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The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
epics The Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS) is a set of software tools and applications used to develop and implement distributed control systems to operate devices such as particle accelerators, telescopes and other large sci ...
of
ancient India According to consensus in modern genetics, anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. Quote: "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by m ...
in
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
, the other being the ''
Rāmāyaṇa The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages ...
''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kurukshetra War and the fates of the
Kaurava ''Kaurava'' is a Sanskrit term which refers to descendants of Kuru, a legendary king of India who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the epic ''Mahabharata''. Usually, the term is used for the 100 sons of King Dhritarashtra and his wi ...
and the Pāṇḍava princes and their successors. It also contains
philosophical Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four "goals of life" or ''
puruṣārtha ''Purushartha'' (Sanskrit: पुरुषार्थ, IAST: ) literally means "object(ive) of men".Bhagavad Gita'', the story of
Damayanti ''Damayanti'' (Sanskrit: दमयंती) is a character in a love story found in the Vana Parva book of the Mahabharata. She was the daughter of Bhima (not the Pandava one) and a princess of the Vidarbha Kingdom, who married King Nala of ...
, the story of Shakuntala, the story of Pururava and
Urvashi Urvashi ( sa, उर्वशी, Urvaśī}) is the most prominent apsara (celestial nymph) in Hindu mythology, considered to be the most beautiful of all the apsaras, and an expert dancer. She is mentioned in both ''Vedic'' and ''Puranic'' scr ...
, the story of Savitri and Satyavan, the story of Kacha and Devayani, the story of
Rishyasringa Rishyasringa ( sa, ऋष्यशृङ्ग; ; Pali: Isisiṅga) is a Rishi mentioned in Indian (Hindu and Buddhist) scriptures from the late first millennium BCE. According to the Hindu epics ''Ramayana'' and ''Mahabharata'', he was a boy b ...
and an abbreviated version of the ''
Rāmāyaṇa The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages ...
'', often considered as works in their own right. Traditionally, the authorship of the ''Mahābhārata'' is attributed to
Vyāsa Krishna Dvaipayana ( sa, कृष्णद्वैपायन, Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana), better known as Vyasa (; sa, व्यासः, Vyāsaḥ, compiler) or Vedavyasa (वेदव्यासः, ''Veda-vyāsaḥ'', "the one who cl ...
. There have been many attempts to unravel its historical growth and compositional layers. The bulk of the ''Mahābhārata'' was probably compiled between the 3rd century BCE and the 3rd century CE, with the oldest preserved parts not much older than around 400 BCE.Brockington (1998, p. 26) The original events related by the epic probably fall between the 9th and 8th centuries BCE. The text probably reached its final form by the early
Gupta period The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Gold ...
(c. 4th century CE). The ''Mahābhārata'' is the longest epic poem known and has been described as "the longest poem ever written". Its longest version consists of over 100,000 ''
śloka Shloka or śloka ( sa, श्लोक , from the root , Macdonell, Arthur A., ''A Sanskrit Grammar for Students'', Appendix II, p. 232 (Oxford University Press, 3rd edition, 1927). in a broader sense, according to Monier-Williams's dictionary, is ...
'' or over 200,000 individual verse lines (each shloka is a couplet), and long prose passages. At about 1.8 million words in total, the ''Mahābhārata'' is roughly ten times the length of the ''
Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Odys ...
'' and the ''
Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Iliad'', th ...
'' combined, or about four times the length of the
Rāmāyaṇa The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages ...
. W. J. Johnson has compared the importance of the ''Mahābhārata'' in the context of world civilization to that of the
Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...
, the
Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...
, the works of
Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
,
Greek drama Ancient Greek theatre was a theatrical culture that flourished in ancient Greece from 700 BC. The city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political, and religious place during this period, was its centre, where the theatre was ...
, or the works of
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
. Within the Indian tradition it is sometimes called the fifth Veda.


Textual history and structure

The epic is traditionally ascribed to the sage
Vyāsa Krishna Dvaipayana ( sa, कृष्णद्वैपायन, Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana), better known as Vyasa (; sa, व्यासः, Vyāsaḥ, compiler) or Vedavyasa (वेदव्यासः, ''Veda-vyāsaḥ'', "the one who cl ...
, who is also a major character in the epic. Vyāsa described it as being ''
itihāsa Itihasa () refers to the collection of written descriptions of important events in Hinduism. It includes the Mahabharata, the Puranas and the Ramayana. The Mahabharata includes the story of the Kurukshetra War and preserves the traditions of ...
'' (). He also describes the
Guru–shishya tradition The ''guru–shishya'' tradition, or ''parampara'' ("lineage"), denotes a succession of teachers and disciples in Indian-origin religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhism (including Tibetan and Zen traditions). Each ''parampar ...
, which traces all great teachers and their students of the Vedic times. The first section of the ''Mahābhārata'' states that it was
Ganesha Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva_(Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is ...
who wrote down the text to Vyasa's dictation, but this is regarded by scholars as a later interpolation to the epic and the "Critical Edition" doesn't include
Ganesha Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva_(Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is ...
at all. The epic employs the story within a story structure, otherwise known as frametales, popular in many Indian religious and non-religious works. It is first recited at ''
Takshashila Taxila or Takshashila (; sa, तक्षशिला; pi, ; , ; , ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area ...
'' by the sage Vaiśampāyana, a disciple of Vyāsa, to the King
Janamejaya Janamejaya ( sa, जनमेजय) was a Kuru king who reigned during the Middle Vedic period. Along with his father and predecessor Parikshit, he played a decisive role in the consolidation of the Kuru state, the arrangement of Vedic hymns ...
who was the great-grandson of the Pāṇḍava prince Arjuna. The story is then recited again by a professional storyteller named Ugraśrava Sauti, many years later, to an assemblage of sages performing the 12-year sacrifice for the king Saunaka Kulapati in the Naimiśa Forest. The text was described by some early 20th-century
Indologists Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies. The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') i ...
as unstructured and chaotic.
Hermann Oldenberg Hermann Oldenberg (31 October 1854 – 18 March 1920) was a German scholar of Indology, and Professor at Kiel (1898) and Göttingen (1908). Work Oldenberg was born in Hamburg. His 1881 study on Buddhism, entitled ''Buddha: Sein Leben, seine Lehr ...
supposed that the original poem must once have carried an immense "tragic force" but dismissed the full text as a "horrible chaos."
Moritz Winternitz Moriz Winternitz ( Horn, December 23, 1863 – Prague, January 9, 1937) was a scholar from Austria who began his Indology contributions working with Max Müller at the Oxford University. An eminent Sanskrit scholar, he worked as a professor i ...
(''Geschichte der indischen Literatur'' 1909) considered that "only unpoetical theologists and clumsy scribes" could have lumped the parts of disparate origin into an unordered whole.


Accretion and redaction

Research on the ''Mahābhārata'' has put an enormous effort into recognizing and dating layers within the text. Some elements of the present ''Mahābhārata'' can be traced back to Vedic times. The background to the ''Mahābhārata'' suggests the origin of the epic occurs "after the very early
Vedic period The Vedic period, or the Vedic age (), is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the history of India when the Vedic literature, including the Vedas (ca. 1300–900 BCE), was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent, betwe ...
" and before "the first Indian 'empire' was to rise in the third century B.C." That this is "a date not too far removed from the 8th or 9th century B.C."Buitenen (1973) pp. xxiv–xxv is likely. ''Mahābhārata'' started as an orally-transmitted tale of the charioteer bards. It is generally agreed that "Unlike the
Vedas upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute th ...
, which have to be preserved letter-perfect, the epic was a popular work whose reciters would inevitably conform to changes in language and style," so the earliest 'surviving' components of this dynamic text are believed to be no older than the earliest 'external' references we have to the epic, which may include an allusion in Panini's 4th century BCE grammar Aṣṭādhyāyī 4:2:56. It is estimated that the Sanskrit text probably reached something of a "final form" by the early
Gupta period The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Gold ...
(about the 4th century CE). Vishnu Sukthankar, editor of the first great critical edition of the ''Mahābhārata'', commented: "It is useless to think of reconstructing a fluid text in an original shape, based on an archetype and a '' stemma codicum''. What then is possible? Our objective can only be to reconstruct ''the oldest form of the text which it is possible to reach'' based on the manuscript material available." That manuscript evidence is somewhat late, given its material composition and the
climate of India The climate of India consists of a wide range of weather conditions across a vast geographic scale and varied topography. Based on the Köppen system, India hosts six major climatic sub types, ranging from arid deserts in the west, alpine tu ...
, but it is very extensive. The ''Mahābhārata'' itself (1.1.61) distinguishes a core portion of 24,000 verses: the ''Bhārata'' proper, as opposed to additional secondary material, while the '' Aśvalāyana Gṛhyasūtra'' (3.4.4) makes a similar distinction. At least three redactions of the text are commonly recognized: ''Jaya'' (Victory) with 8,800 verses attributed to
Vyāsa Krishna Dvaipayana ( sa, कृष्णद्वैपायन, Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana), better known as Vyasa (; sa, व्यासः, Vyāsaḥ, compiler) or Vedavyasa (वेदव्यासः, ''Veda-vyāsaḥ'', "the one who cl ...
, ''Bhārata'' with 24,000 verses as recited by Vaiśampāyana, and finally the ''Mahābhārata'' as recited by Ugraśrava Sauti with over 100,000 verses. However, some scholars, such as John Brockington, argue that ''Jaya'' and ''Bharata'' refer to the same text, and ascribe the theory of ''Jaya'' with 8,800 verses to a misreading of a verse in Ā''diparvan'' (1.1.81). The redaction of this large body of text was carried out after formal principles, emphasizing the numbers 18 and 12. The addition of the latest parts may be dated by the absence of the ''Anuśāsana-Parva'' and the ''Virāta Parva'' from the "
Spitzer manuscript The Spitzer Manuscript is the oldest surviving philosophical manuscript in Buddhist Sanskrit, and possibly the oldest Buddhist Sanskrit manuscript of any type related to Buddhism discovered so far. The manuscript was found in 1906 in the form of a ...
". The oldest surviving Sanskrit text dates to the Kushan Period (200 CE). According to what one character says at Mbh. 1.1.50, there were three versions of the epic, beginning with ''Manu'' (1.1.27), ''Astika'' (1.3, sub-Parva 5), or ''Vasu'' (1.57), respectively. These versions would correspond to the addition of one and then another 'frame' settings of dialogues. The ''Vasu'' version would omit the frame settings and begin with the account of the birth of Vyasa. The ''astika'' version would add the ''sarpasattra'' and ''aśvamedha'' material from Brahmanical literature, introduce the name ''Mahābhārata'', and identify Vyāsa as the work's author. The redactors of these additions were probably Pāñcarātrin scholars who according to Oberlies (1998) likely retained control over the text until its final redaction. Mention of the Huna in the ''Bhīṣma-Parva'' however appears to imply that this Parva may have been edited around the 4th century. The Ādi-Parva includes the snake sacrifice (''sarpasattra'') of
Janamejaya Janamejaya ( sa, जनमेजय) was a Kuru king who reigned during the Middle Vedic period. Along with his father and predecessor Parikshit, he played a decisive role in the consolidation of the Kuru state, the arrangement of Vedic hymns ...
, explaining its motivation, detailing why all snakes in existence were intended to be destroyed, and why despite this, there are still snakes in existence. This ''sarpasattra'' material was often considered an independent tale added to a version of the ''Mahābhārata'' by "thematic attraction" (Minkowski 1991), and considered to have a particularly close connection to
Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
( Brahmana) literature. The Pañcavimśa Brahmana (at 25.15.3) enumerates the officiant priests of a ''sarpasattra'' among whom the names Dhṛtarāṣtra and Janamejaya, two main characters of the ''Mahābhāratas ''sarpasattra'', as well as Takṣaka, the name of a snake in the ''Mahābhārata'', occur. The '' Suparṇākhyāna'', a late Vedic period poem considered to be among the "earliest traces of epic poetry in India," is an older, shorter precursor to the expanded legend of
Garuda Garuda (Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garuda ...
that is included in the ''Āstīka Parva'', within the ''Ādi Parva'' of the ''Mahābhārata''.


