After the War

Wendy Doniger has taught at Harvard, Oxford, the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, and the University of California at Berkeley, and, from 1978, at the University of Chicago, where she was the Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions, in the Divinity School, the Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations, and the Committee on Social Thought, now Emerita. She is the author of over forty books, including translations of Sanskrit texts as well as books about Hindu mythology and cross-cultural mythology, particularly about illusion, animals, gender, and sex. In 1984 she was elected President of the American Academy of Religion, in 1989 a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, in 1996 a Member of the American Philosophical Society, and in 1997 President of the Association for Asian Studies.

• ContentsAcknowledgementsIntroduction Part I: The Text and the StoryThe Older Generation: The Birth of Pandu, Dhritarashtra, and Vidura The Birth of the Sons of Pandu and KuntiThe Marriage of Draupadi Part II: The Last Books of the MahabharataBook Fifteen (Ashramavasika, Living in the Ashram) and Book Eleven (Stri, The Women)Book Sixteen (Mausala, The Battle of the Clubs), Gandhari's Curse, and Buddhist and Jain VariantsBook Seventeen (Mahaprasthanika, The Great Departure) and Yudhishthira's DogBook Eighteen (Svargarohana, Climbing to Heaven) and the Transfer of Karma Part III: The Meaning of the End of the StoryDeath and TransfigurationTheodicy and the Cause of Devastating WarVengeful Pride as a Cause of War Part IV: An Apology for My TranslationCriticizing the Critical Edition, and Leaving Key Words in SanskritThe Problem of Adjectives and EpithetsThe Poet and his Formulas, or, Parry and Lord to the Rescue The Translation Book Fifteen, Ashramavasika Parvan, The Book of Living in the AshramChapters Twenty-Six to Forty-Seven Preface to Book Fifteen Part One: Living in the AshramChapter 26: Narada Arrives and Predicts Dhritarashtra's Arrival in HeavenChapter 27: Narada Predicts Dhritarashtra's WorldsChapter 28: The Pandavas Worry about Their Mother and Dhritarashtra Chapter 29: The Pandavas Set Out for the ForestChapter 30: The Pandavas Enter the Forest with their ArmyChapter 31: The Pandavas meet Kunti, Dhritarashtra, and GandhariChapter 32: Sanjaya, the Bard, Introduces the Pandavas to the HermitsChapter 33: Vidura Enters the Body of YudhishthiraChapter 34: Yudhishthira Distributes Gifts and Vyasa ArrivesChapter 35: Vyasa Explains Who Vidura Was and Offers to Perform a Miracle Part Two: The Vision of the Sons Chapter 36: Narada Arrives and Dhritarashtra Grieves Chapter 37: Gandhari Tells Vyasa of the Women's Grief Chapter 38: Kunti Tells Vyasa How She Abandoned KarnaChapter 39: Vyasa Explains the Incarnation of the Gods as WarriorsChapter 40: The Dead Warriors Appear Out of the GangesChapter 41: The Returned Warriors Depart and Their Wives Enter the GangesChapter 44: The Pandavas Take Leave of Dhritarashtra, Gandhari, and Kunti Part Three: The Arrival of NaradaChapter 45: Narada Arrives and Tells Yudhishthira How Dhritarashtra, Gandhari, and Kunti Died Chapter 46: Yudhishthira Mourns for the Dead and Curses KingshipChapter 47: Narada Explains the Fire and Yudhishthira Performs the Funerals Book Sixteen, Mausala Parvan, The Book of the Battle of the ClubsPreface to Book Sixteen Chapter 1: Yudhishthira Sees Omens and Learns about the Battle of the Clubs Chapter 2: The Sages Curse the Vrishnis and the Club Appears Chapter 3: Omens Appear and Krishna Proclaims a PilgrimageChapter 4: The Vrishnis Go on a Pilgrimage and a Fight Breaks OutChapter 5: Krishna and Balarama Depart and Die Chapter 6: Arjuna Goes to DvarakaChapter 7: Arjuna Visits Vasudeva, Who Grieves and Vows to DieChapter 8: Arjuna Leads the Vrishni Women Out of Dvaraka and Bandits AttackChapter 9. Arjuna Visits Vyasa and Yudhishthira Book Seventeen, Mahaprasthanika Parvan, The Book of the Great DeparturePreface to Book Seventeen Chapter 1. The Pandavas Install the Kings, Depart and Encounter Fire Chapter 2. Draupadi, Sahadeva, Nakula, Arjuna, and Bhima Fall Chapter 3. Yudhishthira Goes to Heaven, With a Dog Book Eighteen, Svargarohana Parvan, The Book of Climbing to HeavenPreface to Book Eighteen Chapter 1. Yudhishthira Reaches Heaven and Encounters Duryodhana Chapter 2. Yudhishthira Goes to Hell and Meets His Brothers and DraupadiChapter 3. Yudhishthira Remains in Heaven and Bathes in the Heavenly GangesChapter 4. Yudhishthira in Heaven Meets the Reborn Warriors from Both Sides Chapter 5. Everyone Becomes the Gods They Always Were AppendicesAppendix One: Adjectives Applied to Several CharactersAppendix Two: Names and Epithets of Central CharactersAppendix Three: Minor Characters and Classes of BeingsAppendix Four: The Earlier Lives of the Protagonists of the Last Books of the MahabharataAppendix Five: Bibliography for Further ReadingAppendix Six: Technical Textual Notes

An independently printed and affordable translation that gathers the concluding parvans, or books of the epic, for a general readership...Doniger's rendering is smooth, readable, and appealing without artificial or anachronizing reduction in the formal tone of the text.