Penguin Companion to the Mahabharata

"The Mahabharata is one of India's most revered epics - a transcendental, monumental literary and spiritual narrative with contemporary resonance. One of the founding epics of Indian culture, the Mahabharata is transfused with ancient Indian wisdom. It is the foremost reference for classical Indian civilization and has great influence on Indian and South-East Asian religion, art, literature and popular culture. At its core, it tells the story of an apocalyptic eighteen-day war for territorial power which pined brothers against brothers and sons against fathers, ended one age and began another. The epic's spiritual message unfolds through the many digressions and subplots of the story which presents sweeping visions of the universe and captivating glimpses of divinity. The Mahabharata also introduces one of Hinduism's most well-loved gods, Krishna, whose religio-philosophic discourse on the four human goals--kama, artha, dharma and moksha-is contained in the most important Hindu text, the Gita. This companion chronologically recounts the events of the Mahabharata, also providing the reader with - An episode-by-episode outline of the Mahabharata - Interesting, little-known facts about the epic - An account of a journal on how the Pandavas spent their twelve years in exile - A compilation of mythological concepts with detailed explanations - New insights into the spectrum of characters - Mythical place-names and their present names and locations - User-friendly information valuable for students, scholars and the general reader alike"