''Mahabharat'' is an Indian

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

-language epic television series based on the ancient Sanskrit 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 ...

''. The original airing consisted of a total of 94 episodes and were broadcast from 2 October 1988 to 24 June 1990 on

Doordarshan Doordarshan (), abbreviated as DD, is India's State-owned enterprise, state-owned public broadcasting, public television broadcaster. Established by the Government of India on 15 September 1959, it is owned by the Ministry of Information and B ...

. It was produced by B. R. Chopra and directed by his son, Ravi Chopra. The music was composed by Raj Kamal. The script was written by Pandit Narendra Sharma and the Hindi/Urdu poet Rahi Masoom Raza, based on the epic by

Vyasa Vyasa (; , ) or Veda Vyasa (, ), also known as Krishna Dvaipayana Veda Vyasa (, ''Vedavyāsa''), is a ''rishi'' (sage) with a prominent role in most Hindu traditions. He is traditionally regarded as the author of the epic Mahabharata, Mah� ...

. Costumes for the series were provided by Maganlal Dresswala. The serial claims to have used the Critical Edition of

Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute The Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI) is a research institute involved in the conservation, preservation, and research of old manuscripts and rare books related to Orientalism, particularly Indology. It is located in Pune, Maharash ...

as its basic source with Vishnu Sitaram Sukthankar and Shripad Krishna Belwalkar as its primary editor. Each episode is 40–46 minutes long and begins with a title song that consisted of lyrical content and two verses from the

Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; ), often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu texts, Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE, which forms part of the Hindu epic, epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is a synthesis of various strands of Ind ...

. The title song was sung and the verses rendered by singer

Mahendra Kapoor Mahendra Kapoor (9 January 1934 – 27 September 2008) was an Indian playback singer. In a long career spanning decades, his repertoire included popular songs such as ''Chalo ekbaar phir se Ajnabi ban jayen hum dono'' ( Gumrah) and ''Neele Gagan ...

. The title song is followed by a narration by Indian voice-artist Harish Bhimani as a personification of Time, detailing the current circumstances and highlighting the spiritual significance of the content of the episodes. '' Mahabharat Katha'', another part of the serial was aired on 1997 which covers all the untold stories about Karna's marriage with Padmavati, Arjuna's marriage with Chitrāngadā and Ulupi, and stories about Ghatotkacha, Barbarika, Vrishaketu, Babruvahana, conspiracies of Viprachitti, Ashwamedha Yajna, Dushala's story and aftermath of the

Kurukshetra War The Kurukshetra War (), also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the Hindu Indian epic poetry, epic poem ''Mahabharata'', arising from a dynastic struggle between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, for the thr ...

, which are not covered in the original series.

Premise

The series covers the story of epic

with

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

, Pandavas, Kauravas being the main focus of the epic. The show begins with Emperor Bharata giving more importance to 'Capacity' than to 'Birth'. He shows the birth of

Bhishma Bhishma (), also known as Pitamaha, Gangaputra, and Devavrata, is a central figure in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. He was a statesman and military commander of the ancient Kuru Kingdom. Renowned for his wisdom, valor, and unwavering principles, ...

and his oath, birth of Pandu, Dhritarashtra and Vidura and birth of Pandavas and Kauravas. The story then focuses on the childhood of Lord Krishna. Elsewhere, Dronacharya teaches Pandavas and Kauravas warfare, and after completion asks them to defeat his enemy king Drupada as payment for services or''Guru Dakshina''. Pandavas do so and give half of Drupad’s kingdom to Drona. Dhritarashtra makes Yudhishthira ( the eldest son of Pandu) the crown prince of Hastinapur. Shakuni (the maternal uncle of the Kauravas) and Duryodhana the eldest of the Kauravas hatch a plan to burn Pandavas and Kunti alive, but they survive and go into hiding, letting the rumour spread that they died in the fire. Duryodhana is made crown prince of Hastinapur. Arjuna the best fighter among the Pandavas wins the hand of Draupadi in her

swayamvara ''Svayaṃvara'' ( ) is a matrimonial tradition in ancient Indian society where a bride, usually from '' Kṣatriya'' (warrior) caste, selects her husband from a group of assembled suitors either by her own choice or a public contest between her ...

