View source for Mahabharata

{{Short description|Major Indian epic}}
{{About|the Sanskrit epic}}
{{Pp|small=yes}}

{{Use Indian English|date=March 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Infobox religious text
| name =  Mahabharata 
| image = Kurukshetra.jpg
| alt = Mahabharata
| caption = Manuscript illustration of the Battle of Kurukshetra
|author = [[Vyasa]]| period                  = Principally compiled in 3rd century BCE–4th century CE
| religion = [[Hinduism]]
| language = [[Sanskrit]]
| verses = 100,000
| native_wikisource = महाभारतम्
| orig_lang_code            = sa
| wikisource = Mahabharata
|chapters=18 Parvas}}
{{Hindu scriptures}}The '''''Mahābhārata''''' ({{IPAc-en|m|ə|ˌ|h|ɑː|ˈ|b|ɑːr|ə|t|ə|,_|ˌ|m|ɑː|h|ə|-}} {{respell|mə|HAH|BAR|ə|tə|,_|MAH|hə|-}};<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Chambers Dictionary|publisher=Chambers|year=2003|isbn=0-550-10105-5|edition=9th|chapter=Mahabharata}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Collins English Dictionary| publisher= HarperCollins|year=2018|isbn=978-0-008-28437-4|edition= 13th| chapter= Mahabharata}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120903041128/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/Mahabharata "Mahabharata"]. ''[[Oxford Dictionaries Online]]''.</ref><ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Mahabharata "Mahabharata"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304130209/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Mahabharata |date=4 March 2016 }}. ''[[Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary]]''.</ref> {{langx|sa|महाभारतम्}}, {{IAST3|Mahābhāratam}}, {{IPA|sa|mɐɦaːˈbʱaːrɐt̪ɐm|pron}}) 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]]''.<ref name=encindlit>{{Cite book | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=zB4n3MVozbUC&pg=PA1755 | title = The Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature (Volume Two) (Devraj to Jyoti) | isbn = 978-81-260-1194-0 | last1 = Datta | first1 = Amaresh | date = 1 January 2006| publisher = Sahitya Akademi }}</ref> It narrates the events and aftermath of the [[Kurukshetra War]], a [[war of succession]] between two groups of princely cousins, the [[Kaurava]]s and the [[Pandava|Pāṇḍava]]s.
{{Hindu mythology}}
It also contains [[Hindu philosophy|philosophical]] and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four "goals of life" or ''[[puruṣārtha]]'' (12.161). Among the principal works and stories in the ''Mahābhārata'' are the ''[[Bhagavad Gita]]'', the story of [[Damayanti]], the story of [[Shakuntala]], the story of [[Pururava]] and [[Urvashi]], the story of [[Savitri and Satyavan]], the story of [[Kacha (sage)|Kacha]] and [[Devayani]], the story of [[Rishyasringa]] and an [[Ramopakhyana|abbreviated version of the ''Rāmāyaṇa'']], often considered as works in their own right.
{{Culture of India}}
[[File:Krishna and Arjun on the chariot, Mahabharata, 18th-19th century, India.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.1|[[Krishna]] and [[Arjuna]] at [[Kurukshetra]], 18th–19th-century painting]]
Traditionally, the authorship of the ''Mahābhārata'' is attributed to [[Vyasa|Vyāsa]]. 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&nbsp;BCE.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Austin |first1=Christopher R. |title=Pradyumna: Lover, Magician, and Son of the Avatara |date=2019 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-005411-3 |page=21 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4jCoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA21 |language=en |access-date=11 January 2020 |archive-date=7 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907124231/https://books.google.com/books?id=4jCoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA21 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="BrockingtonA">Brockington (1998, p. 26)</ref> The text probably reached its final form by the early [[Gupta Empire|Gupta period]] ({{Circa|4th century CE}}).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://scroll.in/article/905466/how-did-the-ramayana-and-mahabharata-come-to-be-and-what-has-dharma-got-to-do-with-it|title=How did the 'Ramayana' and 'Mahabharata' come to be (and what has 'dharma' got to do with it)?|first=Devdutt|last=Pattanaik|website=Scroll.in|date=13 December 2018|access-date=30 May 2020|archive-date=14 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814160417/https://scroll.in/article/905466/how-did-the-ramayana-and-mahabharata-come-to-be-and-what-has-dharma-got-to-do-with-it/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Van Buitenen; ''The Mahabharata'' – 1; The Book of the Beginning. Introduction (Authorship and Date)</ref>