Historical references

The earliest known references to ''bhārata'' and the
compound Compound may refer to: Architecture and built environments * Compound (enclosure), a cluster of buildings having a shared purpose, usually inside a fence or wall ** Compound (fortification), a version of the above fortified with defensive struc ...
''mahābhārata'' date to the ''
Aṣṭādhyāyī The (Devanagari अष्टाध्यायी) is a grammar that describes a form of an early Indo-Aryan language: Sanskrit. Authored by Sanskrit philologist and scholar Pāṇini and dated to around 500 BCE, it describes the language as cu ...
'' ( sutra 6.2.38) of
Pāṇini , era = ;;6th–5th century BCE , region = Indian philosophy , main_interests = Grammar, linguistics , notable_works = ' ( Classical Sanskrit) , influenced= , notable_ideas=Descriptive linguistics (Devanaga ...
(''fl.'' 4th century BCE) and the '' Aśvalāyana Gṛhyasūtra'' (3.4.4). This may mean the core 24,000 verses, known as the ''Bhārata'', as well as an early version of the extended ''Mahābhārata'', were composed by the 4th century BCE. However, it is not certain whether Pāṇini referred to the epic, as ''bhārata'' was also used to describe other things. Albrecht Weber mentions the
Rigvedic The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one S ...
tribe of the Bharatas, where a great person might have been designated as ''Mahā-Bhārata''. However, as Páṇini also mentions characters that play a role in the ''Mahābhārata'', some parts of the epic may have already been known in his day. Another aspect is that Pāṇini determined the accent of ''mahā-bhārata''. However, the ''Mahābhārata'' was not recited in
Vedic accent The pitch accent of Vedic Sanskrit, or Vedic accent for brevity, is traditionally divided by Sanskrit grammarians into three qualities, ''udātta'' उदात्त "raised" (acute accent, high pitch), ''anudātta'' अनुदात्त "not ...
. The Greek writer
Dio Chrysostom Dio Chrysostom (; el, Δίων Χρυσόστομος ''Dion Chrysostomos''), Dion of Prusa or Cocceianus Dio (c. 40 – c. 115 AD), was a Greek orator, writer, philosopher and historian of the Roman Empire in the 1st century AD. Eighty of his ...
(c. 40 – c. 120 CE) reported that
Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
's poetry was being sung even in India. Many scholars have taken this as evidence for the existence of a ''Mahābhārata'' at this date, whose episodes Dio or his sources identify with the story of the ''Iliad''. Several stories within the ''Mahābhārata'' took on separate identities of their own in
Classical Sanskrit literature Sanskrit literature broadly comprises all literature in the Sanskrit language. This includes texts composed in the earliest attested descendant of the Proto-Indo-Aryan language known as Vedic Sanskrit, texts in Classical Sanskrit as well as som ...
. For instance,
Abhijñānaśākuntala ''Abhijnanashakuntalam'' (Devanagari: अभिज्ञानशाकुन्तलम्, International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''Abhijñānaśākuntalam''), also known as ''Shakuntala'', ''The Recognition of Shakuntala'', ...
by the renowned Sanskrit poet Kālidāsa (c. 400 CE), believed to have lived in the era of the
Gupta Gupta () is a common surname or last name of Indian origin. It is based on the Sanskrit word गोप्तृ ''goptṛ'', which means 'guardian' or 'protector'. According to historian R. C. Majumdar, the surname ''Gupta'' was adopted by se ...
dynasty, is based on a story that is the precursor to the ''Mahābhārata''. Urubhaṅga, a Sanskrit play written by
Bhāsa Bhāsa is one of the earliest and most celebrated Indian playwrights in Sanskrit, predating Kalidasa. His name was already well-known by the 1st century BCE and he belongs to the late-Mauryan (322-184 BCE) period at the earliest, but the thirt ...
who is believed to have lived before Kālidāsa, is based on the slaying of Duryodhana by the splitting of his thighs by Bhīma. The copper-plate inscription of the
Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, a ...
Sharvanatha (533–534 CE) from Khoh (
Satna Satna is a city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of Satna district. It is 7th largest city and 8th most populous city of the state. The city is 500 km east of the state capital Bhopal. The city is ...
District,
Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
) describes the ''Mahābhārata'' as a "collection of 100,000 verses" (''śata-sahasri saṃhitā'').


The 18 parvas or books

The Mahabharata begins with the following hymn and in fact this praise has been made at the beginning of every Parva: "Om! Having bowed down to
Narayana Narayana (Sanskrit: नारायण, IAST: ''Nārāyaṇa'') is one of the forms and names of Vishnu, who is in yogic slumber under the celestial waters, referring to the masculine principle. He is also known as Purushottama, and is co ...
and Nara (Arjuna), the most exalted male being, and also to the goddess
Saraswati Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati. The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a g ...
, must the word Jaya be uttered."
Nara-Narayana Naranarayana (), also rendered Nara-Narayana, is a Hindu duo of sage-brothers. Generally regarded to be the partial-incarnation (aṃśa-avatara) of the preserver deity, Vishnu, on earth, Nara-Narayana are described to be the sons of Dharma ...
were two ancient sages who were the portion of Shree
Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...
.
Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...
was the previous birth of Arjuna and the friend of
Narayana Narayana (Sanskrit: नारायण, IAST: ''Nārāyaṇa'') is one of the forms and names of Vishnu, who is in yogic slumber under the celestial waters, referring to the masculine principle. He is also known as Purushottama, and is co ...
, while Narayana was the incarnation of Shree
Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...
and thus the previous birth of Shree
Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
. The division into 18 parvas is as follows:


