# B. Jeyamohan
**B. Jeyamohan** (ஜெயமோகன்; born 1962) is an Indian writer and literary critic who writes in Tamil and Malayalam and is based in [Nagercoil](https://www.edgepedia.org/nagercoil), Tamil Nadu[1](https://in.bookmyshow.com/person/b.-jeyamohan/34570) • [2](https://www.jeyamohan.in/about-2/). He is best known for *Venmurasu* (வெண்முரசு, The White Drum), a 26-volume novel cycle retelling the [Mahabharata](https://www.edgepedia.org/mahabharata) that ranks among the longest literary works in the world, and for screenplays including [Mani Ratnam](https://www.edgepedia.org/mani-ratnam)'s *Ponniyin Selvan* and Bala's *Naan Kadavul*[3](https://indianexpress.com/article/books-and-literature/jeyamohan-lmahabharata-rushdie-10369729/) • [4](https://festivalofauthors.ca/book-author/jeyamohan/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1962, Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu, to Malayali parents[1](https://in.bookmyshow.com/person/b.-jeyamohan/34570) |
| Languages | Tamil and Malayalam; Malayalam is his mother tongue, but he writes mainly in Tamil[3](https://indianexpress.com/article/books-and-literature/jeyamohan-lmahabharata-rushdie-10369729/) |
| Output | Over 250 published works by one count, including 20 novels and 12 volumes of short stories; another count lists over 80 books and more than 300 short stories[3](https://indianexpress.com/article/books-and-literature/jeyamohan-lmahabharata-rushdie-10369729/) • [4](https://festivalofauthors.ca/book-author/jeyamohan/) • [5](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55e1f8f0e4b02b09d51bf3bf/t/695d68df0648cf50a83560d4/1767729375654/SS26_TransitCatalog_Adult.pdf) |
| *Venmurasu* | 26 volumes retelling the Mahabharata; reported at more than 25,000 pages by his US publisher and 22,000 pages in an Indian Express interview; written over about seven years, begun at age 51[5](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55e1f8f0e4b02b09d51bf3bf/t/695d68df0648cf50a83560d4/1767729375654/SS26_TransitCatalog_Adult.pdf) • [3](https://indianexpress.com/article/books-and-literature/jeyamohan-lmahabharata-rushdie-10369729/) |
| Major novels | *Vishnupuram*, *Ezhaam Ulagam* (translated as *The Abyss*), *Kaadu*, *Kotravai*, *Vellai Yaanai*, *Pin Thodarum Nizhalin Kural*[6](https://dcbooks.com/author/b-jeyamohan/) |
| Screenplays | *Naan Kadavul* (2009), *Angadi Theru* (2010), *Ozhimuri* (2012), *Kaaviya Thalaivan* (2014), *Sarkar* (2018), *2.0* (2018), *Ponniyin Selvan*[1](https://in.bookmyshow.com/person/b.-jeyamohan/34570) • [3](https://indianexpress.com/article/books-and-literature/jeyamohan-lmahabharata-rushdie-10369729/) |
| Honors | Akilan Memorial Prize for his first novel, Sanskriti Samman, Katha Samman, Iyal Award (Canada), Singapore Tamil Author of the Year (2013), NTU Writer in Residence (2016)[5](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55e1f8f0e4b02b09d51bf3bf/t/695d68df0648cf50a83560d4/1767729375654/SS26_TransitCatalog_Adult.pdf) • [4](https://festivalofauthors.ca/book-author/jeyamohan/) |
## Life and languages
Jeyamohan was born in 1962 in the [Kanyakumari](https://www.edgepedia.org/kanyakumari) region of [Tamil Nadu](https://www.edgepedia.org/tamil-nadu), to Malayali parents, and grew up in an environment of [Kathakali](https://www.edgepedia.org/kathakali) performance[1](https://in.bookmyshow.com/person/b.-jeyamohan/34570) • [3](https://indianexpress.com/article/books-and-literature/jeyamohan-lmahabharata-rushdie-10369729/). By 1987 he had established himself in Tamil literature through short stories and essays[7](https://thesouthfirst.com/featured/tamil-writer-jeyamohans-acclaimed-work-ezhaam-ulagam-now-in-english-translation/). He lives in Nagercoil[2](https://www.jeyamohan.in/about-2/).
He describes Malayalam as his mother tongue but Tamil as the language of his mind, saying he consciously limited himself to Tamil to build a personal style; when he writes in Malayalam, critics read the Tamil flavor as a distinctive new style, and he counts more readers in Malayalam than in Tamil[3](https://indianexpress.com/article/books-and-literature/jeyamohan-lmahabharata-rushdie-10369729/). His Tamil prose shows a strong Malayalam influence, according to his translator Suchitra Ramachandran[7](https://thesouthfirst.com/featured/tamil-writer-jeyamohans-acclaimed-work-ezhaam-ulagam-now-in-english-translation/).
