The Mahabharat as a Microcosm of the Universe - Looking History through the Lens of Mythology in Shashi Tharoor’s The Great Indian Novel

Oct 1, 2026

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The Mahabharat functions as a timeless reservoir of myths that remains relevant across place and time, shaping how generations confront trauma. Shashi Tharoor’s The Great Indian Novel presents personal ambition and frustration through satire, drawing on Mahabharat myths to retell postcolonial India’s “history” with real events and characters. Indian historical figures are transformed into mythological figures, blending historical narrative and mythic meaning.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time14 min

AccessFree to download

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AboutUs: [http://www.the-criterion.com/about/](http://www.the-criterion.com/about/) Archive: [http://www.the-criterion.com/archive/](http://www.the-criterion.com/archive/) ContactUs: [http://www.the-criterion.com/contact/](http://www.the-criterion.com/contact/) EditorialBoard: [http://www.the-criterion.com/editorial-board/](http://www.the-criterion.com/editorial-board/)[ ](http://www.the-criterion.com/editorial-board/)Submission: [http://www.the-criterion.com/submission/](http://www.the-criterion.com/submission/) FAQ: [http://www.the-criterion.com/fa/](http://www.the-criterion.com/fa/) ISSN 2278-9529 Galaxy: International Multidisciplinary Research Journal [www.galaxyimrj.com](www.galaxyimrj.com) The Mahabharat as a Microcosm of the Universe: Looking History through the Lens of Mythology in Shashi Tharoor’s The Great Indian Novel Dr. Shankar Lal Jhanjhnodia Assistant Professor, Department of English, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur. & Sanjit Kumar Mishra Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Roorkee, Roorkee. Article History: Submitted-02/02/2022, Revised-15/02/2022, Accepted-16/02/2022, Published-28/02/2022. Abstract: The Mahabharat, from time immemorial, has been a rich reservoir of myths that remain pertinent, irrespective of temporal and spatial context. As a guiding beacon, the Mahabharat has inspired countless generations to deal with their respective traumas. Shashi Tharoor’s The Great Indian Novel, published in 1989 and written in the backdrop of a period full of political upheavals—is an enchanting account of personal ambitions and aspirations, and the resultant frustrations laced with satire. With the help of some of the popular myths from the Mahabharat, the novel weaves up stories related to the ‘History’ of the postcolonial India with some of the reallife characters and actual events. Figures from Indian history are skillfully transformed into mythological characters, and mythological story of the epic is retold as a history of India in a way that history and myths mingle in each other. It is, thus, a conscious effort on the part of the writer to put both dissimilarly seeming things at intersection. Chronicling the Indian struggle for freedom and Post-emergency events, the novelist directs his hilarious satire as much against Indian statesmen as the tyrannical British crown. Keywords: Mahabharat, myths, political upheaval, postcolonial, tyrannical. When it is deliberated upon, it is stated that the myths are recurring patterns which unconsciously etch upon collective human psyche (Jung) . In Indian context, from ancient times, the myths have played a significant role in constructing the identities. When it comes to the evils [www.the-criterion.com](www.the-criterion.com) in the societies, the mythical figure like Ravan and Duryodhan pop up in our minds; when it comes to the righteousness, the mythical figures like Ram and Yudhishthir govern the psyche of our minds. Whether we realize it or not, the myths endow upon us the archetypes we use in our daily live (Frye) . In Indian context, the Ramayan and the Mahabharat have been the mammoth oceans of archetypes. Regarding the resourcefulness of Mahabharat, Shashi Tharoor writes,“What is here is nowhere else; what is not here, is nowhere Few other works in world literature could make such an extravagant claim, but in doing so, the 2000-year-old Indian epic poem is not defending a closed structure: rather the Mahabharat has had so many accretions over the years in constant retellings that there is practically no subject it does not cover. Its characters and personages still march triumphantly in Indian minds, its myths and legends still inspire the Indian imagination, its events still speak to Indians with a contemporary resonance rare in many twentieth-century works”(Tharoor xii) . A countless number of writers have drawn inspiration from this ancient text and have taken recourse to its richness of th

FAQs

What role does the Mahabharat play according to the abstract?

It is described as a rich, enduring reservoir of myths that remains pertinent across time and space and acts as a guiding influence for generations.

How does Tharoor’s The Great Indian Novel use Mahabharat material?

The novel weaves stories that connect Mahabharat myths to the history of postcolonial India, incorporating real-life characters and actual events, with history and myth mingling together.

What themes does the abstract associate with the novel’s satire?

It links satire to personal ambitions and frustrations, and directs it toward both Indian statesmen and the tyrannical British crown, especially around freedom and post-emergency events.

Oct 1, 2026

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