Story telling & the Mahabharata

The Mahabharata is one of the holy texts of Hindus. I want to declare up front I am not and have never been a Hindu. The Mahabharata is probably one of the longest stories told in verse (in Sanskrit) which I am unable to read. My familiarity of the the book is through an English translation.

I have enjoyed thoroughly the stories in the the Mahabharata. The numerous stories contained within the book have great heroes and heroine, brave as well as noble deeds, spells and curses. Some of the stories of the Mahabharata (and the Ramayana, one of the other major holy Hindu texts) have been popularied as children stories by Madhur Jaffrey - yes the cookery writer and actor. Without having to accept the religious beliefs behind them the stories of the Mahabharata, I think the stories can be enjoyed by all. I also know that I began to understand and enjoy Bollywood films more once I had read the Mahabharata because of the references to characters and plot lines in wider Indian society and culture. BTW TV serial and even animated films in India regularly portray stories from the Mahabharata. Those shouldn't be too difficult to access. e.g. "Arjun, the warrior prince" film is a good example of one of the main characters in the Mahabharata.

I'm not sure, but given that the US has good quality and numerous libraries, i expect people could borrow a copy of the Mahabharata.

So, I've set the ball rolling, what are your ideas about the matter.

I found the text online at http://www.holybooks.com/mahabharata...-12-pdf-files/

Which Bollywood films do you recommend?

YesNo

Which kind/genre are you interested in?

Comedy: 3 Idiots ( poking fun at the education system); PK (poking fun at godmen/religions); Munna Bhai (gangsters and Mahatama Gandhi); Bluffmaster,recent version (about conmen); Delhi Belly (no songs but lots of laughs.)

Historical themed: Jodhaa Akbar (also a romance); Lagaan (The British in India and thmed upon the game of cricket)

Thriller: Parinda (old version); Once Upon a Time in Mumbai; Ghajini; Talash

Other good one also include: Black; Bagbhan; Aarakshan

If you go to the tv network NDTV's website you can look up reviews of Bollywood and Hollywood films. Link below:
http://www.ndtv.com/

The Bhagavad Gita is easily the most well portion of the Mahabharata. The Legend of Bagger Vance is an excellent modern adaptation of this story.

HCabret

Yes on reading the whole of the Mahabharata the importance of the Bhagavad Gita section becomes fairly apparent. Perhaps you want to share with members unfamiliar with Hinduism the essence of what the Gita contains/covers.

I never saw the film about Bagger Vance and because of the reviews I was put off from viewing it.

Interesting! I lived in India for 3 months couple years ago for work and I love the culture! Just wondering, is the Mahabhrata a narrative poetry?

I almost forgot about this thread. Are you interested in reading the Mahabharata, Yon Lee?

I suspect it is narrative poetry, but I don't read Sanskrit.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by YesNo

I almost forgot about this thread. Are you interested in reading the Mahabharata, Yon Lee?

I suspect it is narrative poetry, but I don't read Sanskrit.

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I am a very new reader, but I generally try to read books on different cultures to see where the roots of these cultures' mythologies come from. I'm planning to also read "Journey to the west" when I'm done with all the books I have now. At the moment I'm starting small by reading Children's Literature, but I'd definitely love to pick up on the Mahabhrata sometime!

I work in the animation field and I love writing stories and creating comics off of them! I'd love to create a world full of my own mythologies someday! I'm very inspired by Tolkien, C.S.Lewis and Rowling!