This depiction is a great podcast of this epic

Interesting as it is, the Mahabharata is full of fascinating contradictions and conundrums. I love it and I have to say that this Mahabharata podcast presents the story from a grounded modern perspective, without taking anything away from the research aspect of this vast epic. What I mean is that it is well researched and thoughtfully interpreted. Do give it a listen. My favorite epic - one we can never tire of. It is the world as we see all around us - sometimes mundane and sometimes divine :) I even heard some stories I hadn’t heard before !

As an Indian I am curious about the actuality of stories in hindu mythology but It is hard to find a source which provides that. Loved the unbiased take and analysis presented.

Having grown up in India, I have always enjoyed light reading on foreign mythologies. This podcast is very well narrated and makes one appreciate Hindu mythology in an unbiased fashion.

The narrator goes into considerable depth and explains his sources well. I really appreciate and enjoy what is the fruit of precise and passionate labour!

The narrator speaks in an accessible and entertaining style that makes understanding this great story easy and rewarding.

Never have I heard of Mahabharata version this unbiased. Lawrence’s style of storytelling is realistic and indulges human curiosity on the ancient tale. His wonderings, comments and question are something which emerges in our mind from time to time as well. This is breath of fresh air and something that all should listen as well. As I say there is no epic that is far greater than Mahabharata. If it were to be made in movies, we see Game of Thrones and Lord of the rings like saga on big screen.

Lawrence Manzo has created a great podcast which gives an excellent tour of the Mahabharata. This perhaps is the easiest way to approach the unabridged Mahabharata today. The amount of work done to pore through the old English translation, since the Chicago editions only go until Book 5, shows that this podcast is a love of labour.

Absolutely great! I can’t stop listening to the stories even though I know most of the stories and it’s multiple versions. I don’t have words to explain the beauty of this presentation that’s capturing all the details and keeps it entertaining and easy to understand.

This is a great deed done for all of us! Awesomely done telling of the ageless epic; Lawrence puts some of the details and practices of the ancient ways into very digestible modern speak, without losing any of the nuance! Great work! Thanks!

Wonderful Narration by Lawrence Manzo, thank you.

I have been listening to this Podcast since last month. This has lot of information, history, culture, storytelling to name a few.. Hats off to the content creator..

I have listened to this podcast twice over long weekend bike rides. It was quite an experience to listen to the epic and the narrator keeps you engrossed. Thanks for the work in putting this out!

Great work!

I’ve loved this podcast a lot. Despite the long length of the epic it’s narrated and paced so well you can fly through it. The narrator does a great job explaining the context of events and strange elements of the text. I cannot recommend this enough. Thank you for taking the time to give us this story.

There are two great Indian epics - The Ramayan and The Mahabharat. As a kid, I have always been more inclined towards the former than the latter as I found it more interesting only due to the fact that I didn’t know or fully understand the intricate details of the latter. I started hearing all these stories from a friend when we used to smoke up by the beach. Being a Game of Thrones fan, I started seeing how great a story the Mahabharat would be if it was shot in GoT style as a web series. I was searching for all the material I could get my hands onto for the entire story in detail - that’s when I found this Podcast. I really appreciate the time and effort you put into making this content Lawrence. It is definitely the best Podcast available on this amazing epic. Thank you!

I was always enamored by this epic since childhood. Have read, heard, watched the stories and they have stayed with me in fragments, remembered some forgotten most. I landed on this podcast accidentally from Sudipta’s “The Stories of Mahabharata”, haven’t gone back to it yet. I am on the 89th and feel so satisfied with this narration, it’s the way I would love to hear, great work Lawrence Manzo you dug it all and served the best!

If you want to know mor about this great epic, this is the podcast for you. I’ll tell the story in such a way that you don’t have to be completely involved with the history behind. Totally recommended!

He does such an amazing job of explaining the Mahabharata and the characters. He also does a lot of history and back story to help things make sense as needed through that Mahabharata. He also explains how other books tell the story in comparison. This podcast was incredibly helpful for understanding the story fully!

Great effort by Lawrence in doing the work and making the Mahabharata available in the form of a podcast. I have read multiple renditions of the Mahabharata and watched most of the cheesy serials on Indian TV. I must say that there’s series of podcasts was most engrossing. There were some interpretations that were questionable but that’s the beauty of this epic. I’ll probably go back and listen to all 100 episodes again.

In an easy to digest format the author takes you on a engaging journey through the greatest epic. He has excellent grip on the text & makes it accessible to both the beginner & someone with intermediate knowledge. Highly recommended.

As a young hindu trying to make sense of our epics and their evolution, this was a good start. Great storytelling and commentary. I like how he places mahabharata in the context of actual historical events around the time it was purported to be written. There's also some commentary on inconsistencies between different versions of the epic. I wish the narrator talked a bit slower though. Considering the complexity of this epic, it takes some time to digest what's happening. Here's a tip: Replace regular rakshasas with indigenous forest dwelling people (adivasis), main rakshasas with tribal leaders, supernatural exaggerations and over the top origin stories with political propaganda, and it makes total sense as history written by the victors of a certain ancient war fought on the Indian soil.

really nice - wish there was more

This is a great podcast for anyone looking for a Mahabharata refresher. I grew up reading the epic as comics and wanted to go back for a refresher and this was perfect. The narration is brilliant, ties in the many side stories beautifully and most importantly, I love the irreverence! Listening to it as adult makes me see it differently and the narrative aligns. Thank you and hope you consider doing more of the epics.

