JAYA - Devdutt Pattanaik

JAYA is an interesting book which runs on a thin line that stands between vulgarity and stunning facts about the greatest epic of hindus. On which side the book tilts depends on the person reading it !!

JAYA , written by Devdutt pattanaik in english, might be yet another book on Mahabharata. But, what sets it apart is the simplicity in the language and the clarity in information which is provided in the book. It is easily understandable and narration is as simple as that of a high school text book. The book starts with many generations before panDavas/Kauravas and stops with many generations after the pandavas. To keep the readers on track, many flow charts are provided time to time, to make make the reader be in sync with the various relationships between characters and the hierarchy of people from different generations.

An interesting aspect of JAYA is that the book is broken into multiple smaller chapters and at the end of each chapter, the author provides

1. Anectodes about the incidents mentioned in the chapter

2. Different versions of those incidents mentioned in other books on mahabharata and some famous folk tales.

3. Authour's analysis of why such incidents took place or why a character behaved / acted in a particular way

4. Relevance/relation of any incident in today's times

The author not only tells WHAT happened in mahabharata, but also provides an insight into WHY it happened. Since, most of us hava a fair idea of various events in mahabharata and its characters, it would be an interesting read to know the actual details than what we assumed till now. Some of the revelations would be shocking to readers and some would be disappointed / susprised to know that the characters they admired was not actually worth the admiration!!.

JAYA does not highlight much about Kurukshetra war. It spends more time in explaining the sequence of events which lead to the existance of Pandavas/Kauravas and what resulted in triggering the war. And with the details on the war, the author tells the basic rules decided before the war and how each of them were broken down during the war ( most of them broken by pandavas). All through his narration , the author gives an insight about Dharma, good, bad, karma, heaven, hell, greed , birth, death , rebirth, God, love, desire, lust,loyalty , infidelity, lies, truth,revenge etc..At the end of it, you realize that a filmy mix of all these is out great epic mahabharata :) :)

Since this is the only book I have read on mahabharatha, I really cannot vouch if they are completely true. But if it is true, then I feel that we are much better than those whom we considered as heroes or heroines in this great epic :) . If mahabharatha is not a fact and is just an imaginative story, then the way people were born from Shantanu to PanDu/dritharaashTra is an ultra hilarious imagination of a crazy mind :) :)

This book is a good read. Since it is about the characters that we are aware of, you can relate to it as you read through it.