The title is translated as "Great [[Names for India|Bharat]] (India)", or "the story of the great descendents of [[Bharata (Mahabharata)|Bharata]]", or as "''The Great Indian Tale''".<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Stuart |first1=Tristram |author-link=Tristram Stuart |last2=Albinia |first2=Alice |author2-link=Alice Albinia |date=16 August 2007 |title=India's epic struggle |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/aug/16/fiction |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230806170749/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/aug/16/fiction |archive-date=6 August 2023 |access-date=6 August 2023 |newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=16 May 2021 |title=Mahabharata |url=https://vedicwisdomandphilosophy.wordpress.com/mahabharata/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230806170749/https://vedicwisdomandphilosophy.wordpress.com/mahabharata/ |archive-date=6 August 2023 |access-date=6 August 2023}}</ref> The ''Mahābhārata'' is the longest epic poem known and has been described as "the longest poem ever written".<ref name="Lochtefeld2002">{{cite book|author=James G. Lochtefeld|title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5kl0DYIjUPgC&pg=PA399|year=2002|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-8239-3179-8|page=399|access-date=15 November 2015|archive-date=7 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907124232/https://books.google.com/books?id=5kl0DYIjUPgC&pg=PA399|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="SharmaGaur2000">{{cite book|author1=T. R. S. Sharma|author2=June Gaur|author3=Sahitya Akademi (New Delhi, Inde).|title=Ancient Indian Literature: An Anthology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IRp1PKX0BXoC&pg=PA137|year=2000|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|isbn=978-81-260-0794-3|page=137|access-date=15 November 2015|archive-date=7 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907124232/https://books.google.com/books?id=IRp1PKX0BXoC&pg=PA137|url-status=live}}</ref> Its longest version consists of over 100,000 [[shloka|shlokas]] (verses) or over 200,000 individual lines (each [[shloka]] is a couplet), and long prose passages. At about 1.8&nbsp;million words in total, the ''Mahābhārata'' is roughly ten times the length of the ''[[Iliad]]'' and the ''[[Odyssey]]'' combined, or about four times the length of the ''[[Ramayana|Rāmāyaṇa]]''.<ref>[[Howard Spodek|Spodek, Howard]]. Richard Mason. The World's History. Pearson Education: 2006, New Jersey. 224, 0-13-177318-6</ref><ref>Amartya Sen, ''The Argumentative Indian. Writings on Indian Culture, History and Identity'', London: Penguin Books, 2005.</ref> Within the Indian tradition it is sometimes called the [[fifth Veda]].<ref>{{cite journal | last = Fitzgerald | first = James | title = India's Fifth Veda: The Mahabharata's Presentation of Itself | journal = Journal of South Asian Literature | volume = 20 | issue = 1 | pages =125–140 | year = 1985 }}</ref>

== Textual history and structure ==
[[File:Ganesa writing the Mahabharat.jpeg|thumb|Vyasa narrating the ''Mahābhārata'' to [[Ganesha]] from a 17th century Mewar manuscript.]]

The epic is traditionally ascribed to the sage [[Vyasa]], who is also a major figure in the epic.<ref name="Lochtefeld2002" /> Vyasa described it as being an ''[[itihasa]]'' ({{Translation|history}}). He also describes the [[Guru–shishya tradition]], which traces all great teachers and their students of the Vedic times.

