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As a kid, I had heard a lot about Mrityunjaya, and seen the book at home, but the fact that it was written in Marathi dissuaded me from touching it. Even though Marathi is my mother tongue, I have never studied it formally and therefore have a greater comfort level with reading English than Marathi. So a combination of my new Nook, Barnes and Noble gift cards from my company (yeah baby!) and Goodreads, revived my interest in hunting for a translated copy. Thanks to an Indian version of Amazon (www.flipkart.com/india), and my sister, I finally laid my hands on a beautiful hard-bound English translation. And then I lived the phrase "lost in translation" right from the first sentence! However, despite the clunky phrases, I was able to translate it back to what it would have sounded like in Marathi in my head and enjoy the beauty of the book.
Even if you haven't read this book, even if your introduction to Karna is through the Mahabharata alone, you cannot help but feel empathy for the eldest son of Kunti. Mrityunjaya only deepens it.
Mrityunjaya was written as a semi-autobiographical take on Karna's life. The book is written from the POV of six characters. Karna opens and takes us closer to the end of his story, interspersed with chapters by Kunti (his mother), Duryodhana (his best friend), Vrishali (his wife), Shon (his younger foster brother) and a grand ending by the Lord, Sri Krishna himself. Apart from indulging the semi-autobiography of a fictional figure, Sawant touches on one of the biggest realities of human society, one that has not changed since time immemorial. The reality where birth decides the honour/dishonour bestowed upon a child, and not his/her worth. Even though the protagonist is really the son of the Sun-God himself and as radiant as him, the fact that he was fostered in the hut of a poor charioteer strikes out everything right he ever did in his life. The society then treated him as one of low status and unfortunately, because things haven't changed an iota since then, he'd have been treated as such even now.
Karna is given a three-dimensional personality in Sawant's version, something which the original Mahabharata does not provide. Sawant also takes a few liberties with the original, but the changes he makes only make the story more realistic. The characters of Vrishali and Shon for example, are given such appropriate voices, that you are left wondering whether Sawant had the fortune of stumbling upon some long lost letters written by them. Kunti's character is fleshed out very well too, although you can't help but wonder, what kind of a mother would choose her own honour over her son's. One revelation on her part would have brought back his lost glory and honour, although it is commonly believed that the war would have happened anyway. Sawant also gives the Pandavas' characters a darker shade of grey than in any other version of the Mahabharata. Duryodhana's character remains the same, although it now makes me want to explore Bhāsa's"Urubhanga", which is Mahabharata retold from the POV of Duryodhana alone. Some day!
Despite the atrocities heaped upon him throughout his life, Karna grew to be an invincible warrior , a gentle and fair ruler of Anga (after Duryodhana bestowed the title upon him), a loving husband, an indulgent brother, a loyal friend and above all the epitome of generosity. So generous, that when a poor brahmin comes begging even as he lays dying, he breaks his golden teeth to give them away as alms!
While you commend Karna for being a rebel and not succumbing to the unfair norms of the society, you hit upon the obvious flaw in the hero. His egotism. You wonder why he was so ashamed of being recognized as his charioteer father's son, despite loving his parents immensely. And if that shame, and the resultant blind loyalty to his lone supporter, Duryodhana was the result of his downfall. The Mahabharata is an epic more complex than anyone can ever imagine. You can discuss, debate and argue about it until eternity, and yet cover only a fraction of it.
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This book focus on Karna and his role in Mahabharata. Even though the legend of Mahabharata is well know, but the author's narration takes the reader to an uncharted journey.
I like the writing style. The author has chosen different characters Vrushali (wife), Kunti (mother) , Duryodhana(friend), Shon (brother), Krishna to tell the tale of this great character, along with Karna's own version
This book focus on Karna and his role in Mahabharata. Even though the legend of Mahabharata is well know, but the author's narration takes the reader to an uncharted journey.
I like the writing style. The author has chosen different characters Vrushali (wife), Kunti (mother) , Duryodhana(friend), Shon (brother), Krishna to tell the tale of this great character, along with Karna's own version of his own life.
Shivaji Sawant tries to shed light on his tragedies and his unfortunate life with the use of captivating words. He beautifully describes the life of Karna - the ever compromising, stronger than everyone yet humble about it, rightfully a prince but denounced as a charioteer. You can see how Duryodhana is just manipulating him.
This book will leave you speechless and make your heart yearn for the life he lived. Each moment, each feeling, each thought of Surya-putra Karna is so amazingly described in this book. Words aren't enough to describe this book. The unique style of writing where different characters tell the story from their perspective make the reading quite interesting. The character building and mindset of Karna has been described elegantly.
The book has been translated in several languages Hindi, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Assamese, English and many more. I think even audio is there.
Highly Recommended.
Now i want to read author's Yugandhar(on Sri Krishna) and Chawa(on Sambhaji) from the same author.
