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 The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

. 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

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 ...

s undertake an expedition to see the cowherds of Dvaitavana, a forest where the

Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, aɳɖɐʋᵊ IAST: Pāṇḍava) is a group name referring to the five legendary brothers, Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva, who are central figures of the Hindu epic ''Mahabhara ...

s 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

gandharva A ''gandharva'' () is a member of a class of celestial beings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, whose males are divine performers such as musicians and singers, and the females are divine dancers. In Hinduism, they ...

s, 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

Hastinapur Hastinapur is a city in the Meerut district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ''Hastinapura'' is described as the capital of the Kuru Kingdom in Hindu texts such as the ''Mahabharata'' and the Puranas; it is also mentioned in ancient Jain ...

a to perform a

sacrifice Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Gree ...

Synopsis

Duryodhana Duryodhana (, Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ̪ʊɾjoːd̪ʱən̪ᵊ ), also known as Suyodhana, is the primary antagonist in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata.'' He is the eldest of the Kaurava, Kauravas, the hundred sons of King Dhritarashtra and Queen Gan ...

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 Arjuna (, , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, �ɾd͡ʒun̪ə is one of the central characters of the ancient Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is the third of the five Pandava brothers, and is widely regarded as the most important and renowned among them. ...

along with the other

Pandavas The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, aɳɖɐʋᵊ IAST: Pāṇḍava) is a group name referring to the five legendary brothers, Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva, who are central figures of the Hindu epic ''Mahabhara ...

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