. Later, Yudhishthira is made the king of Indraprastha and Pandavas conduct ''Rajsuya Yagna'' where Draupadi insults

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 ...

. Later Duryodhana has his revenge by first defeating Yudhisthira in a rigged game of dice, in which Yudhisthira stakes his kingdom, his brothers and Draupadi and loses all, Duryodhana tries to disrobe Draupadi in front of the whole court, but she is saved by lord Krishna, then the Pandavas along with Draupadi are sent to an exile of 12 years and 1 year of living in anonymity. After the period of exile is over Duryodhana argues that the Pandavas violated the condition of anonymity in their last year of exile, therefore they must spend another 12 years in exile followed by another year of exile in anonymity. This conflict begins to sow the seed for the Mahabharata War. Arjuna and Subhadra's son Abhimanyu marries Uttara. Krishna tries to make peace between both parties.

Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes Indra is the m ...

in the disguise of a Brahmin took Karna's armor and earrings. Kunti's sorrow on the corpse of Karna reveals Karna's true identity of being the eldest Pandava. Before Mahabharata War, Shri Krishna enlightens Arjuna about the "

" and shows his ''Virata Swaroopa'' to Arjuna. The latter shows the deaths of Bhishma, Drona, Karna, Abhimanyu, Shalya, Shakuni, Jayadrata, Ghatotkacha, 100 Kauravas, 5 sons of Draupadi and many other warriors in the war leading to the victory of Pandavas over Kauravas. Only 5 Pandavas, Satyaki, Yuyutsu, Krishna, Ashwatthama, Kritavarma and Kripacharya survive. Gandhari holds Krishna responsible for her sons' death and curses that his family will also get destroyed. The show ends with Yudhishthir's ''Rajyabhishek'' and Bhishma's death.

Cast

Main

* Nitish Bharadwaj as

, eighth avatar of

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

, Devaki-Vasudev's eighth son, foster son of Nand and Yashoda, Balrama and Subhadra's brother, Pandavas' cousin. **Kewal Shah as adolescent

* Pankaj Dheer as Karna, son of

Kunti Kunti (, un̪t̪iː ), also known as Pritha (, ">r̩t̪ʰaː/nowiki>, ), is a prominent female character in the ancient Hindu epic '' Mahabharata''. She is chiefly recognised as the mother of the central characters—the five Pandavas—h ...

and Surya Dev, Adhiratha-Radha's foster son, King of

Anga Anga was an ancient Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan tribe of eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age in India, Iron Age. The members of the Aṅga tribe were called the Āṅgeyas. Counted among the "sixteen great na ...

, Pandava's Eldest Brother. ** Harendra Paintal as young Karna * Mukesh Khanna as

, Shantanu-Ganga's eighth son, eighth Vasu,

Satyavati Satyavati (, ; also spelled Satyawati) was the queen of the Kuru Kingdom in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. Satyavati is married to king Shantanu of Hastinapura, and is a great-grandmother of the Pandava and Kaurava princes. She is also the m ...

's step-son, elder half-brother of Chitrangada and Vichitravirya, paternal uncle of Dhritrashtra,

Pandu Pandu () was the king of Kuru kingdom, with capital at Hastinapur in the epic '' Mahabharata''. He was the foster-father of the five Pandavas, who are the central characters of the epic. Pandu was born pale, to Vichitravirya's second wife ...

, and Vidur, paternal grandfather of the Kauravas and the Pandavas ** Krish Malik as adolescent

* Gajendra Chauhan as

Yudhishthira Yudhishthira (Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, ud̪ʱiʂʈʰiɾᵊ IAST: ''Yudhiṣṭhira''), also known as Dharmaputra, is the eldest among the five Pandavas, and is also one of the central characters of the ancient Indian epic ''Ma ...

