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Pradip Bhattacharya

Indologist, Mahabharata scholar

  • BOOKS
    • MAHABHARATA
      • The Mahabharata of Vyasa – Moksha Dharma Parva
      • The Jaiminiya Mahabharata
      • The Jaiminiya Ashvamedhaparva
      • The Secret of the Mahabharata
      • Themes & Structure in the Mahabharata
      • The Mahabharata TV film Script: A Long Critique
      • YAJNASENI: The Story Of Draupadi
      • Pancha Kanya: the five virgins of India’s Epics
      • Revisiting the Panchakanyas
      • Narrative Art in the Mahabharata—the Adi Parva
      • Prachin Bharatey ebong Mahabharatey Netritva O Kshamatar Byabahar
    • LITERATURE
      • Ruskin’s Unto This Last: A Critical Edition
      • TS Eliot – The Sacred Wood, A Dissertation
      • Bankimchandra Chatterjee’s Krishna Charitra
      • Shivaji Sawant’s Mrityunjaya: A Long Critique
      • Subodh Ghosh’s Bharat Prem Katha
      • Parashuram’s Puranic Tales for Cynical People
    • PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & MANAGEMENT
      • Leadership & Power: Ethical Explorations
      • Human Values: The Tagorean Panorama
      • Edited Administrative Training Institute Monographs 1-20. Kolkata. 2005-9
      • Edited Samsad Series on Public Administration. Kolkata, 2007-8
    • COMICS
      • KARTTIKEYA
      • The Monkey Prince
    • HOMEOPATHY
      • A New Approach to Homoeopathic Treatment
  • BOOK REVIEWS
    • Reviews in The Statesman
      • Review : Rajesh M. Iyer: Evading the Shadows
      • Review : Bibek DebRoy: The Mahabharata, volume 7
      • Review :The Harivansha – The Significance of a Neglected Text
      • Review : Battle, Bards and Brahmins ed. John Brockington
      • Review : Heroic Krishna. Friendship in epic Mahabharata
      • Review : I Was Born for Valour, I Was Born to Achieve Glory
      • Review : The Complete Virata and Udyoga Parvas of the Mahabharata
      • Review : Revolutionizing Ancient History: The Case of Israel and Christianity
    • Reviews in BIBLIO
    • Reviews in INDIAN REVIEW OF BOOKS And THE BOOK REVIEW New Delhi
    • Reviews in INDIAN BOOK CHRONICLE (MONTHLY JOURNAL ABOUT BOOKS AND COMMUNICATION ARTS)
  • JOURNALS
    • MANUSHI
    • MOTHER INDIA
    • JOURNAL OF HUMAN VALUES
    • WEST BENGAL
    • BHANDAAR
    • THE ADMINSTRATOR
    • INDIAN RAILWAYS MAGAZINE
    • WORLD HEALTH FORUM, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, GENEVA
    • INDIA INTERNATIONAL CENTRE QUARTERLY
    • ACTUALITIES EN ANALYSE TRANSACTIONNELLE
    • THE HERITAGE
    • TASI DARSHAN
  • STORIES, ESSAYS & POSTS
    • Chakravyuha by Manoranjan Bhattacharya
    • The Head Clerk. A short story.
    • BANGLADESH NEW-BORN: A MEMOIR
  • GALLERY
  • PROFILE
    • About the Author
    • IN THE NEWS
      • Epic discovery: City scholars find lost Mahabharata in Chennai library – The Times of India (Kolkata)

Bankimchandra Chatterjee’s Krishna Charitra

By Dr. Pradip Bhattacharya

Bankimchandra Chatterjee’s Krishna Charitra
  • Publisher: M.P. Birla Foundation
CHECK HERE

Bankimchandra Chatterjee’s Krishna Charitra. M.P. Birla Foundation, Calcutta. 1991. The first English translation from Bengali.

 

Krishna Charitra is a famous Bengali classic where Bankim Chandra endeavours to discover Sri Krishna, the real person, behind centuries of myths and legends. Written in 1886, this was the first instance where the character of Krishna is studied from a pragmatic and questioning perspective. Like his novel Ananda Math, Krishna Charitra originates from Bankim Chandraís passionate feeling of patriotism. He wanted to uphold Sri Krishna as not just a mythological figure, but an ideal Indian character, whom other Indians could look up to.

BOOK REVIEW:

“Pradip Bhattacharya and M. P. Birla Foundation deserve the gratitude of all the serious students of the Mahabharata. The translation is almost word-perfect…He has been able to capture the flow and the difficult and complicated syntax used by Bankim…very successfully captured that distinguishing atmosphere that is essentially Bankim…The introduction contains some interesting information hitherto little-known…The Bibliography…is very exhaustive…This work of translation is a production of very high order. The printing, the binding, the get-up etc. are excellent.” Maj. Gl. S.K. Sen, Vyasa’s Mahabharata: Creative Insights, Vol. 2, ed. Padma Sri Prof. P. Lal (Writers Workshop), The Statesman.

“Truly meritorious translation…It is no routine exercise, but a labour of love and dedication.” Dr. K. R. Srinivasa Iyengar.

“I am very glad to have this important translation in my library…what I have checked seems excellent.” Dr. Julius Lipner, Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge.

“Bhattacharya, a noted scholar on the Mahabharata with several works on the subject to his credit, certainly accomplishes a fine translation of a difficult work… But what is more, he enriches the work in the light of research subsequent to Bankimchandra’s… He also provides in the Appendix, notes on references to works and persons left unannotated by Bankimchandra as well as English rendering of Sanskrit verses the author quoted only in their original.” Prof. Manoj Das, The Hindu.

“The style is racy and invigorating, facilitating understanding of the original essay…The abstruse Indian ontology propounded by Bankim has been lucidly and elegantly conveyed.” Prof. Debal Kr. Chakravarti, Vyasa’s Mahabharata: Creative Insights,Vol. 2, ed.  Padma Sri Prof. P. Lal (Writers Workshop, Calcutta).

“A monumental work…I do not think that anybody working on Mahabharata or Lord Krishna can afford to neglect this work…Publication and printing is flawless and matches to the standards of the contents of the book. The M. P. Birla Foundation deserves congratulations.” Prof. Jodh Singh, Head, Department of Religious Studies, Punjabi University, The Journal of Religious Studies.

“excellent translation”. Dr. Hans Harder, Universität Halle, Germany.


Tagged with: Literature, Mahabharata

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