Great narration and it covered almost all stories of mahabharata.

Despite being Indian and having grown up on stories from the Mahabharata, never had a chance to consume and understand the epic in its entirety. Manzo does a terrific job in highlighting all the interesting aspects of the epic along with commentary on ancient culture and social norms. Loved it..

Thanks.

Awesome

It's very informative and detail oriented for anyone who is interested in Mahabharata. Great work.

Can't stop listening. The effort and time Lawrence Manzo has put into this is truly amazing

Accurate and pleasant narration. Appreciate the research behind the narration.

Thank you!

I was always very interested in this epic, and always thought that I know full story.. but still hearing your podcast repeatedly gives me many new insights, and only realized there are still many sub stories that I did not know before. This was a wonderful treatise for me.. This was my drive time hearing. non-stop…. Thanks again… Ramesh L.

This is very well done. I enjoy the insightful views and conversational style. The author makes the text very relatable, and pulls in multiple sources to enhance the backstory.

I'm about 1/4 of the way through and am completely impressed. I think he does a good job explaining things and putting it into a logical order. Very well done!

A very enjoyable modern telling of the epic, with lots of humor thrown in. Love it.

if you have been a nominal believer in Hinduism up to this point, fasten your seatbelt, because you're going to find out some things about Krishna that may going to shock and dishearten you! But you might as well face it. This narrative is excellently told and I recommend this podcast for anybody who wants to go through the Mahabharata.

I always felt that Indian epics have so much to offer in terms of moral values/ethics when compared to most other options/books. Yet, as a parent I never found good sources to gather the stories in their entirety so I can share with my kids with a strong backing. Word of mouth used to be the common method of getting story glimpses during my childhood. Perhaps, growing up, I never felt motivated to read a huge book than as a parent. Mr. Mayo has done a wonderful job of searching the true sources (which in itself is a mammoth task) , researching them and presenting the gist of the epic in a concise, clear and complete way. This has given me a motivation to go back and read other related books on Mahabharatha. Kudos to Mr. Mayo and I am certain he is on his way to Devaloka! Looking forward to other similar podcasts like Srimad Bhagavatham and Ramayana from him, which are considered safe for sharing with Kids too..

Thank you very much for this podcast.

Very well researched. Superb narration!

Mr. Manzo may just be performing his swadharma through Lord Krsna's grace. I love listening to his commentary, and his style of narrative is easy on the ears, as well as the mind. My only disagreement with him is on some of his personal opinions of Lord Krsna, especially during His early ears with the Gopis and other women of the village of Dwarka. Lord Krsna is in all of us, including the husbands of the women of Dwarka, and therefore, the story needs to be interpreted corrected there. Regardless, this is a fantastic podcast.

I'm sure this podcast wouldn't do for an in-depth study of the Mahabharata, but Manzo makes the thing fascinating. The Mahabharata feels like listening to a wild, over-the-top Iliad or Odyssey . . . the epic patterns are there, but the authors were not afraid to throw in magical plow-shaped weapons that shoot fire and also swords, because those things are awesome. In some ways, Manzo reminds of "The Bible Geek," Dr. Robert M. Price, who also has a knack for retelling ancient myths and legends with modern language thrown in there to catch you laughing every once in a while. When Yama, the Lord of Death, told the distraught young wife watching her husband die, "It is a great honor that I have come myself, for I would normally send a servant, but your husband is very virtuous. I have come myself to collect him, so step aside and watch me do my thing," I literally laughed out loud. It's also nice that Manzo often says what I'm thinking about how some characters' behavior strikes my modern western ears as outrageous. I'm about halfway through the episodes, and Manzo mentions at about this point that he was considering a Bhagavad Ghita podcast next. I don't see it here, but I hope he does it. I'll listen faithfully.

Very well researched.

I am on my second time through this series. Lawrence - may you live in the great palaces of the gods for creating this.

Great job!!! Sometimes it makes one wonder if these legends are true. Excellent job!

Dear Mr. Manzo, I was introduced to this podcast by my brother and he said he listens to this while his marathon runs ! and I took it up and in less than 2 months, I am done with 100 episodes and it is fantastic ! I really love the way you explain this and this podcast has been my companion during my Gym, Since yesterday I am searching for something new and similar :( Unfortunately You havent come up with a new one.. May be time to start a new one - Bhagavat Purana or Ramayana may be a good choice Thank you once again and All the best on your new project

This is a great survey of an expansive story, re-told with humor and personality.

Great summarization of what Lawrence has read and studied into something we can sit and listen.

I've had to listen to it three times to keep the characters straight.

Lawrence seems to be a great scholar. He studies topics very deeply and tries to add multiple dimensions to the story. It is a huge task to read the entire Mahabharata. His genius lies in narrating the whole story beautifully.