B R Chopra's Mahabharat

Best and Worst Book on Mahabharata?

CaptainSpark thumbnail
Anniversary 10 Thumbnail Group Promotion 6 Thumbnail + 3
Posted: 3 years ago

I was wondering if y'all can share which books or fictions on Mahabharata you found good and bad. 


Being so interested in MB, I have always read novels based on anything related to Mahabharata but sadly I hardly like any of them. 


What about y'all 

Created

Last reply

Replies

60

Views

4423

Users

11

Likes

101

Frequent Posters

Wistfulness thumbnail
Anniversary 14 Thumbnail Visit Streak 180 0 Thumbnail + 7
Posted: 3 years ago

I liked Yuganta - The End of an Epoch by Iravati Karve. 

Didn't like any other book because I'm not really fond of retellings and the authors who attempted those.

HearMeRoar thumbnail
Posted: 3 years ago

Worst books - Karna's Wife, Krishna's Sister. The former is a wish fulfillment fantasy. The latter is Star Bharat fanfiction.


Best books - Palace of Illusions for the sheer beauty of the writing, not its content or ideas which basically put an assault survivor with the assault planner.

Aryavarta Chronicles 

Parva by Bhyrappa

CaptainSpark thumbnail
Anniversary 10 Thumbnail Group Promotion 6 Thumbnail + 3
Posted: 3 years ago

Originally posted by: HearMeRoar

Worst books - Karna's Wife, Krishna's Sister. The former is a wish fulfillment fantasy. The latter is Star Bharat fanfiction.


Best books - Palace of Illusions for the sheer beauty of the writing, not its content or ideas which basically put an assault survivor with the assault planner.

Aryavarta Chronicles 

Parva by Bhyrappa

I found Palace of Illusions awful apart from the writing and language. 

I was stunned - from the beginning Draupadi loved Karna, they made Dhrist into the villain who stopped her from marrying and Krishna into the kabab mein haddi. πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚

The language is so good and it would be so good if the book would present something worthy. But honestly it disappointed me so much. 


What is Krishna's sister about? 

I didn't even DARE read Karna's wife. 

CaptainSpark thumbnail
Anniversary 10 Thumbnail Group Promotion 6 Thumbnail + 3
Posted: 3 years ago

Originally posted by: Wistfulness

I liked Yuganta - The End of an Epoch by Iravati Karve. 

Didn't like any other book because I'm not really fond of retellings and the authors who attempted those.

Yuganta is a masterpiece. Loved it. I love Mr Bhaduri's books too but they're Bengali. Among retellings, I simply don't recall liking a single one. 😭😭

HearMeRoar thumbnail
Posted: 3 years ago

Originally posted by: CaptainSpark

I found Palace of Illusions awful apart from the writing and language. 

I was stunned - from the beginning Draupadi loved Karna, they made Dhrist into the villain who stopped her from marrying and Krishna into the kabab mein haddi. πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚

The language is so good and it would be so good if the book would present something worthy. But honestly it disappointed me so much. 


What is Krishna's sister about? 

I didn't even DARE read Karna's wife. 


I didn't like the content or ideas of Palace of Illusions at all. The author basically did an 80s Bollywood and romantically linked an assault survivor to the man who did/arranged the assault. There was an awful movie called Raja ki ayegi baraat. Another one called Benaam badshah. Horrific! 


The author also maligned Panchali's character so much by reducing her to a lovesick puppy. Nothing of her role in the empire was given. 


But god, the language is beautiful.


Don't read Karna's wife. I didn't finish it. πŸ˜† I hardly ever not finish a book. The heroine is Panchali under another name and married to Karna. A friend of mine who did read it told me in the end, even actual Panchali acknowledges Karna was a great man, and he had every right to call her that name.


Krishna's sister is almost as bad. Author is clearly a Subhadra fan which I didn't mind. But she lifted lines straight from Star Plus show and translated them to EnglishπŸ˜†. Same nonsense. Subhadra fell in love with Arjuna, etc. etc.

Wistfulness thumbnail
Anniversary 14 Thumbnail Visit Streak 180 0 Thumbnail + 7
Posted: 3 years ago

Originally posted by: HearMeRoar


I didn't like the content or ideas of Palace of Illusions at all. The author basically did an 80s Bollywood and romantically linked an assault survivor to the man who did/arranged the assault. There was an awful movie called Raja ki ayegi baraat. Another one called Benaam badshah. Horrific! 