The first section of the ''Mahābhārata'' states that it was [[Ganesha]] 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" does not include Ganesha.<ref>''Mahābhārata'', Vol. 1, Part 2. Critical edition, p. 884.</ref>

The epic employs the [[story within a story]] structure, otherwise known as [[Frame story|frametales]], popular in many Indian religious and non-religious works. It is first recited at ''[[Taxila|Takshashila]]'' by the sage [[Vaisampayana]],<ref>{{cite book|last1=Davis|first1=Richard H.|title=The "Bhagavad Gita": A Biography|date=2014|publisher=Princeton University Press|page=38|isbn=978-1-4008-5197-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vQ3rAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA38}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Krishnan|first1=Bal|title=Kurukshetra: Political and Cultural History|date=1978|publisher=B.R. Publishing Corporation|page=50|isbn=9788170180333|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_pUBAAAAMAAJ&q=Vaishampayana+related|access-date=6 November 2020|archive-date=7 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907124233/https://books.google.com/books?id=_pUBAAAAMAAJ&q=Vaishampayana+related|url-status=live}}</ref> a disciple of Vyasa, to the King [[Janamejaya II|Janamejaya]] who was the great-grandson of the [[Pandava]] prince [[Arjuna]]. The story is then recited again by a professional storyteller named [[Ugrashravas|Ugrashrava Sauti]], many years later, to an assemblage of sages performing the 12-year sacrifice for the king Saunaka Kulapati in the [[Naimiṣāraṇya (forest)|Naimisha Forest]].
[[File:Sauti recites the slokas of the Mahabharata.jpg|thumb|Sauti recites the slokas of the ''Mahabharata''.]]
The text was described by some early 20th-century [[Indology|Indologists]] as unstructured and chaotic. [[Hermann Oldenberg]] supposed that the original poem must once have carried an immense "tragic force" but dismissed the full text as a "horrible chaos."<ref>{{cite book|first=Hermann|last=Oldenberg|title=Das Mahabharata: seine Entstehung, sein Inhalt, seine Form|location=Göttingen|publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht|year=1922|lccn=24000855|oclc=4878979|lang=de}}{{Page needed|date=September 2010}}</ref> [[Moritz Winternitz]] (''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.<ref>[http://www.harekrsna.com/sun/features/07-06/features360.htm "The Mahabharata"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061106205614/http://www.harekrsna.com/sun/features/07-06/features360.htm |date=6 November 2006 }} at ''The Sampradaya Sun''</ref>

=== 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 ''Mahabharata'' can be traced back to Vedic times.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=FYPOVdzZ2UIC&dq=a+history+of+indian+literature+mahabharata+date&pg=PA452 ''A History of Indian Literature''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406115439/https://books.google.com/books?id=FYPOVdzZ2UIC&dq=a+history+of+indian+literature+mahabharata+date&pg=PA452 |date=6 April 2023 }}, Volume 1 by Maurice Winternitz</ref> The background to the ''Mahābhārata'' suggests the origin of the epic occurs "after the very early [[Vedic period]]" and before "[[Maurya Empire|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."<ref name="BrockingtonA" /><ref name=vanB73>Buitenen (1973) pp. xxiv–xxv</ref> is likely. The ''Mahabharata'' started as an orally-transmitted tale of the charioteer [[bard]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://scroll.in/article/806662/the-mahabharata-how-an-oral-narrative-of-the-bards-became-the-didactic-text-of-the-brahmins|title=The Mahabharata: How an oral narrative of the bards became a text of the Brahmins|first=Ruchika|last=Sharma|website=Scroll.in|date=16 January 2017|access-date=16 January 2017|archive-date=17 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170117134753/http://scroll.in/article/806662/the-mahabharata-how-an-oral-narrative-of-the-bards-became-the-didactic-text-of-the-brahmins|url-status=live}}</ref> It is generally agreed that "Unlike the [[Vedas]], which have to be preserved letter-perfect, the epic was a popular work whose reciters would inevitably conform to changes in language and style,"<ref name="vanB73" /> 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 include a reference in [[Pāṇini|Panini]]'s 4th century BCE grammar [[Aṣṭādhyāyī|''Ashtadhyayi'']] 4:2:56.<ref name="BrockingtonA" /><ref name="vanB73" /> 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."<ref>Sukthankar (1933) "Prolegomena" p. lxxxvi. Emphasis is original.</ref> That manuscript evidence is somewhat late, given its material composition and the climate of India, 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 ''[[Grhya Sutras|Ashvalayana Grihyasutra]]'' (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 Vyasa, the ''Bharata'' with 24,000 verses as recited by [[Vaisampayana]], and finally the ''Mahābhārata'' as recited by [[Ugrasrava Sauti|Ugrashrava Sauti]] with over 100,000 verses.<ref>Gupta & Ramachandran (1976), citing ''Mahabharata'', Critical Edition, I, 56, 33</ref><ref>SP Gupta and KS Ramachandran (1976), p.3-4, citing Vaidya (1967), p.11</ref> 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 the ''[[Adi Parva]]'' (1.1.81).<ref>{{Cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=HR-_LK5kl18C&pg=PA21|title= The Sanskrit epics, Part 2|volume= 12|first= J. L.|last= Brockington|page= 21|publisher= BRILL|year= 1998|isbn= 978-90-04-10260-6|access-date= 30 May 2020|archive-date= 7 September 2023|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230907124733/https://books.google.com/books?id=HR-_LK5kl18C&pg=PA21|url-status= live}}</ref> The [[redaction]] of this large body of text was carried out after formal principles, emphasizing the numbers 18<ref>18 books, 18 chapters of the ''Bhagavadgita'' and the Narayaniya each, corresponding to the 18 days of the battle and the 18 armies (Mbh. 5.152.23)</ref> and 12. The addition of the latest parts may be dated by the absence of the ''[[Anushasana Parva]]'' and the ''[[Virata Parva]]'' from the "[[The Spitzer manuscript|Spitzer manuscript]]".<ref>The Spitzer Manuscript (Beitrage zur Kultur- und Geistesgeschichte Asiens), Austrian Academy of Sciences, 2004. It is one of the oldest Sanskrit manuscripts found on the [[Silk Road]] and part of the estate of Dr. Moritz Spitzer.</ref> The oldest surviving [[Sanskrit]] text dates to the [[Kushan Empire|Kushan Period]] (200 CE).<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Schlingloff|first=Dieter|year=1969|title=The Oldest Extant Parvan-List of the Mahābhārata|journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society|volume=89|issue=2|pages=334–338|doi=10.2307/596517|jstor=596517}}</ref>

