The literature related to the Great Epic is legion – be it commentary, translation, adaptation, or literary criticism. We give but a tiny sample here—largely English works—in addition to the primary sources, which are in Sanskrit. Mahābhārata scholars differ in their view on several topics. Needless to say, we do not subscribe to all the opinions presented in the treatises and essays given below. We have enumerated them simply because they are worthwhile references.
Primary Sources [Sanskrit]
Shriman Mahābhāratam with Bharata Bhawadeepa by Nīlakaṇṭha. Poona: Chitrashala Press, 1929–36 [Chitrashala Edition]
Sriman Mahabharatam: A New Edition mainly based on The South Indian Texts (in 19 volumes). Eds. Krishnacharya, T R and Vyasacharya, T R. Bombay: Nirnaya-sagar Press, 1906–14 [Kumbhakonam Edition]
Śrīmanmaharṣi Vedavyāsapraṇīta Mahābhārata (in 6 volumes). Gorakhpur: Gita Press, 2015 [Gorakhpur Edition]
The Mahābhārata (in 19 volumes). Eds. Sukthankar, Vishnu S et al. Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1933–66 [The Critical Edition]
The Mahābhārata (Southern Recension) (in 18 volumes). Ed. Sastri, P P S. Madras: V Ramaswamy Sastrulu and Sons, 1931–33 [Vavilla Press Edition]
Mahābhārata Commentaries [Sanskrit]
Caturdhara-vaṃśāvataṃsa-śrīman-nīlakaṇṭha-viracita-bhārata-bhāva-dīpākhya-ṭīkayā Sametam. Rāmacandraśāstrī Kiñjavaḍekara Ityetaiḥ Pāṭhāntara-ṭippaṇyādi-yojanayā Samalaṅkṛtam. New Delhi: Oriental Books Reprint Corporation, 1979
Caturdhara-vaṃśāvataṃsa-śrīman-nīlakaṇṭha-viracita-bhārata-bhāva-dīpākhya-ṭīkayā Sametam (in 9 volumes). Delhi: Nag Publishers, 1988–91
Jñānadīpikā-nāmni Mahābhārata-tātparya-ṭīkā Udyogaparva Deva-bodhācārya-kṛtam. Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1944
Devabodha-kṛta-mahābhārata-tātparya-ṭīkā-jñānadīpikā Bhīṣmaparva-vyākhyānam. Ed. Belvalkar, S K. Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1947
Śrī-devabodha-kṛta-mahābhārata-tātparya-ṭīkā Jñānadīpikā Sabhāparva-vyākhyānam. Ed. Karmakar, R. Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental
Research Institute, 1949
Complete Translations [English]
Ganguli, Kisari Mohan. The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa. Ed. Roy, Protap Chandra. Calcutta: Bharata Press, 1883–96
A Prose English Translation of The Mahabharata. Tr. Dutt, Manmatha Nath. Calcutta: Elysium Press, 1895–1905
महा भारत The Mahābhārata of Vyāsa. Tr. Lal, P (and Bhattacharya, Pradip). Calcutta: Writers Workshop, 2005–17
The Mahabharata. Debroy, Bibek. New Delhi: Penguin Books India, 2010–14
Abridged Versions [English]
Dutt, Romesh Chunder. Mahābhārata, the Epic of Ancient India condensed into English Verse. London: J M Dent and Company, 1899
Krishnamacharya, N V R. The Mahabharata. Tirupati: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, 1983
Mahabharata (in 42 comic books). Chandrakant, Kamala et al. [Script] and Kadam, Dilip [Illustration] Ed. Pai, Anant. Bombay: India Book House, 1985–89 [Amar Chitra Katha]
Narasimhan, Chakravarthi V. The Mahābhārata: An English Version based on Selected Verses. New York: Columbia University Press, 1998
Narayan, R K. The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978
Rajagopalachari, C. Mahabharata. Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan: 1951
Rao, L S Sheshagiri. Sri Mahabharatha (in 4 volumes). Bangalore: M P Birla Foundation / Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 2001
Subramaniam, Kamala. Mahabharata. Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1965
The Mahabharata: Condensed in the Poet’s Own Words. Ed. Srinivasachar, A M. Tr. Raghavan, V. Madras: G A Natesan & Co., 1935
Scholarly Writings
Argument and Design: The Unity of the Mahābhārata. Eds. Adluri, Vishwa and Bagchee, Joydeep. Leiden: Brill, 2006
Bühler, Georg and Kirste, Johann. Contributions to the History of the Mahabharata. Indian Studies, Vol. II. Vienna: F Tempsky, 1892
Chandra, Moti. Geographical and Economics Studies in the Mahābhārata: Upāyana Parva. Lucknow: The U P Historical Society, 1945
Essays on the Mahābhārata. Ed. Sharma, Arvind. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2011
Ganesh, ‘Śatāvadhānī’ R. Ārṣakāvyagaḻa Nuḍibèḍagu. Bengaluru: Vasantha Prakashana, 2020 [Kannada]
Gombach, Barbara. Ancillary Stories in the Sanskrit Mahābhārata. New York: Columbia University, 2000 [PhD Thesis]
Hiltebeitel, Alf. Rethinking the Mahabharata: A Reader’s Guide to the Education of the Dharma King. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001
Hiltebeitel, Alf. The Ritual of Battle: Krishna in the Mahābhārata. New York: SUNY Press, 1990
Kane, Pandurang Vaman. History of Dharmasāstra (in 5 volumes). Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1930–62
Kodandaramayya, P. The Message of the Mahābhārata. Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 2004
Krishna Chaitanya [Nair, K K]. The Mahabharata: A Literary Study. New Delhi: Clarion Books, 1985
Lüders, Heinrich. Druckprobe einer kritischen Ausgabe des Mahābhārata. Leipzig: W Drugulin, 1908 [German]
