The Ghosayatra Parva () is a section and an episode of the
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
epic
Mahabharata. Consisting of 519
shloka
Shloka or śloka ( , 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 "any verse or stan ...
s, it is named after the episode in which the
Kauravas undertake an expedition to see the cowherds of Dvaitavana, a forest where the
Pandavas reside. This is done under the pretext of cattle inspection, but with the ulterior motive of humiliating their cousins. During the course of this episode, the Kauravas are captured by the
gandharvas, and are released from their captivity by the Pandavas. Duryodhana finds the outcome of the entire affair embarrassing, and resolves to fast to death until he is dissuaded from this course of action. Instead, he opts to return to
Hastinapura to perform a
sacrifice.
Synopsis
Duryodhana and the other Kauravas went on an expedition. During this trip, The Kaurava host were attacked by the Gandharavs. After a brief victory, the army of the Gandharvas used illusions on them, which broke the formation of the Kourava armies and they were rerouted. On learning this
Arjuna along with the other
Pandavas decided to save the Kouravas and battled the Gandharvas. After the initial battle, Chitrasena the king of the Gandharvas revealed that he only midly fought with the Pandavas as he was a friend of Arjuna and only wanted to capture Duryodhana.Thus freeing Duryodhana, the Kuru host returned back to their kingdoms.
References
External links
Ghosayatra Parva
{{Mahabharata
Mahabharata
Hindu mythology
Parvas in the Mahabharata