Historical context

The historicity of the Kurukshetra War is unclear. Many historians estimate the date of the Kurukshetra war to
Iron Age India In the prehistory of the Indian subcontinent, the Iron Age succeeded Bronze Age India and partly corresponds with the megalithic cultures of India. Other Iron Age archaeological cultures of India were the Painted Grey Ware culture (1300–3 ...
of the 10th century BCE. The setting of the epic has a historical precedent in Iron Age (
Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
) India, where the Kuru kingdom was the center of political power during roughly 1200 to 800  BCE. A dynastic conflict of the period could have been the inspiration for the ''Jaya'', the foundation on which the ''Mahābhārata'' corpus was built, with a climactic battle, eventually coming to be viewed as an epochal event. Puranic literature presents genealogical lists associated with the ''Mahābhārata'' narrative. The evidence of the Puranas is of two kinds. Of the first kind, there is the direct statement that there were 1015 (or 1050) years between the birth of
Parikshit Parikshit ( sa, परीक्षित्, ) was a Kuru king who reigned during the Middle Vedic period (12th-10th centuries BCE). Along with his son and successor, Janamejaya, he played a decisive role in the consolidation of the Kuru state, ...
(Arjuna's grandson) and the accession of
Mahapadma Nanda Mahapadma Nanda (IAST: ''Mahāpadmānanda''; c. mid 4th century BCE), according to the Puranas, was the first Emperor of the Nanda Empire of ancient India. The Puranas describe him as a son of the last Shaishunaga king Mahanandin and a Shudra ...
(400-329  BCE), which would yield an estimate of about 1400  BCE for the Bharata battle. However, this would imply improbably long reigns on average for the kings listed in the genealogies. Of the second kind is analyses of parallel genealogies in the Puranas between the times of Adhisimakrishna (
Parikshit Parikshit ( sa, परीक्षित्, ) was a Kuru king who reigned during the Middle Vedic period (12th-10th centuries BCE). Along with his son and successor, Janamejaya, he played a decisive role in the consolidation of the Kuru state, ...
's great-grandson) and
Mahapadma Nanda Mahapadma Nanda (IAST: ''Mahāpadmānanda''; c. mid 4th century BCE), according to the Puranas, was the first Emperor of the Nanda Empire of ancient India. The Puranas describe him as a son of the last Shaishunaga king Mahanandin and a Shudra ...
. Pargiter accordingly estimated 26 generations by averaging 10 different dynastic lists and, assuming 18 years for the average duration of a reign, arrived at an estimate of 850  BCE for Adhisimakrishna, and thus approximately 950  BCE for the Bharata battle.
B. B. Lal Braj Basi Lal (2 May 1921 – 10 September 2022) was an Indian writer and archaeologist. He was the Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) from 1968 to 1972 and has served as Director of the Indian Institute of Advanced ...
used the same approach with a more conservative assumption of the average reign to estimate a date of 836 BCE, and correlated this with archaeological evidence from
Painted Grey Ware The Painted Grey Ware culture (PGW) is an Iron Age Indian culture of the western Gangetic plain and the Ghaggar-Hakra valley in the Indian subcontinent, conventionally dated 1200 to 600–500 BCE, or from 1300 to 500–300 BCE It is a successo ...
(PGW) sites, the association being strong between PGW artifacts and places mentioned in the epic.
John Keay John Stanley Melville Keay FRGS is a British historian, journalist, radio presenter and lecturer specialising in popular histories of India, the Far East and China, often with a particular focus on their colonisation and exploration by Europ ...
confirms this and also gives 950 BCE for the Bharata battle. Attempts to date the events using methods of
archaeoastronomy Archaeoastronomy (also spelled archeoastronomy) is the interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary study of how people in the past "have understood the phenomena in the sky, how they used these phenomena and what role the sky played in their cul ...
have produced, depending on which passages are chosen and how they are interpreted, estimates ranging from the late 4th to the mid-2nd millennium BCE. The late 4th-millennium date has a precedent in the calculation of the '' Kali Yuga'' epoch, based on planetary conjunctions, by
Aryabhata Aryabhata ( ISO: ) or Aryabhata I (476–550 CE) was an Indian mathematician and astronomer of the classical age of Indian mathematics and Indian astronomy. He flourished in the Gupta Era and produced works such as the ''Aryabhatiya'' (which ...
(6th century). Aryabhata's date of 18 February 3102  BCE for ''Mahābhārata'' war has become widespread in Indian tradition. Some sources mark this as the disappearance of
Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
from the Earth. The
Aihole inscription The Aihole Inscription, also known as the Aihole '' prashasti'', is a nineteen line Sanskrit inscription at Meguti Jain temple in Aihole, Karnataka, India. An eulogy dated 634–635 CE, it was composed by the Jain poet Ravikirti in honor of his ...
of Pulikeshi II, dated to Saka 556 = 634 CE, claims that 3735 years have elapsed since the Bharata battle, putting the date of ''Mahābhārata'' war at 3137 BCE. Another traditional school of astronomers and historians, represented by Vriddha-Garga, Varahamihira (author of the ''Brhatsamhita'') and
Kalhana Kalhana ( sa, कल्हण, translit=kalhaṇa) was the author of ''Rajatarangini'' (''River of Kings''), an account of the history of Kashmir. He wrote the work in Sanskrit between 1148 and 1149. All information regarding his life has to be ...
(author of the ''
Rajatarangini ''Rajatarangini'' ("The River of Kings") is a metrical legendary and historical chronicle of the north-western part of India, particularly the kings of Kashmir. It was written in Sanskrit by Kashmiri historian Kalhana in the 12th century CE. Th ...
''), place the Bharata war 653 years after the ''Kali Yuga'' epoch, corresponding to 2449 BCE.


Synopsis

The core story of the work is that of a dynastic struggle for the throne of Hastinapura, the kingdom ruled by the Kuru clan. The two collateral branches of the family that participate in the struggle are the
Kaurava ''Kaurava'' is a Sanskrit term which refers to descendants of Kuru, a legendary king of India who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the epic ''Mahabharata''. Usually, the term is used for the 100 sons of King Dhritarashtra and his wi ...
and the
Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledge ...
. Although the Kaurava is the senior branch of the family, Duryodhana, the eldest Kaurava, is younger than
Yudhishthira ''Yudhishthira'' (Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, IAST: ''Yudhiṣṭhira'') is the eldest among the five Pandava brothers. He is mentioned in the ancient epic Mahabharata. He was sired by King Pandu of the Kuru Dynasty and his firs ...
, the eldest Pandava. Both Duryodhana and
Yudhishthira ''Yudhishthira'' (Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, IAST: ''Yudhiṣṭhira'') is the eldest among the five Pandava brothers. He is mentioned in the ancient epic Mahabharata. He was sired by King Pandu of the Kuru Dynasty and his firs ...
claim to be first in line to inherit the throne. The struggle culminates in the great battle of Kurukshetra, in which the
Pandavas The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledge ...
are ultimately victorious. The battle produces complex conflicts of kinship and friendship, instances of family loyalty and duty taking precedence over what is right, as well as the converse. The ''Mahābhārata'' itself ends with the death of
Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
, and the subsequent end of his dynasty and ascent of the Pandava brothers to heaven. It also marks the beginning of the Hindu age of '' Kali Yuga'', the fourth and final age of humankind, in which great values and noble ideas have crumbled, and people are heading towards the complete dissolution of right action, morality, and virtue.


The older generations

King Janamejaya's ancestor
Shantanu Shantanu (Sanskrit: शंतनु) is a character in the Mahabharata, described as the ruler of the Kuru Kingdom with his capital at Hastinapura. He was a descendant of the Bharata race, a forebear of the lineage of the Lunar dynasty, and th ...
, the king of Hastinapura, has a short-lived marriage with the goddess Ganga and has a son, Devavrata (later to be called Bhishma, a great warrior), who becomes the heir apparent. Many years later, when King
Shantanu Shantanu (Sanskrit: शंतनु) is a character in the Mahabharata, described as the ruler of the Kuru Kingdom with his capital at Hastinapura. He was a descendant of the Bharata race, a forebear of the lineage of the Lunar dynasty, and th ...
goes hunting, he sees Satyavati, the daughter of the chief of fisherman, and asks her father for her hand. Her father refuses to consent to the marriage unless Shantanu promises to make any future son of Satyavati the king upon his death. To resolve his father's dilemma, Devavrata agrees to relinquish his right to the throne. As the fisherman is not sure about the prince's children honoring the promise, Devavrata also takes a vow of lifelong celibacy to guarantee his father's promise. Shantanu has two sons by Satyavati,
Chitrāngada Chitrāngada ( sa, चित्रांगद, ''citrāngada'') was the king of Kuru Mahajanapada with his capital Hastinapura . He belonged to the Lunar Dynasty of Bharata Tribe He was the elder son of Shantanu and Satyavati, who ascende ...
and
Vichitravirya Vichitravirya ( sa, विचित्रवीर्य, translit=Vicitravīrya, lit=Strange potency) is a character in the Mahabharata, where he is featured as a Kuru king. According to the Hindu epic, he is the younger son of Queen Satyavati ...
. Upon Shantanu's death, Chitrangada becomes king. He lives a very short uneventful life and dies. Vichitravirya, the younger son, rules Hastinapura. Meanwhile, the King of Kāśī arranges a
swayamvara Svayamvara ( sa, स्वयंवर, svayaṃvara, translit-std=IAST), in ancient India, was a method of marriage in which a woman chose a man as her husband from a group of suitors. In this context, in Sanskrit means 'self' and means 'g ...
for his three daughters, neglecting to invite the royal family of Hastinapur. To arrange the marriage of young Vichitravirya, Bhishma attends the swayamvara of the three princesses
Amba Amba or AMBA may refer to: Title * Amba Hor, alternative name for Abhor and Mehraela, Christian martyrs * Amba Sada, also known as Psote, Christian bishop and martyr in Upper Egypt Given name * Amba, the traditional first name given to the first ...
, Ambika, and
Ambalika Ambalika () is a princess featured in the Mahabharata. The youngest daughter of Kashya, the King of Kashi, and Kausalya, she is abducted by Bhishma during her svayamvara ceremony, and becomes the wife of Vichitravirya, the King of Hastinapu ...
, uninvited, and proceeds to abduct them. Ambika and Ambalika consent to be married to Vichitravirya. The oldest princess Amba, however, informs Bhishma that she wishes to marry the king of Shalva whom Bhishma defeated at their swayamvara. Bhishma lets her leave to marry the king of Shalva, but Shalva refuses to marry her, still smarting at his humiliation at the hands of Bhishma. Amba then returns to marry Bhishma but he refuses due to his vow of celibacy. Amba becomes enraged and becomes Bhishma's bitter enemy, holding him responsible for her plight. She vows to kill him in her next life. Later she is reborn to King
Drupada Drupada (Sanskrit: द्रुपद, lit. ''firm-footed'' or ''pillar''), also known as Yajnasena (Sanskrit: यज्ञसेन, lit. ''he whose army is sacrificial''), is a character in the Mahābhārata. The son of King Prishata, he was ...
as
Shikhandi Shikhandi ( sa, शिखण्डी, translit=Śikhaṇḍī) is a character in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. Born as the daughter of Drupada, the King of Panchala, Shikhandi becomes a biological male after agreeing to a sex exchange with a y ...
(or Shikhandini) and causes Bhishma's fall, with the help of Arjuna, in the battle of Kurukshetra.


