Reviews – The Mahabharata, Santiparvan

Summary

This short review evaluates six fascicules of the critical edition of the Santiparvan of the Mahabharata edited by S. K. Belvalkar. The Santiparvan, one of the largest and most important books of the epic, contains 353 chapters. The fascicules cover the entire text and adhere to the editorial standards established in earlier volumes. Appendices have been added to the first and third sub‑parvans (Rajadharma and Mokshadharma) to incorporate longer passages found in certain manuscripts that were too extensive for footnotes or insufficiently connected to the main text. The appendices are numbered 1–13 and 14–29 respectively. Smaller passages and variant readings are relegated to footnotes; they number 918 across the three sections. There is no appendix to the second sub‑parvan, the Apaddharma. Valuable critical and exegetical notes are provided at the end of the first two sub‑parvans, with notes for the third to appear later. Each sub‑parvan begins with an editorial note summarising the critical apparatus. The Rajadharma section is based on 35 manuscripts (25 from the northern recension and 10 from the southern), the Apaddharma on 34 manuscripts (9 southern), and the Mokshadharma on 36 manuscripts (26 northern and 10 southern). The editors also consulted numerous commentaries, including those of Ksemendra and the Telugu translation by Tikkana, to establish readings. The oldest manuscripts used date to 1516 and 1560 CE. The review praises the scholarly rigour of the edition and expresses hope that the promised general introduction, which will provide a consolidated critical apparatus and a detailed account of the manuscripts and sources, will appear soon. It encourages cooperation from scholars to ensure timely completion of the remaining volumes.