, first Pandava, son of Kunti and Yama, second eldest son of Kuru Clan, King of Indraprastha and later Hastinapura, husband of Draupadi, father of Prativindhya, Kauravas' Elder Cousin ** Sonu as young

* Praveen Kumar as

Bhima Bhima (, ), also known as Bhimasena (, ), is a hero and one of the most prominent characters in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. As the second of the five Pandava brothers, Bhima was born to Kunti—the wife of King Pandu—fathered by Vayu, the ...

, second Pandava, son of Kunti and Vayu, Yuvraja (crown prince) of Indraprastha, husband of Draupadi and Hidimbi, father of Ghatotkacha, Sutasoma, Duryodhana's Younger Cousin ** Mallik as young

* Firoz Khan as

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. ...

, third Pandava, son of Kunti and Indra, husband of

Draupadi Draupadi (), also referred to as Krishnā, Panchali and Yajnaseni, is the central heroine of the Indian epic poetry, ancient Indian epic ''Mahabharata''. In the epic, she is the princess of Panchala Kingdom, who later becomes the empress of K ...

, Ulupi, Chitrāngadā and

Subhadra Subhadra (, ) is a character in the ancient Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. She is a princess from the Yadava clan and the sister of Krishna and Balarama. Subhadra married Arjuna, one of the Pandava brothers and had a son named Abhimanyu. Sub ...

, brother-in-law of Balaram and

, father of

Abhimanyu Abhimanyu (, ) is a character in the ancient Hindu epic ''Mahābhārata''. He was a young and valiant warrior of the Kuru lineage, born to Arjuna—the third Pandava brother—and Subhadra—a Yadava princess. He was also one of the few indivi ...

, Babruvahana, Iravan and Shrutakarma, Duryodhan's Younger cousin ** Ankur Javeri as young

* Roopa Ganguly as

, wife of the Pandavas, also called Panchali and Yagyaseni, younger daughter of

Drupada Drupada (), also known as Yajnasena (, ), is the king of the southern part of Panchala Kingdom, in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is the father of Draupadi, the epic's lead female character. In the Kurukshetra War as the head of 1 akshauhi ...

, Princess of Panchala, sister of Dhrishtadhyumna and Shikhandi, mother of Upapandavas * Puneet Issar as

, eldest son of Gandhari and Dhritarashtra, elder brother of 99 Kauravas, husband of Bhanumati, Yudhishthira's younger cousin, Elder Cousin of other 4 Pandavas, Lakshmanaa's Father, Crown prince of Hastinapura, Karna's best friend **Amit Shukla as young

* Sameer Chitre as

Nakula Nakula () is a major character in the ancient Indian epic, the ''Mahabharata.'' He is the elder twin brother of Sahadeva and the fourth of the five Pandava brothers. He is the son of Divine twins, twin physician gods, Ashvins, and Madri, the ...

, fourth Pandava, son of Madri and Ashwini Kumara, husband of Draupadi, father of

Shatanika ''Draupadeyas'' () are the five sons of Queen Draupadi from each of the five Pandavas in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. They are Prativindhya, Sutasoma, Shrutakarma, Shatanika and Shrutasena. They were Maharathis, as mentioned by Bhishma, and foug ...

* Sanjeev Chitre as

Sahadeva Sahadeva () was the youngest of the five Pandava brothers in the ancient Indian epic, the '' Mahabharata''. He and his twin brother Nakula were the sons of Madri, one of the wives of the Pandava patriarch Pandu, and Ashvini Kumaras, the ...

, fifth Pandav, son of Madri and Ashwini Kumara, husband of Draupadi and father of

Shrutasena ''Draupadeyas'' () are the five sons of Queen Draupadi from each of the five Pandavas in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. They are Prativindhya, Sutasoma, Shrutakarma, Shatanika and Shrutasena. They were Maharathis, as mentioned by Bhishma, and foug ...

* Vinod Kapoor as Dushasana, second son of Gandhari and Dhritarashtra, Duryodhan's younger brother ** Kaushal Shah as young Dushasana * Gufi Paintal as

Shakuni Shakuni (, , ) is one of the antagonists of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He was the prince of the kingdom of Gandhara when introduced, later becoming its king after the death of his father, Subala. He was the brother of Gandhari (Mahabharata), ...

