The novel narrates the story of the Hindu epic Mahabharata, primarily using monologue as a literary technique. Several principal characters from the original Mahabharata reminisce about their entire lives. Both the setting and the context for the reminiscence are the onset of the Kurukshetra War. Parva is acknowledged as S.L. Bhyrappa's greatest work. Non-Kannadigas who have read it in its Hindi and Marathi translations consider it one of the masterpieces of modern Indian literature. It transforms an ancient legend into a modern novel. In this process, it has gained rational credibility and a human perspective. The main incident, the Bharata war, symbolic of the birth pangs of a new world order, depicts a heroic but vain effort to arrest the disintegration and continue the prevailing order. It is viewed from the standpoints of the partisan participants and judged with reference to the objective understanding of Krishna. Narration, dialogue, monologue, and commentary are all employed for its presentation. Shot through with irony, pity, and objective understanding, the novel ends with the true tragic vision of faith in life and hope for mankind. Parva has been translated into several major Indian languages: Bengali, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, and Telugu, apart from English. The novel narrates the story of the Hindu epic Mahabharata, primarily using monologue as a literary technique. Several principal characters from the original Mahabharata reminisce about their entire lives. Both the setting and the context for the reminiscence are the onset of the Kurukshetra War.