It is a philosophical and psychological insight into the Mahabharat. It portrays the idiosyncrasy of each character. Their wealthy and decadent lifestyle, which is over
This is a tremendously well written book. unlike books written by other Indian author`s who go on about a character's looks for pages and pages, this book has just enough pertinent details to help the reader to instantly 'see' the character and conjure up an image that is as close as possible to the way you see them in your mind.It is a philosophical and psychological insight into the Mahabharat. It portrays the idiosyncrasy of each character. Their wealthy and decadent lifestyle, which is overpowered by ego, treachery, selfishness on one side and by virtue, selflessness, integrity and love on the other side, which weaves a web called life and consumes a person in the tangles of revenge and rivalry.
This book portrays karna, with all his flaws and does not just show him as an epitome of goodness. The ending is concluded well, with Sri Krishna reciting the ultimate war and karna`s noble death.
Nevertheless this book teaches a lot in terms of good and bad, having the ability to bring tears into the reader`s eyes.
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The library was three storied & centrally air cooled. In the humid summer of the Gangetic plains (Kanpur) the library the only oasis of certitude.
It was one of those days when our of sheer boredom from my technical subjects, I wandered off towards the 2nd floor section o Back in 1999 I was a bachelors student of chemical engineering at IIT Kanpur. This particular IIT has always been very particular about academics & we 2nd year students had to spent 4-5 hrs@daily in the fantastic central library.
The library was three storied & centrally air cooled. In the humid summer of the Gangetic plains (Kanpur) the library the only oasis of certitude.
It was one of those days when our of sheer boredom from my technical subjects, I wandered off towards the 2nd floor section of religious/spiritual section. Therein among the many version of Koran, Gita & Ramayan, tucked away was this book 'Mrityunjaya' English translation by the Writer's Workshop Calcutta.
Flipping away few pages got me hooked & I got this book issued. The book is a absolute gem. I couldn't get myself detached from it ever since. Completed this book within 3 days & was mesmerized.
Read it again 5-6 times in my 3rd & 4th year, till the time I was there in IIT.
Graduation completed, had to leave IIT. Out of all things this book was rigging my imagination. I wanted to keep a copy of this forever with me, tried multiple times to search this book but to no avail (Those were nascent internet days 1999-2002)
At one time felt like keeping this only copy in the library with me & claim to the librarian that it was lost, I would have to pay its price & some additional fine. The book would at least be mine.
Thought it over many times, but than better sense prevailed. I realized to do this heinous crime would be a sure undoing of the philosophy of this book, the purpose of it would have been defeated. Let this book be a testimony to future generations of engineering students. Many could be besotted as me.
Many years later, saw it's Hindi translation in Jabalpur railway station. I couldn't stop myself.
Re-read the Hindi (hindi version is as magical as the English one) atleast 4- times. Recommended & shared my book with as many as 10+ hindi book lovers. They all were as enthralled as me, wondering why didn't they read this before.
Now after so many years I see this English version available in www.flipkart.com.
Looking forward to reading the version I did back in 1999 as a teenager. Nostalgic?! ...more
Mrityunjaya is definitely one of the more profound retellings I have read. It is on par with Parva. Unfortunately, I have been able to read both these books only as translations, and somewhere that does influence the reading experience. One can appreciate the way the author has recreated the psychological complexity of the characters, but somehow the language rema
I think I mostly seem to end up reviewing Mahabharata retellings. That is my current favorite reading, and it reflects in my choices.Mrityunjaya is definitely one of the more profound retellings I have read. It is on par with Parva. Unfortunately, I have been able to read both these books only as translations, and somewhere that does influence the reading experience. One can appreciate the way the author has recreated the psychological complexity of the characters, but somehow the language remains stilted and there is no thrill in rereading.
But even that aside, Mrityunjaya has been a great reading experience. We get a different perspective on each of the characters, specially the principal narrators, Karna, Kunti, Duryodhana and Krishna and to a lesser extent Vrishali and Shona.
Karna in this story is intensely human. He is neither a villainous crony of the bad Duryodhana, neither is he the poor innocent led into the wrong path by Duryodhana. Indeed Duryodhana himself is not really evil. Karna does not even try to be self-righteous. There is no justification for any of his conduct. Indeed the description of Draupadi's disrobing and Karna's own conduct during the episode is one of the best parts of the book. It gives no justification for his conduct. It is narrated in Karna's own voice, and the raising anger in him as he waits for her to ask for his help and realizes she will not ask for it and it is like a slap on his already sensitive ego. All the energy he is building up to save her is instead turned against her as he insults her and incites the disrobing. After the deed is done, Karna practically mourns for himself as though he is dead. Every routine in his life has lost its meaning, because he hit out at a person in her weak moment, worse because he is a just man and he realizes he took revenge for all the humiliation he had faced in his life on a woman, as though she was the cause of it, when in reality she was only a small part of it. Karna punishes himself for more for his conduct, than any punishment Arjuna or Krishna ever inflict on him.
No doubt to a person with more modern day sensibility, Karna's obsession with his low caste seems strange. Why then can he not get over it? Why does he think it is an insult? At one point he says his whole being recoiled at the thought that he was a charioteers son. But then, it is actually very much in keeping with his character. Karna is part of the system which has accepted the caste system for whatever it is. He chafes against it because it is stopping him from doing something he craves, denying him the recognition he thinks he deserves. But beyond that Karna is no social reformer challenging the caste system. He seems to accept the system, he is just frustrated by where it has placed him.
