Thoughts on The Mahabharata

At least “delhi” sounds pretty. (Tell you what, though, growing up the University of Del-HI really confused the piss out of me.)

It’s the same reason I rarely use my legal first name - I happen to think it’s a beautiful name and I hate having it butchered at me, so I go by my nick. Though I have noticed in the last ten years or so, more and more people pronounce it properly at first go. I think this is a result of there being just that many more immigrants to this country, with funny-sounding names.

But everything else I pronounce properly. I’ve actually had people yell at me for not saying Ganges. Pardon me if I don’t subscribe to the Western way of saying Indian things! Yes, I am aware I live in the West.

:smiley:
My first name would seem to start with a “why” to a person not from south Asia. But my nick name is “vicky” , which is fine.

I haven’t read the Mahabharata personally, but I just found out about last year’s animated movie entitled Arjun: The Warrior Prince. Trailer here. I’m very much hoping this comes out in the USA.

Check your PMs.

Thanks for sharing.
Found an animated Ramayana on youtube in English.

Thank you very much for the explanation. Leave it to English to mess with everything it comes into contact with.

We Indians can also be quite ruthless to English the way we speak it sometimes.:smiley:

Also, hearing how a few other languages sound (for example Mandarin), I dread to think how transliteration would work for them.:smiley:

Heh. Don’t get me wrong, I love English. I think it’s a beautiful, complex language. Plus you guys can do the Y-M-C-A which our languages can NEVER do.

Try the versions by C Rajagopalachari , incidentally first Indian Governor General , which are comparatively short and easily comprehensible . They were my introduction to the epic and very memorable .

Actually, I just made the connection between Sakuntala’s story as the mother of Bharat and the Mahabharat. I had read the Kalidasa version and hadn’t made the connection for some reason that she was an ancestor of the Pandavas and Kauravas. The version of the Mahabarat that I am reading didn’t include her story but while reading Thapar’s lectures I recognized the name Bharat from what you had said and found the Mahabharat version of Sakuntala’s story. I found the Mahabharat version much more interesting and meaningful as she is portrayed as a true character with depth and force of will. It had struck me as odd that in the Kalidasa the mother of the great king was so passive.

And Indian mothers are anything but passive! :smiley:

The inherent short vowel -a is pronounced in Sanskrit, (generally) not pronounced in Hindi. When pronouncing Sanskrit as Sanskrit, e.g. in reciting the Vedas, the inherent short vowel -a always gets pronounced. When pronouncing Sanskrit words embedded in a Hindi utterance—this is called tatsama—the vowel isn’t (generally) pronounced. Somebody who habitually speaks Hindi but is not a Sanskrit professor or a Veda reciter will naturally pronounce the Sanskrit names without that vowel. Neither of these approaches is “wrong.” They just apply to different contexts.

"And killing yourself is literally called “kudkushi” in Hindi, which means “self-joy”

Actually, it doesn’t. The Hindi (from Sanskrit) is “atmahatya”. “Khudkushi” is Urdu and is literally self (khud) killing (kushi). “Joy” / happiness is “khushi”.

Thanks for the correction. Atmahatya, of course, is “soul-murder” I believe, if I am not mistaken.

I always forget, being Punjabi, I have sooo much Urdu and Punjabi mixed up in my dialect I don’t even really speak true Hindi.