Primary source, translation

The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa

Translated into English prose from the original Sanskrit text

By Vyāsa

Translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli

Bharata Press, Calcutta, 1883, Published in parts, 1883–1896, by Pratap Chandra Roy

First written c. 400 BCE – 400 CE

In the public domain

About this text

The first complete English translation of the epic, in plain prose, section by section. The reader gives five of its teachings on liberation: the Yakṣa’s questions, the Sanatsujātīya, Janaka and Pañcaśikha, the story of Śuka, and the Anugītā.

How to cite

Vyāsa. The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa: Translated into English prose from the original Sanskrit text. Translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli. Published in parts, 1883–1896, by Pratap Chandra Roy. Bharata Press, Calcutta, 1883.

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Cited in Metanoia

Action Without Attachment7 November 2026Must the seeker leave the world? The Bhagavad Gītā was spoken to a man who wanted to, on a battlefield, and its answer is the way of action without attachment: to act fully and give up the claim to the fruit. What that teaching asks, how the Mahābhārata tests it, and how it has been misread.

Cite this entry

Chicago (bibliography): “The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa.” Source. The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society. Last modified November 7, 2026. https://www.unitiveknowledge.org/library/sources/mahabharata-ganguli.
Chicago (note): “The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa,” source, The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society, last modified November 7, 2026, https://www.unitiveknowledge.org/library/sources/mahabharata-ganguli.
MLA: “The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa.” The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society, 7 Nov. 2026, www.unitiveknowledge.org/library/sources/mahabharata-ganguli.
BibTeX: @misc{sources-mahabharata-ganguli, title = {{The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa}}, howpublished = {The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society}, note = {Source. Last modified November 7, 2026}, year = {2026}, url = {https://www.unitiveknowledge.org/library/sources/mahabharata-ganguli} }

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The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa(translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli)

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Translation of

The MahābhārataScriptureThe great Sanskrit epic of India, in eighteen books, ascribed to the sage Vyāsa: the war between the Pāṇḍavas and their cousins the Kauravas, and around it a vast body of teaching on duty, kingship, death and liberation. It contains the Bhagavad Gītā, the Sanatsujātīya, the Mokṣadharma and the Anugītā.