According to what one figure 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 ''ashvamedha'' material from Brahmanical literature, introduce the name ''Mahābhārata'', and identify Vyasa as the work's author. The redactors of these additions were probably [[Pañcaratra|Pancharatrin]] scholars who according to Oberlies (1998) likely retained control over the text until its final redaction. Mention of the [[Huna (people)|Huna]] in the ''[[Bhishma Parva]]'' however appears to imply that this Parva may have been edited around the 4th century.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2015-11-21|title=Vyasa, can you hear us now?|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/books/vyasa-can-you-hear-us-now/|access-date=2020-06-07|website=The Indian Express|language=en|archive-date=7 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607164708/https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/books/vyasa-can-you-hear-us-now/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Snakesacrifice.jpg|thumb|The snake sacrifice of Janamejaya]]
The ''Adi Parva'' includes the snake sacrifice (''sarpasattra'') of [[Janamejaya II|Janamejaya]], 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 Sanskrit|Vedic]] ([[Brahmana]]) literature. The ''[[Panchavimsha Brahmana]]'' (at 25.15.3) enumerates the officiant priests of a ''sarpasattra'' among whom the names [[Dhritarashtra]] and Janamejaya, two main figures of the ''Mahābhārata'''s ''sarpasattra'', as well as [[Takshaka]], a snake in the ''Mahābhārata'', occur.<ref>J.A.B. van Buitenen, ''Mahābhārata, Volume 1'', p.445, citing W. Caland, ''The Pañcaviṃśa Brāhmaṇa'', p.640-2</ref>

