Light on the Mahabharata: A Guide to India's Great Epic

In this accessible text, Dr. Nicholas Sutton, a course facilitator at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, explores the meaning and significance of the Mahabharata. An ancient Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata reflects on a wide range of issues which have concerned people throughout different epochs. The Mahabharata raises and seeks to answer universal questions about the human condition, human interactions, and the great conundrums of our existence in this world.

Introducing a myriad of figures central to Hindu mythology, the Mahabharata has played a major role in the formation of Hinduism as we know it today, as well as contributed to the formation of cultural and social life in India. The longest known epic poem ever written, the Mahabharata presents an amazing story with many different characters and subplots, as well as extensive passages of religious, philosophical, moral, and practical instruction.

OXFORD CENTRE SERIES: Understanding the Mahabharata joins The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies Mandala Publishing Series. This book joins other accessible texts on Hinduism authored by expert scholars, including The Bhagavad Gita: A New Translation and Study Guide; The Hindu Temple and Its Sacred Landscape; and Women in the Hindu World.

EXPERT AUTHOR: Nicholas Sutton has spent four decades studying, teaching, and writing on the Mahabharata. Sutton is the Director of the Continuing Education Department of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, an academy for the study of Hindu cultures, societies, philosophies, religions, and languages. He received his PhD from Lancaster University, writing his doctoral dissertation on the Mahabharata, and currently writes and tutors online courses on Hindu religious traditions.

EDUCATION AID: This book serves as a comprehensive resource for both classwork and independent study of Hinduism. With the integration of discussion questions, suggested further reading, and images throughout, Understanding the Mahabharata offers an accessible introduction to this enduring Sanskrit epic.