The ancient Indian history has beautifully been marveled with two greatest Epics of all times, The Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The Ramayana illustrates the adventurous journey of a Prince who had to wander for 14 years in the wilderness of South India, fighting against all odds and evils to keep the promises of a father alive. The Mahabharata based on the greatest war of the thirteenth or fourteenth century with many living legends of that era sacrificing their lives amidst the bad politics, along with smart fighting skills of Lord Krishna casted this epic tale of Indian history.
This war had been narrated on paper in the ancient times even before the Christian era and it is actually triumph of honest virtue over the evil political fabric of the Kauravs. Krishna's preaching to Arjuna has been the trademark of this epic tale, woven with the enlightened views on life, family and ethics of work performed by one's soul. This epic tale became immensely popular amongst every generation that the growth of this ancient tale witnessed a sharp rise. Writers and poets of every generation described it in their own words, adding more essence with good deeds of this old record.
The revolving tales of true ethics, legendary livings, myths, religion and devotion for work, which actually made ancient India a hub of living culture and tradition, has been expanding under the shelter of this wonderful Krishna-worship and Krishna-cult epic. Since, its first compilation The Mahabharata has been growing up for thousands of years with the entire contents being described in prefatory verses and around eighty five thousand couplets. This epic writing has a poem of around ninety thousand couplets, almost six to seven times the size of the Iliad and the Odyssey taken together. Henceforth, the complete translation of the Mahabharata into English is not desirable, yet some verses of it have been translated by many recognized writers and poets and given to the readers. But this attempt for expansion has spoiled the true fragrance of this golden epic to some extent.
The major incidents from this ancient writing actually bear an unabridged translation into English, which are not diffused but widely spread within the leading narrations of the tale. Short connecting notes, poetic lines and few verses portraying the real life happenings in context with the epic has been presented to the readers by the distinguished authors who have worked on this ancient epic since its first compilation. The condensed form of the Mahabharata has been done by linking up the major striking instances of the age old epic and then telling the story to the readers. There has been no elimination of the story content as told in the original work. The war of the Mahabharata was a series of eighteen battles, fought on eighteen consecutive days and this fact has been kept in consideration to present each day's incidents before the readers. The order of narration is the same as that of the original work. The one characteristic feature which differentiates the Mahabharata from the Ramayana is its simplicity in narration beautifully adored by the glimpses of Sanskrit poetic touch.
Indian people know the importance of their ancient heritage. Indian people are very sensitive towards the symbols of their classic culture and rich traditional values. Millions of Indians everyday cherish their epic history and live their lives recognizing all the great characters of Indian epics with respect. The heroes of Indian ancient epics are the inspiration of many people. Even the poor, illiterate ones prefer to follow the sayings of the rich Indian epics. The story of the righteous war of these epics has a charm and attraction of their own. The morals these ancient tales convey has been strictly accepted by the hearts of Indian people. Even the west follows our historical traits and writings. Many western universities have come up with the plan to make Indian epics a compulsion in their research study.
No great work like Shakespeare or even the poems of Homer in European nations, US, Greece or Italy hold the figure of national importance, the way the Ramayana and the Mahabharata does in India. The Mahabharata and the Ramayana have been accepted without any hesitation as one of the highest standpoint of literature by every nation across the globe. In India, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana have been the cherished heritage since thousands of years. It has the same respect, same values and same pride even today which it has carried since its first compilation. They reflect the practical present day thoughts, beliefs and moral values which every citizen of India carries.
