Product details
Product description
About the Author
Bibek Debroy is a renowned economist, scholar and translator. He has worked in universities, research institutes, industry and for the government. He has widely published books, papers and articles on economics. As a translator, he is best known for his magnificent rendition of the Mahabharata in ten volumes as well as the three-volume Valmiki Ramayana-both of which have been published to wide acclaim by Penguin Classics. He is also the author of Sarama and Her Children, which splices his interest in Hinduism with his love for dogs. Most recently, he translated the Bhagavata Purana and the Markandeya Purana for Penguin Classics.
Rahul –
Good condition books. Arrived on time. Just look at the pictures.
Saikat Das –
Some people are spreading misinformation about the authenticity of BORI critical edition of mahabharata and the quality of translation by Bibek debroy… Don’t believe them.A board of scholars in Bhandarkar oriental research Institute (a government organization) studied over 1259 manuscripts of Mahabharata over 50 years (1916-1966) and published the critical edition of the epic. They eliminated all the interpolations, popular but fake stories, retellings etc. The final result became the closest thing to the actual epic composed by the great vyasdev.Bibek debroy’s translation is very easy to understand and he has given footnotes at the bottom of each and every pages for the name of people, places, various incidents we are unfamiliar with. I have no complains regarding the translation he has done.Coming to the delivery of the books, that was absolutely terrible. The sent the box set inside of just a paper wrap, not even with a cardboard box, that they normally send. The box set of the books was damaged, during shipping I suppose. Thankfully, most of the books were alright, except 3 books were little bit bent. I hope Amazon will be more careful regarding the delivery of their products.
Ganesh –
Product was delivered on time, well packed, and in good condition. At ~3.6k, this is a very good deal.The box could be designed to be slightly more spacious so putting books back in the box is not a struggle, caused corner-most books to be slightly crinkled. All the books needed a wipe due to some fine dust on all (despite being inside a box)For someone who wants to access the critical edition and do a deep dive into this epic, there is no better option. Highly recommend it. And unlike modern attempts like ‘Jaya’ (Patnaik), there are no illustrations, modifications or other attempts to make the material more accessible. This one is for the truly interested and discerning readers, casual readers or first time venture into Indian itihasa should begin elsewhere. From the little I have read, the aspects that stood out to me are the quality of English (not unnecessarily ornamental or sophistication-for-its-own-sake type), copious and helpful footnotes that do not distract from the main text, and shloka-esque structure (i.e. not converted to traditional paragraphs), and, of course, the many surprises that will update whatever stories you might have casually absorbed over the years (e.g. did you know ‘Krishna providing the infinite robe to Droupadi’ story is not part of the critical edition?)Kudos to Debroy for producing this excellent ‘resource’ for future generations, a great many – particularly in today’s turbulent times – will benefit from going back to this original textLastly, cannot help but appreciate that Debroy managed to produce this translation as a ‘part-time’ endeavour(!) and, rightfully, credits his wife for making this possible.
abhishek –
Recieved the books in,suprisingly,nice conditions. No damage to the box. Although, I was expecting atleat 2 bookmarks with it, since its such a big box set. But the quality is good so no harm no foul.
Dasarath Sarkar –
Packaging and book quality is so good..Excited to read
Ajay Srivatsa –
Got it delivered in one day. Safe packing as amazon stands for. Just started with the first vol and it’s so thrilling to read the translation. Iv read mahabharatha moola shloks in samskrutham, also tamil and hindi translation. I had a small hesitation to go with English translations of our scriptures as many had interpolated the original else the language was too high. But Books by Bibek sir is something awesome. I was suggested this by one of my friend from Singapore. Must read for the current generation 👌
Amazon Customer –
The books are really good. Anyone who has doubts about buying this. Buy this product, it’s really worth the price.The only thing missing is a bookmark.
VCR Nitharsan –
I was little scared based on the damage comments..but it came within 2 days in an amazing packaging….the books were in really good quality and it was worth the 💰….can’t wait to start them ❤️
JeremyJohnson –
GorgeousBeautiful box set. Important work. Great translation. Fair price. There’s really nothing negative I can say about this. I would recommend this to anyone curious.
wise owl –
Excellent quality paperbacks and Extremely fast delivery!I like the quality of the books, which come in a convenient display case. I also like the fact that the seller managed to get the book set safely from India to Canada within two weeks. I look forward to reading Bibek Deboy’s translation of this great work. Penguin is famous for for publishing excellent English translations.