, Gandhari's brother, later King of

Gandhara Gandhara () was an ancient Indo-Aryan people, Indo-Aryan civilization in present-day northwest Pakistan and northeast Afghanistan. The core of the region of Gandhara was the Peshawar valley, Peshawar (Pushkalawati) and Swat valleys extending ...

, maternal uncle of Duryodhana and his 99 brothers * Girija Shankar as Dhritrashtra, Vichitravirya's son from Ambika (eldest), later king of Hastinapura, father of Kauravas * Renuka Israni as Gandhari, wife of Dhritrashtra, Queen of Hastinapura, mother of Kauravas, princess of

, sister of Shakuni * Nazneen as

, Pandu's first wife, mother of Karna, Yudhisthira, Bhim and Arjuna, daughter of Shurasena, Vasudeva's sister, Yadava princess, foster daughter of Kunti-Bhoja * Virendra Razdan as Vidura, the

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

of Hastinapur, son of Ambika's head maid Parishrami, fathered by

, half-brother to the kings Dhritarashtra and

of Hastinapura, uncle of Pandavas and Kauravas * Surendra Pal as Drona, Kauravas and Pandavas' guru, Ashwatthama's father *

Dharmesh Tiwari Dharmesh Tiwari (27 April 1951 – 6 August 2014) was an Indian actor and film director. He is memorable for portraying Kripacharya in the TV series ''Mahabharat (1988 TV series), Mahabharat'' and Malayraj in Chanakya (TV series), ''Chanakya''. ...

as Kripa, family teacher, brother of Kripi,

Ashwatthama Ashvatthama (, , also spelt as Ashwatthama and Ashvatthaman) is a character in the ancient Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is the son of Drona, the royal preceptor to the Kuru princes—the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Ashvatthama is a close ...

's maternal uncle * Pradeep Rawat as

, son of Dronacharya **Ayush Shah as young

Recurring

* Harish Bhimani as Time (Samaya), Narrator * Sagar Salunke as

Balarama Balarama (, ) 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, Baladeva, Balabhadra, and Sankarshana. The fir ...

, Krishna's elder brother ** Chetan Hansraj as adolescent

* Aloka Mukherjee as

, Arjuna's fourth wife, Abhimanyu's mother, Vasudev's and Rohini's daughter, Krishna-Balaram's younger sister, Yadava princess *

Raj Babbar Raj Babbar (born 23 June 1952) is an Indian Hindi and Punjabi language, Punjabi film actor and politician belonging to Indian National Congress. He is a three-time member of the Lok Sabha and a two-time member of the Rajya Sabha. He was the sta ...

as Bharata, paternal ancestor of the Kauravas and Pandavas, son of King Dushyanta and Shakuntala * Ashalata Wabgaonkar as Shakuntala, Bharata's mother, King Dushyanta's wife * Rishabh Shukla as Shantanu, descendant of King Bharata, husband of Ganga and

, father of

, Chitrangada and Vichitravirya, paternal grandfather of Dhritarashtra and

, paternal great-grandfather of the Kauravas and the Pandavas * Kiran Juneja as Ganga, Shantanu's first wife,

's mother, the holy river of

Hindus 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 ...

* Debashree Roy as

, King Shantanu's second wife;

, Chitrangada, and Vichitravirya's mother,

's step-mother, paternal grandmother of Dhritarashtra,

, and Vidur, paternal great-grandmother of the Kauravas and the Pandavas * Rajesh Vivek as

, son of Parashara and

, father of Dhritarashtra,

and Vidura, partial incarnation of

, author of

* Sudesh Berry as Vichitravirya, Shantanu-Satyavati's second son after Chitrangada, Bhisma's step brother, husband of Ambika and Ambalika, father of Dhritarashtra and

