Mrityunjay
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15
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Average rating5
The search for the meaning of Being is man's eternal quest and the subject of his greatest creations. Shivaji Sawant's Mrityunjaya is an outstanding instance of such a literary masterpiece in which a contemporary Marathi novelist investigates the meaning of the bewildering skein that is life through the personae of the Mahabharata protagonists. For over two decades since its first publication the vast non- Marathi and non-Hindi readership remained deprived of this remarkable exploration of the human psyche till the publication of this English translation by the Writers workshop – a contribution for which there is much to be grateful for.
Mrityunjaya is the autobiography of Karna, and yet it is not just that. With deceptive case, Sawant brings into play an exceptional stylistic innovation by combining six "dramatic soliloquies" to form the nine books of this novel of epic dimensions. Four books are spoken by Karna. These are interspersed with a book each from the lips of his unwed mother Kunti, Duryodhana (who considers Karna his mainstay), Shon (Shatruntapa, his foster-brother, who here-worships him), his wife Vrishali to whom he is like a god and, last of all, Krishna. Sawant depicts an uncanny similarity between Krishna and Karna and hints at a mystic link between them, investing his protagonist with a more-than-human aura to offset the un-heroic and even unmanly acts which mar this tremendously complex and utterly fascinating creating of Vyasa.
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I've known about this book for a while but I could never find it when I was in the US. And I kinda forgotten about it until I found this Hindi audiobook in Storytel. It's more than 35 hours long and I knew it would take a while, and I think it's been months since I started. But I'm finally done and what an experience this was.
I watch Hindi movies and shows very frequently but I haven't read a book in the language since school and don't know how good my reading skills are these days. But when I saw it was an audio, I knew it was the perfect format for me. And I have to say it was very satisfying. It's been a long while since I've watched my favorite Mahabharata TV series, so listening to similar formal language spoken just made me very very happy. It was also quite interesting to listen the story from various perspectives like Karna, his wife Vrishali, his brother Shon, Duryodhana, Kunti and towards the end, Lord Krishna. The story really goes into detail in parts the usual Mahabharata books don't go into, especially the minds of Kunti during the time she gave birth to Karna and Karna's whole attitude about wanting to be a warrior but cruelly discriminated against his whole life. Karna's POV was quite difficult at times because his despair seeps into the narrative very deeply and I was feeling depressed listening to how horribly he was treated by everyone. But then he also makes some choices which frustrate us because we know he is a good person and wouldn't have made those same choices if the world a bit more kinder to him. Ofcourse, all these feelings are nothing new because ultimately the story of the Mahabharata is not gonna change and I know where it's going, but it definitely feels a bit eye opening when you get to see what might have been happening in other characters' lives. Vrishali and Shon were two characters whom I don't think most versions even mention but they are really very good people who became a part of Karna's struggles and tried to make him happy as much as possible. I also liked Krishna's POV towards the very end where he is contemplating what choice to make - this was quite new for me because in most versions, he is god and you wouldn't expect him to question himself.
Overall, this was an experience that I won't forget any time soon. It's Mahabharata made personal and I thoroughly felt it deep in my heart. I would definitely recommend the audio format because the narrators are all very good, particularly in emotional scenes. And this is making me wanna look up other Shivaji Sawant books which unfortunately aren't on Storytel and not always easy to find in English. Let's hope I have some luck finding them.
