---
product_id: 18763804
title: "The Mahabharata: A Modern Rendering, Vol 1"
price: "Rp1936288"
currency: IDR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 9
url: https://www.desertcart.id/products/18763804-the-mahabharata-a-modern-rendering-vol-1
store_origin: ID
region: Indonesia
---

# The Mahabharata: A Modern Rendering, Vol 1

**Price:** Rp1936288
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## Description

The Mahabharata: A Modern Rendering, Vol 1 [Menon, Ramesh] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Mahabharata: A Modern Rendering, Vol 1

Review: That upon which Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and all else is based and pales - In India in 2005, I prayed to be guided to a version of the Mahabharata that would be best for me. I found myself in a bookstore looking at the two huge volumes of Ramesh Menon's translation. These I shipped home and didn't see for some months. When they arrived I started reading and didn't come up for air till both volumes had been consumed during an intense reading binge that transported me into that world as an eyewitness. Ramesh Menon's story-telling skills are superb; his prose beautiful. In the Mahabharata lie the seeds of so many of the hero's journeys we flock to in modern tales and in film. (My biggest surprise is that George Lucas, Peter Jackson and the like have not yet seized upon it to make a full-scale Hollywood trilogy). After reading this version, I ordered Menon's rendering of the Ramayana; equally compelling. Recently I had the urge to re-read his Mahabharata, and as I am about to start the big fat second volume, discovered it is available in kindle format, which will spare me of lugging around the huge volumes as I doubtless return to it many more times. Menon acknowledges Kamala Subramaniam as a one of the sources for his translation. I've read her version of the Srimad Bhagavatum and find their styles very similar. Yet Menon is a true poet with a gift for bridging the ancient world in a modern rendering, as he calls it, and those weaned on the great epics can look forward to a great read. I should add that prior to reading this, I had very little background in the epics of India. These two volumes turned on a great interest in them, which has led to much broader readings. The Mahabharata an adventure and war story that is first and foremost is a disguise for a treatise on dharma. The agonizing of the main characters on the fine points of right-action as determined by law, virtue and motive under trying circumstances is set forth through many lenses. All the attributes of human emotion and existence from the most noble to the depraved, are embodied in divine and demonic spirits born to play out a great drama of and upon the earth. As in all great spiritual traditions, timeless truths are encoded in parables; our human attributes as characters in a play. This version is a great entry for anyone seeking to approach this ancient fountain of wisdom from which so much of earth's treasured lore has sprung.
Review: The best abridged English translation I have come across - I've looked around a lot both in the US and in India for good translations of this epic. The problem is that translations are either a) way too long for a casual reader (the original is, after all, some 5000 to 10,000 pages long depending on which version you look at), or b) they are too short and leave out too much of the subtle and rich detail, or c) they contain awkward language that sucks the poetry out of the story. Until I found this, the best retelling of it was actually the 94 episode DVD set, which required an inordinate amount of time and attention, and which dragged a bit here and there. In terms of books, the best condensed version I had come across was the one translated by Kamala Subramaniam. It told the story well enough, but it lacked the soul and spirit that the story deserved; it was more of a straight, matter-of-fact retelling. Then I came across this Menon translation. It is a brilliant version that deserves a wide audience. It is 1500 pages long (it is a 2 volume set), but cuts out a lot of the stuff you don't need to know, but not so much that you're left with the skeleton of the story. The story is told with an elegance and poetry that I have not seen in any other translation. Once you pick it up, you do not find the length intimidating, but instead you feel glad that it is so long because you can tell immediately that it's going to be intensely rewarding to read all the way through. A great translation that I would recommend to anyone who wants to read this amazing book that has few peers in literature.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #877,070 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #14,640 in Classic Literature & Fiction #26,407 in Literary Fiction (Books) #42,243 in Historical Fiction (Books) |
| Book 1 of 2  | The Mahabharata: A Modern Rendering |
| Customer Reviews | 4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars (227) |
| Dimensions  | 7.25 x 1.65 x 9.25 inches |
| Edition  | 0 |
| ISBN-10  | 0595401872 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0595401871 |
| Item Weight  | 2.31 pounds |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 732 pages |
| Publication date  | July 20, 2006 |
| Publisher  | iUniverse |

