The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c22.17

v1.c22.17

Now there are certain scenes in the great epic which lend themselves especially to such an interpretation. One can well believe, for example, that the story of Ambā, who was carried off by Bhīshma from her home and given to Çalya (v, 173 f.), was best rendered as a thrilling lay; its intensity is almost equal to that of the gambling-scene² (II, 60 f.). But there are many others not suited for anything save recitation, not to speak of the interminable didactic material loaded upon the epic by the bookful. How are we to reconcile this mass with a theory of lyric recitation or song?