Bibek Debroy wears many hats with ease: economist, writer, columnist, Sanskrit speaker, a professor at the Centre for Policy Research and recently a permanent member of NITI Aayog, the body that will replace the Planning Commission. Having undertaken an ambitious project of to translating translate the unabridged version of The Mahabharata (originally in Sanskrit) from the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute’s Critical Edition, Bibek writes that “it has been a journey of six years, 10 volumes and something like 2.25 million words,” a testimony to the mammoth task emerging out of his regular and demanding work schedule. An interview with the writer:

A gorgeous, lucid rendering of the majestic conclusion to the Mahabharata As an epilogue to the greatest epic of all time, the Harivamsha further elaborates on the myriad conflicts of dharma and the struggle between good and evil. Stories abound—from the cosmogony of the universe to the legends of the solar and lunar dynasties and even a foreshadowing of kali yuga in the future. At the centre of all these magnificent tales is the mercurial figure of Krishna, whose miraculous life and wondrous exploits are recounted with vivid detail. In offering a glimpse into Krishna’s life—as a mischievous child, as an enchanting lover, as a discerning prince—this luminous text sheds light on many questions left unanswered in the Mahabharata. Brimming with battles and miracles, wisdom and heroics, philosophical insight and psychological acuity, Bibek Debroy’s splendid translation of the Harivamsha is absolutely essential reading for all those who love the Mahabharata.