I'm not going to argue about how it's pronounced now, but the Sanskrit "ta" (?) is certainly not to be pronounced that way in traditional pronunciation. It would have to be ? or ? to be rendered as "tha" (or pronounced that way, for that matter). How modern Indian languages pronounce those graphemes is completely beyond me, however.
? would be t with your tongue touching your teeth, ? would be th with your tongue touching your teeth. Mahabharath in Devnagri would be ???????. "T" as in table, is not how you pronounce the final ?. It sounds like "th" in that.
Whether modern Devnagri to English transliteration uses some other convention in the West or not, I've always seen the epic spelled Mahabharatha in India, and that's what I'm going to stick to.
As for the futility of war, the Mahabharata definitely shows the negative consequences of war, but the consequences of not having gone to war would have been worse. The Pandavas' enemies would triumph and destroy them anyway.
But that is, repeatedly, not shown to be the true reason for war. Duryodhana, while certainly less capable than the Pandavas, is shown to be a generous ruler, and not a bad man barring his hatred of the Pandavas.
And immediate victory so the Pandavas can have the kingdom is not the point either. Which is why they offer to settle for just five villages, instead of their huge and wealthy kingdom.
Instead, we're always told that it is the principal that is being fought for, so that "Dharma" can be said to have triumphed, and so that future generations can seek hope from this victory.
But from the way it ends, and from the way the Pandavas have to cheat their way to that victory, "Dharma" doesn't win. Humanity descends into the era of Kali, as it was inevitably supposed to. I call that futile.
One simple question:
01/07/2010 11:00:44 PM
- 1441 Views
Lolita *NM*
01/07/2010 11:13:10 PM
- 525 Views
Have you read Pale Fire? *NM*
03/07/2010 12:14:56 AM
- 478 Views
No, I haven't. I have, however, been meaning to read The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov...
03/07/2010 12:36:39 AM
- 827 Views
Re: No, I haven't. I have, however, been meaning to read The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov...
03/07/2010 12:38:22 AM
- 860 Views
Is it unfinished? I seem to recall that, but I could be mistaken... *NM*
03/07/2010 02:15:07 AM
- 488 Views
Pale Fire is an excellent novel, particularly if you like making fun of Robert Frost.
03/07/2010 06:39:29 PM
- 864 Views
I've always planned on reading it.
04/07/2010 06:30:31 PM
- 824 Views
I've read all of Pelevin's books other than t, which recently was released.
04/07/2010 06:40:04 PM
- 855 Views
Sorry. I'm going to have to get back to you on this later.
04/07/2010 07:22:31 PM
- 929 Views
No problem. I'm stinking drunk and blew up shit to celebrate America's independence.
05/07/2010 05:03:42 AM
- 957 Views
Paradise Lost *NM*
01/07/2010 11:23:22 PM
- 558 Views
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
01/07/2010 11:31:52 PM
- 927 Views
What is it about?
03/07/2010 12:14:27 AM
- 967 Views
The Aeneid, the Iliad, the Odyssey, and Macbeth come to mind. *NM*
02/07/2010 02:29:13 AM
- 515 Views
I'm amazed by these responses.
02/07/2010 07:10:31 PM
- 1076 Views
I spent most of my time trying to decide...
02/07/2010 07:22:26 PM
- 1026 Views
Well. I mean a book/story that you thought was pretty close to perfection.
02/07/2010 08:02:55 PM
- 1160 Views
You are not excused.
02/07/2010 11:40:16 PM
- 1116 Views
Wow. That read enough like Tom that I had to check to make sure it was you. *NM*
02/07/2010 11:57:26 PM
- 473 Views
I take that as a compliment and concur completely with Larry's statement.
03/07/2010 06:48:05 PM
- 924 Views
You make me want to sing
05/07/2010 02:32:37 PM
- 1203 Views
And you make me want to cover my ears
05/07/2010 07:57:12 PM
- 926 Views
What is yours?
05/07/2010 05:19:23 AM
- 1160 Views
Wraeththu by Storm Constantine is mine.
05/07/2010 07:51:59 AM
- 1027 Views
Easy. The Mahabharatha...
02/07/2010 11:55:27 PM
- 919 Views
Don't tell Roh.
03/07/2010 12:13:57 AM
- 842 Views
Which one?
03/07/2010 12:59:43 AM
- 921 Views
Re: Which one?
05/07/2010 05:28:08 PM
- 1015 Views
There's a "proper one"?
06/07/2010 06:03:55 PM
- 856 Views
Re: I sent her Kamala Subramaniam's translation.
09/07/2010 08:20:43 AM
- 962 Views
Ahhh... One of my favorites...
09/07/2010 05:24:55 PM
- 1262 Views
Re: Parva is not a translation of the MB, though, is it. It's a reinterpretation. Which is fine.
09/07/2010 11:01:43 PM
- 1011 Views
It's spelled "Mahabharata".
03/07/2010 06:51:09 PM
- 872 Views
That's not how it is pronounced though...
03/07/2010 08:54:27 PM
- 923 Views
Traditional pronunciation vs. modern pronunciation
03/07/2010 09:47:52 PM
- 864 Views
I learned Sanskrit for years...
04/07/2010 01:28:34 AM
- 849 Views
However...
04/07/2010 02:31:00 AM
- 870 Views
See, I was taught that ध produced the sound in "that" and थ the sound in "thought".
04/07/2010 02:44:56 AM
- 926 Views
Re: I should have read the thread before bothering to give my skimpy response!
09/07/2010 08:26:35 AM
- 1136 Views
American Gods. *NM*
03/07/2010 04:49:18 AM
- 463 Views
I really wanted to enjoy that a lot. It was good, but not amazing, imo.
05/07/2010 05:28:53 PM
- 903 Views
Shogun
03/07/2010 03:08:04 PM
- 928 Views
huh. I always felt that...
05/07/2010 10:00:29 PM
- 851 Views
A few that come to mind: Doctor Zhivago, Master & Margarita and Brothers Karamazov
03/07/2010 06:53:25 PM
- 922 Views