The Pandava and Kaurava princes

When Vichitravirya dies young without any heirs, Satyavati asks her first son
Vyasa Krishna Dvaipayana ( sa, कृष्णद्वैपायन, Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana), better known as Vyasa (; sa, व्यासः, Vyāsaḥ, compiler) or Vedavyasa (वेदव्यासः, ''Veda-vyāsaḥ'', "the one who cl ...
to father children with the widows. The eldest, Ambika, shuts her eyes when she sees him, and so her son
Dhritarashtra Dhritarashtra ( sa, धृतराष्ट्र, ISO-15919: Dhr̥tarāṣṭra) was a Kuru king, and the father of the Kauravas in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He was the King of the Kuru Kingdom, with its capital at Hastinapura. He was ...
is born blind. Ambalika turns pale and bloodless upon seeing him, and thus her son Pandu is born pale and unhealthy (the term Pandu may also mean 'jaundiced'). Due to the physical challenges of the first two children, Satyavati asks Vyasa to try once again. However, Ambika and Ambalika send their maid instead, to Vyasa's room. Vyasa fathers a third son,
Vidura Vidura (Sanskrit: विदुर, lit. ''skilled'', ''intelligent'' or ''wise''), also known as Kshatri, plays a key role in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is described as the prime minister of the Kuru kingdom and is the paternal uncle ...
, by the maid. He is born healthy and grows up to be one of the wisest characters in the ''Mahabharata''. He serves as Prime Minister (Mahamantri or Mahatma) to King Pandu and King Dhritarashtra. When the princes grow up, Dhritarashtra is about to be crowned king by Bhishma when Vidura intervenes and uses his knowledge of politics to assert that a blind person cannot be king. This is because a blind man cannot control and protect his subjects. The throne is then given to Pandu because of Dhritarashtra's blindness. Pandu marries twice, to Kunti and
Madri In the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata'', Madri is the princess of Madra Kingdom and the second wife of the king Pandu. She is the mother of the youngest Pandavas - the twin brothers Nakula and Sahadeva. The word ''Mādrī'' means 'woman of Madra'. ...
. Dhritarashtra marries Gandhari, a princess from Gandhara, who blindfolds herself for the rest of her life so that she may feel the pain that her husband feels. Her brother Shakuni is enraged by this and vows to take revenge on the Kuru family. One day, when Pandu is relaxing in the forest, he hears the sound of a wild animal. He shoots an arrow in the direction of the sound. However, the arrow hits the sage
Kindama Kindama ( sa, किन्दम) is a rishi featured in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of anc ...
, who was engaged in a sexual act in the guise of a deer. He curses Pandu that if he engages in a sexual act, he will die. Pandu then retires to the forest along with his two wives, and his brother Dhritarashtra rules thereafter, despite his blindness. Pandu's older queen Kunti, however, had been given a boon by Sage
Durvasa In Hindu scriptures, Durvasa ( sa, दुर्वासा, ) also known as Durvasas (Sanskrit: दुर्वासस्), is a legendary rishi (sage). He is the son of Anasuya and Atri. According to some Puranas, Durvasa is a partial avat ...
that she could invoke any god using a special mantra. Kunti uses this boon to ask Dharma the god of justice,
Vayu Vayu (, sa, वायु, ), also known as Vata and Pavana, is the Hindu god of the winds as well as the divine massenger of the gods. In the '' Vedic scriptures'', Vayu is an important deity and is closely associated with Indra, the king of ...
the god of the wind, and Indra the lord of the heavens for sons. She gives birth to three sons,
Yudhishthira ''Yudhishthira'' (Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, IAST: ''Yudhiṣṭhira'') is the eldest among the five Pandava brothers. He is mentioned in the ancient epic Mahabharata. He was sired by King Pandu of the Kuru Dynasty and his firs ...
, Bhima, and Arjuna, through these gods. Kunti shares her mantra with the younger queen
Madri In the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata'', Madri is the princess of Madra Kingdom and the second wife of the king Pandu. She is the mother of the youngest Pandavas - the twin brothers Nakula and Sahadeva. The word ''Mādrī'' means 'woman of Madra'. ...
, who bears the twins
Nakula In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, ''Nakula'' (Sanskrit: नकुल) was fourth of the five Pandava brothers. Nakula and Sahadeva were twins blessed to Madri, by Ashwini Kumaras, the divine physicians. Their parents Pandu and Madri - died e ...
and
Sahadeva Sahadeva (Sanskrit: सहदेव) was the youngest of the Pandava brothers, the five principal protagonists of the epic ''Mahabharata''. He and his twin brother, Nakula, were blessed to King Pandu and Queen Madri by invoking the twin gods As ...
through the Ashwini twins. However, Pandu and Madri indulge in lovemaking, and Pandu dies. Madri commits suicide out of remorse. Kunti raises the five brothers, who are from then on usually referred to as the
Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledge ...
brothers. Dhritarashtra has a hundred sons, and one daughter— Duhsala—through Gandhari, all born after the birth of Yudhishthira. These are the
Kaurava ''Kaurava'' is a Sanskrit term which refers to descendants of Kuru, a legendary king of India who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the epic ''Mahabharata''. Usually, the term is used for the 100 sons of King Dhritarashtra and his wi ...
brothers, the eldest being Duryodhana, and the second
Dushasana Dushasana ( sa, दुःशासन, , ), also spelled Duhshasana, Dussasana or Duhsasana, also known as Sushasana, is an antagonist in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He was second eldest among the Kaurava princes and the younger brother of D ...
. Other Kaurava brothers were
Vikarna In the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata'', Vikarna ( sa, विकर्ण) was the third Kaurava, a son of Dhritarashtra and Gandhari, and a brother to the crown prince Duryodhana. Vikarna is also referred to as the third-most reputable of the Kaurav ...
and Sukarna. The rivalry and enmity between them and the Pandava brothers, from their youth and into manhood, leads to the Kurukshetra war.


Lakshagraha (the house of lac)

After the deaths of their mother (Madri) and father (Pandu), the Pandavas and their mother Kunti return to the palace of Hastinapur. Yudhishthira is made Crown Prince by Dhritarashtra, under considerable pressure from his courtiers. Dhritarashtra wanted his son Duryodhana to become king and lets his ambition get in the way of preserving justice. Shakuni, Duryodhana, and Dushasana plot to get rid of the Pandavas. Shakuni calls the architect Purochana to build a palace out of flammable materials like lac and ghee. He then arranges for the Pandavas and the Queen Mother Kunti to stay there, intending to set it alight. However, the Pandavas are warned by their wise uncle,
Vidura Vidura (Sanskrit: विदुर, lit. ''skilled'', ''intelligent'' or ''wise''), also known as Kshatri, plays a key role in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is described as the prime minister of the Kuru kingdom and is the paternal uncle ...
, who sends them a miner to dig a tunnel. They can escape to safety and go into hiding. During this time Bhima marries a demoness
Hidimbi Hiḍimbī (Sanskrit: , IAST: ''Hiḍimbī''), or Hiḍimbā, is the rakshasi wife of the Pandava Bhima and the mother of Ghatotkacha in the ''Mahābhārata''. She meets Bhima in the 9th sub-parva (Hidimva-vadha Parva) of the Adi Parva. She i ...
and has a son Ghatotkacha. Back in Hastinapur, the Pandavas and Kunti are presumed dead.


Marriage to Draupadi

Whilst they were in hiding the Pandavas learn of a
swayamvara Svayamvara ( sa, स्वयंवर, svayaṃvara, translit-std=IAST), in ancient India, was a method of marriage in which a woman chose a man as her husband from a group of suitors. In this context, in Sanskrit means 'self' and means 'g ...
which is taking place for the hand of the Pāñcāla princess Draupadī. The Pandavas disguised as
Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (gur ...
s come to witness the event. Meanwhile, Krishna who has already befriended Draupadi, tells her to look out for Arjuna (though now believed to be dead). The task was to string a mighty steel bow and shoot a target on the ceiling, which was the eye of a moving artificial fish while looking at its reflection in oil below. In popular versions, after all the princes fail, many being unable to lift the bow, Karna proceeds to the attempt but is interrupted by Draupadi who refuses to marry a suta (this has been excised from the Critical Edition of Mahabharata as later interpolation). After this the swayamvara is opened to the Brahmins leading Arjuna to win the contest and marry Draupadi. The Pandavas return home and inform their meditating mother that Arjuna has won a competition and to look at what they have brought back. Without looking, Kunti asks them to share whatever Arjuna has won amongst themselves, thinking it to be alms. Thus, Draupadi ends up being the wife of all five brothers.


Indraprastha

After the wedding, the Pandava brothers are invited back to Hastinapura. The Kuru family elders and relatives negotiate and broker a split of the kingdom, with the Pandavas obtaining and demanding only a wild forest inhabited by
Takshaka Takshaka (Sanskrit: तक्षक, IAST: Takṣaka) is a Nagaraja in Hinduism and Buddhism. He is mentioned in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is described to be a king of the Nagas. He is one of the sons of Kadru. Takshaka also known i ...
, the king of snakes, and his family. Through hard work, the Pandavas can build a new glorious capital for the territory at
Indraprastha Indraprastha (lit. "Plain of Indra" or "City of Indra") is mentioned in ancient Indian literature as a city of the Kuru Kingdom. It was the capital of the kingdom led by the Pandavas mentioned in ''Mahabharata'' . Under the Pali form of its nam ...
. Shortly after this, Arjuna elopes with and then marries Krishna's sister, Subhadra. Yudhishthira wishes to establish his position as king; he seeks Krishna's advice. Krishna advises him, and after due preparation and the elimination of some opposition, Yudhishthira carries out the ''rājasūya yagna'' ceremony; he is thus recognized as pre-eminent among kings. The Pandavas have a new palace built for them, by
Maya Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (Ethiopia), a popul ...
the Danava. They invite their Kaurava cousins to Indraprastha. Duryodhana walks round the palace, and mistakes a glossy floor for water, and will not step in. After being told of his error, he then sees a pond and assumes it is not water and falls in. Bhima, Arjun, the twins and the servants laugh at him. In popular adaptations, this insult is wrongly attributed to Draupadi, even though in the Sanskrit epic, it was the Pandavas (except Yudhishthira) who had insulted Duryodhana. Enraged by the insult, and jealous at seeing the wealth of the Pandavas, Duryodhana decides to host a dice-game on Shakuni's suggestion. This suggestion was accepted by Yudhisthira despite the rest of the Pandavas advising him not to play.