, paternal grandfather of the Kauravas and the Pandavas * Jahnavi as Amba (Shikhandini), the first princess of Kashi, Shikhandi (reincarnated by Yaksha) * Meena Chakrabarty as Ambika, second princess of Kashi, Vichitravirya's first queen, mother of Dhritarashtra, paternal grandmother of the Kauravas * Menaka Babbar as Ambalika, third princess of Kashi, Vichitravirya's second queen, mother of

, paternal grandmother of the Pandavas * Tarakesh Chauhan as

, Vichitravirya's son from Ambalika (the youngest wife), King of Hastinapur, husband of

and

Madri Madri (, ), also known as Madravati (, ), is a character in the ''Mahabharata'', one of the two major Mahakavya, Hindu epics. She is the princess from the Madra Kingdom and becomes the second wife of Pandu, the king of the Kuru kingdom, Kuru K ...

, father of Pandavas * Roma Manek as

, Pandu's second wife, Madra princess, mother of Nakula and Sahadeva * Asha Singh as Kripi, sister of Kripacharya, wife of Dronacharya and mother of Ashwathama * Kamlesh Maan as Devi Sulabha, Vidura's wife * Lalit Mohan Tiwari as Sanjaya, Dhritarashtra's advisor and also his

chariot A chariot is a type of vehicle similar to a cart, driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid Propulsion, motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk O ...

eer * Kapil Kumar as Shalya, Madri's elder brother, King of Madra * Shahla Khan as Hidimbi, Hidimb's sister, Bheem's wife, Kunti's daughter-in-law and Ghatotkacha's mother * Razak Khan as Ghatotkacha, son of

and Hidimbi * Mayur Verma (Master Mayur) as

, son of Arjun and

, husband of

Uttara Uttara, which means "north" in Sanskrit and many other South Asian languages, may refer to: Places *Uttara (town), Uttara, a neighbourhood north of Dhaka, Bangladesh *Uttara Export Processing Zone, Bangladesh *Uttara East Thana *Uttara West Thana ...

, father of Parikshit * Varsha Usgaonkar as

, Abhimanyu's wife,

Matsya Matsya () is the fish avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. Often described as the first of Vishnu's Dashavatara, ten primary avatars, Matsya is described to have rescued the first man, Manu (Hinduism), Manu, from a great deluge. Matsya may be dep ...

princess, mother of Parikshit * Dinesh Anand as Vikarna, son of Gandhari and Dhritarashtra, Duyodhan's younger brother * Paramjeet Chima as Dashraj,

's father * Om Katare as Adhiratha, charioteer, Karna's foster father * Saroj Sharma as

Radha Radha (, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion, and devotion. In scriptures, Radha is mentioned as the avatar of Lakshmi and also as the Prak� ...

, Adhiratha's wife, Karna's foster mother * Ramlal Gupta as Ugrasena, King of

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the states and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located south-east of Delhi; and about from the town of Vrindavan. In ancient ti ...

Surasena The kingdom of Surasena () was an ancient Indian region corresponding to the present-day Braj region in Uttar Pradesh, with Mathura as its capital city. According to the Buddhist text '' Anguttara Nikaya'', Surasena was one of the sixteen Ma ...

, father of Kansa and Devaki * Goga Kapoor as

Kamsa Kamsa (, ) was the tyrant ruler of the Vrishni kingdom, with its capital at Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, Mathura. He is variously described in Hindu texts, Hindu literature as either a human or an asura; The Puranas describe him as an asura, while ...

, son of Ugrasena, elder brother of Devaki, maternal uncle of

and

Vishnu Sharma Sharma (Sanskrit: विष्णुशर्मन् / विष्णुशर्मा) was an Indian scholar and author who wrote the ''Panchatantra'', a collection of fables. Works Panchatantra is one of the most widely translated non-r ...

as Vasudev, son of Shurasena, brother of

, prince of Vrishni tribe, father of Balarama, Krishna, and Subhadra, maternal uncle of the Pandavas * Kshama Raj as Rohini, Vasudeva's elder wife, mother of Balarama * Sheela Sharma as

Devaki Devaki (Sanskrit: देवकी, International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''Devakī'') is a character in Hindu texts, Hindu literature, most noted for being the mother of the god Krishna. She is one of the seven daughters of ...

