I have neither the inclination
nor the necessary qualification. The crisp and ornate style, the
quaint expression, the chiselled word, the new-coined phrase,
in which modern English poetry is rich, would scarcely suit the
translation of an old Epic whose predominating characteristic is
its simple and easy flow of narrative. Indeed, the _Maha-bharata_
would lose that unadorned simplicity which is its first and foremost
feature if the translator ventured to decorate it with the art of
the modern day, even if he had been qualified to do so.

For if there is one characteristic feature which distinguishes the
_Maha-bharata_ (as well as the other Indian Epic, the _Ramayana_)
from all later Sanscrit literature, it is the grand simplicity of
its narrative, which contrasts with the artificial graces of later
Sanscrit poetry. The poetry of Kalidasa, for instance, is ornate and
beautiful, and almost scintillates with similes in every verse; the
poetry of the _Maha-bharara_ is plain and unpolished, and scarcely
stoops to a simile or a figure of speech unless the simile comes
naturally to the poet. The great deeds of godlike kings sometimes
suggest to the poet the mighty deeds of gods; the rushing of warriors
suggests the rushing of angry elephants in the echoing jungle; the
flight of whistling arrows suggests the flight of sea-birds; the
sound and movement of surging crowds suggest the heaving of billows;
the erect attitude of a warrior suggests a tall cliff; the beauty
of a maiden suggests the soft beauty of the blue lotus. When such
comparisons come naturally to the poet, he accepts them and notes
them down, but he never seems to go in quest of them, he is never
anxious to beautify and decorate. He seems to trust entirely to his
grand narrative, to his heroic characters, to his stirring incidents,
to hold millions of listeners in perpetual thrall. The majestic and
sonorous Sanscrit metre is at his command, and even this he uses,
carelessly, and with frequent slips, known as _arsha_ to later
grammarians. The poet certainly seeks for no art to decorate his
tale, he trusts to the lofty chronicle of bygone heroes to enchain
the listening mankind.

And what heroes! In the delineation of character the _Maha-bharata_
is far above anything which we find in later Sanscrit poetry. Indeed,
with much that is fresh and sweet and lovely in later Sanscrit
poetry, there is little or no portraiture of character. All heroes
are cast much in the