And even though his foster parents never explicitly tell him that he is adopted, it is almost like he senses it from the beginning. He wonders why he has a flesh armour and earrings when his brother has none. That armour always marks him out as special, in his own mind, and the ego gets pretty hurt when others like Drona fail to recognize this.
This relationship with the flesh armour and earrings is explored well in this book. It is indeed very much a part of Karna himself and he has a great attachment to what it signifies. The pain on parting with it is therefore wrenching. And there are moving descriptions on how Karna learnt to live without them, without the armour which had made him invincible in war. How he learns to cope with pain.
Duryodhana is an interesting character. THe book clarifies that Duryodhana knew about Karna even before he made his momentous entry in the sports arena. In fact, he is one of those who treats Karna with courtesy right from the beginning, which makes Karna warm up to him. His charisma is evident in the way he is able to make Karna feel wanted and recognized, something which Yudhishtra fails to do. Even though Duryodhana as the narrator tries to assume a more negative shade, by stating upfront that he only sought Karna because he always perceived him to be special and therefore useful, at some level, without even stating it, the narrative betrays his deep affection for Karna. He does not have an equal relationship with him, Karna is always his inferior, but there is still a great attachment towards him, and genuine concern for his well being.
The dynamics between the friends is well explored. One always wonders what was the role of Karna in many of Duryodhana's strategems. This book paints neither as saints. Each influences the other towards a particularly stupid or thoughtless piece of action. Karna may not be for the dice game, but he does encourage Duryodhana in the final battle. In fact there is a scene where Duryodhana, after the Virata skirmish, betrays his fear of the Pandavas and wonders if he should make peace. But Karna, full of righteous wrath (his brother Shona has just been killed by Arjuna in the skirmish) openly encourages him to battle, promising the support of all the kings he suppressed in the Vijay yatra.
If at all, there is a negative character in this book, it is Drona.No one seems to have a great opinion of him, not even his son, Ashwathama, who is shown to be a close friend of Karna (at some level, even closer than Duryodhana).
Karna's relationship with the Pandavas is also quite realistic. The Pandavas are not villains in his life. There is a simmerring rivalry with Arjuna, but beyond that he does not seem to nurture an enmity towards them. In fact in some places, he conveys a deep respect for them, for the way they survived Varanavrata, for the way they transformed Khandivaprastha. He also acknowledges that Duryodhana is not always just in his treatment of them. But none of the Pandavas ever make an attempt to engage him in any way, right from the time he was their fellow student, so he has no special feelings towards them and therefore pledges his allegiance to Duryodhana who at least seems to bother that he exists. This is quite realistic, since it would be strange to accept that an independent thinking and otherwise just man would harbor a deep resentment against people who have not done him any great personal harm.
Similarly, there is no great outpouring of affection when he realizes they are his brothers either. The only outpouring of affection is for Draupadi and that has nothing to do with the newly discovered relationship. In fact after the relationship is discovered, Karna does not spend too much time brooding over his brothers at all. It helps that the narrator changes at this section and it is Krishna who narrates those sections of the war, where Karna is on the battlefield. We therefore do not really have a clue as to whether he has any brotherly feelings when he is fighting them. He spares their lives, as per his promise, but with no tenderness. Arjun may now be his blood brother but that does not absolve him of the crime of having killed Karnas first born as well as his foster brother.
The books strongest point is the way it has rooted Karna into his adoptive family. It is them, more than Duryodhana, who give him to strength to refuse Krishna's offer. In fact Karna tells Krishna outright that though they have both been brought up by adoptive parents that is where the similarity ends. Krishna walked out of Yashoda's life, he left behind the Gopikas of gokul. But Karna will not abandon Adhiratha or Radha. Radha has a greater claim to be his mother compared to Kunti. Shona's claim as his brother is much more than Arjuna. And he will not now betray Vrishali, who stood by him all these years, and accept Draupadi.
In fact when I see the inanities of the Star Plus Mahabharat, with its frenzied attempt to paint Duryodhan as a monster and Karna's insipid support for him (Main apne mitr ko nahi chod sakta, whatever), and the teary hindi filmi farewell for Karna on his 'mother's' lap, with all his 'brothers' weeping over him (Duryodhana is conveniently absent from the scene), I am tempted to fling this book at the writers and ask them to get some perspective. Karna's death scene in this book is awe inspiring. And there is no maudlin sentimentality after that, when the Pandavas find out his true identity. The book is not interested in telling us how they reacted to it, because that is not Karna's story. His story died with his death. And how his brothers reconciled to the death is not his business.
