Mahabharata

Mahabharata is often described as India’s equivalent to Homer’s Odyssey, an epic poem originally part of an oral tradition. In addition, it contains Bhagavad Gita, a key Hindu scripture.

Translator Carole Satyamurti is the first to render the epic poem (more the 200,000 lines) as regular text. The intention was to make this story more accessible to new readers, and reinforce its timeless aspects, showing that any of these events could just as easily take place today.

To support this idea, publisher WW Norton wanted a cover that would capture both the traditional and contemporary aspects of the story. We’ve included some alternate comps here that didn’t make the cut, but seem to capture the brief.