, Vasudeva's younger wife, younger sister of Kansa, daughter of Ugrasena, mother of Krishna and Subhadra * Rasik Dave as Nanda, chief of

Gokul Gokul is a town in the Mathura district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located south-east of Mathura. History In the ''Viṣṇu Purāṇa'' and '' Bhāgavata Purāṇa'', the term "gokula" does not refer to any specifi ...

, foster father of Krishna * Manju Vyas as Yashoda, Nand's wife, foster mother of Krishna * Channa Ruparel as Maharani

Rukmini Rukmini (, ) is a Devi, Hindu goddess and the first queen of Krishna. She is described as the chief of Krishna's wives in Dvārakā. Rukmini is revered as the avatar of Lakshmi and is venerated primarily in Warkari, and Haridasa tradition, and ...

's chief wife * Parijat as Maharani

's consort * Sumeet Raghavan as adolescent Sudama * Ajay Sinha as Akroor, Chief of the Vrishni * Bashir Khan as Satyaki * Ashok Banthia as Kritavarma * Pradeep Sharma as Panchalaraj

, Draupadi's father, King of Panchala * Arun Bakshi as Dhrishtadyumna, Draupadi's elder brother, Prince of Panchala *

Kanwarjit Paintal Kanwarjit Paintal, better known as Paintal (born 22 August 1948), is an Indian actor and comedian. He started off as a comic actor and moved on to teaching the art of acting. He has extensively worked not only in numerous movies but also televi ...

as Shikhandi, Drupad's elder son and also as adult Sudama * Ashok Sharma as Virata, King of

* Chandni Sharma as Sudeshna, Queen of

* Sameer Rajda as Uttar, crown prince of

* Sharat Saxena as Kichaka, Army General of

Deep Dhillon Deep Dhillon is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema, Hindi and Punjabi cinema. He played the role of Jayadratha in the famous Indian TV serial ''Mahabharat (1988 TV series), Mahabharat'', appeared as Dasharatha in the TV serial ''Jai Han ...

as Jayadratha, Duhsala's husband, Kauravas' brother-in-law, King of

Sindhu The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans- Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northwest through the disp ...

* Vikrant Mathur as Subala,

's and Gandhari's father, King of

* Shivendra Mahal as

Parashurama Parashurama (), also referred to as Rama Jamadagnya, Rama Bhargava and Virarama, is the sixth avatar among the Dashavatara of the preserver god Vishnu in Hinduism. Hindu tradition holds him to be the destroyer of the evil on Earth. According t ...

and

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

* Satish Kaul as

* Gopi Krishna as Chitrasena * Rakesh Bidua as Kashya, King of Kashi * Rana Jung Bahadur as Jarasandha, King of Magadha, father-in-law of

* Karunakar Pathak as

Shishupala Shishupala (, ; sometimes spelt Sisupala) was the king of the Chedi kingdom, and an antagonist in the Mahabharata. He was the son of King Damaghosha and Srutashrava, the sister of Kunti, as well as the cousin of Nanda (Hinduism), Nanda. He was s ...

, King of Chedi, a maternal cousin of

and

* Pawan Shukla as Shalva Kumar, Prince of Salwa, Princess Amba's lover * Prem Sagar as Kanva * Pankaj Berry as Kindama, a sage who cursed

* Mini Singh as Kindama's wife

Episodic appearance

* Vikas Prasad as Ekalavya * Randhir Singh as Hidimb and Putana * Sabrina as Putana (cameo) * Dara Singh as

Hanuman Hanuman (; , ), also known as Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Anjaneya, is a deity in Hinduism, revered as a divine ''vanara'', and a devoted companion of the deity Rama. Central to the ''Ramayana'', Hanuman is celebrated for his unwavering devotio ...