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The book is a psychological insight into various characters of Mahabharat - primarily that of Karna. The English version of the book, although a little hazy with language, nonetheless form
For months, I tried finding this book in bookstores and libraries but couldn't find it. Thanks to Tim Berners-Lee, I finally managed to buy a copy of it online. But I had to shell out a hefty amount on the hardbound edition with shining golden-bordered pages and velvet coating. But the book is totally worth it.The book is a psychological insight into various characters of Mahabharat - primarily that of Karna. The English version of the book, although a little hazy with language, nonetheless forms a great read. The highs and lows of Karna's life (and also that of others) are all too vivid. This is one of the very few books that made me empathize for the protagonist. The book is divided into 9 soliloquies - one each by Kunti, Duryodhan, Karna's wife Vrushali, Karna's younger brother Shon, Sri Krishna and 4 by Karna himself. This is one book that would stay on my bookshelf forever.
PS : If you are good with Marathi, read the original Marathi edition of this book.
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I am yet to come across an author who has such impeccable research about everything ranging from names and back stories of almost all characters involved, to the names of the food items, flora and fauna, musical instruments, regions and kingdoms (smallest to largest), mountain ranges, weapons used in the war, the rivers and their tributaries and the distance and time taken to
There are so many mixed emotions inside me now that I have finished reading this epic based on Karna's life, 'Mrityunjay'.I am yet to come across an author who has such impeccable research about everything ranging from names and back stories of almost all characters involved, to the names of the food items, flora and fauna, musical instruments, regions and kingdoms (smallest to largest), mountain ranges, weapons used in the war, the rivers and their tributaries and the distance and time taken to travel from one place to another. The language is mesmerizing and even that is an understatement.
'Mrityunjay' takes us through the life of Karna right from his birth till his death, and is a story from different character POVs (including his own) - characters who were close to Karna - like his wife Vrushali, his friend Duryodhan, his brother Shon, his mother Kunti and ends with the POV of Krishna - which makes this book a treat with respect to philosophical learnings and the actual war story. The book is filled with similes and metaphors and one has to be tremendously focussed to get the whole meaning of it. Many sentences are long and filled with vivid imagery. The descriptions are so scintillating and dramatic that the reader is automatically drawn physically inside the story. I could feel myself standing at the banks of Ganga looking into the sun, or right amidst the fighting soldiers of Kurukshetra. I could feel myself crying silently at the loss of Karna's Kavach and Kundals.
Some passages are extremely thought provoking and it is quite evident throughout the book that the author, Mr. Shivaji Sawant has put colossal effort to ensure he doesn't leave us with a single question. Yes, he ensures that the reader reels for quite some time under the heavy philosophy though.
Who was Karna? A victim of casteism and patriarchy? A strong powerful indestructible force? A loyal friend? Who is the villain and who is the hero? It throws some really staggering philosophical questions like the meaning of living, the significance of Dharma and Karma, the inevitability of business and politics, the purpose of a human being. And gives some quite subtle answers to it in the form of the wise ones - Ashvatthama and Krishna. Karna lost the war (or did he?), but its always the loser's (?) story that teaches us the most essential.
It is very difficult to maintain the adventure in a story when the reader most likely knows how the story is going to turn out. This book took the challenge up gracefully and successfully managed to extract the exact extreme emotions out of me despite me knowing in advance where the story would turn.
As a feminist, the patriarchy was evident. Unlike "Yajnaseni" (for which I had gone on a lengthy rant trip) the women here are portrayed exactly as they should have been. These were also women who were victims of patriarchy and the story isn't changed at all but I found the treatment given to the characters is quite different. Each character is portrayed with much charisma. One could still see the strength in them.
I am not sure how the English translation would work out what with all the rich flaming descriptions in Marathi. And still I would say if you can lay your hands on this one, please do. The ones who know Marathi please go for the Marathi one. Its a little tough but its worth it.
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'Mrityunjay' is the story of one of the most charismatic and at the same time enigmatic character of The Mahabharat - Karn. Narrated through six perspectives - one of Karn himself and other five of the people who have played pivotal roles in his life. These perspectives include- Kunti- Karn's biological mother, Vrishali- Karn's first wife, Shon- Karn's foster brother, Duryodhan- Karn's best friend and Krishna- the man with whom Karn shares a mysterious and mythical bond. Though the book basically based on the life of Karn yet it's not just another Mahabharat retelling form his point of view. It is a deep and insightful study of Karn's character and life.
The best and the most unique thing about the novel is the multi-perspect narration. Unlike any other book which I have read based on the epic the central point of this book's every perspective is Karn and everything else is secondary. Thematically, in the book Karn is trying to decipher that who and what he is? But at the same time he is also trying to fit in the five perspectives. The restlessness, confusion, anger, and insecurities of loosing these people are shown wonderfully by the author. When Karn tells his story in the book it can be clearly seen that he is like a Sun shrouded by the clouds, due to these clouds he can only shine through the silver linings of these clouds. A Sun who is very desperate to shine with all it's warmth and potential, but at the same time he is bound to these clouds and now he does not want to lose these clouds.
All five perspectives concentrating on one man also raises a very basic existential question about indentity of a man. What makes identity of a human being? Is the identity created by what he thinks of himself or is it formed by the people around him? Like in the novel Karn's individual choices are highly influnced by those five perspectives, and these perspectives, directly or indirectly, are the reason of construction and destruction of Karn. It's almost towards the end Karn realises this great existential confusion, as he says himself - "I am not son of a charioteer, I am not son of Kunti, I am not son of the Sun God, I am just a man who is ready to face every adversity, ready to take every challenge given by life, and this is what I believe in...."