## Images

![The Mahabharata: A Modern Rendering, Vol 1 - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61MWVwN2ClL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ That upon which Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and all else is based and pales
*by N***K on July 14, 2012*

In India in 2005, I prayed to be guided to a version of the Mahabharata that would be best for me. I found myself in a bookstore looking at the two huge volumes of Ramesh Menon's translation. These I shipped home and didn't see for some months. When they arrived I started reading and didn't come up for air till both volumes had been consumed during an intense reading binge that transported me into that world as an eyewitness. Ramesh Menon's story-telling skills are superb; his prose beautiful. In the Mahabharata lie the seeds of so many of the hero's journeys we flock to in modern tales and in film. (My biggest surprise is that George Lucas, Peter Jackson and the like have not yet seized upon it to make a full-scale Hollywood trilogy). After reading this version, I ordered Menon's rendering of the Ramayana; equally compelling. Recently I had the urge to re-read his Mahabharata, and as I am about to start the big fat second volume, discovered it is available in kindle format, which will spare me of lugging around the huge volumes as I doubtless return to it many more times. Menon acknowledges Kamala Subramaniam as a one of the sources for his translation. I've read her version of the Srimad Bhagavatum and find their styles very similar. Yet Menon is a true poet with a gift for bridging the ancient world in a modern rendering, as he calls it, and those weaned on the great epics can look forward to a great read. I should add that prior to reading this, I had very little background in the epics of India. These two volumes turned on a great interest in them, which has led to much broader readings. The Mahabharata an adventure and war story that is first and foremost is a disguise for a treatise on dharma. The agonizing of the main characters on the fine points of right-action as determined by law, virtue and motive under trying circumstances is set forth through many lenses. All the attributes of human emotion and existence from the most noble to the depraved, are embodied in divine and demonic spirits born to play out a great drama of and upon the earth. As in all great spiritual traditions, timeless truths are encoded in parables; our human attributes as characters in a play. This version is a great entry for anyone seeking to approach this ancient fountain of wisdom from which so much of earth's treasured lore has sprung.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The best abridged English translation I have come across
*by R***H on February 24, 2009*

I've looked around a lot both in the US and in India for good translations of this epic. The problem is that translations are either a) way too long for a casual reader (the original is, after all, some 5000 to 10,000 pages long depending on which version you look at), or b) they are too short and leave out too much of the subtle and rich detail, or c) they contain awkward language that sucks the poetry out of the story. Until I found this, the best retelling of it was actually the 94 episode DVD set, which required an inordinate amount of time and attention, and which dragged a bit here and there. In terms of books, the best condensed version I had come across was the one translated by Kamala Subramaniam. It told the story well enough, but it lacked the soul and spirit that the story deserved; it was more of a straight, matter-of-fact retelling. Then I came across this Menon translation. It is a brilliant version that deserves a wide audience. It is 1500 pages long (it is a 2 volume set), but cuts out a lot of the stuff you don't need to know, but not so much that you're left with the skeleton of the story. The story is told with an elegance and poetry that I have not seen in any other translation. Once you pick it up, you do not find the length intimidating, but instead you feel glad that it is so long because you can tell immediately that it's going to be intensely rewarding to read all the way through. A great translation that I would recommend to anyone who wants to read this amazing book that has few peers in literature.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An epic to beat all epics - SUPERB book
*by K***A on February 12, 2013*

Mahabharat is truly an epic and FASCINATING to say the least! This is a well written English version and paints in lyrical details the magic , drama , emotions and characters of the heroes of a diffrent era - Lord Krishna and the Pandava princes. It is human and divine just as the original Sanskrit text may have been.The wisdom is deep too and its essence is not lost in the book. If you really want to explore a piece of history , a different era(yuga) and get to journey in other divine realms, this is a must read! Feels like I re-lived that era and grew close to the super heroes of that time! Superb book!

## Frequently Bought Together

- The Mahabharata: A Modern Rendering, Vol 1
- The Mahabharata: A Modern Rendering, Vol 2
- The Ramayana: A Modern Retelling of the Great Indian Epic

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*Product available on Desertcart Indonesia*
*Store origin: ID*
*Last updated: 2026-03-07*