Title: Mahabharata: The Eternal Quest
Author: Andy Fraenkel (Sankirtana Das)
Publisher: Flying Mountain Press
Publication Date: 2013
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 281
Distills the vast narrative into a fast-paced story that preserves the essence of the original while making it easier for contemporary readers to follow. Fraenkel, a storyteller and dramatist, presents the Mahabharata not only as a tale of heroism and destiny but also as an exploration of dharma—the eternal quest for righteousness—making it both an educational and deeply inspiring read.
In the late 1960’s, while in college, Sankirtana Das discovered an old book in the library. The Indian Story Book (1914) by Richard Wilson, a collection of India’s ancient stories, included some from the epic Mahabharata. Sankirtana majored in Theater/ Film and turned one of the Mahabharata stories into a one act play. His theater class chose the piece as one of several plays they performed for elementary schools in New York City.
Sankirtana Das was initiated by Srila Prabhupada in 1973 and has resided in New Vrindaban for over 37 years. He developed the theater program here and wrote, acted and directed numerous plays throughout the 80′s and into the early 90′s. He and Lokamangala prabhu developed and performed a two-actor, two hour Mahabhharata drama for Off Broadway in NYC (1987), which they also toured to temples, colleges and special events for four years. Their performance touched many people who were fascinated that each of the actors took on several roles, including the role of storytellers. Devotees would often suggest that they develop a full length Mahabharata film. But that was not to be.
Sankirtana started working on his Mahabharata manuscript in 2000. He explains the intent of his rendition was threefold, “to deliver the story as good literature, to give it a cinematic slant, as potentially the basis for a film, and to keep it at a length that could easily be studied in college classrooms.” Gradually, the manuscript came together as he tried to find the unique elements of each part of the story. He recalls, “Sometimes it was exhilarating. Sometimes it was discouraging. I wondered if I could really pull it off successfully. Sometimes I would stop writing for weeks or months at a time and go on to other projects. But over the years, writing Mahabharata has been a wonderful meditation for me.”
