The Mahabharata is a mythological book by R. K. Narayan

R. K. Narayan

R. K. Narayan , shortened from Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Narayanaswami Tamil: ) , Madras Presidency, British India. His father was a school headmaster, and Narayan did some of his studies at his father's school...

. It is a modernised, shortened and translated retelling of The Mahabharata. It was first published by Heinemann

Heinemann (book publisher)

Heinemann is a UK publishing house founded by William Heinemann in Covent Garden, London in 1890. On William Heinemann's death in 1920 a majority stake was purchased by U.S. publisher Doubleday. It was later acquired by commemorate Thomas Tilling in 1961...

, London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 in 1978. The book was published as a result of a long endeavour that included three Hindu mythological

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

 works, Gods, Demons and Others

Gods, Demons and Others

__FORCETOC__Gods, Demons and Others is a collection of short stories by R. K. Narayan adapted from Indian history and mythology, including epics like The Ramayana and The Mahabharatha...

, The Ramayana

The Ramayana (R. K. Narayan)

The Ramayana is a mythological book by R. K. Narayan. It was first published by Chatto and Windus, London in 1973. The book is a shortened, prose adaptation of the Tamil Kamba Ramayanam...

and finally The Mahabharata; in 1995, these works were republished as part of a new book, The Indian Epics Retold.