I used to watch B.R. Chopra's Mahabharat and I remember an episode which was the episode after Karn's death. In that episode Samay- the time itself (who is also the narrator of the epic in this TV series) says to the Sun God that his son will be a question mark till the end of the time. The dialogue writer of the show Dr. Rahi Masoom Raza was right. Karn, because of both choices he made and the situations he faced will remain a question mark. A question mark so ambiguous that everyone who will come across it will try to answer it the way one interprets it. And 'Mrityunjay' is my finest read interpretation of the eternal question mark.
A Classic In Every Sense.
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I managed to read this book after searching for it for nearly 3-4 years. The English translation is a bit clunky as some sentences are directly translated and therefore they do not hold the same impact. That being said this book is a work of genius.
Shivaji Sawant has written about Karna and re-imagined the Mahabharata around him. The book is made of nine section with 4 of them being from Karna's viewpoint, and the rest from the Viewpoints of Duryodhana, Kunti[His biological mother:], Vrishali
I managed to read this book after searching for it for nearly 3-4 years. The English translation is a bit clunky as some sentences are directly translated and therefore they do not hold the same impact. That being said this book is a work of genius.
Shivaji Sawant has written about Karna and re-imagined the Mahabharata around him. The book is made of nine section with 4 of them being from Karna's viewpoint, and the rest from the Viewpoints of Duryodhana, Kunti[His biological mother:], Vrishali[Karna's 1st wife:], Shon[his foster brother:] & Shri Krishna.
The book is not entirely canonical and gives us a rather humane viewpoint into the happenings of the Mahabharata. Karna's valour, his thoughts, his behaviour is entirely laid bare in this book. He's a not a shining knight as this book shows us the grayness of his actions. The Pandavas are also shown in a more humanistic light as most other MBH books often paint them in all bright and Godly colours however they were humans and they too had their bad sides.
The original beauty of the Mahabharata is that the epic showcases humanity in all its glory and viciousness & no characters are truly good or bad. This book has epitomized this principle and has given a rather stark and beautiful picture of the life of one of the greatest human beings who ever lived.
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You may read full review on my blog http://www.haloofbooks.com/mritunjaya...
This book starts with these lines "I want to say something today. Some will startle hearing my words. And wonder: How can anyone swallowed by death speak?
This book has been on my TBR for a long time, and finally, I managed to finish it. This is known as the best retelling of Mahabharata. This book is originally written in the Marathi language. The author of this book Shri. Shivaji Sawant is also known as 'Mritunjayakar'.You may read full review on my blog http://www.haloofbooks.com/mritunjaya...
This book starts with these lines "I want to say something today. Some will startle hearing my words. And wonder: How can anyone swallowed by death speak? But a time comes when the dead have to speak too. When the flesh-and-bones living behaves like the dead, then the dead have to come alive and speak out."
Vasu is an adopted son of Radha and Adirath. Adirath is a charioteer of King Dhritarashtra in the kingdom of Hastinapur. Vasu was found on the shore of sacred river Ganga. The childless couple Radha and Adirath took him as the blessing of God. After adopting Vasu, Radha gives birth to a son named as Shon.
Both brothers, Vasu and Shon have a very good bonding and they can't live without each other. As Vasu grew up he gets to know that he is not like the other people. He has an impenetrable armor and has golden flesh earrings which are attached to his body. He seems like a divine person, and due to this he is also called as 'Karna'.
Since childhood, he has an interest in the weaponry and wanted to be a warrior. But his family profession is of a charioteer and everyone expected him to be the same. Contradictory to this, Karna wanted to be a warrior so Adirath took him to the Hastinapur.
Now here comes the main part, Being the sutaputra Guru Drona does not accept him as his disciple. Karna always felt a closeness to the Sun-god and considered him his Guru. In Hastinapur he meets various people like Arjun, Duryodhan. Arjun becomes his instant rival. Whereas Duryodhan becomes his friend.
Karna has to go through with various ups and down which finally put him in the mouth of death.
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I used to read comics back then but had not read any big bulky book which is called as Kadambari in Marathi. The temptation took over and I got Mrityunjaya instead of that boring physics books and I'm glad I did.
The librarian looked at me like I must have lost my mind coz nobody had enough time for studies and there I was p
Back in 2000 when I was doing my under-graduation, I went to my college library. I wanted to pick up physics book when I saw an old dusty Marathi book in the corner shelf.I used to read comics back then but had not read any big bulky book which is called as Kadambari in Marathi. The temptation took over and I got Mrityunjaya instead of that boring physics books and I'm glad I did.
The librarian looked at me like I must have lost my mind coz nobody had enough time for studies and there I was picking up a hefty Marathi classic above 700 odd pages. To be frank, it gave me a weird satisfaction to see her flinched face. I was enamoured in my glory. Of course I did bad in the next exams coz I couldn't study but it was worth it and I always recovered my grades quite fast.
Earth to Neha.
Ahem!!!!
