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The Versions of Mahabharata

The Mahabharata has many books attributed to it. The Epic has come down to us in the form of many books and literature works. There are in fact many written manuscripts of the Epic.

The Epic has many manuscripts of which 1259 Manuscripts have been retrieved till date by the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI) for their Unabridged version of the Epic. These 1259 Manuscripts are classified under "8 Major Recensions" of which 5 are Northern Recensions and 3 Southern Recensions. 

The Northern Recensions:
  1. Sarada (Kashmiri)
  2. Devanagiri (Central)
  3. Bengali
  4. Nepali
  5. Maithili 
Of these Recensions, The Kashmiri recensions is said to be more authentic than the others because it has least modifications and additions into the epic due to its Geographical Unreachability. The Nepali Recensions has the Oldest Manuscripts (N3) dating back to 1511 AD.

The Southern Recensions:
  1. Telugu
  2. Grantha
  3. Malayalam
Most of the Manuscripts from the southern recensions are discarded because they were written much later than the Northern Recensions and have more modifications and additions into the epic.

Based on this Recensions there are

The Unabridged Translated Versions:
  1. The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa by Kisori Mohan Ganguly (1883-1896) or known as the "KMG Mahabharat" based on Bengali Recension and Bombay Edition (Nilakantha Commentary)
  2. A Prose English Translation of Mahabharat by Manmatha Nath Dutt (1895) (Same as above)
  3. The BORI Mahabharat or The Critical Edition or The Poona Edition Translated by Bibek Debroy
The BORI Mahabharat is a better credible source of all the above as it is based on 1259 Manuscripts or the 8 major recensions, 50 years of Research with Sanskrit Scholars and Indologists, started by Prof.Vishnu.S.Suthankar who is also the editor of the "Adiparvan" (The Book of Beginning or the 1st Parva). The Translations of this version is done by Bibek Debroy, The Translation is easier to read because it is in Modern English while the first two mentions are in Victorian Era English (Shakespeare's English).

The Commentaries
  1. Neelakantha Chaturdara's Commentary widely known as "Bharatbhavadipa" or "The Bombay Edition". 17th Century
  2. Arjuna Misra commentary based on Devagiri Manuscripts. 15th Century
  3. Ratnagarbha Commentary based on Devanagiri.
Neelakantha's Commentary is widely used for research purposes by other scholars and indologists. The Clay Pot Library Translation is based on his commentaries.

The Abridged Versions
  1. Ramesh.C.Dutt's Mahabharat
  2. Gita Press (Hindi)
  3. Ramesh Menon's The Complete Mahabharata
  4. Purushottam Lal's "The Condensed Mahabharata of Vyasa"
  5. Pratap Chandra Roy's Translation
These are some prominent works, there are many more.

Prominent CE Works
  1. Karnabhaaram and Urubhanga play written by Mahakavi Bhasa in the 2nd Century CE
  2. Kiratarjuniyam, One of the Mahakavya, by Bharavi
  3. Sisupala Vadha , One of the Mahakavya, by Magha
  4. Naisadha Charita also known as "Nalamahakavya", One of the Mahakavya, by Shriharsha
  5. Abhijnanashakuntala play written by Kalidasa
  6. Pampabharata by Adikavi Pampa
  7. Karnata Bharata Kathamanjari widely known as "Gadugina Bharat" by KumaraVyasa
and many more.

These were some prominent works and Editions of the epic. There are many more like Retellings, Character Novels and Children Stories of the Mahabharata.

The Epic has been subjected to a lot of interpolations and additions into it, mostly favouring the pandavas and krishna. The Epic is a part of "Smriti Tradition", the epic was orally transfered down generations before it was written down between 800BC to 200CE. During its oral transfer, the epic was subjected to a lot of interpolations and these Interpolations are the reason for the epic 100,000 shlokas making the epic long, ten times the length of Illiad and Odyssey combined. 

So, The Content we have today and its versions is actually the original epic with a lot of interpolations much more than the original content. 

So, The Simple Oral Narrative over time turned into a 'Monstrous Chaos'.


Sources: 

Wikipedia

"Prolegomena of Mahabharat" by V.S.Suthankar 
http://gretil.sub.uni-goettingen.de/gretil_elib/Suk933__Sukthankar_ProlegomenaMBh1.pdf
              












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