡、马达维和贾米尼的故事构成了这本书的一个特殊部分。除此之外，帕塔纳克还引入了一些有趣的持续传统，比如泰米尔纳德邦寺庙中的德劳帕迪崇拜。
除此之外，还有一整节专门讨论根据描述性天文学信息描述的库鲁克什特拉战争。通过将这些有趣的细节与史诗的各种地方版本融合在一起，作者试图创造一部史诗的泛印度版本，从远古时代起，这部史诗就帮助塑造了整个国家的文化和历史。
这本书由企鹅出版社出版，对于那些有兴趣了解这个国家复杂的宗教和文化的人，以及那些第一次听到这部史诗的人来说，可能是一个很好的选择。
Jaya: A Retelling of the Mahabharata (Audiobook)
Jaya: A Retelling of the Mahabharata has the whole epic, which was originally known as Jaya, condensed into a tiny capsule in this book. Other than retelling the interesting parts of the Mahabharata, what makes this book a favourite among audiences is Pattanaik’s rendering of the various local folklores and tales that are associated with the epic, which have been presented in a whole new genre. With a master stroke, the author has elaborated the storyline by including lesser-known folklore stories of the epic, while keeping intact its original form and style.
The book has been divided into 108 chapters. Stories of Barbareek, Aravan, Astika, Madhavi, and Jaimini form a special portion of this book. Other than this, Pattanaik has also introduced some intriguing ongoing traditions, like the worship of Draupadi in temples of Tamil Nadu.
Along with this, a whole section has been devoted to the Kurukshetra war described on the basis of descriptive astronomical information. By infusing these interesting details along with the various local versions of the epic, the author has attempted to create a pan-Indian version of the epic that has, since times immemorial, helped in shaping the culture and history of the whole country.
Published by Penguin, this book may be a great choice for those intrigued to know about the religious and cultural intricacies of the country as well as those who are hearing the epic for the first time.
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