So coming to book, it's a classic book everyone should read. Mahabharata is Indian epic everyone must have heard about. Karna is a grey character in Mahabharata mostly painted in darker shades rather than lighter. For me, he is the most humane. His story is told through multiple characters his wife, his mother, brother , friend and even Krishna.
The portayal is so enchanting and gripping that one will feel so dearly for Karna. My emotions were all over the place and it took me a while to get out of the world of Mrityunjaya. The very essence of the character is visioned perfectly and transformed into words, words that pierce the heart and make one feel endearingly caught into the complexity of the karna and his life and chaos.
A must read for everyone!!!
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In the longest and probably most interesting Epic of the world Mahabharata, the most tragic story was that of Karna. He is known as Raja of Anga, greatest warrior, world conqueror and son of charioteers. But the most importantly, he is dan veer(hero of charity) Karna. Even, with an arrow in his throat he asked his son to s
There are only a few occasions that I've shed tears but after reading the story of this glorious warrior and noblest of man, Karna, one cannot help but overflow with emotions.In the longest and probably most interesting Epic of the world Mahabharata, the most tragic story was that of Karna. He is known as Raja of Anga, greatest warrior, world conqueror and son of charioteers. But the most importantly, he is dan veer(hero of charity) Karna. Even, with an arrow in his throat he asked his son to smash his golden teeth and donate them to a mendicant.
Pandavas were known to be best in one particular field, Yudhishthira in Dharma(Morality and Ethics), Bheem (Strength) and Arjun (Archery), but Karna outshone and humbled them in all of these.
His Death brought tears to the eyes of Duryodhana, who did not feel such grief even at the death of eighty of his brothers, who is said to be cold, calculating and incapable of loving anyone but himself.
The avatar of God Vishnu admitted that there were merely four people for whom Krishna had silent bhakti( unquestionable devotion) brimful of love and sacrifice, Karna was one of them.
Even after ask this, he was discriminated by the so called most noblest of people living in that time, people like the pandavas, illustrious kings and citizens of the Hastinapur. Draupadi during her swayamvar( groom selection) mocked and rejected karna only because he was the son of charioteers but later on realises what a horrible mistake she as made by rejecting someone as virtuous as karna.
A must read for anybody interested in Hindu religion or Mythology or simply looking for a masterpiece.
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Mrityunjay means the one who conquers death and truly Karna does. This book is about Karna life and death. I can never compliment the author enough for presenting a story already known my all in a way that doesn't allow the reade
Although this has been translated in many languages, something is always lost in the process and i have been lucky to read the original book. This is among the best books i have ever read with the characters so alive that kept lingering in my thoughts for several weeks.Mrityunjay means the one who conquers death and truly Karna does. This book is about Karna life and death. I can never compliment the author enough for presenting a story already known my all in a way that doesn't allow the reader to put down the book.
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The Novel is a passionate, powerful and psychological shadow-play consisting of 6 soliloquies of characters from the Mahabharata. A very illuminating read on human nature, the ideals, purpose and realities of life.
If you're fluent in Marathi or Hindi I would recommend reading that version. Although the English version does a good job too. (Review of the Hindi version)
The Novel is a passionate, powerful and psychological shadow-play consisting of 6 soliloquies of characters from the Mahabharata. A very illuminating read on human nature, the ideals, purpose and realities of life.
If you're fluent in Marathi or Hindi I would recommend reading that version. Although the English version does a good job too. ...more
Let me know if you are interested. I have one "new in a box" book to sell. It is signed by the publisher and is a collector's edition; the cover is made of raw silk. English edition.
Let me know if you are interested. ...more
This book takes you through the tumultuous journey of Karna and you'll ride it with him.
I read the Hindi and English versions simultaneously for a better grasp on the story (not really used to reading in Hindi).
Ashwathamann was a surprise - his wisdom and his love for Karna, wasn't aware of that at all and how a man like hi
If you have read the Mahabharata in any form, this is a must read. You do not have to be a fan of Karna, read it for a different POV where the Pandavas are not always right.This book takes you through the tumultuous journey of Karna and you'll ride it with him.
I read the Hindi and English versions simultaneously for a better grasp on the story (not really used to reading in Hindi).
Ashwathamann was a surprise - his wisdom and his love for Karna, wasn't aware of that at all and how a man like him turns into a beast by the end of the war.
What I really wanted to read was,
1. Pandavas reaction on finding out the truth of Karna from Kuntis POV
2. Her pain and anguish during the 2 day battle between Karna and Arjuna.
3. Duryodhans POV after Karna is dead and how he breaks down and meets his end.
This according to me would have been a perfect closure to a wonderful book.
The English translation had basic grammatical errors but I'll let that be as the book in itself is so powerful that I didn't mind the elementary English.
A wonderful read! Beautiful!
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Even if your introduction to Karna is through the Mahabharata alone, you cannot help but feel empathy for the eldest son of Kunti. In fact, Mrityunjaya only deepens it. Summing up, Mrityunjaya is one of the most eloquently narrated books and is most certainly a book worth adding to one's reading collection.
