From: 128.155.42.20 (Subrahmanyam Kuppa)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian.telugu
Subject: Mahabharatam Available
Date: 6 Nov 1992 20:32:17 GMT
Organization: A.S.&M., Inc., Hampton, VA.
Reply-To: ()
NNTP-Posting-Host: cscmac3.larc.nasa.gov
Keywords: Mahabharatam, Telugu Prose, Translation

					Mahabharatam
				(Translation into Telugu prose)
					        by

			    Sri Kappagantula Lakshmana Shastry

		Adi Parvam (780 pages) & Sabha Parvam (330 pages)

	The lyrical sanskrit verse Mahabharatam mirrors the culture, philosophy 
and traditions of India perhaps like no other literary treatise. Pronounced 
by Sage Veda Vyasa and written by the Lord Ganapathi, this epic in its 
original form remains beyond the reading comprehension of most Indians. 
Adikavi Nannaya initiated a translation of the epic into Telugu, which was 
later taken up by Tikkana and completed by Errapragada. This translation too 
is a complex treatise. Although simplified and shortened versions of the epic 
are aplenty, only a few of them capture the serene beauty of the original 
Vyasa Bharatam. Sri Kappagantula Lakshmana Shastry (1911-1981) labored over 
forty years to translate verbatim, the Vyasa Mahabharatam. Sri Shastry 
undertook the mammoth task in the face of opposition from his mother who 
feared historic precedents; previous attempts ended with incomplete 
translations and premature deaths of the authors. Sri Shastry's translation 
in lyrical Telugu prose is simple and faithful to the original.

	Sri K. Lakshmana Shastry was born in Wanaparthy (Mahaboobnagar district, 
A.P.) and received formal education in literature, advaita philosophy and 
grammar at Tirupathi Sanskrit College, Mylapore Sanskrit College, and the 
universities at Madras and Annamalai. He then acquired scholarship in seven 
other languages. He began his career as a Telugu teacher and went on to serve 
the A.P. state as the assistant director in the Information and Public 
Relations dept. and as deputy director of education (oriental studies). He 
was an emeritus professor at the Benares Sanskrit University.

	During his life time he contributed to the spread of Telugu in the 
erstwhile Nizam state, Hindi in South India and Sanskrit in the entire 
country. He was instrumental in the introduction of Sanskrit news bulletins 
on the All India Radio. He delivered many talks on the AIR on philosophical 
and spiritual topics. He was conferred the titles Andhra Bilhana, Sudhindra 
Mouli, Maha Mahopadhyaya, Ashta Bhasha Kovida, etc. His works of translation 
include Bilhana's Vikramarka Deva Charitam and Karna Sundari drama. He was 
active in the introduction and popularization of Bhuvana Vijaya Sabha; 
depictions of the legendary Krishnadevaraya's literary conferences.

	Publication of the Mahabharatam, which may run into twelve(12) volumes, 
has been initiated by Sri Shastry's family members. Proceeds from the sale of 
the first two volumes - Adi and Sabha Parvams, which are now  available- are 
to be used for printing of the remaining volumes. The support and patronage 
of enlightened Telugu people is solicited in this effort. Limited number of 
copies of the first two volumes are available for sale. For further 
information and to order, please call (301) 601-0920 or write to 
			Krishna Murthy
			20414 Peridot Lane
			Germantown, MD 20876.



Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian.telugu