The dice game

Shakuni, Duryodhana's uncle, now arranges a dice game, playing against Yudhishthira with loaded dice. Shakuni's dice had magic as they were made from the bones of his siblings. In the dice game, Yudhishthira loses all his wealth, then his kingdom. Yudhishthira then gambles his brothers, himself, and finally his wife into servitude. The jubilant Kauravas insult the Pandavas in their helpless state and even try to disrobe Draupadi in front of the entire court, but Draupadi's disrobe is prevented by Krishna, who miraculously make her dress endless, therefore it couldn't be removed. Dhritarashtra, Bhishma, and the other elders are aghast at the situation, but Duryodhana is adamant that there is no place for two crown princes in Hastinapura. Against his wishes Dhritarashtra orders for another dice game. The Pandavas are required to go into exile for 12 years, and in the 13th year, they must remain hidden. If they are discovered by the Kauravas in the 13th year of their exile, then they will be forced into exile for another 12 years.


Exile and return

The Pandavas spend thirteen years in exile; many adventures occur during this time. The Pandavas acquire many divine weapons, given by gods, during this period. They also prepare alliances for a possible future conflict. They spend their final year in disguise in the court of the king
Virata Virata ( sa, विराट, IAST ''virāṭa''), was the king of the Matsya Kingdom, in whose court the Pandavas spent a year in concealment during their exile. Virata was married to Queen Sudeshna and was the father of Prince Uttara and Pr ...
, and they are discovered just after the end of the year. At the end of their exile, they try to negotiate a return to Indraprastha with Krishna as their emissary. However, this negotiation fails, because Duryodhana objected that they were discovered in the 13th year of their exile and the return of their kingdom was not agreed upon. Then the Pandavas fought the Kauravas, claiming their rights over Indraprastha.


The battle at Kurukshetra

The two sides summon vast armies to their help and line up at Kurukshetra for a war. The kingdoms of Panchala,
Dwaraka Dvaraka, Dwaraka, Dwarka may refer to: Places India * Dvārakā, ancient city in Gujarat, the capital of the Yadus in the Mahabharata :* Dvārakā–Kamboja route, an ancient trade-route and a branch of the Silk Road * Dwarka, Gujarat, also k ...
, Kasi,
Kekaya Kekaya ( Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of north-western South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The members of the Kekaya tribe were called the Kaikayas. Location The Kekayas were located between the Gāndh ...
,
Magadha Magadha was a region and one of the sixteen sa, script=Latn, Mahajanapadas, label=none, lit=Great Kingdoms of the Second Urbanization (600–200 BCE) in what is now south Bihar (before expansion) at the eastern Ganges Plain. Magadha was ruled ...
,
Matsya Matsya ( sa, मत्स्य, lit. ''fish'') is the fish avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. Often described as the first of Vishnu's ten primary avatars, Matsya is described to have rescued the first man, Manu, from a great deluge. Matsya ...
, Chedi, Pandyas, Telinga, and the Yadus of
Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located approximately north of Agra, and south-east of Delhi; about from the town of Vrindavan, and from Govardhan. ...
and some other clans like the
Parama Kambojas Parama Kamboja Kingdom was mentioned in the epic Mahabharata to be on the far north west along with the Bahlika, Uttara Madra and Uttara Kuru countries. It was located in parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Parama Kambo ...
were allied with the
Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledge ...
s. The allies of the
Kaurava ''Kaurava'' is a Sanskrit term which refers to descendants of Kuru, a legendary king of India who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the epic ''Mahabharata''. Usually, the term is used for the 100 sons of King Dhritarashtra and his wi ...
s included the kings of Pragjyotisha,
Anga Anga (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The members of the Aṅga tribe were called the Āṅgeyas. Counted among the "sixteen great nations" in Buddhist texts ...
, Kekaya, Sindhudesa (including Sindhus, Sauviras and Sivis), Mahishmati, Avanti in Madhyadesa,
Madra Madra (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of north-western South Asia whose existence is attested since the Vedic period. The members of the Madra tribe were called the Madrakas. Location The Madras were divided into -Madra ("northe ...
, Gandhara, Bahlika people,
Kambojas Kamboja ( sa, कम्बोज) was a kingdom of Iron Age India that spanned parts of South and Central Asia, frequently mentioned in Sanskrit and Pali literature. Eponymous with the kingdom name, the Kambojas were an Indo-Iranian people o ...
and many others. Before war being declared,
Balarama Balarama ( Sanskrit: बलराम, IAST: ''Balarāma'') is a Hindu god and the elder brother of Krishna. He is particularly significant in the Jagannath tradition, as one of the triad deities. He is also known as Haladhara, Halayudha, Bala ...
had expressed his unhappiness at the developing conflict and leaves to go on
pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
; thus he does not take part in the battle itself. Krishna takes part in a non-combatant role, as charioteer ( Sarathy) for Arjuna and offers
Narayani Sena Narayani Sena or Gopayan or Yadava Sena, the army of Lord Krishna of Dwarka Kingdom is called as the supreme Sena of all time. The ''Mahabharata'' describes its soldiers as being of the Abhira people. They were the basic threat to the rival k ...
consisting of
Abhira The Abhira tribe is mentioned in the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata. A historical people of the same name are mentioned in the ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea''. They are thought to be people who moved in from eastern Iran in the aftermath of ...
gopas to the
Kaurava ''Kaurava'' is a Sanskrit term which refers to descendants of Kuru, a legendary king of India who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the epic ''Mahabharata''. Usually, the term is used for the 100 sons of King Dhritarashtra and his wi ...
s to fight on their side. Before the battle, Arjuna, noticing that the opposing army includes his cousins and relatives, including his grandfather Bhishma and his teacher Drona, has grave doubts about the fight. He falls into despair and refuses to fight. At this time, Krishna reminds him of his duty as a
Kshatriya Kshatriya ( hi, क्षत्रिय) (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority") is one of the four varna (social orders) of Hindu society, associated with warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...
to fight for a righteous cause in the famous Bhagavad Gita section of the epic. Though initially sticking to chivalrous notions of warfare, both sides soon adopt dishonorable tactics. At the end of the 18-day battle, only the Pandavas,
Satyaki Yuyudhana ( sa, युयुधान, '), better known as Satyaki ( sa, सात्यकि, ), was a powerful Yadava chieftain of Narayani Sena, belonging to the Vrishni clan to which Krishna also belonged. According to the Puranas, he was ...
, Kripa, Ashwatthama, Kritavarma,
Yuyutsu Yuyutsu () in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata'' was a son of Dhritarashtra with Gandhari's maid (named Sughada in later retelling). He was the paternal half - sibling to Gandhari's children: Duryodhana and the rest of the 99 Kaurava brothers and ...
and Krishna survive. Yudhisthira becomes King of Hastinapur and Gandhari curses Krishna that the downfall of his clan is imminent.


The end of the Pandavas

After "seeing" the carnage, Gandhari, who had lost all her sons, curses
Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
to be a witness to a similar annihilation of his family, for though divine and capable of stopping the war, he had not done so. Krishna accepts the curse, which bears fruit 36 years later. The Pandavas, who had ruled their kingdom meanwhile, decide to renounce everything. Clad in skins and rags they retire to the
Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
and climb towards heaven in their bodily form. A stray dog travels with them. One by one the brothers and Draupadi fall on their way. As each one stumbles, Yudhishthira gives the rest the reason for their fall ( Draupadi was partial to Arjuna,
Nakula In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, ''Nakula'' (Sanskrit: नकुल) was fourth of the five Pandava brothers. Nakula and Sahadeva were twins blessed to Madri, by Ashwini Kumaras, the divine physicians. Their parents Pandu and Madri - died e ...
and Sahadeva were vain and proud of their looks, and Bhima and Arjuna were proud of their strength and archery skills, respectively). Only the virtuous Yudhishthira, who had tried everything to prevent the carnage, and the dog remain. The dog reveals himself to be the god Yama (also known as Yama Dharmaraja) and then takes him to the underworld where he sees his siblings and wife. After explaining the nature of the test, Yama takes Yudhishthira back to heaven and explains that it was necessary to expose him to the underworld because (Rajyante narakam dhruvam) any ruler has to visit the underworld at least once. Yama then assures him that his siblings and wife would join him in heaven after they had been exposed to the underworld for measures of time according to their vices. Arjuna's grandson
Parikshit Parikshit ( sa, परीक्षित्, ) was a Kuru king who reigned during the Middle Vedic period (12th-10th centuries BCE). Along with his son and successor, Janamejaya, he played a decisive role in the consolidation of the Kuru state, ...
rules after them and dies bitten by a snake. His furious son, Janamejaya, decides to perform a snake sacrifice ('' sarpasattra'') to destroy the snakes. It is at this sacrifice that the tale of his ancestors is narrated to him.


The reunion

The ''Mahābhārata'' mentions that
Karna Karna (Sanskrit: कर्ण, IAST: ''Karṇa''), also known as Vasusena, Anga-raja, and Radheya, is one of the main protagonists of the Hindu epic '' Mahābhārata''. He is the son of the sun god Surya and princess Kunti (mother of the ...
, the Pandavas, Draupadi and Dhritarashtra's sons eventually ascended to svarga and "attained the state of the
god In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
s", and banded together – "serene and free from anger".


