Book Review: Jaya
Book by Devdutt Pattanaik
Originally published: 16 August 2010
Genres: Fairy tale, Fiction
Jaya is basically a retelling of Mahabharata with the author's illustration. In the book, the author is attempting to give a valid logic for the events taking place. If you are Indian, you definitely know the theme, plot, ending and reasons, still, this book has a new perspective towards the incidents.
Basically, the book has described the the the whole Mahabharata with illustration at the end of each chapter. If you are of mythology, this book will be perfect for you.
I found the book so fascinating. There are many learnings and sayings, which I personally connected, one of them is
"Refusal to accept the flow of the world is the root of all misery."
Their is incident where Krishna stole the cloths and in other incident Draupadi is disrobed, Devdutt has a beautiful comparison :
"The story of Krishna stealing clothes of women needs to be compared and contrasted with the disrobing of Draupadi which occurs later in the epic. In both, women are deprived of clothes but while there is romance and joyousness in Krishna’s teasing of the gopis, there is humiliation and horror in Draupadi’s tale. Ultimately, it is not about behaviour alone; it is about intent."
I love this because of life lessons, these are my favorite one's :
‘Those who live by the law of the jungle die by the law of the jungle,’
No lesson is permanent. Wisdom thus is always work in progress.
Life would continue, with joys and sorrows, triumphs and tragedies rising and falling like the waves of the sea.
We all had known Mahabharata as a war between brothers and in the end, karma wins that is Pandavas. But Mahabharata is not about win and lose, it's about karma. Krishna says :
" There was no hero or villain in the epic, just people struggling with life, responding to crises, making mistakes, repeating mistakes, in innocence or ignorance, while trying to make their lives meaningful and worth."
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