The author also maligned Panchali's character so much by reducing her to a lovesick puppy. Nothing of her role in the empire was given. 


But god, the language is beautiful.


Don't read Karna's wife. I didn't finish it. πŸ˜† I hardly ever not finish a book. The heroine is Panchali under another name and married to Karna. A friend of mine who did read it told me in the end, even actual Panchali acknowledges Karna was a great man, and he had every right to call her that name.


Krishna's sister is almost as bad. Author is clearly a Subhadra fan which I didn't mind. But she lifted lines straight from Star Plus show and translated them to EnglishπŸ˜†. Same nonsense. Subhadra fell in love with Arjuna, etc. etc.

Oh! I remember Karna's Wife is the fanfiction that inspired another fanfiction called Karna Sangini on SP after that awful Starbharata.  πŸ˜†

ImaginativeGirl thumbnail
Anniversary 5 Thumbnail Visit Streak 30 0 Thumbnail Group Promotion 2 Thumbnail
Posted: 3 years ago

I didn't enjoy any retellings on Mahabharata.

Granted I read only Palace of Illusions and Ajaya.


As the posts above mentioned, the language used in Palace of Illusions is beautiful but the content is not. Ajaya on the other hand is straight away fan fiction.


Even being a Karna fan, I stay away from any books featuring him such as Mrityunjya, Karna's wife etc. 


I actually received a free copy of Karna's wife after I had purchased three books in Landmark, I think. I read one chapter and did not like it at all. It still lies in the back of my bookshelf untouched. The characterisation is so vastly different that I felt I am reading about some man who is also called Karna rather than the Mahabharata character Karna.

CaptainSpark thumbnail
Anniversary 10 Thumbnail Group Promotion 6 Thumbnail + 3
Posted: 3 years ago

Originally posted by: HearMeRoar


I didn't like the content or ideas of Palace of Illusions at all. The author basically did an 80s Bollywood and romantically linked an assault survivor to the man who did/arranged the assault. There was an awful movie called Raja ki ayegi baraat. Another one called Benaam badshah. Horrific! 


The author also maligned Panchali's character so much by reducing her to a lovesick puppy. Nothing of her role in the empire was given. 


But god, the language is beautiful.


Don't read Karna's wife. I didn't finish it. πŸ˜† I hardly ever not finish a book. The heroine is Panchali under another name and married to Karna. A friend of mine who did read it told me in the end, even actual Panchali acknowledges Karna was a great man, and he had every right to call her that name.


Krishna's sister is almost as bad. Author is clearly a Subhadra fan which I didn't mind. But she lifted lines straight from Star Plus show and translated them to EnglishπŸ˜†. Same nonsense. Subhadra fell in love with Arjuna, etc. etc.


Subhadra fan? I mean uske fans bhi hai πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚ Anyway it would be interesting if it was something fruitful but wtf. You are writing her POV yet reducing her to "fell in love" when she was abducted and denied her rights. Who publishes Star Bharat fan fictions? I want to write stuff too. If such low quality shit gets along then I am sure to find a publisher too! 


About Karna's wife- I read a few pages, and it was so bad I kept it back. It was Uruvi no? And he rejected Arjun n all. Met the author in a litfest. Really wanted to throw questions at her but well I was logistics. πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚

CaptainSpark thumbnail
Anniversary 10 Thumbnail Group Promotion 6 Thumbnail + 3
Posted: 3 years ago

Originally posted by: AnkitaPurka66

I didn't enjoy any retellings on Mahabharata.

Granted I read only Palace of Illusions and Ajaya.


As the posts above mentioned, the language used in Palace of Illusions is beautiful but the content is not. Ajaya on the other hand is straight away fan fiction.


Even being a Karna fan, I stay away from any books featuring him such as Mrityunjya, Karna's wife etc. 


I actually received a free copy of Karna's wife after I had purchased three books in Landmark, I think. I read one chapter and did not like it at all. It still lies in the back of my bookshelf untouched. The characterisation is so vastly different that I felt I am reading about some man who is also called Karna rather than the Mahabharata character Karna.


Please tell us more about your experience with Ajaya. πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚ I could not finish that either.