Mahabharata Sauptikaparvan, The Massacre at Night (Oxford World Classics)
The Sauptikaparvan of
the Mahabharata
The Massacre at Night
A new verse translation by W. J. Johnson
OXFORD
WORLD'S
• MMriiu
CLASSICS
OXFORD WORLD S CLASSICS
TH E SAUPTIKAPARVAN OF TH E
MAHABHARATA
T H E SAUPTIKAPARVAN is the tenth book of the great Indian epic,
thezyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Mahabharata; it provides a conflux of the entire work's narrative
and mythic streams in an account of the cataclysmic events that
mark the end of the war.
Attributed to the mythical seer Vyasa, the Sanskrit Mahabharata
acquired its present encyclopaedic form over a period of perhaps
900 years (г.500 ВСЕ to 400 CE) as part of a fluid tradition of oral
composition on the Indian subcontinent. Even in its present form,
however, the epic undoubtedly contains and reflects much earlier
material, some of it perhaps Indo- European in origin. Over the
centuries it has been widely recast in Indian vernacular languages,
and retold in countless dramatic performances, visual representations, and music. In this way it has come to have culturally talismanic significance—a status which is reflected in its assessment of
itself: 'What is here may be found elsewhere, what is not here is
nowhere at all.'
W. J. JOH N SON was educated at the University of Sussex and
Wolfson College, Oxford. H e is now Senior Lecturer in Religious
Studies at the University of Wales, Cardiff. H is publications include
a new translation of The Bhagavad Gita (Oxford, 1994) for Oxford
World's Classics, and Harmless Souls (Delhi, 1995), a study of karma
and religious change in early Jainism.
OXFORD WORLD'S CLASSICS
For over ioo years Oxford World's Classics have brought
readers closer to the world's great literature. Now with over joo
titles—from the 4,000-year-old myths of Mesopotamia to the
twentieth century's greatest novels—the series makes available
lesser-known as well as celebrated writing.
The pocket-sized hardbacks of the early years contained
introductions by Virginia Woolf, T. S. Eliot, Graham Greene,
and other literary figures which enriched the experience of reading.
Today the series is recognized for its fine scholarship and
reliability in texts that span world literature, drama and poetry,
religion, philosophy and politics. Each edition includes perceptive
commentary and essential background information to meet the
changing needs of readers.
OXFORD WORLD'S CLASSICS
The Sauptikaparvan of the
Mahabharata
The Massacre at Night
Translated with an Introduction and Notes by
W.J.JOHNSON
Oxford New York
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
1998
zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfe
Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford 0x2 6 D P
Oxford New York
Athens Auckland Bangkok Bogota Buenos Aires Calcutta
Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Florence Hong Kong Istanbul
Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbat
Nairobi Pans Sao Paulo Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto W arsaw
and associated companies in Berlin Ibadan
Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press
© W . J. Johnson ii){)K
First published as an Oxford W orld's Classics paperback HJIJH
Reissued 200H
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press.
Within the UK, exceptions are allowed in respect of any fair dealing for the
purpose of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted
under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, KJHH, or in the case of
reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of the licences
issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning
reproduction outside these terms and in other countries should be
sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press,
at the address above.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way
of trade or otherwise, be lent, re- sold, hired out or otherwise circulated
without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover
other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition
including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Data available
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Mahabharata. Sauptikaparvan. English
The Sauptikaparvan of the Mahabharata : the massacre at night/
translated with an introduction and notes by W . J. Johnson.
(Oxford world's classics)
I. Johnson, W . J. II. Title. III. Series : Oxford world's classics
(Oxford University Press)
BLi 13H.242.S2HE5
и) ф
2
the Mahabharata
The Massacre at Night
A new verse translation by W. J. Johnson
OXFORD
WORLD'S
• MMriiu
CLASSICS
OXFORD WORLD S CLASSICS
TH E SAUPTIKAPARVAN OF TH E
MAHABHARATA
T H E SAUPTIKAPARVAN is the tenth book of the great Indian epic,
thezyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Mahabharata; it provides a conflux of the entire work's narrative
and mythic streams in an account of the cataclysmic events that
mark the end of the war.
Attributed to the mythical seer Vyasa, the Sanskrit Mahabharata
acquired its present encyclopaedic form over a period of perhaps
900 years (г.500 ВСЕ to 400 CE) as part of a fluid tradition of oral
composition on the Indian subcontinent. Even in its present form,
however, the epic undoubtedly contains and reflects much earlier
material, some of it perhaps Indo- European in origin. Over the
centuries it has been widely recast in Indian vernacular languages,
and retold in countless dramatic performances, visual representations, and music. In this way it has come to have culturally talismanic significance—a status which is reflected in its assessment of
itself: 'What is here may be found elsewhere, what is not here is
nowhere at all.'
W. J. JOH N SON was educated at the University of Sussex and
Wolfson College, Oxford. H e is now Senior Lecturer in Religious
Studies at the University of Wales, Cardiff. H is publications include
a new translation of The Bhagavad Gita (Oxford, 1994) for Oxford
World's Classics, and Harmless Souls (Delhi, 1995), a study of karma
and religious change in early Jainism.
OXFORD WORLD'S CLASSICS
For over ioo years Oxford World's Classics have brought
readers closer to the world's great literature. Now with over joo
titles—from the 4,000-year-old myths of Mesopotamia to the
twentieth century's greatest novels—the series makes available
lesser-known as well as celebrated writing.
The pocket-sized hardbacks of the early years contained
introductions by Virginia Woolf, T. S. Eliot, Graham Greene,
and other literary figures which enriched the experience of reading.
Today the series is recognized for its fine scholarship and
reliability in texts that span world literature, drama and poetry,
religion, philosophy and politics. Each edition includes perceptive
commentary and essential background information to meet the
changing needs of readers.
OXFORD WORLD'S CLASSICS
The Sauptikaparvan of the
Mahabharata
The Massacre at Night
Translated with an Introduction and Notes by
W.J.JOHNSON
Oxford New York
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
1998
zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfe
Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford 0x2 6 D P
Oxford New York
Athens Auckland Bangkok Bogota Buenos Aires Calcutta
Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Florence Hong Kong Istanbul
Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbat
Nairobi Pans Sao Paulo Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto W arsaw
and associated companies in Berlin Ibadan
Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press
© W . J. Johnson ii){)K
First published as an Oxford W orld's Classics paperback HJIJH
Reissued 200H
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press.
Within the UK, exceptions are allowed in respect of any fair dealing for the
purpose of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted
under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, KJHH, or in the case of
reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of the licences
issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning
reproduction outside these terms and in other countries should be
sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press,
at the address above.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way
of trade or otherwise, be lent, re- sold, hired out or otherwise circulated
without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover
other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition
including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Data available
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Mahabharata. Sauptikaparvan. English
The Sauptikaparvan of the Mahabharata : the massacre at night/
translated with an introduction and notes by W . J. Johnson.
(Oxford world's classics)
I. Johnson, W . J. II. Title. III. Series : Oxford world's classics
(Oxford University Press)
BLi 13H.242.S2HE5
и) ф
2