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'Birth over Worth' - an unfortunate yet central theme of Karna's life is something that is sadly, still relevant even in today's times. You just can't help but feel the strongest sense of empathy for him.
He's always been my favorite character in the Mahabharat and the book certainly reaffirms that.
Karna, you might have had certain character flaws, but you are my hero.
I recommend every reader to read this one if you know Mahabharat.
I cried at least for half a day after finishing book - was so much involved.
must read at least once.
The monologues of Karna are the best of the lot. Though the book is a sort of paean to Karna, it never goes overboard with it and tries to show his flaws as well. For all his poweress, Karna comes across as internally turmoiled, insecure man, insecure due to his origins about his place in society and obsessed about being recognized as the best archer of all. But sadly he was never given the oppurtunity of a level playing field to prove it. If he was denied by Drona during the archery competition at the beginning, then the curses that are heaped on him at the later stage also play a part in ensuring that he remains a tragic hero. It is a matter of conjecture as to what would have happened, if Drona had allowed Karna to compete with Arjuna. Maybe he would have won, he may have indeed lost, but either way, he would have been a more peaceful man, contended with himself and not obsessed with being the best archer which drives almost all his actions resulting in tragic consequences. But it was to not be. Another feeling that he tries to reconcile with vainly till the very end is his origin. Karna is shown in a subtle way as being unable to accept fully his origins. Though he loves his parents, proclaims that he is proud to a charioteer's son, some parts of his monologue subtly let it slip that maybe he is not as confident and secure about his origins as he shows. Maybe he craved that he were born elsewhere, or to put it clearly he may have desired that his parents had been the same but of a higher standing in society. It is borne out by his reactions to the relevation that he is Kunti's son. It's not any great happiness (or anger) that he feels towards Kunti. What comes through mainly is the relief that he is Kshatriya after all, that he cannot be insulted for his birth. It implies that he accepts the social order for all his posturing and that instead of trying to remove it, he is more than happy to know that he has actually jumped up in the order. Interestingly, Samant brings a twist to Karna's much lauded generosity using this turmoil. It is mentioned that his generosity is due to his craving for recognition. This does not reduce the value of his generosity, but only serves to enhance to the reader, the pain that a person must feel on being insulted repeatedly by society for no fault of his own, other than being born in a particular caste and the extreme lengths that he can go to overcome it. This obsession results in giving his body armour to Indra, therby divesting himself of his greatest protection.
The books of Kunti and Krishna (more than one for each) are middlingly good, but rarely offer any great insight into either Karna or themselves. Kunti's monologue is the usual one we have seen/read earlier of a woman torn between Karna and her other sons. The initial parts of her monologue are her reminiscences about her childhood, her being gifted by her father Surasena to Kunti Bhoja, her marriage to Pandu, in both cases without anyone asking her preference or her feelings are the best of the lot. Krishna's monologue too is pretty much the usual one you come to expect. The monologue of Duryodhana is different in that he is shown as a scheming character who treats Karna as more of his personal employee, a weapon to counteract the Pandavas than as his friend. Yes, I agree that their relationship need not have been as close a friendship as is known generally, but a complete flip around of it results in the relationship becoming completely one-dimensional, with no layers to it. Looks like the author decided to do a paradigm shift of popular perception, but in doing that he actually does Duryodhana an injustice. It cannot have been only personal benefit that made him ally with Karna, as it cannot have been only the goodness of his heart. (If he had been so devious, he could very well have forced Karna to fight under Bheeshma during the first 10 days of the war, instead of agreeing with his decision). Interestingly Aswaththama seems to have a more deeper friendship with Karna than Duryodhana. But ironically, even he abuses Karna in a fit of anger as a charioter's son during a tense moment in the war. This in a way exemplifies Karna's relationship with most people. However close he gets to them, how much ever he feels respected by them, at some point his origins are used by the same people to taunt him. That brings us to the other 2 books, that of his wife Vrishali and Shom his step-brother. It is with them that he does not feel the insecurity of being insulted at any time. But he rarely opens up his innermost feelings to even them. The two monologues are basically adulations of Karna by the two, who literally worship the ground he treads on. I had read somewhere else that Karna did not have a happy marital life as his wife who supposedly was royalty, was contempous of his origins and was insulting to him, but here Samant gives us a different version. Maybe one of the above books could have been done away with for a monologue of Arjuna, it sure would have been interesting to get know his views on his arch rival.
Karna's worship of the Sun-god, the unexplainable (to him, but not to the reader) connect that he feels towards the Sun god are very evocative, as is the part where the Sun god teaches him about the astras. (Yes, it is Surya devta who is mentioned as Karna's teacher in the book, because Drona is pre-occupied with teaching the Pandavas and Kshatriyas.). Some other parts too stand out, one being the killing of Sisupala where Karna's eyewitness account of it is almost psychedelic. The other being Karna's turmoil when Draupathi is being insulted after the game of dice. Torn between wanting to stop Duryodhana and held back by Draupathi's earlier insult of him during her Swayamvar he finally makes the fatal decision of joining Duryodhana. The tipping point for this is rooted in the human ego as Samant slips in a subtle variation of the events. As Draupathi asks everyone in the royal assembly for help, she sees Karna, meets his eye and then moves away without asking him anything. This spurs Karna to insult her. (Ironically it is revealed later that Draupathi did not ask for his help since she was already regretting her insult of Karna at her Swayamvar and did not feel worthy of his assistance). The part where Karna cuts off his armor to give to Indra and the subsequent description of his skinless body which is translucent is bound to shock you. But alongside such parts, others like the description of the events of the war get monotonous at places as do Shon's and Vrishali's monologues in their adulation of Karna.
