The Clay Sanskrit Library: Mahabharata

Epic: Maha·bhárata
The Maha·bhárata tells the tale of the epic battle between the Pándavas and the Káuravas for the thrown. It begins with the famous game of dice between the Pándavas and the Káuravas, which sets the scene for the war that will lie at the center of the Maha·bhárata epic. But even after the war is ostensibly over when the heroic but flawed king of the Káuravas is dishonor­ably defeated in battle by his arch enemy, the extended family is still wracked in conflict leaving survivors, victors and vanquished struggling to comprehend their loss. Perhaps the most enigmatic philosophical text from ancient India, the final book in the set, “The Book of Liberation” is presented as the teachings of Bhishma as he lies dying on the bat­tlefield in the aftermath of war.
Included in this set:
Maha·bhárata Book II: The Great Hall
Translated by Paul Wilmot.
588 pages / 978-0-8147-9406-7
Maha·bhárata Book III: The Forest
Volume 4
Translated by William Johnson.
374 pages / 978-0-8147-4278-5
Maha·bhárata Book IV: Viráta
Translated by Kathleen Garbutt.
516 pages / 978-0-8147-3183-3
Maha·bhárata Book V: Preparations for War
Volume 1
Translated by Kathleen Garbutt. Foreword by Gurcharan Das.
720 pages / 978-0-8147-3191-8
Maha·bhárata Book V: Preparations for War
Volume 2
Translated by Kathleen Garbutt.
760 pages / 978-0-8147-3202-1
Maha·bhárata Book VI: Bhishma
Translated by Alex Cherniak. Foreword by Ranajit Guha.
Volume 1 (Including the “Bhagavad Gita” in Context)
615 pages / 978-0-8147-1696-0
Maha·bhárata Book VI: Bhishma
Volume 2
Translated by Alex Cherniak.
550 pages / 978-0-8147-1705-9
Maha·bhárata Book VII: Drona
Volume 1
Translated by Vaughan Pilikian.
473 pages / 978-0-8147-6723-8
Maha·bhárata Book VII: Drona
Volume 2
Translated by Vaughan Pilikian.
470 pages / 978-0-8147-6776-4
Maha·bhárata Book VIII: Karna
Volume 1
Translated by Adam Bowles
604 pages / 978-0-8147-9981-9
Maha·bhárata Book VIII: Karna
Volume 2
Translated by Adam Bowles.
684 pages / 978-0-8147-9995-6
Maha·bhárata Book IX: Shalya
Volume 1
Translated by Justin Meiland.
371 pages / 978-0-8147-5706-2
Maha·bhárata Book IX: Shalya
Volume 2
Translated by Justin Meiland.
470 pages / 978-0-8147-5737-6
Maha·bhárata Books X & XI: “Dead of the Night” and “The Women”
Translated by Kate Crosby.
350 pages / 978-0-8147-1727-1
Maha·bhárata Book XII: Peace (Part 2: The Book of Liberation)
Volume 3
Translated by Alex Wynne.
540 pages / 978-0-8147-9453-1

“"Here are stories and poems of great complexity and seeming simplicity, crafted with joy in the art of storytelling and delight in the nuance and patterning of words." Times Literary Supplement "A handsome new series of dual-language Sanskrit texts. . . . . No effort has been spared to make these little volumes as attractive as possible to readers."Times Higher Education Supplement"...a whole library, a whole literature, hot off the press, is now at last open and available to readers of English. It is more than two hundred years since Goethe remarked, after reading some very inadequate translations, that all earthly beauty is condensed into Kalidasa's Sakuntala. Was he exaggerating? Now you can make up your own mind." -David Shulman,The New Republic"Small, elegant books, beautifully printed, sparsely annotated, and bilingual. . . . This arrangement naturally delights students of Sanskrit, who may dispense, at least temporarily, with their dictionaries and grammar books; but you do not have to know Sanskrit to enjoy reading these volumes."The New Republic"The appeal of these books, the reason they stuck around long enough to become classics in the first place, is often their simplicity, the apparently effortless way so many of them distil complex truths into parables that resonate for people and in places distant from the works' authors or origins."Harper's Magazine"Magnificent. Built by the best Sanskrit translators of our time, the CSL launched new translators who brought works that had languished in obscurity into modern English." World Literature Today "These translations promise to revolutionize our sense of the Indian past: it is the greatest publishing project of recent years." Pankaj Mishra "A marvellous new venture. Modelled on the Loeb Library of Greek and Latin classics, the Clay Sanskrit Library presents masterpieces of Sanskrit poetry, drama, and prose in a dual language format . . . one of the most admirable publishing projects now afoot."New Criterion"Geek-chic."BookForum"You needn't be a scholar to enjoy this wondrous poem [Buddhacarita], which continually marvels us with its grand gestures: moments of divine intervention, political assassination plots, infernal visions and hellish battles with chimerical fiends. Recent pop culture has tackled the Buddha, from fantastic depictions (see Osamu Tezuka's eight-volume manga interpretation of his life) to the absurd (one thinks of a bronzed Keanu Reeves strutting as Siddhartha in Little Buddha). Yet you would be hard pressed to find anything that ranks close to the Buddhacarita, which still mesmerizes with its vividness and sheer audacity."Time Magazine"Very few collections of Sanskrit deep enough for research are housed anywhere in North America. Now, twenty-five hundred years after the death of Shakyamuni Buddha, the ambitious Clay Sanskrit Library may remedy this state of affairs...a good place to experience some deeply human poetry."Tricycle magazine"The texts reflect the vibrant literary culture of the classical Sanskrit period, taking readers on an adventurous journey through the palaces and gardens of ancient India."East-West Times”