(cameo) * Raj Kishore as Rajpurohit of Panchal Kingdom (cameo) *

Dinesh Kaushik Dinesh Kaushik (born 27 May 1957) is an Indian actor. He is a post graduate in Indian theatre from the Punjab University, Chandigarh. He has worked with professional theatre groups in Mumbai. He has appeared in many advertisements, television ...

as Rukmi * Bashir Khan (not the one who played Satyaki) as Parashar, father of Vyasa, Commandant of Hastinapura *Vinod Raut as Purochana at Laksagriha in Varnavata

Episodes

Production

Development

According to production team member Kishore Malhotra, the total cost of producing the series was . According to Director Ravichopra each episode was made up of ₹6.5 lakh to ₹7 lakh. Casting for the series began in 1986 and shooting started off in mid-1988. Show was shot mostly at Mumbai's Film City, and the grand battle of ''Kurukshetra'' was shot in Rajasthan, with thousands of extras to fill the screen. The series was initially submitted to the channel for 104 episodes which was later shortened to 94 episodes.

Casting

15,000 people applied to play different roles in the Mahabharat TV series. The casting team led by Gufi Paintal shortlisted them and called around 1,500 for video screen tests Almost all actors in the series were newcomers, barring

who played King Bharat, Debashree Roy who played Satyavati. Nitish Bharadwaj was chosen by B.R. Chopra, Ravi Chopra, Pandit Narendra Sharma and Rahi Masoom Raza, to play the central role of

, at the age of 23. Initially, he was chosen for playing Vidur. But Virendra Razdan was cast for it as B.R.Chopra considered Bharadwaj young to play the role. Then Bharadwaj was offered to play Nakul and Sahadev, but he rejected and wanted to play

. Days later, he was called and finalized to play Krishna. Firoz Khan was chosen to portray the character of

(which he later adopted as his screen name, to not become confused with a more popular actor of the same name) despite being rejected in auditions. Asian games gold medalist Praveen Kumar was selected to portray

after Chopra was looking for someone "who could look the robust historical character". Around six actresses were shortlisted for the role of

, including

Juhi Chawla Juhi Chawla Mehta ( Chawla; born 13 November 1967) is an Indian actress. She established herself as one of the leading actresses of Hindi cinema from the late 1980s through the early 2000s. Recognised for her comic timing and vivacious on-screen ...

, who opted out of the show as she had bagged a film. Ramya Krishnan and Roopa Ganguly were the final names, and at last Roopa Ganguly was chosen, as her Hindi was good. Govinda and Chunky Pandey were signed for the role of

, but they opted out when they bagged films. Later, Master Mayur played the role. Mukesh Khanna who wished to play role of Arjun was initially offered the role of Duryodhan. But later he was signed for Dhronacharya. When Vijayendra Ghadge dropped his role of Bhisma, Khanna got the role of

. Puneet Issar was offered to play the role of Bheem but was cast as Duryodhan on his wish. The casting director of the show, Gufi Paintal was offered role of Shakuni by the makers of Mahabharat.

Music

Mahabharat's music was composed by Raj Kamal and lyrics were penned by Pandit Narendra Sharma. Some songs were taken from works of devotional writers like

Surdas Surdas was a 16th-century blind Hindu devotional poet and singing, singer, who was known for his works written in praise of Krishna. His compositions captured his devotion towards Krishna. Most of his poems were written in the Braj language, ...

, Raskhan etc. Apart from main songs there are also several short couplets, which covered the summary of each episode. All of these verses were sung by

Broadcast

In India the series was originally broadcast on

DD National DD National (formerly DD1) is an Indian state-owned entertainment television channel, founded by the Government of India, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. It is the flagshi ...

. It was shown in the United Kingdom by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, where it achieved audience figures of 5 million. It was also the first programme broadcast on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

after its 1991 revamp, but it had also been shown late at night on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

the previous year. The show was again telecast on

DD Bharati DD Bharati is an Indian state-owned art and culture television channel, founded by the Government of India, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. It is the flagship channel of Doordarshan was launched on 26 January 2002, by c ...

from 28 March 2020, on DD Retro from 13 April 2020, on

Colors TV Colors TV is an Indian general entertainment pay television channel owned by JioStar, a joint venture between Viacom18 and Disney India. Its programming consists of Soap opera, family dramas, Comedy, comedies, fantasy shows, youth-oriented Rea ...

from 4 May 2020 as well as

Star Bharat Star Bharat is an Indian Hindi-language general entertainment pay television channel owned by JioStar, a joint venture between Viacom18 and Disney India. It was launched on 28 August 2017, rebranded from Life OK. The channel broadcasts a mix of ...

during the lockdown due to coronavirus.