Themes


Just war

The ''Mahābhārata'' offers one of the first instances of theorizing about ''
dharmayuddha Dharma-yuddha is a Sanskrit word made up of two roots: ''dharma'' (धर्म) meaning righteousness, and ''yuddha'' (युद्ध) meaning warfare. In the Hindu Scriptures, dharma-yuddha refers to a war that is fought while following several ...
'', "
just war The just war theory ( la, bellum iustum) is a doctrine, also referred to as a tradition, of military ethics which is studied by military leaders, theologians, ethicists and policy makers. The purpose of the doctrine is to ensure that a war i ...
", illustrating many of the standards that would be debated later across the world. In the story, one of five brothers asks if the suffering caused by war can ever be justified. A long discussion ensues between the siblings, establishing criteria like ''proportionality'' (chariots cannot attack cavalry, only other chariots; no attacking people in distress), ''just means'' (no poisoned or barbed arrows), ''just cause'' (no attacking out of rage), and fair treatment of captives and the wounded.


Translations, versions and derivative works


Translations

The first
Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
translations of the ''Mahabharata'' emerged in the 16th century. It is disputed whether
Kavindra Parameshwar Kavindra Parameshwar was a medieval Bengali poet. He wrote the first Bengali translation of Mahabharata. Biography Parameshwar was born Parameshwar Das in Balanda, Saptagram, Hooghly. He was given the titile Kavindra, which means prime among the p ...
of Hooghly (based in Chittagong during his writing) or Sri Sanjay of Sylhet was the first to translate it into Bengali. A
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
translation of ''Mahabharata'', titled '' Razmnameh'', was produced at Akbar's orders, by
Faizi Abu al-Faiz ibn Mubarak, popularly known by his pen-name, Faizi (20 September 1547 – 15 October 1595) was a poet and scholar of late medieval India whose ancestors ''Malik-ush-Shu'ara'' (poet laureate) of Akbar's Court. Blochmann, H. (tr.) (19 ...
and
ʽAbd al-Qadir Badayuni ʽAbdul Qadir Badayuni (1540–1615) was the first Grand Mufti of India, Grand Mufti of India. He was also a historian and translator and lived in the Mughal Empire. He translated the Hinduism, Hindu works, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata ( ...
in the 18th century. The first complete English translation was the Victorian prose version by Kisari Mohan Ganguli, published between 1883 and 1896 (Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers) and by M. N. Dutt (
Motilal Banarsidass Motilal Banarsidass Publishing House (MLBD) is an Indian academic publishing house, founded in Delhi, India in 1903. It publishes and distributes serials, monographs, and scholarly publications on Asian religions, Buddhology, Indology, East ...
Publishers). Most critics consider the translation by Ganguli to be faithful to the original text. The complete text of Ganguli's translation is in the
public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...
and is available online. An early poetry translation by
Romesh Chunder Dutt Romesh Chunder Dutt ( bn, রমেশচন্দ্র দত্ত; 13 August 1848 – 30 November 1909) was an Indian civil servant, economic historian, writer and translator of ''Ramayana'' and ''Mahabharata''. Dutt is considered a natio ...
and published in 1898 condenses the main themes of the ''Mahābhārata'' into English verse. A later poetic "transcreation" (author's description) of the full epic into English, done by the poet P. Lal, is complete, and in 2005 began being published by
Writers Workshop Writers Workshop is a Kolkata-based literary publisher founded by the Indian poet and scholar Purushottama Lal in 1958. It has published many new Indian authors of post-independence urban literature. Many of these authors later became widely k ...
,
Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
. The P. Lal translation is a non-rhyming verse-by-verse rendering, and is the only edition in any language to include all slokas in all recensions of the work (not just those in the ''Critical Edition''). The completion of the publishing project is scheduled for 2010. Sixteen of the eighteen volumes are now available. Dr. Pradip Bhattacharya stated that the P. Lal version is "known in academia as the ‘
vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...
'". However, it has been described as "not strictly speaking a translation". A project to translate the full epic into English prose, translated by various hands, began to appear in 2005 from the
Clay Sanskrit Library The Clay Sanskrit Library is a series of books published by New York University Press and the JJC Foundation. Each work features the text in its original language (transliterated Sanskrit) on the left-hand page, with its English translation on the ...
, published by
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...
Press. The translation is based not on the ''Critical Edition'' but on the version known to the commentator Nīlakaṇṭha. Currently available are 15 volumes of the projected 32-volume edition. Indian Vedic Scholar Shripad Damodar Satwalekar translated the Critical Edition of Mahabharata into Hindi which was assigned to him by the
Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
. After his death, the task was taken up by Shrutisheel Sharma.Please note, that Sadwalekar has two translations in Hindi. To read BORI CE in Hindi specifically, go for the translations he published starting from 1968(BORI was published in 1966). Indian economist
Bibek Debroy Bibek Debroy is an Indian economist, serving as the chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India. Debroy has made significant contributions to game theory, economic theory, income and social inequalities, poverty ...
also wrote an unabridged English translation in ten volumes. Volume 1: Adi Parva was published in March 2010, and the last two volumes were published in December 2014. Abhinav Agarwal referred to Debroy's translation as "thoroughly enjoyable and impressively scholarly". In a review of the seventh volume, Bhattacharya stated that the translator bridged gaps in the narrative of the Critical Edition, but also noted translation errors. Gautam Chikermane of ''
Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Ly ...
'' wrote that where "both Debroy and Ganguli get tiresome is in the use of adjectives while describing protagonists". Another English prose translation of the full epic, based on the ''Critical Edition'', is in progress, published by
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
Press. It was initiated by
Indologist Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies. The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') is ...
J. A. B. van Buitenen Johannes Adrianus Bernardus van Buitenen (21 May 1928 – 21 September 1979) was a Dutch Indologist at the University of Chicago where he was the George V. Bobrinskoy Professor of Sanskrit in the Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizat ...
(books 1–5) and, following a 20-year hiatus caused by the death of van Buitenen is being continued by several scholars. James L. Fitzgerald translated book 11 and the first half of book 12. David Gitomer is translating book 6, Gary Tubb is translating book 7,
Christopher Minkowski Christopher Zand Minkowski (; born 13 May 1953) is an American academic, who has been Boden Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford since 2005. Education and early career Minkowski was educated at Gilman School before studying English ...
is translating book 8, Alf Hiltebeitel is translating books 9 and 10, Fitzgerald is translating the second half of book 12, Patrick Olivelle is translating book 13, and Fred Smith is translating book 14–18. Many condensed versions, abridgments and novelistic prose retellings of the complete epic have been published in English, including works by
Ramesh Menon Ramesh Ramesh is a common name. In Persian language, Persian, the name is derived from Pahlavi language, Pahlavi origin "Ramishn", meaning "happiness". It is also an Indian masculine given name, from Sanskrit, diminutive of Rameshwar, meaning "Lor ...
, William Buck, R. K. Narayan,
C. Rajagopalachari Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (10 December 1878 – 25 December 1972), popularly known as Rajaji or C.R., also known as Mootharignar Rajaji (Rajaji'', the Scholar Emeritus''), was an Indian statesman, writer, lawyer, and independence activis ...
,
K. M. Munshi Kanhaiyalal Maneklal Munshi (; 30 December 1887 – 8 February 1971), popularly known by his pen name Ghanshyam Vyas, was an Indian independence movement activist, politician, writer and educationist from Gujarat state. A lawyer by profession, ...
, Krishna Dharma, Romesh C. Dutt, Bharadvaja Sarma, John D. Smith and Sharon Maas.


''Critical Edition''

Between 1919 and 1966, scholars at the
Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute The Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI) is located in Pune, Maharashtra, India. It was founded on 6 July 1917 and named after Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar (1837–1925), long regarded as the founder of Indology (Orientalism) in Ind ...
,
Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...
, compared the various manuscripts of the epic from India and abroad and produced the ''Critical Edition'' of the ''Mahabharata'', on 13,000 pages in 19 volumes, over the span of 47 years, followed by the ''
Harivamsha The ''Harivamsa'' ( , literally "the genealogy of Hari") is an important work of Sanskrit literature, containing 16,374 shlokas, mostly in the '' anustubh'' metre. The text is also known as the ''Harivamsa Purana.'' This text is believed to ...
'' in another two volumes and six index volumes. This is the text that is usually used in current Mahābhārata studies for reference. This work is sometimes called the "Pune" or "Poona" edition of the ''Mahabharata''.


