Jaya- An Illustrated Retelling of Mahabharata by Devdutt Pattanaik | Book Review | Mythology Book |
Jaya- An Illustrated Retelling of Mahabharata by Devdutt Pattanaik, from the title itself we come to know that it’s a retelling of the oldest story the Mahabharata.
I think Devdutt Patnaik’s retelling is more engaging since he presents much more than the bare essentials of the story. He goes into the sub-plots, importance of little-known episodes, various myths, and the multiple stories within stories that comprise the true Mahabharata as written by Ved Vyasa.
Devdutt Patnaik is a mythologist by trade, and I feel he does an incredible job of compiling the Mahabharata into a meaningful story.
Jaya- is an illustrated retelling of the Mahabharata by Devdutt Pattanaik presents such a hard narrative with such easy and gorgeous illustrations. Their appeal resides in their simplicity; these photographs speak for themselves and perfectly convey the story.
This Mahabharata recitation is organized into 18 divisions and 108 chapters.
There have been several retellings of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana over the years.
We come across several unheard and unreported short tales from the Mahabharata.
This is not a spiritual or philosophical book, it’s about a way of life.
The story begins with Astika, the nephew of Vasuki, the Naga ruler, telling the story to Janamejaya, a Pandava descendant who has ordered the destruction of all snakes in his kingdom. The book also offers a brief description of the Bhagavad Gita, which simplifies this complicated text for the average reader.
After each chapter, author Devdutt Pattanaik provides information on other short stories from various parts of India that are unknown to the general public. These are more localized stories that are well-known among the people.
Despite the fact that the epic is complex, with many links connecting the characters, the author manages to seamlessly intersect the characters and plots so that the reader does not have difficulty remembering the previously mentioned related events; truly an accomplishment when it comes to retelling an epic as detailed as the Mahabharata.
The beauty of a book is how far it reaches out to its readers, and Jaya does so seamlessly. This is one of the greatest retellings of a timeless classic, and Devdutt Pattanaik establishes himself as a master storyteller in mythology stories.
If you love reading Indian Mythology books then Jaya is a must recommended book.