## Venmurasu
*Venmurasu* (The White Drum) is Jeyamohan's re-narration of the Mahabharata as a modern novel cycle in Tamil, in 26 volumes[6](https://dcbooks.com/author/b-jeyamohan/). His US publisher describes it as spanning more than 25,000 pages and placing it among the longest literary works in the world[5](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55e1f8f0e4b02b09d51bf3bf/t/695d68df0648cf50a83560d4/1767729375654/SS26_TransitCatalog_Adult.pdf); the Indian Express interview gives 22,000 pages[3](https://indianexpress.com/article/books-and-literature/jeyamohan-lmahabharata-rushdie-10369729/).
In his own account, Jeyamohan planned a Mahabharata version from age 28, after a conversation with the writer P.K. Balakrishnan, whose book *Ini Njaan Urangatte* centered [Karna](https://www.edgepedia.org/karna); Jeyamohan resolved that doing justice to all characters required retelling the whole epic[3](https://indianexpress.com/article/books-and-literature/jeyamohan-lmahabharata-rushdie-10369729/). He spent 25 years preparing: traveling to places named in the Mahabharata, including the [Himalayas](https://www.edgepedia.org/himalayas), collecting more than 200 books on the epic, and accumulating manuscript notes of over 20,000 pages before starting to write at age 51 and finishing within seven years[3](https://indianexpress.com/article/books-and-literature/jeyamohan-lmahabharata-rushdie-10369729/). He frames the work as cultural reconstruction: in his view, India's value system is built on the Mahabharata's archetypes, so re-narrating the epic re-narrates the culture[3](https://indianexpress.com/article/books-and-literature/jeyamohan-lmahabharata-rushdie-10369729/).
## Fiction
Jeyamohan's novels include *Vishnupuram*, *Pin Thodarum Nizhalin Kural*, *Kaadu*, *Kotravai*, *Vellai Yaanai* (translated as *White Elephant*), *Nooru Simhasanangal*, and *Uravidangal*[6](https://dcbooks.com/author/b-jeyamohan/). *[Ezhaam Ulagam](https://www.edgepedia.org/ezhaam-ulagam)*, one of his most acclaimed works, fictionalizes his personal experiences and supplied the story for the 2009 film *Naan Kadavul*; its English translation, *The Abyss*, by Suchitra Ramachandran, was published by Transit Books[8](https://www.purplepencilproject.com/jeyamohan-suchitra-interview/) • [5](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55e1f8f0e4b02b09d51bf3bf/t/695d68df0648cf50a83560d4/1767729375654/SS26_TransitCatalog_Adult.pdf). His work draws on [Indian philosophy](https://www.edgepedia.org/indian-philosophy), ecology, and [Sangam literature](https://www.edgepedia.org/sangam-literature)[4](https://festivalofauthors.ca/book-author/jeyamohan/).
He works quickly, completing 300-to-500-page novels in weeks or months[7](https://thesouthfirst.com/featured/tamil-writer-jeyamohans-acclaimed-work-ezhaam-ulagam-now-in-english-translation/). His autobiographical collection *Of Men, Women and Witches*, translated from the Malayalam by Sangeetha Puthiyedath, mixes memoir and fiction and describes the matrilineal family system he grew up in[9](https://thefederal.com/category/videos/jeyamohan-tamil-writer-183238) • [10](https://scroll.in/author/24134).
## Screenwriting
Jeyamohan has written around 25 commercially successful films[11](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/filmmakers-not-relying-on-literature-they-are-watching-films-making-another-movie-from-it-10488581/). His Tamil credits include *Naan Kadavul* (2009), *Angadi Theru* (2010), *[Kaaviya Thalaivan](https://www.edgepedia.org/kaaviya-thalaivan-2014-film)* (2014), *Sarkar* (2018), and Rajinikanth's *2.0* (2018); in Malayalam, *Ozhimuri* (2012) and *One By Two* (2014) are his most noted works[1](https://in.bookmyshow.com/person/b.-jeyamohan/34570). He wrote the screenplay for Mani Ratnam's cinematic adaptation of Kalki's novel *Ponniyin Selvan*, and describes adaptation as an act of transformation rather than translation[3](https://indianexpress.com/article/books-and-literature/jeyamohan-lmahabharata-rushdie-10369729/) • [12](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/why-do-most-great-novels-fail-on-screen-while-some-mediocre-ones-succeed-author-b-jeyamohan-explains/articleshow/127039004.cms).
