Editing Mahabharata (section)

=== Translations ===
[[File:Razmnama Bhishma.jpg|right|thumb|Bhishma on his death-bed of arrows with the [[Pandavas]] and [[Krishna]]. Folio from the ''[[Razmnama]]'' (1761–1763), Persian translation of the ''Mahabharata'', commissioned by Mughal emperor [[Akbar]]. The Pandavas are dressed in Persian armour and robes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.plantcultures.org/pccms/action/showItem?id=340 |title=picture details |publisher=Plant Cultures |access-date=1 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113221249/http://www.plantcultures.org/pccms/action/showItem?id=340 |archive-date=13 November 2007 }}</ref>]]

The first [[Bengali language|Bengali]] translations of the ''Mahabharata'' emerged in the 16th century. It is disputed whether [[Kavindra Parameshwar]] of [[Hooghly district|Hooghly]] (based in [[Chittagong]] during his writing) or [[Sri Sanjay]] of [[Sylhet]] was the first to translate it into Bengali.<ref>{{cite Banglapedia|author=Mohanta, Sambaru Chandra|article=Mahabharata}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|language=bn|url=https://thikana.us/%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%82%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BE-%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B9%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF%E0%A7%87-%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%B2%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%9F/|work=Thikana|title=বাংলা সাহিত্যে সিলেট|author=Husam, Shamshad|access-date=31 October 2022|archive-date=26 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221026220509/https://thikana.us/%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%82%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BE-%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B9%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF%E0%A7%87-%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%B2%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%9F/|url-status=live}}</ref>

A [[Persian language|Persian]] translation of ''Mahabharata'', titled ''[[Razmnameh]]'', was produced at [[Akbar]]'s orders, by [[Faizi]] and [[ʽAbd al-Qadir Badayuni]] in the 16th century.<ref>{{cite book| last= Gaṅgā Rām| first = Garg| title = Encyclopaedia of the Hindu world, Volume 1| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=0U2QRpDv2KMC&pg=PR12| page =129| isbn= 978-81-7022-376-4| year= 1992| publisher = Concept Publishing Company}}</ref>

The first complete English translation was the [[Victorian literature|Victorian]] prose version by [[Kisari Mohan Ganguli]],<ref>Several editions of the [[Kisari Mohan Ganguli]] translation of the ''Mahabharata'' incorrectly cite the publisher, Pratap Chandra Roy, as the translator and this error has been propagated into secondary citations. See the publisher's preface to the current Munshiram Manoharlal edition for an explanation.</ref> published between 1883 and 1896 (Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers) and by [[Manmatha Nath Dutt]] ([[Motilal Banarsidass]] Publishers). Most critics consider the translation by Ganguli to be faithful to the original text. The complete text of Ganguli's translation is in the [[public domain]] and is available online.<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/maha/index.htm The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511230051/http://sacred-texts.com/hin/maha/index.htm |date=11 May 2008 }} at the [[Internet Sacred Text Archive]]</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | author = P. Lal | author-link = P. Lal | title = Kisari Mohan Ganguli and Pratap Chandra Roy | place = Calcutta | journal = An Annotated Mahabharata Bibliography | url = http://mahabharata-resources.org/ganguli-roy.html | access-date = 9 September 2013 | archive-date = 5 June 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140605081003/http://mahabharata-resources.org/ganguli-roy.html | url-status = live }}</ref>

An early poetry translation by [[Romesh Chunder Dutt]] and published in 1898 condenses the main themes of the ''Mahābhārata'' into English verse.<ref>[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/19630 The ''Mahabharata of Krishna''-Dwaipayana Vyasa translated by Romesh Chunder Dutt] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111010000053/http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/19630 |date=10 October 2011 }} at the Online Library of Liberty.</ref> A poetic rendering of the full epic into English, done by the poet [[Purushottama Lal|P. Lal]] and completed posthumously by his student, was published by [[Writers Workshop (publisher)|Writers Workshop]], [[Calcutta]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Mahabharata in English verse : The art of translation |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/leisure/story/20240122-mahabharata-in-english-verse-the-art-of-translation-2487859-2024-01-12 |website=India Today |language=en |date=12 January 2024}}</ref> The P. Lal translation is a non-rhyming verse-by-verse rendering, and it is the only edition in any language to include all slokas in all recensions of the work (not just those in the ''Critical Edition''). Dr. Pradip Bhattacharya stated that the P. Lal version is "known in academia as the '[[vulgate]]'".<ref name=Bhattacharya>{{Cite web|title=Review : Bibek DebRoy: The Mahabharata, volume 7|url=https://pradipbhattacharya.com/2017/05/27/review-bibek-debroy-the-mahabharata-volume-7/|access-date=2021-05-31|website=pradipbhattacharya.com|archive-date=2 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602215243/https://pradipbhattacharya.com/2017/05/27/review-bibek-debroy-the-mahabharata-volume-7/|url-status=live}}</ref> The text is a "[[transcreation]]"<ref>{{cite web |title=The Mahabharata of Vyasa – WritersWorkshopIndia.com |url=https://www.writersworkshopindia.com/books/the-mahabharata-of-vyasa-all-volumes/ |website=www.writersworkshopindia.com}}</ref> rather than a traditional translation.<ref name=AgarwalVol10>{{Cite web|last=Agarwal|first=Abhinav|date=2015-04-12|title=Book review: 'The Mahabharata' Volume 10 translated by Bibek Debroy|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/review-book-review-the-mahabharata-volume-10-translated-by-bibek-debroy-2076809|access-date=2021-05-31|website=DNA India|language=en|archive-date=2 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602221604/https://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/review-book-review-the-mahabharata-volume-10-translated-by-bibek-debroy-2076809|url-status=live}}</ref>

A project to translate the full epic into English prose, translated by various hands, began to appear in 2005 from the [[Clay Sanskrit Library]], published by [[New York University]] Press. The translation is based not on the ''Critical Edition'' but on the version known to the commentator [[Nīlakaṇṭha Caturdhara|Nīlakaṇṭha]]. Currently available are 15 volumes of the projected 32-volume edition.