Regional versions

Many regional versions of the work developed over time, mostly differing only in minor details, or with verses or subsidiary stories being added. These include the
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...
street theatre,
terukkuttu Terukkuttu is a Tamil street theatre form practised in Tamil Nadu state of India and Tamil-speaking regions of Sri Lanka. Terukuttu is a form of entertainment, a ritual, and a medium of social instruction. The terukkuttu plays various themes. ...
and kattaikkuttu, the plays of which use themes from the Tamil language versions of ''Mahabharata'', focusing on Draupadi. Outside the Indian subcontinent, in
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
, a version was developed in ancient
Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...
as
Kakawin Bhāratayuddha Kakawin Bhāratayuddha is an Old Javanese poetical rendering of some books (''parva'') of the ''Mahabharata'' by Mpu Sedah and his brother Mpu Panuluh in Indian meters (''kāvya'' or ''Kakawin''). The commencement of this work was exactly 6 No ...
in the 11th century under the patronage of King
Dharmawangsa Dharmawangsa , stylized regnal name Sri Maharaja Isyana Dharmawangsa Teguh Anantawikramottunggadewa (died 1016) of the Isyana dynasty, was the last raja of the Kingdom of Mataram, who reigned from 990 to 1016 CE. He also known by his posthumous nam ...
(990–1016) and later it spread to the neighboring island of Bali, which remains a Hindu majority island today. It has become the fertile source for Javanese literature, dance drama (
wayang wong ''Wayang wong'', also known as ''wayang orang'' (literally "human ''wayang''"), is a type of classical Javanese and Balinese dance theatrical performance with themes taken from episodes of the '' Ramayāna'' or '' Mahabharāta''. Performances ...
), and wayang shadow puppet performances. This Javanese version of the ''Mahābhārata'' differs slightly from the original Indian version. Another notable difference is the inclusion of the
Punakawan In Javanese culture, Javanese ''wayang'' (shadow puppets), the ''panakawan'' or ''panakavan'' (''phanakavhan'') are the clown servants of the hero. There are four of them – ''Semar'' (also known as ''Ki Lurah Semar''), ''Petruk'', ''Gareng'' an ...
s, the clown servants of the main characters in the storyline. These characters include
Semar Semar is a character in Javanese mythology who frequently appears in wayang shadow plays. He is one of the punokawan (clowns), but is in fact divine and very wise. He is the dhanyang (guardian spirit) of Java,Geertz, 23. and is regarded by som ...
,
Petruk Petruk is a character in traditional Javanese puppetry, or ''wayang''. He is one of the '' Punokawan'', four comedic figures common in the medium. Depiction Petruk is one of the four '' Punokawan'', together with Semar (the leader/father figure ...
, Gareng, and Bagong, who are much-loved by Indonesian audiences. There are also some spin-off episodes developed in ancient Java, such as
Arjunawiwaha ''Arjunawiwāha'' was the first ''kakawin'' appeared in the East Javan period of the Javanese classical Hindu-Buddhist era in the 11th-century. Arjunawiwaha was composed by Mpu Kanwa during the reign of King Airlangga, king of the Kahuripan Kingdo ...
composed in the 11th century. A Kawi version of the ''Mahabharata'', of which eight of the eighteen ''parvas'' survive, is found on the Indonesian island of Bali. It has been translated into English by Dr.
I. Gusti Putu Phalgunadi Dr. I Gusti Putu Phalgunadi was an Indonesian scholar who has translated many of Indonesian scriptures from the Kawi language Old Javanese or Kawi is the oldest attested phase of the Javanese language. It was spoken in the eastern part of wha ...
.


Derivative literature

Bhasa, the 2nd- or 3rd-century CE Sanskrit playwright, wrote two plays on episodes in the ''Marabharata'', ''
Urubhanga ''Urubhanga'' or ''Urubhangam'', ( Devanagari: ऊरुभङ्गम्), ( en, The Breaking of the Thighs, italic=yes) is a Sanskrit play written by Bhasa in the 2nd or 3rd century CE. Based on the well-known epic, the ''Mahābhārata'', by ...
'' (''Broken Thigh''), about the fight between Duryodhana and Bhima, while ''
Madhyamavyayoga '' Madhyamavyayoga'' or ''Madhyama Vyāyoga'' (Hindi: मध्यमव्यायोग), (''The Middle One'') is a Sanskrit play attributed to Bhāsa, a famous Sanskrit poet. There is no consensus regarding when the play was written, and it ...
'' (''The Middle One'') set around Bhima and his son, Ghatotkacha. The first important play of 20th century was ''
Andha Yug ''Andha Yug'' (Hindi: अंधा युग, ''The Age of Blindness'' or ''The Blind Age'') is a 1953 verse play written in Hindi, by renowned novelist, poet, and playwright Dharamvir Bharati (1926-1997). Set in the last day of the Great Mahabhar ...
'' (''The Blind Epoch''), by
Dharamvir Bharati Dharamvir Bharati (25 December 1926 – 4 September 1997) was a renowned Hindi poet, author, playwright and a social thinker of India. He was the chief editor of the popular Hindi weekly magazine '' Dharmayug'', from 1960 till 1987.The Illustr ...
, which came in 1955, found in ''Mahabharat'', both an ideal source and expression of modern predicaments and discontent. Starting with
Ebrahim Alkazi Ebrahim Alkazi (18 October 1925 – 4 August 2020) was an Indian theatre director and drama teacher. A rigid disciplinarian, he instilled in his acting students an awe and reverence that they still carry with them, with several of them havin ...
, it was staged by numerous directors.
V. S. Khandekar Vishnu Sakharam Khandekar (11 January 1898 – 2 September 1976) was a Marathi writer from Maharashtra, India. He was the first Marathi author to win the prestigious Jnanpith Award. Early life Khandekar was born on 11 January 1898 in S ...
's Marathi novel, ''Yayati'' (1960), and
Girish Karnad Girish Karnad (19 May 1938 – 10 June 2019) was an Indian actor, film director, Kannada writer, playwright and a Jnanpith awardee, who predominantly worked in South Indian cinema and Bollywood. His rise as a playwright in the 1960s marked the ...
's debut play ''Yayati'' (1961) are based on the story of King
Yayati Yayāti ( sa, ययाति, translit=Yayāti), is a king in Hindu tradition. He is described to be a Chandravamsha king. He is regarded to be the progenitor of the races of the Yadavas and the Pandavas. He is considered in some texts t ...
found in the ''Mahabharat''. Bengali writer and playwright, Buddhadeva Bose wrote three plays set in Mahabharat, ''Anamni Angana'', ''Pratham Partha'' and ''Kalsandhya''.
Pratibha Ray Pratibha Ray (born 21 January 1944) is an Indian academic and writer of Odia-language novels and stories. For her contribution to the Indian literature, Ray received the Jnanpith Award in 2011. She was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2022. Life ...
wrote an
award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An awar ...
winning novel entitled Yajnaseni from Draupadi's perspective in 1984. Later,
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (born Chitralekha Banerjee, 1956) is an Indian-born American author, poet, and the Betty and Gene McDavid Professor of Writing at the University of Houston Creative Writing Program. Her short story collection, ''Arrang ...
wrote a similar novel entitled '' The Palace of Illusions: A Novel'' in 2008. Gujarati poet Chinu Modi has written long narrative poetry ''
Bahuk ''Bahuk'' ( gu, બાહુક) is a Gujarati long narrative poem by Chinu Modi. The poem is composed both in metrical and non-metrical verse and centres on Nala, a character from the ''Mahabharata'' who metamorphosed into Bahuka. It is an ...
'' based on character Bahuka. Krishna Udayasankar, a Singapore-based Indian author, has written several novels which are modern-day retellings of the epic, most notably the Aryavarta Chronicles Series. Suman Pokhrel wrote a solo play based on Ray's novel by personalizing and taking Draupadi alone in the scene. Amar Chitra Katha published a 1,260-page comic book version of the ''Mahabharata''.


In film and television

In
Indian cinema The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, ...
, several film versions of the epic have been made, dating back to 1920. The ''Mahābhārata'' was also reinterpreted by Shyam Benegal in '' Kalyug''.
Prakash Jha Prakash Jha (born 27 February 1952) is an Indian film producer, actor, director and screenwriter, mostly known for his political and socio-political films such as “Hip Hip Hurray” (1984), '' Damul'' (1984), ''Mrityudand'' (1997), ''Gangaaj ...
directed 2010 film
Raajneeti ''Raajneeti'' () is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language political thriller film co-written, directed and produced by Prakash Jha, with a screenplay by Anjum Rajabali and Prakash Jha. The film depicts an archetypal conflict between rival political fam ...
was partially inspired by the ''Mahabharata''. A 2013 animated adaptation holds the record for India's most expensive animated film. In 1988, B. R. Chopra created a television series named ''
Mahabharat The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuru ...
.'' It was directed by
Ravi Chopra Ravi Chopra (27 September 1946 – 12 November 2014) was an Indian film and television director, producer and screenwriter. Early life Chopra was the son of producer and director B.R.Chopra and nephew of Yash Chopra. Aditya Chopra and Uday Ch ...
, (1988–1990 TV series) and was televised on India's national television ( Doordarshan). The same year as ''Mahabharat'' was being shown on Doordarshan, that same company's other television show, ''
Bharat Ek Khoj ''Bharat Ek Khoj'' () is a 53-episode Indian historical drama based on the book '' The Discovery of India'' (1946) by Jawaharlal Nehru that covers a 5,000-year history of India from its beginnings to independence from the British in 1947. The ...
'', also directed by Shyam Benegal, showed a 2-episode abbreviation of the ''Mahabharata'', drawing from various interpretations of the work, be they sung, danced, or staged. In the
Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.
, a well-known presentation of the epic is
Peter Brook Peter Stephen Paul Brook (21 March 1925 – 2 July 2022) was an English theatre and film director. He worked first in England, from 1945 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, from 1947 at the Royal Opera House, and from 1962 for the Royal Sha ...
's nine-hour play, which premiered in Avignon in 1985, and its five-hour movie version '' The Mahābhārata'' (1989). In the late 2013 ''
Mahabharat The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuru ...
'' was televised on STAR Plus. It was produced by Swastik Productions Pvt. Uncompleted projects on the ''Mahābhārata'' include one by
Rajkumar Santoshi Rajkumar Santoshi is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter of Hindi films. Having received several accolades including three National Film Awards and six Filmfare Awards, he made his directorial debut with the crime film '' Ghayal' ...
, and a theatrical adaptation planned by Satyajit Ray.


