Indian epic question

[swan_tower]

Which translation of the Mahabharata should I read?

(Not Buck's abridgement/retelling. Read that already, and appreciated it as a Cliff Notes introduction to what I understand is a very complicated story, but now I need to look at the actual text.)

Comments

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

Danke.

[wshaffer.livejournal.com]

I've only read the Buck retelling, but caught an interesting interview on "The Book Show" on Australian radio some time back with John Smith, who did a translation of the Mahabharata for Penguin Classics. As I recall, the commentary on the show implied that Smith's translation, though abridged, is the most complete English-language version available.

You can still hear the interview online here: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bookshow/stories/2009/2753415.htm

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

So there *is* no unabridged version? I guess I'm not entirely surprised, it being the length of the Wheel of Time and all, but still -- it's a bit startling.

[mastadge.livejournal.com]

The Smith looks good. I have this edition (http://www.amazon.com/Mahabharata-Greatest-Spiritual-Epic-Time/dp/1887089179/) and would happily recommend it -- it seems to be about the same length as the Smith, and is also illustrated.

While I have not read it, Ramesh Menon's two-volume set (http://www.amazon.com/Mahabharata-Modern-Rendering-Vol/product-reviews/0595401872) seems to be the longest abridged translation, and I enjoyed his Ramayana so would be willing to bet his Mahabharata is good as well.

Of course, when I dip into this stuff I'm looking not for scholarly translations but for engaging reads, so none of the above may be helpful. I know nothing of any unabridged translations that may be out there. I suspect there aren't many of them, though.

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

My concern isn't precisely scholarly, but I'm trying to read up on a particular thread of the story, which is why I want to see the original text (in translation).

Thanks for the recs.

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

rachelmanija has a good handle on that--she should be back from China in a few days.

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

I'll get in touch with her -- thanks.

[aliettedb.livejournal.com]

The only full text translation I was able to find was on Project Gutenberg, by Kisari Mohan Ganguli, produced at the tail end of the 19th Century. It's a bit... decidedly Victorian, shall we say? Most of the sexual passages are rendered into Latin or skipped, which is fairly perplexing, and there's a bunch of archaisms as well.
I don't speak sanskrit, so I can't vouch for the accuracy, but it certainly is very complete.
I remember looking for a complete version about a year ago, and I think the only other translations of the complete text are in progress: the J. A. B. van Buitenen is still ongoing, and so is the Clay Sanskrit Library version (about 50% of the way through, I think)

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

I should have mentioned that Project Gutenberg was the first place I looked. The translation there is . . . special. :-) In that oh-so-special Victorian way. Given that the part of the Mahabharata I'm interested in is the part where a woman gets reincarnated as a girl who's raised as a boy and then magically transformed into a man, I think I'm better off with a modern translation.

I just got two very good recommendations from rachelmanija, though -- one a seconding of the Menon mentioned above -- so I think I'm set now.