Katha A Bhashya on Mahabharata

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The story of Mahabharata is well known among the readers of Indian literature. It is close to impossible to avoid at least one reference to Mahabharata who has read a moderate amount of Indian literature. So why add an additional one? Isn't everything to be written on this topic has already been written? Hasn't this topic been well researched and well explained already? What is the need to write an additional book on Mahabharata?

The truth is, I do not know the answer.

I am writing the preface as one of the last things I write in this book. I do not expect the readers to read this in the beginning either. You may very well visit this in the end or even skip this if you deem fit. I am only using this space trying to explain. Why I wrote this book, nothing else.

Before I start writing my explanation, though, let me share that almost any author who has written a book on Mahabharat would say that she did not write the book. Krishna made her write one. The authors may use terms such as the lord, the divine, the spirit, the universe, the... but almost none of us would claim that she wrote the book out of her own wisdom, neither will I claim any such thing.

Writing on Mahabharata is not usually considered an easy task. I was afraid to my core before I began writing this back in 2018-19. I knew the story, I knew the characters, I knew the events already at that point in time, but I wasn't confident enough to start writing. I do not remember the day it happened, but out of nowhere I had five chapters written on my laptop! From there on I got the momentum and kept writing as and when I could find the time. Google docs is an amazing application when it comes to accessing the draft on multiple devices. I wrote excerpts of this book in cab-rides, in the metro, in bank lines, once even in a cinema hall when the movie was boring, in train journeys, on the beach of Varkala, on the shore of Ganga, in the jungle of Girnaar, and even during my office breaks. Writing this book has been my tool of relaxation. I wrote when I was upset, when I was disheartened, when I was heartbroken; I also wrote when I was happy, when I was excited, when I was over the top! But all in all, I never wrote a word using my own effort. I didn't believe I could write a book on Mahabharata when I started, I do not believe it when I am done writing. I cannot claim to be wise enough to write this epic, Krishna made me write this is the only explanation I can give to the readers.