Tracing the Origins of a Leader: A Study of Devdutta Pattnaik’s Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata and John D. Smith’s The Mahabharata

Volume 3 Issue 2 Monsoon Edition 2023

Abstract

Aim: Krishna declares the start of Mahabharata, the war for the right to rule. The war was fought for righteousness or Dharma. Hence everyone was free to choose the side they believed was right. There was no obligation of the bloodline. Hence, started the deadliest and the bloodiest war in the Indian history serving a classic example of dharma over adharma or good over evil. The paper discusses the emergence, need, quality, pros and cons of being a leader. And how Shri Krishna emerged as one of the greatest leaders of all time. Methodology and approach: Comparative analysis of John D. Smith's The Mahabharat and Devdutta’s Pattnaik’s Jaya. Detailed textual reading and analysis of Jaya and The Mahabharata. Outcome: Shri Krishna emerged as a true leader in the deadly 18-day war named Mahabharata, which served as an iconic example for the future generations to learn from it and cultivate the moral within themselves. Conclusion: Devdutt's Jaya is a unique retelling of Mahabharata adding a new phase and color to this epic and John's The Mahabharata is a presentation of the critical text describing Pune’s most famous battle includes direct and absolute translation of about 11% of the Sanskrit text and straightforward summation of the text between the translated passages.