Yuganta : The End of an Epoch

Yuganta studies the principal, mythical-heroic figures of the Mahabharata from historical, anthropological and secular perspectives. The usually venerated characters of this ancient Indian epic are here subjected to a rational enquiry that places them in context, unravels their hopes and fears, and imbues them with wholly human motives, thereby making their stories relevant and astonishing to contemporary readers.

Irawati Karve, thus, presents a delightful collection of essays, scientific in spirit, yet appreciative of the literary tradition of the Mahabharata. She challenges the familiar and formulates refreshingly new interpretations, all the while refusing to judge harshly or venerate blindly.


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ABOUT THE BOOK: Irawati Karve studies the humanity of the Mahabharata`s great figures, with all their virtues and their equallynumerous faults. Sought out by an inquirer like her, whose view of life is secular, scientific, anthropological in the widest sense, yet appreciative of literary values, social problems of the past and present alike, and human needs and responses in her own time and in antiquity as she identifies them... Seen through her eyes the Mahabharata is more than a work which Hindus look upon as divinely inspired, and venerate. It becomes a record of complex humanity and a mirror to all the faces which we ourselves wear.

Yuganta is a widely-acclaimed commentary on the Mahabharat by Irawati Karve which needs no introduction. It is a little book of about 200 pages divided into individual chapters on characters or events that Karve chooses to reflect on.

As a result, we see perceptive analysis emerge on many sidelined characters. The author’s approach is to humanize these characters and look at their actions and motivations from a rational lens and not as that of a great epic’s characters.

She is not shy of turning her critical eye to much-admired episodes in the Mahabharat, be it the exploits of Bhishma to the generosity of Karna. While popular consensus admires Bhishma for his self-sacrifice, she comprehensively demolishes this myth by pointing out his inaction at crucial moments. She highlights how his shirking of responsibility directly results in the Mahabharat.

Similarly, popular retelling across languages and forms has turned Karna into the most tragic character of the epic. Multiple poems and stories have been written about his story including classics like Mrityunjaya and Rashmirathi. Karve clinically separates the man and the myth highlighting how he is neither a man of conviction nor morals with his role in the killing of Abhimanyu and the disrobing of Draupadi.

In the female characters, Karve demonstrates strength and resilience, including not just Draupadi but also Kunti and Gandhari. She compares and contrasts Draupadi and Sita, the main heroines across the two great epics to highlight the multidimensionality of Draupadi as opposed to a more silent and passive Sita.

Draupadi hankers for revenge and makes no secret of it while Sita is the ideal heroine, evocative of the template of the great Sanskrit romance. Draupadi does not even shy away from questioning the elders and her own husband Yudhishthir when she is dragged to the court after the loss in dice. Therein Karve shows how Ramayana is an epic which focuses on ideals, Lord Rama being the ideal king and the ideal son, Sita being the ideal consort, Lakshman being the ideal brother and so on while Mahabharat is rooted in realism and realpolitik.

Another interesting thing is the author’s attempt to deconstruct the myriad influences that have crept in with retellings over time. It is commonly accepted that Lord Krishna’s larger-than-life avatar in the epic is a direct result of the Bhakti traditions of later ages. Karve rationalizes the motivations behind Lord Krishna’s actions with a desire to become the Vasudeva of his age. This gives a cogent explanation for Krishna independent of his divine status that gets added with later retellings.

There is just so much that this book uncovers and gives you to reflect on. Over time, I have read a lot of Mahabharat-themed books. My favourites have been Jaya by Devdutt Pattanaik, Yajnaseni by Pratibha Ray and The Difficulty of Being Good by Gurcharan Das. All these books carry different perspectives basis their authors’ reading of the epic. But Irawati Karve’s perspective is the most radical and logical that I have come across. This book is one for the ages.

English