"In the forest, the mighty eat the meek. In human society, the mighty should take care of the meek. This is dharma" -- Back cover.

Eleven year old Samhita Arni s beautifully illustrated version of the Mahabharatha is a bold and fresh re-telling of the great epic.

WHEN ANYONE WISHES TO SPEAK OF A GREAT RULER, THEY SAY, `A KING LIKE RAMA? All is well in the prosperous and orderly kingdom of Ayodhya until the greedy Queen Kaikeyi tricks King Dashratha into sending his beloved eldest son and heir apparent, Rama, into exile for fourteen years. The noble prince, accompanied by his brother Lakshmana and wife Sita, leaves for the forests. When Sita is abducted by Ravana, the demon-king of Lanka, it triggers off a series of events starting with the search for her and culminating in the cataclysmic battle between Rama and Ravana. What unfolds in between is a remarkable tale of divine reincarnations, fierce demons, powerful kings, magical weapons and amazing creatures ? all woven into the extraordinary and keystone Indian epic of good and evil, love and enmity, boons and curses, hardship and destiny. These retelling of the Ramayana, written especially for young readers by the inimitable Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury, and checked and proofed originally by none other than Rabindranath Tagore, has been translated for the first time into English by leading children?s writer and translator, Swapna Dutta.

The Mahabarata is one of the most widely read epics. How can we deprive our children of the opportunity to read this ancient classic literature? This book keeps in mind the age, interest and comprehension of our young readers. The original Mahabarata is a wonderful epic with many heroic characters, dramatic incidents and popular legends. The authors have attempted to select the characters and incidents with a view to capturing the imagination of the young readers. Written in simple and lucid language, this narrative is an edited version of the great epic. The appendices will make the reading and comprehension of the Mahabarata easier and more interesting. And of course, the colourful and attractive pictures on every page will add to the beauty of this publication.

Ages 3 to 6 years. Mahabharata is a major epic of ancient India. It is a narrative of the Kurukshetara War and tales of kauravas and pandavas who were cousins. Kauravas had usurped the land of pandavas by unfair means. Pandavas wanted to get their land back but the kauravas were not agreed to give them even a little land and hence the war broke out between the two. Mahabharata for Children, the book in your hands, has great stories from Mahabharata. All the stories have been written in simple and lucid language with attractive illustrations. With all its unique features, the book is interesting and knowledgeable for everyone.

A rigged game of dice brings the 100 Kaurava princes, led by the scheming Duryodhana, to the battlefield against their cousins, the five Pandavas – the noble but gullible Yudhishthira, the mighty Bhima, master archer Arjuna and the twins, Nakula and Sahadeva. The epic war of Kurukshetra, which lasted 18 tragic days, pitted brother against brother, uncle against nephew and disciple against teacher. The intense battles between warriors equally fearless and skilled – Bhima and Duryodhana, Arjuna and Bheeshma, Drona and Dhrishtadyumna, and Karna and Arjuna – were as much conflicts of loyalty and ambition as they were of choices. The side they chose to support, or fight against, led them into a labyrinth of duty and destiny, where both the defeated and the victorious lost something or someone precious to them. This classic retelling of the Mahabharata, was written especially for young readers by the inimitable Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury, and originally checked and proofed by none other than Rabindranath Tagore. Translated for the first time into English by leading children’s writer and translator, Swapna Dutta, this eternal tale is brought to life in all its drama and detail.

‘A long, long time ago, in the ancient lands of India, known in those days as Bharatvarsha, a family quarrel grew into a bloody war. There had been wars before, and there have been wars since, but that mighty battle between warring cousins of the Kuru clan has become a part of the mythology and history of India. Told and retold a million times, the story of the Mahabharata is about defeat as much as victory, about humility as much as courage. It is the greatest story ever told.’ Like a modern-day suta or storyteller, Namita Gokhale brings alive India’s richest literary treasure with disarming ease and simplicity. She retells this timeless tale of mortals and immortals and stories within stories, of valour, deceit, glory and despair, for today’s young reader in a clear, contemporary style. A brilliant series of evocative and thoughtful illustrations by painter and animator Suddhasattwa Basu brings the epic to life in a vibrant visual feast. Matchless in its content and presentation, The Puffin Mahabharata is a book that will be cherished by readers of all ages.