In folk culture

Every year in the
Garhwal region Garhwal (IPA: /ɡəɽʋːɔɭ/) is one of the two administrative divisions of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Lying in the Himalayas, it is bounded on the north by Tibet, on the east by Kumaon, on the south by Uttar Pradesh state, and on the ...
of
Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...
, villagers perform the ''
Pandav Lila ''Pandav Lila'' or ''Pandav Nritya'' (Sanskrit; literally "play of the Pandavas" and "dance of the Pandavas" respectively) is a ritual re-enactment of stories from the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata'', through singing, dancing and recitation, that is pr ...
'', a ritual re-enactment of episodes from the ''Mahabharata'' through dancing, singing, and recitation. The ''lila'' is a cultural highlight of the year and is usually performed between November and February. Folk instruments of the region,
dhol Dhol (IPA: ) can refer to any one of a number of similar types of double-headed drum widely used, with regional variations, throughout the Indian subcontinent. Its range of distribution in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan primarily includes nort ...
, damau and two long trumpets bhankore, accompany the action. The actors, who are amateurs not pr, professionals, often break into a spontaneous dance when they are "possessed" by the spirits of their characters.


Jain version

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...
versions of ''Mahābhārata'' can be found in the various Jain texts like '' Harivamsapurana'' (the story of Harivamsa) ''Trisastisalakapurusa Caritra'' (Hagiography of 63 Illustrious persons), ''Pandavacharitra'' (lives of
Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledge ...
s) and ''Pandavapurana'' (stories of
Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledge ...
s). From the earlier canonical literature, ''Antakrddaaśāh'' (8th cannon) and ''Vrisnidasa'' (''upangagama'' or secondary canon) contain the stories of Neminatha (22nd
Tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (Sanskrit: '; English: literally a ' ford-maker') is a saviour and spiritual teacher of the '' dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a '' tirtha'', which is a fordable pass ...
), Krishna and Balarama. Prof. Padmanabh Jaini notes that, unlike in the Hindu Puranas, the names Baladeva and Vasudeva are not restricted to Balarama and Krishna in Jain Puranas. Instead, they serve as names of two distinct classes of mighty brothers, who appear nine times in each half of time cycles of the Jain cosmology and rule half the earth as half-chakravartins. Jaini traces the origin of this list of brothers to the Jinacharitra by Bhadrabahu swami (4th–3rd century BCE). According to Jain cosmology Balarama, Krishna and Jarasandha are the ninth and the last set of Baladeva, Vasudeva, and Prativasudeva. p.305 The main battle is not the Mahabharata, but the fight between Krishna and Jarasandha (who is killed by Krishna as Prativasudevas are killed by Vasudevas). Ultimately, the Pandavas and Balarama take renunciation as
Jain monk Jain monasticism refers to the order of monks and nuns in the Jain community and can be divided into two major denominations: the ''Digambara'' and the '' Śvētāmbara''. The monastic practices of the two major sects vary greatly, but the ...
s and are reborn in heavens, while on the other hand Krishna and Jarasandha are reborn in hell. In keeping with the law of karma, Krishna is reborn in hell for his exploits (sexual and violent) while Jarasandha for his evil ways. Prof. Jaini admits a possibility that perhaps because of his popularity, the Jain authors were keen to rehabilitate Krishna. The Jain texts predict that after his karmic term in the hell is over sometime during the next half time-cycle, Krishna will be reborn as a Jain
Tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (Sanskrit: '; English: literally a ' ford-maker') is a saviour and spiritual teacher of the '' dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a '' tirtha'', which is a fordable pass ...
and attain
liberation Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...
. Krishna and Balrama are shown as contemporaries and cousins of 22nd Tirthankara, Neminatha. According to this story, Krishna arranged young Neminath's marriage with Rajemati, the daughter of Ugrasena, but Neminatha, empathizing with the animals which were to be slaughtered for the marriage feast, left the procession suddenly and renounced the world.


Kuru family tree


Cultural influence

In the '' Bhagavad Gita'',
Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
explains to Arjuna his duties as a warrior and prince and elaborates on different
Yogic Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...
and
Vedantic ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...
philosophies, with examples and analogies. This has led to the ''Gita'' often being described as a concise guide to
Hindu philosophy Hindu philosophy encompasses the philosophies, world views and teachings of Hinduism that emerged in Ancient India which include six systems ('' shad-darśana'') – Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa and Vedanta.Andrew Nicholson ( ...
and a practical, self-contained guide to life. In more modern times, Swami Vivekananda, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Bal Gangadhar Tilak,
Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
and many others used the text to help inspire the
Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...
.Jordens, J. T. F., "Gandhi and the Bhagavadgita", in Minor, p. 88. It has also inspired several works of modern
Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
literature, such as
Ramdhari Singh Dinkar Ramdhari Singh (23 September 1908 – 24 April 1974), known by his pen name Dinkar, was an Indian Hindi and Maithili language poet, essayist, freedom fighter, patriot and academic. He emerged as a poet of rebellion as a consequence of his ...
's ''
Rashmirathi Rashmirathi (''Rashmi'': ''Ray of light'' ''Rathi'': ''One who rides a chariot (not the charioteer)'' ''Rashmirathi'': ''Rider of the chariot of light'') is a Hindi epic written in 1952, by the Hindi poet Ramdhari Singh 'Dinkar'. The epic poem na ...
'', which is a rendition of ''Mahabharata'' centered around
Karna Karna (Sanskrit: कर्ण, IAST: ''Karṇa''), also known as Vasusena, Anga-raja, and Radheya, is one of the main protagonists of the Hindu epic '' Mahābhārata''. He is the son of the sun god Surya and princess Kunti (mother of the ...
and his conflicts. It was written in 1952, and won the prestigious
Jnanpith Award The Jnanpith Award is the oldest and the highest Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their "outstanding contribution towards literature". Instituted in 1961, the award is bestowed only on Indian w ...
in 1972.


Explanatory notes


Citations


General sources

* Badrinath, Chaturvedi. ''The Mahābhārata: An Inquiry in the Human Condition'', New Delhi, Orient Longman (2006). * Bandyopadhyaya, Jayantanuja (2008).
Class and Religion in Ancient India
'. Anthem Press. * * Bhasin, R. V. ''Mahabharata'' published by National Publications, India, 2007. * J. Brockington.
The Sanskrit Epics
', Leiden (1998). * Buitenen, Johannes Adrianus Bernardus (1978).
The Mahābhārata
'. 3 volumes (translation / publication incomplete due to his death).
University of Chicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including ''The Chicago Manual of Style'', ...
. * Chaitanya, Krishna (K.K. Nair). ''The Mahabharata, A Literary Study'', Clarion Books, New Delhi 1985. * Gupta, S. P. and Ramachandran, K. S. (ed.). ''Mahabharata: myth and reality''. Agam Prakashan, New Delhi 1976. * Hiltebeitel, Alf. ''The Ritual of Battle, Krishna in the Mahabharata'', SUNY Press, New York 1990. * Hopkins, E. W.
The Great Epic of India
', New York (1901). * Jyotirmayananda, Swami. ''Mysticism of the Mahabharata'', Yoga Research Foundation, Miami 1993. * Katz, Ruth Cecily ''Arjuna in the Mahabharata'', University of South Carolina Press, Columbia 1989. * * * Lerner, Paule. ''Astrological Key in Mahabharata'', David White (trans.) Motilal Banarsidass, New Delhi 1988. * Mallory, J. P (2005). ''In Search of the Indo-Europeans''. Thames & Hudson. * Mehta, M. ''The problem of the double introduction to the Mahabharata'',
JAOS The ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'' is a quarterly academic journal published by the American Oriental Society since 1843.Oldenberg, Hermann. ''Zur Geschichte der Altindischen Prosa'', Berlin (1917) * Oberlies, Th. 'The Counsels of the Seer Narada: Ritual on and under the surface of the Mahabharata', in:
New methods in the research of epic
' (ed. H. L. C. Tristram), Freiburg (1998). * Oldenberg, H. ''Das Mahabharata'', Göttingen (1922). *
Pāṇini , era = ;;6th–5th century BCE , region = Indian philosophy , main_interests = Grammar, linguistics , notable_works = ' ( Classical Sanskrit) , influenced= , notable_ideas=Descriptive linguistics (Devanaga ...
. ''Ashtādhyāyī''
Book 4
Translated by Chandra Vasu.
Benares Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic tra ...
, 1896. * Pargiter, F. E. ''Ancient Indian Historical Tradition'', London 1922. Repr. Motilal Banarsidass 1997. * * Sukthankar, Vishnu S. and Shrimant Balasaheb Pant Pratinidhi (1933). ''The Mahabharata: for the first time critically edited''.
Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute The Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI) is located in Pune, Maharashtra, India. It was founded on 6 July 1917 and named after Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar (1837–1925), long regarded as the founder of Indology (Orientalism) in Ind ...
. * Sullivan, Bruce M. ''Seer of the Fifth Veda, Krsna Dvaipayana Vyasa in the Mahabharata'', Motilal Banarsidass, New Delhi 1999. * Sutton, Nicholas.
Religious Doctrines in the Mahabharata
', Motilal Banarsidass, New Delhi 2000. * Utgikar, N. B. "The mention of the Mahābhārata in the Ashvalayana Grhya Sutra", Proceedings and Transactions of the All-India Oriental Conference, Poona (1919), vol. 2, Poona (1922), 46–61. * Vaidya, R. V. ''A Study of Mahabharat; A Research'', Poona, A.V.G. Prakashan, 1967 * Witzel, Michael, ''Epics, Khilas and Puranas: Continuities and Ruptures'', Proceedings of the Third Dubrovnik International Conference on the Sanskrit Epics and Puranas, ed. P. Koskiallio, Zagreb (2005), 21–80.


External links


Sacred-Texts: Hinduism
– English translation of 18 parvas of ''Mahabharata''

– English translation of harivamsa Parva of ''Mahabharata''

(licensed and approved by BORI)
All volumes in 12 PDF files
(Holybooks.com, 181 MB in total)

* ttps://sanskritdocuments.org/mirrors/mahabharata/mahabharata-bori.html Critical Edition Prepared by Scholars at Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute BORI* {{Authority control Sanskrit texts Epic poems in Sanskrit Hindu poetry Hindu texts Kurukshetra 3rd-century BC poems