The beauty of epics is the relevance that they hold even when times change, and generations pass. This large-scale validity also extends to different levels of relevance, ranging from societal, psychological, physical and emotional levels of people. It is this combined impact which reinforces the relevance of epics in every changed time that they are read, and drawing their connections with the present day world raises their significance in people’s lives. A similar effort by Bharat Thakker in “Mahabharata: Relevance and Application in Contemporary Thought” not only draws the relevance of the epic in the contemporary times but also rewinds the epic for the people to refresh and reconnect.
The author uses the story-telling technique to connect people with the text where initially, he goes into the realms of history by narrating the tale as it happened, and later on, bit by bit, he connects it in the context of contemporary events. What makes the book more interesting is the clarity with which he connects these events and exhibits how the Mahabharata is relevant not only in Indian people’s lives but to the world altogether. It explores the questions of people, their lives, women, their power, the vision of equality and its flawed version, modernity and its confused concept and social constructs of people based on their assumed roles. The psychological relevance of the epic is a universal fact that finds extended validity in the contemporary world.
These are some of the themes that pervade the canvas of “Mahabharata.” In addition, the author raises many other questions that make the readers ponder over and connect them with the larger level of life. True to its title, the epic is connected with the present lives of the people not in a mundane form of an essay but a retelling of the famous tale and connecting it with today by the frequent parallels to today’s world. Even though the world now is ruled by the goodies of technology in a digital era and the epic is set much before the existence of anything like this, it is still surprising to see how the epic manages to connect even then. This also resonates the fact that no matter how driven the world is by science, when it comes to guidance, understanding the deeper meaning of life and venturing on the path of spirituality, ancient wisdom in the form of epics will always be the first sources for human beings.
Another noteworthy feature of “Mahabharata” is the retelling of the epic by narrating the story initially, which refreshes the memory of the readers and connects the events sequentially in case they do not have the required clarity on the occurrence of the events. This distinguishes the book and does not make it a mere commentary to connect its relevance with the present. Through this technique, the author not only ignites the interest of the readers in the text but also keeps them glued throughout its development.
“Mahabharata: Relevance and Application in Contemporary Thought” by Bharat Thakker is recommended to people who want to understand life on a deeper level and acquire the wisdom that is a product of the author’s experience and research.