## English translation
No work of Jeyamohan appeared in English until 2022, when he was 60; his first translated book was *Stories of the True* (Juggernaut India edition, 2022; FSG US edition, 2025)[3](https://indianexpress.com/article/books-and-literature/jeyamohan-lmahabharata-rushdie-10369729/) • [2](https://www.jeyamohan.in/about-2/). A new generation of translators, particularly women, has carried the work over, and one translation was shortlisted for an American Literary Translators Association award[3](https://indianexpress.com/article/books-and-literature/jeyamohan-lmahabharata-rushdie-10369729/). Jeyamohan characterizes their method as a new school of translation that keeps Tamil identity and flavor: retaining words like "Amma" rather than "mother," preserving kinship terms, food details, and idioms, and producing what he calls a "Tamil English"[3](https://indianexpress.com/article/books-and-literature/jeyamohan-lmahabharata-rushdie-10369729/).
## Views and public initiatives
Jeyamohan argues that [Indian English](https://www.edgepedia.org/indian-english) writing is stylized, urban upper-class work, and he has written critically of [Salman Rushdie](https://www.edgepedia.org/salman-rushdie)'s novel *Victory City*; he abandoned writing in English 40 years ago after noticing it was eroding the rhythm of his natural language[3](https://indianexpress.com/article/books-and-literature/jeyamohan-lmahabharata-rushdie-10369729/). He refuses honors from governments or government institutions[9](https://thefederal.com/category/videos/jeyamohan-tamil-writer-183238).
Through the Vishnupuram Literary Circle, formed by his readers, he organizes literary conferences and writing workshops, and the circle awards an annual lifetime-achievement prize to a Tamil author[13](https://tamil.wiki/wiki/Jeyamohan) • [2](https://www.jeyamohan.in/about-2/). He has announced a new literary honor, the Living Tamil Award for World Literature, a lifetime-achievement prize carrying ₹10 million (₹1 crore; around $100,000), recognizing outstanding works in both Indian and global literature[14](https://www.tnpscthervupettagam.com/assets/home/media/general/doc/March_19_-_English3.pdf).
## References
1. [B. Jeyamohan profile, BookMyShow](https://in.bookmyshow.com/person/b.-jeyamohan/34570)
2. [About Jeyamohan, jeyamohan.in](https://www.jeyamohan.in/about-2/)
3. [Aishwarya Khosla, "'Indian English writing is very inferior…': Author Jeyamohan on language, Salman Rushdie," The Indian Express, November 17, 2025](https://indianexpress.com/article/books-and-literature/jeyamohan-lmahabharata-rushdie-10369729/)
4. [Jeyamohan bio, Toronto International Festival of Authors](https://festivalofauthors.ca/book-author/jeyamohan/)
5. [Transit Books catalog: The Abyss by Jeyamohan, trans. Suchitra Ramachandran](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55e1f8f0e4b02b09d51bf3bf/t/695d68df0648cf50a83560d4/1767729375654/SS26_TransitCatalog_Adult.pdf)
6. [B Jeyamohan author page, DC Books](https://dcbooks.com/author/b-jeyamohan/)
7. ["Tamil writer Jeyamohan's acclaimed work 'Ezhaam Ulagam' now in English translation," The South First](https://thesouthfirst.com/featured/tamil-writer-jeyamohans-acclaimed-work-ezhaam-ulagam-now-in-english-translation/)
8. [Prakruti Maniar, "In Conversation with Jeyamohan and Suchitra Ramachandran," Purple Pencil Project](https://www.purplepencilproject.com/jeyamohan-suchitra-interview/)
9. ["Jeyamohan interview: 'Devastated by my mother's death, I found refuge in writing'," The Federal](https://thefederal.com/category/videos/jeyamohan-tamil-writer-183238)
10. [Jeyamohan author page, Scroll.in](https://scroll.in/author/24134)
11. [Dipanita Nath, "Filmmakers not relying on literature…," The Indian Express, January 22, 2026](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/filmmakers-not-relying-on-literature-they-are-watching-films-making-another-movie-from-it-10488581/)
12. ["Why do most great novels fail on screen…? Author B Jeyamohan explains," The Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/why-do-most-great-novels-fail-on-screen-while-some-mediocre-ones-succeed-author-b-jeyamohan-explains/articleshow/127039004.cms)
13. [Jeyamohan, Tamil Wiki](https://tamil.wiki/wiki/Jeyamohan)
14. [Living Tamil Award announcement, TNPSC Thervupettagam](https://www.tnpscthervupettagam.com/assets/home/media/general/doc/March_19_-_English3.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Literature and written works › Writers and literary biographies › Fiction writers: novelists and genre › Asian, African, and world novelists › Surnames A to Li › Surnames He to Ka*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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