Mazumdar, Subash. Who is Who in the Mahabharata. Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan: 1990
Mohan, Vijneshu. Folkloristics of Mahābhārata. Delhi: B R Publishing Corporation, 2003
Mullick, Promatha Nath. The Mahabharata as a History and a Drama. London: W Thacke, 1938
Mullick, Promatha Nath. The Mahabharata as it was is and ever shall be: A Critical Study. Calcutta: Rai Promatha Nath Mullick Bahadur, 1934
Osho. Krishna: The Man and His Philosophy. New Delhi: Jaico Books, 2015
Pusalker, A D. Studies in Epics and Purāṇas of India. Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1955
Raghavan, K Srinivasa. The Date of the Maha Bharata War and the Kali Yugadhi. Tambaram: Prof. K Srinivasa Raghavan, 1969
Rajaram, N S. Search for the Historical Krishna. Bangalore: Prism Books, 2006
Ramaswamy, S R. Evolution of the Mahabharata and Other Writings on the Epic. Tr. Ravikumar, Hari and Bharadwaj, Arjun with Balakrishna, Sandeep. Bengaluru: Prekshaa Pratishtana, 2021
Sukthankar, V S. Critical Studies in the Mahābhārata. V S Sukthankar Memorial Edition, Vol. 2. Ed. Gode, P K. Poona: V S Sukthankar Memorial Edition Committee, 1944
Sukthankar, Vishnu Sitaram. On the Meaning of the Mahābhārata. Bombay: The Asiatic Society of Bombay, 1957
Sullivan, Bruce M. Seer of the Fifth Veda: Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana Vyāsa in the Mahābhārata. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1999
Thadani, N V. The Mahabharata. New Delhi: Bharatiya Kala Prakashan, 2013
Thadani, N V. The Mystery of the Mahabharata (in 5 volumes). Karachi: Bharat Publishing House, 1931–35
The Date of the Mahabharatha War – Based on Astronomical Data. Ed. Kamath, Suryanath U. Bangalore: The Mythic Society, 2004
Vaidya, R V. A Study of Mahabharata: A Research. Poona: A V G Prakashan, 1967
Winternitz, M. A History of Indian Literature. Vol. I, Part II. Tr. Ketkar, S. Calcutta: University of Calcutta, 1963
Yardi, M R. The Mahābhārata: Its Genesis and Growth. Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1986
Academic Papers and Essays
Agrawala, V S. ‘The Mahābhārata – A Cultural Commentary.’ Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Vol. 37. Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1956. pp. 1–26
Dandekar, R N. ‘The Mahābhārata: Origin and Growth.’ University of Ceylon Review, Vol. 12. Colombo: University of Ceylon, 1954. pp. 65–85
De, Sushil Kumar. Introduction to The Udyogaparvan, Being the Fifth Book of the Mahābhārata, the Great Epic of India. Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1940
Edgerton, Franklin. Introduction to The Sabhāparvan, Being the Second Book of the Mahābhārata, the Great Epic of India. Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1944
Gundappa, D V. ‘Mahābhāratada Pātragaḻu.’ D V G Kṛtiśreṇi, Vol. 1. Ed. Nayak, Ha Ma. Bangalore: Department of Kannada and Culture, 2013. pp. 364–429 [Kannada]
Hazra, R C. ‘The Aśvamedha, the common source of origin of the Purāṇa Pañca-Lakṣaṇa and the Mahābhārata.’ Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Vol. 36, No. 3/4. Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1955. pp. 190–203
Shende, N J. ‘The Authorship of the Mahābhārata.’ Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Vol. 24, No. 1/2. Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1943. pp. 67–82
Sukthankar, V S. ‘Notes on Mahabharata Commentators.’ Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Vol. 17. Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1943. pp. 185–202
Sukthankar, V S. Prolegomena to The Ādiparvan, Being the First Book of the Mahābhārata, the Great Epic of India. Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1933
Utgikar, N B. ‘Mention of the Mahābhārata in the Āśvalāyana gṛhya-sūtra.’ Proceedings and Transactions of the All-India Oriental Conference [held in November 1919 at Poona]. Vol. 2. Poona: All-India Oriental Conference, 1922. pp. 46–61
Lecture Series [Kannada]
Ganesh, ‘Śatāvadhānī’ R. Bhagavān Śrī Vedavyāsa Maharṣigaḻa Mahābhārata Vihāra (in 106 episodes). Bengaluru: Gokhale Institute of Public Affairs, 2020
Ganesh, ‘Śatāvadhānī’ R. Mahābhāratada Upākhyānagaḻu (in 10 episodes). Bengaluru: Gokhale Institute of Public Affairs, 2009
Ganesh, ‘Śatāvadhānī’ R. Mahābhāratada Pātragaḻu (in 27 episodes). Bengaluru: Gokhale Institute of Public Affairs, 2013–14
Creative Retelling or Analysis of the Epic
Bhagwat, Durga. Vyāsaparva. Mumbai: Mouj Prakashan Gruha, 2015 [Marathi]
Bhyrappa, S L. Parva. Bangalore: Sahitya Bhandara, 1979 [Kannada]
Karve, Irawati. Yuganta: The End of an Epoch. Hyderabad: Disha Books, 1991 [English; Marathi original]
Khandekar, Vishnu Sakharam. Yayāti. Poona: Mehta Publishing House, 1959 [Marathi]
Munshi, K M. Krishnavatara (in 7 volumes). Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1972
Sawant, Shivaji. Mṛtyuñjaya. Poona: Mehta Publishing House, 1967 [Marathi]
Sawant, Shivaji. Yugandhara. Poona: Mehta Publishing House, 2000 [Marathi]
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