Includes bibliographical references and notes.

A fascinating illustrated rendition of the all-consuming Mahabharata ... A spectacular show of words and images dealing with love and death, loyalty and duplicity, conflict and concord, and much more ...

Impelled by elemental forces of death, destruction and creation, Panchali, with electrifying visuals cinematically construed, reaches its climax: two consecutive games of dice. Marred by deceit, treachery and trickery, and fuelled by obsession, passion and rage, the gambling episode provides the preface to the coming, all-consuming Mahabharata war.