This tiny book is a collection of essays on a few choice characters of Mahabharata such as Vidur, Kunti, Draupadi, Gandhari and so on. Irawati Karwe was a sociologist par excellence and she brings her keen eye for subtleties underlying social dynamics and uncovers a whole new meaning for her readers.

We had one of the essays: Draupadi, prescribed for reading during or English Literature course in DU. It was so intriguing and realistic that it made me eagerly anticipate reading the whole book...

A superb commentary on the Mahabharat as a historical text.
Ms Karve's mastery of the epic is obvious. Her interpretation of the individuals central to the story and what that says about the social mileu is intriguing.
As others have written in reviews, the last two chapters are particularly fascinating. I particularly enjoyed her views on the evolution of Hinduism.
In all: a must read.
Strongly recommended.

The Main Characters..their Good's n Bad's r Explained WELL .. Some points looked as the Writer's Exaggeration they, r Hard To Believe ..but The Writer did a Great JOB ...Comparing Ramayana n Mahabharata ...n Few Characters with others need a Deep Investigation to do so....One Shud Read this BOOK ...
.but the Part where i didn't like it - it looks like The Author was Fully Partial to ARJUNA n She has a Negative Perception on KARNA ... The every Character she explained in this BOOK have Majorit...

This is one of the best books that I had read. Surprisingly simple language and vivid descriptions. Enjoyed a lot. It explores the human side of characters - even Vasudeva Krishna.... The weakness of major characters, their dilemmas, sorrows are explained in the best possible manner...

After one has read various classical versions of the Mahabharata, reading this work, I believe, will kindle anew orientation and critical analysis for the greatest & the longest ever narrative work from India. True erudition stands out, though some of the positions argued in the book may not tally with the popular perception. It is not an easy read as the familiarity demanded of the epic is truly of "epic" proportions. Mahabharata is an evergreen enigma and this book contributes to humanize ...

I bought this book to give it as a gift to one of my teacher. Actually me & my friends contributed to buy it. I was a little apprehensive because I felt that maybe my teacher already had this book, but to my surprise she was not only happy but she also said she had the same book before but someone stole it ;-) so Karve's book was a really a great gift to her. I was happy because she was happy & my friends were happy of my selection. I think Yuganta is a great read because I also have a copy o...

IK is probably confused. Makig Vidura as Dharma's father and Dhurvasa as Karna's father may sound intresting and can arouse a lot of controversy. However seems to contradict his own statement in lot of places. swings between logical and magical ways in mahabharatha.
The point to note is Mahabharatha is ITHIHASA - That which happened and can which was, is and will be TRUE.
Having said that a Good read.....

As fascinating as Sociology is, its application to historical/mythical writings could only be attempted, and at that, so beautifully interpreted and articulated, by the genius of Karve. She is by far the best Indian writer in my book, not only for the strength of content, but the sheer logic of social constructs.

This book in particular is a must-read who is even remotely familiar with the story and the characters of the Mahabharata - that treasure trove of stories, rivalled only by The Bar...

This novel is collection of essays written on different characters of Mahabharat like Krishna, Bhisma , Karna etc. Author tries to visualize the society in the times of Mahabharat era, the norms and rituals which could have been existing in that era and tries to explains the logic behind various events which occurred in the story... The logic seems appealing in some cases like in case of Bhisma and Krishna but not so convincing in few of the cases. Still, the book is a good read if you want t...

Overall good