Reception

Ganguly was applauded for her performance in the Vastraharan sequence in which Draupadi is disrobed. Ravi Chopra later disclosed that she was originally weeping while enacting in the Vastraharan sequence and the crew members had to console her later to make her stop., The sequence is often claimed to be the most climactic one of the series. For the sequence Chopra recreated the visual effect of the Vastraharan sequence of Babubhai Mistry's '' Mahabharat'' (1965) starring Padmini as

. His visual effects won more favour than that of the 1965 film and has still been considered by a part of critics to be the most brilliant in line. of the most successful television series in Indian television history. In common with the "

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

" serial, the broadcasting of a Mahabharat episode was associated with the simultaneous emptying of streets in the cities and people leaving work early to watch it. Along with general audience many big names from Hindi film industry like

Rajesh Khanna Rajesh Khanna (; born Jatin Khanna; 29 December 1942 – 18 July 2012) was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who worked in Hindi films. Considered as one of the greatest and most successful actors in the history of Indian cinema, h ...

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He is often considered one of the greatest, most accomplished and commercially successful actors in the history of Indian cinema.* * * * * With a cinemati ...

Jeetendra Jeetendra (born Ravi Kapoor ; 7 April 1942) is an Indian actor who is known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the greatest actors of Hindi cinema. He is noted for his acting, style and dance. He has worked in more than Je ...

, Hema Malini and

Dharmendra Dharmendra Kewal Krishan Deol (born 8 December 1935), known mononymously as Dharmendra, is an Indian actor, producer, and politician who is primarily known for his work in Hindi films. Dharmendra is widely considered one of the greatest, most h ...

also praised the show. During its rerun in

COVID-19 lockdown in India On the evening of 24 March 2020, the Government of India ordered a nationwide lockdown for 21days, limiting the movement of the entire 1.38billion (138 crores) population of India as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 pandemic in India. ...

, it became the second most watched Indian TV show after ''Ramayan'' (1987). In week 13, it garnered 145.8 million impressions with both morning and evening slots combined on

. After ''Ramayan'' ended, ''Mahabharat'' became the most watched TV show until its end. The series ended with 22.9 million viewership.

Home media

The series was uploaded onto the website "Rajshri.com" along with its dubbed Tamil version. Home video of the Bengali-dubbed version of this series has been released by Heart Video. In 2019, Pen India Ltd bought the rights of the show and uploaded all the episodes on its devotional YouTube channel ''Pen Bhakti'' including its spin-off series '' Mahabharat Katha''.

Legacy

''Mahabharat'' along with '' Ramayan'' (1987), became one of the most successful television series based on an epic in Indian television history. Many actors became popular through their appearances in this series. * Nitish Bharadwaj became famous as

Lord Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit: 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 wi ...

and later he also played lead role in Chopra's another mythological show Vishnu Puran as well as Chopra's RAMAYAN. * Roopa Ganguly, who played

, went on to become a successful actress in Bengali cinema. * Pankaj Dheer received immense popularity after playing Karna. His pictures are used in textbooks as reference to Karna and the actor also revealed that his statues are worshipped in temples in

Karnal Karnal () is a city located in the state of Haryana, India and is the administrative headquarters of Karnal District. The city is well connected as it lies on National Highway 01, in the south of the city lies the cities of Panipat and Sonipa ...

and Bastar. * Firoz Khan changed his name to "Arjun" professionally after finding success with the role of Arjun. * Mukesh Khanna shot to fame as

and named his production company after his character.

References

External links

* {{Works based on the Mahabharata , state=collapsed Television series based on the Mahabharata DD National original programming 1988 Indian television series debuts 1990 Indian television series endings 1980s Indian television series Television shows based on poems