This is a good, but at times uneven read. Personally for me, the best take on the Mahabharata still remains Bhyrappa's Parva. If you have not read Parva and are interested in reading variations on the epic, the first option should be Parva.
A digression from the novel. At the end of the novel, I found myself thinking about another character in parallel to Karna. If Karna can be said the victim of injustice throughout his life, then what of Eklavya. Probably he was the one who was subjected to the most cruel injustice of them all. Why is he not mentioned as reacting the way that Karna did, why for instance did he not join Duryodhana, (Parva mentions Eklavya as joining Duryodhana ) what happens to him after he gives his guru-dakshina to Drona? Why is he not spoken about more like Karna, why is he not so much entrenched in the general consciousness like Karna. Is there any contemporary work that shows Eklavya in a different light than the obedient, almost naive character that he is portrayed as generally. At the beginning of the book, Karna tells that he wants to tell his story because the truth has to be known, so why is the truth about Eklavya not told. Is it because that Karna was a Kshatriya after all and so had to get his share of fame, albeit posthumously while Eklavya is always in the lower echelon of the social order and hence need not betaken seriously? These thoughts do not have anything to do with this particular novel yes, but it seemed pertinent to discuss and compare both Karna and Ekalyva together.
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i took away one star is because the way author described Dhuryodhana was bit partial, making him a villain is certainly on purpose. When we look close we can no one is advocating for dharma, everyone is selfish .So it isnt appropriate to picture Dhuryodhana as a coward in this manner, as far as i know , he is i red "Randammuzham" by Mt so..i thought Bheema is the greatest panda but after reading Karnan, i understand i was terribly mistaken. There is no any other human matched the talent of karna.
i took away one star is because the way author described Dhuryodhana was bit partial, making him a villain is certainly on purpose. When we look close we can no one is advocating for dharma, everyone is selfish .So it isnt appropriate to picture Dhuryodhana as a coward in this manner, as far as i know , he is brave and strong like Bheema.
Its pretty difficult to point who is the best Karna,Arjuna or Bheema.
But by considering the situational disadvantages, donating behaviour and discrimination to his race , curses etc merits karna to become the greatest warrior ever lived.
the way krishna is preached as the god with noble virtues makes the novels designation to faint at times where krishna becomes more or less the shakuni of pandavas. He is making pandavas do the undos and stating dumb reasons for his doings. Krishna should be covered as a villain portrait as for me.
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The novel is basically an interpretation of the epic Mahabharat from Karan's (a key character in Mahabharat) perspective. It explains his mindset, the choices he made and the eq
This has to be the best book I have ever read in my life. It took me 6 months to find a copy of this book here in the US and finally had to ship it from India. Although it has been translated in many languages, something is always lost in translation so I would recommend people to read it in the original Marathi language.The novel is basically an interpretation of the epic Mahabharat from Karan's (a key character in Mahabharat) perspective. It explains his mindset, the choices he made and the equanimity with which he had to face the consequences.
For people not versed with Mahabharat, y'all would probably need some more background and readings before you can pick this up. But trust me, its all worth it!
Life is worth living to read such books.
Abhinav
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I fall short of words to describe my experience reading this book..
This is a once in a lifetime Read.. "Shivaji Sawant" ji has described Karn's story in such a beautiful way that each and every aspect of his character becomes alive in the front of Readers..
Karn is Probably One of the Most Loved Characters in The Mythology world of India and reading this has gave me more reasons to love him..
And, believe me it is not just a
"Daanveer Karn" "Shresth Dhanurdhar", What a book this was.. What a book..I fall short of words to describe my experience reading this book..
This is a once in a lifetime Read.. "Shivaji Sawant" ji has described Karn's story in such a beautiful way that each and every aspect of his character becomes alive in the front of Readers..
Karn is Probably One of the Most Loved Characters in The Mythology world of India and reading this has gave me more reasons to love him..
And, believe me it is not just a white picture of Karn that we see his grey shades are shown to which ofcourse he repents later..
Along, With Karn.. We also get to Know about Raajmaata Kunti and Shone in a bit more detailed way through the Author's eye..
Karn and Vrushali's Love.. Ultimate, one factor that is not mentioned much.. but have been discussed here beautifully..
I also take this opportunity to thank "Mr.Om Shivraj" for the amazing translation to Hindi and to "Bhartiya Gyanpeeth" for Publishing this..
The Hindi language used in this book might not be for everyone it is quite advanced hindi.. so if you can definately go for it, if not look for this book in the language you are comfortable with..
But, Do Read This..
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