Indian Vedic [[Shripad Damodar Satwalekar|Scholar Shripad Damodar Satwalekar]] translated the Critical Edition of Mahabharata into Hindi<ref>{{Cite web|title=Indian Artwork – Buddha Statues & Hindu Books – Exotic India Art|url=https://www.exoticindiaart.com/book/details/complete-mahabharata-translated-by-padma-bhushan-shripad-damodar-satwalekar-set-of-16-volumes-NAI945/%7Caccess-date=2021-06-27|access-date=2021-06-27|website=www.exoticindiaart.com|language=en|archive-date=7 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907124735/https://www.exoticindiaart.com/book/details/complete-mahabharata-translated-by-padma-bhushan-shripad-damodar-satwalekar-set-of-16-volumes-nai945/%7caccess-date=2021-06-27|url-status=live}}</ref> which was assigned to him by the [[Government of India]]. After his death, the task was taken up by Shrutisheel Sharma.<ref>S R, Ramaswamy (1972). ''ಮಹಾಭಾರತದ ಬೆಳವಣಿಗೆ''. Mysore: Kavyalaya Publishers.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Veda Vyasa |first=S. D. Satwalekar |url=http://archive.org/details/Mahabharata_with_Hindi_Translation_-_SD_Satwalekar |title=Mahabharata with Hindi Translation – SD Satwalekar |publisher=Sanskrit eBooks |language=Sanskrit}}</ref><ref group="note">Sadwalekar has two translations in Hindi. To read BORI CE in Hindi specifically, go for the translations he published starting from 1968(BORI was published in 1966).</ref>

Indian economist [[Bibek Debroy]] also wrote an unabridged English translation in ten volumes. Volume 1: Adi Parva was published in March 2010, and the last two volumes were published in December 2014. Abhinav Agarwal referred to Debroy's translation as "thoroughly enjoyable and impressively scholarly".<ref name=AgarwalVol10/> In a review of the seventh volume, Bhattacharya stated that the translator bridged gaps in the narrative of the Critical Edition, but also noted translation errors.<ref name=Bhattacharya/> Gautam Chikermane of ''[[Hindustan Times]]'' wrote that where "both Debroy and Ganguli get tiresome is in the use of adjectives while describing protagonists".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Chikermane|first=Gautam|date=2012-07-20|title=Review: The Mahabharata: Volume 5|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/books/review-the-mahabharata-volume-5/story-4N0tAg3jNLWFeWkxfCbHEP.html|access-date=2021-05-31|website=Hindustan Times|language=en|archive-date=2 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602215505/https://www.hindustantimes.com/books/review-the-mahabharata-volume-5/story-4N0tAg3jNLWFeWkxfCbHEP.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Another English prose translation of the full epic, based on the ''Critical Edition'', is in progress, published by [[University of Chicago]] Press. It was initiated by [[Indologist]] [[J. A. B. van Buitenen]] (books 1–5) and, following a 20-year hiatus caused by the death of van Buitenen is being continued by several scholars. [[James L. Fitzgerald]] translated book 11 and the first half of book 12. David Gitomer is translating book 6, Gary Tubb is translating book 7, [[Christopher Minkowski]] is translating book 8, [[Alf Hiltebeitel]] is translating books 9 and 10, Fitzgerald is translating the second half of book 12, [[Patrick Olivelle]] is translating book 13, and Fred Smith is translating book 14–18.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Fitzgerald|first=James|date=2009|title=Reading Suggestions for Getting Started|url=https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Sanskrit_in_Classics_at_Brown/Mahabharata/MBh2Biblio|access-date=|website=Brown|archive-date=4 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204021051/https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Sanskrit_in_Classics_at_Brown/Mahabharata/MBh2Biblio|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Frederick M. Smith|url=https://clas.uiowa.edu/religion/people/frederick-m-smith|website=University of Iowa|access-date=12 October 2021|archive-date=24 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024172737/https://clas.uiowa.edu/religion/people/frederick-m-smith|url-status=live}}</ref>

Many condensed versions, abridgments and novelistic prose retellings of the complete epic have been published in English, including works by [[Ramesh Menon (writer)|Ramesh Menon]], [[William Buck (translator)|William Buck]], [[R. K. Narayan]], [[C. Rajagopalachari]], Kamala Subramaniam, [[Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi|K. M. Munshi]], Krishna Dharma Dasa, Purnaprajna Dasa, [[Romesh Chunder Dutt|Romesh C. Dutt]], Bharadvaja Sarma, [[John D. Smith]] and [[Sharon Maas]].