"Here are stories and poems of great complexity and seeming simplicity, crafted with joy in the art of storytelling and delight in the nuance and patterning of words." Times Literary Supplement "A handsome new series of dual-language Sanskrit texts... No effort has been spared to make these little volumes as attractive as possible to readers." Times Higher Education Supplement "...a whole library, a whole literature, hot off the press, is now at last open and available to readers of English. It is more than two hundred years since Goethe remarked, after reading some very inadequate translations, that all earthly beauty is condensed into Kalidasa's Sakuntala. Was he exaggerating? Now you can make up your own mind." --David Shulman, The New Republic "Small, elegant books, beautifully printed, sparsely annotated, and bilingual... This arrangement naturally delights students of Sanskrit, who may dispense, at least temporarily, with their dictionaries and grammar books; but you do not have to know Sanskrit to enjoy reading these volumes." The New Republic "The appeal of these books, the reason they stuck around long enough to become classics in the first place, is often their simplicity, the apparently effortless way so many of them distil complex truths into parables that resonate for people and in places distant from the works' authors or origins." Harper's Magazine "Magnificent. Built by the best Sanskrit translators of our time, the CSL launched new translators who brought works that had languished in obscurity into modern English." World Literature Today "These translations promise to revolutionize our sense of the Indian past: it is the greatest publishing project of recent years." Pankaj Mishra "A marvellous new venture. Modelled on the Loeb Library of Greek and Latin classics, the Clay Sanskrit Library presents masterpieces of Sanskrit poetry, drama, and prose in a dual language format ... one of the most admirable publishing projects now afoot." New Criterion "Geek-chic."BookForum "You needn't be a scholar to enjoy this wondrous poem [Buddhacarita], which continually marvels us with its grand gestures: moments of divine intervention, political assassination plots, infernal visions and hellish battles with chimerical fiends. Recent pop culture has tackled the Buddha, from fantastic depictions (see Osamu Tezuka's eight-volume manga interpretation of his life) to the absurd (one thinks of a bronzed Keanu Reeves strutting as Siddhartha in Little Buddha). Yet you would be hard pressed to find anything that ranks close to the Buddhacarita, which still mesmerizes with its vividness and sheer audacity." Time Magazine "Very few collections of Sanskrit deep enough for research are housed anywhere in North America. Now, twenty-five hundred years after the death of Shakyamuni Buddha, the ambitious Clay Sanskrit Library may remedy this state of affairs...a good place to experience some deeply human poetry." Tricycle magazine "The texts reflect the vibrant literary culture of the classical Sanskrit period, taking readers on an adventurous journey through the palaces and gardens of ancient India."East-West Times

Epic: Mahabharata The Mahabharata tells the tale of the epic battle between the Pandavas and the Kauravas for the throne. It begins with the famous game of dice between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, which sets the scene for the war that will lie at the center of the Mahabharata epic. But even after the war is ostensibly over when the heroic but flawed king of the Kauravas is dishonorably defeated in battle by his arch enemy, the extended family is still wracked in conflict leaving survivors, victors and vanquished struggling to comprehend their loss. Perhaps the most enigmatic philosophical text from ancient India, the final book in the set, "The Book of Liberation" is presented as the teachings of Bhishma as he lies dying on the battlefield in the aftermath of war. Included in this set: Mahabharata Book II: The Great Hall Translated by Paul Wilmot. 588 pages / 978-0-8147-9406-7 Mahabharata Book III: The Forest Volume 4 Translated by William Johnson. 374 pages / 978-0-8147-4278-5 Mahabharata Book IV: Virata Translated by Kathleen Garbutt. 516 pages / 978-0-8147-3183-3 Mahabharata Book V: Preparations for War Volume 1 Translated by Kathleen Garbutt. Foreword by Gurcharan Das. 720 pages / 978-0-8147-3191-8 Mahabharata Book V: Preparations for War Volume 2 Translated by Kathleen Garbutt. 760 pages / 978-0-8147-3202-1 Mahabharata Book VI: Bhishma Translated by Alex Cherniak. Foreword by Ranajit Guha. Volume 1 (Including the "Bhagavad Gita" in Context) 615 pages / 978-0-8147-1696-0 Mahabharata Book VI: Bhishma Volume 2 Translated by Alex Cherniak. 550 pages / 978-0-8147-1705-9 Mahabharata Book VII: Drona Volume 1 Translated by Vaughan Pilikian. 473 pages / 978-0-8147-6723-8 Mahabharata Book VII: Drona Volume 2 Translated by Vaughan Pilikian. 470 pages / 978-0-8147-6776-4 Mahabharata Book VIII: Karna Volume 1 Translated by Adam Bowles 604 pages / 978-0-8147-9981-9 Mahabharata Book VIII: Karna Volume 2 Translated by Adam Bowles. 684 pages / 978-0-8147-9995-6 Mahabharata Book IX: Shalya Volume 1 Translated by Justin Meiland. 371 pages / 978-0-8147-5706-2 Mahabharata Book IX: Shalya Volume 2 Translated by Justin Meiland. 470 pages / 978-0-8147-5737-6 Mahabharata Books X & XI: "Dead of the Night" and "The Women" Translated by Kate Crosby. 350 pages / 978-0-8147-1727-1 Mahabharata Book XII: Peace (Part 2: The Book of Liberation) Volume 3 Translated by Alex Wynne. 540 pages / 978-0-8147-9453-1

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