After penning the epic poem Ramayana Mahanveshanam running into five volumes, Union minister of corporate affairs M Veerappa Moily, known for his literary prowess, has now ventured into writing another ‘mahakavya’ (epic poem) on Draupadi, which will run into over 2,000 pages and could become one of the longest mahakavyas.
The epic poem titled Srimudi Parikramanam can beat Homer’s Iliad which has been the longest epic poem so far. Iliad is a song about the 10-year siege of City of Troy by a coalition of Greek states led by Agamemnon.
“Srimudi Parikramanam will run into more than 2,000 pages and is an epic poem about Draupadi (heroine of Mahabharata) who took a vow not to tie her pleat till she causes the death of Kauravas; her open hair always reminded the Pandavas to avenge the insult of Draupadi by Kauravas in the court of Dritharashatra in front of seniors like Bheeshma, Drona andKripacharya. In fact, this insult was what prompted the Pandavas to wage 18-day dharmayuddha (war for dharma) against Kauravas,” Moily told DNA.
“I think when it is completed, it can be more than Iliad in length, but again Iliad was written in a different age and Srimudi Parikramanam is written in the present age with modern research techniques. Both Mahabharata and the story of Troy were different in context and separated by ages and culture; they cannot be compared,” he said.
Moily may be modest about his work, but in both the poems heroines are the central theme.
The abduction of Helen by the young prince Paris of Troy from Greece was the factor that triggered the siege of Troy by the coalition of Greek statUes, while the insult of Draupadi triggered Mahabharata war.
The Kauravas also had a coalition army just like the Greek states that attacked Troy.
Srimudi Parikramanam will be ready for release by October, he said.
Meanwhile, the Tamil and Telugu translations of Ramayana Mahanveshanam will be released in April in Chennai and Hyderabad, respectively. Two volumes of the work have been translated into Hindi.
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