Category: Mythology
Publisher (Complex Chinese): Azoth Books
Publisher (English): Penguin Random House India
Publisher (Gujarati): Zen Opus (forthcoming)
Publisher (Japanese): Hara-Shobo
Publisher (Hindi): Penguin Random House India
Publisher (Kannada): Manohar Granth Mala
Publisher (Malayalam): DC Books
Publisher (Marathi): Popular Prakashan
Publisher (Tamil): Vikatan Media
Publisher (Assamese): Assam Publishing Company (forthcoming)
Rights: Translation rights available for Indian and International languages (excluding Complex Chinese, Gujarati, Hindi, Japanese, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, Assamese), Dramatisation rights available
High above the sky stands Swarga, paradise, abode of the gods. Still above is Vaikuntha, heaven, abode of God. The doorkeepers of Vaikuntha are the twins, Jaya and Vijaya, both whose names mean victory. One keeps you in Swarga; the other raises you into Vaikuntha. In Vaikuntha there is bliss forever, in Swarga there is pleasure for only as long as you deserve. What is the difference between Jaya and Vijaya? Solve this puzzle and you will solve the mystery of the Mahabharata.
In this enthralling retelling of India’s greatest epic, Devdutt Pattanaik seamlessly weaves into a single narrative, plots from the Sanskrit classic as well as its many folk and regional variants. Richly illustrated and abound with little-known details such as the names of the hundred Kauravas, the worship of Draupadi as a goddess in Tamil Nadu, the stories of Astika, Madhavi, Jaimini, Aravan and Barbareek, the Mahabharata version of the Shakuntalam and the Ramayana, and the dating of the war based on astronomical data. With clarity and simplicity, the tales in this elegant volume reveal the eternal relevance of the Mahabharata, the complex and disturbing meditation on the human condition that has shaped Indian thought for over 3000 years.
The author: Devdutt Pattanaik