The ''[[Suparṇākhyāna|Suparnakhyana]]'', 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]] that is included in the ''Astika Parva'', within the ''Adi Parva'' of the ''Mahābhārata''.<ref name="Winternitz1996">{{cite book|author=Moriz Winternitz|title=A History of Indian Literature, Volume 1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JRfuJFRV_O8C&pg=PA292|year=1996|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-0264-3|pages=291–292|access-date=22 November 2018|archive-date=6 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230706210944/https://books.google.com/books?id=JRfuJFRV_O8C&pg=PA292|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Vogel1995">{{cite book|author=Jean Philippe Vogel|title=Indian Serpent-lore: Or, The Nāgas in Hindu Legend and Art|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=caskYEbIQDoC&pg=PA53|year=1995|publisher=Asian Educational Services|isbn=978-81-206-1071-2|pages=53–54|access-date=22 November 2018|archive-date=6 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230706210945/https://books.google.com/books?id=caskYEbIQDoC&pg=PA53|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Historical references ===
{{See also|Bhagavad Gita#Date and text}}
The earliest known references to ''bhārata'' and the [[Compound (linguistics)|compound]] ''mahābhārata'' date to the [[Aṣṭādhyāyī|''Ashtadhyayi'']]  ([[sutra]] 6.2.38)<ref>''mahān vrīhyaparāhṇagṛṣṭīṣvāsajābālabhārabhāratahailihilarauravapravṛddheṣu'', [http://sanskritdictionary.com/panini/6-2-38 'Pāṇini Research Tool', Sanskrit Dictionary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210930033631/http://sanskritdictionary.com/panini/6-2-38 |date=30 September 2021 }}</ref> of [[Pāṇini|Panini]] (''fl.'' 4th century BCE) and the ''[[Grhya Sutras|Ashvalayana Grihyasutra]]'' (3.4.4). This may mean that 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 uncertain whether Panini referred to the epic, as ''bhārata'' was also used to describe other things. [[Albrecht Weber]] mentions the [[Rigveda|Rigvedic]] tribe of the [[Bharatas (tribe)|Bharatas]], where a great person might have been designated as ''Mahā-Bhārata.'' However, as Panini also mentions figures that play a role in the ''Mahābhārata'', some parts of the epic may have already been known in his day. Another aspect is that Panini determined the [[Pitch-accent language|accent]] of ''mahā-bhārata''. However, the ''Mahābhārata'' was not recited in [[Vedic accent]].<ref>[[Johannes Bronkhorst|Bronkhorst, J.]] (2016): ''How the Brahmins Won. From Alexander to the Guptas'', Brill, p. 78-80, 97</ref>

The Greek writer [[Dio Chrysostom]] ({{Circa|40|120 CE}}) reported that [[Homer]]'s poetry was being sung even in India.<ref>Dio Chrysostom, 53.[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Dio_Chrysostom/Discourses/53*.html#6 6]-7, trans. H. Lamar Crosby, [[Loeb Classical Library]], 1946, vol. 4, p. 363.</ref> Many scholars have taken this as evidence for the existence of a ''Māhabhārata'' at this date, whose episodes Dio or his sources identify with the story of the ''Iliad''.<ref>[[Christian Lassen]], in his ''Indische Alterthumskunde'', supposed that the reference is ultimate to Dhritarashtra's sorrows, the laments of Gandhari and Draupadi, and the valor of Arjuna and Suyodhana or Karna (cited approvingly in [[Maximilian Wolfgang Duncker|Max Duncker]], ''The History of Antiquity'' (trans. [[Evelyn Abbott]], London 1880), vol. 4, [https://books.google.com/books?id=gIkBAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA81 p. 81]). This interpretation is endorsed in such standard references as [[Albrecht Weber]]'s ''History of Indian Literature'' but has sometimes been repeated as fact instead of as interpretation.</ref>

Several stories within the ''Mahābhārata'' took on separate identities of their own in [[Classical Sanskrit literature]]. For instance, the [[Abhijñānaśākuntalam|''Abhijnanashakuntala'']] by the Sanskrit poet [[Kalidasa]] ({{Circa|400 CE}}), believed to have lived in the era of the [[Gupta Empire|Gupta]] dynasty, is based on a story that is the precursor to the ''Mahābhārata''. The ''[[Urubhanga]]'', a Sanskrit play written by [[Bhāsa|Bhasa]] who is believed to have lived before Kalidasa, is based on the slaying of Duryodhana by the splitting of his thighs by [[Bhima]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Ghadyalpatil|first=Abhiram|date=2016-10-10|title=Maharashtra builds up a case for providing quotas to Marathas|url=https://www.livemint.com/Politics/q71WZs7MNRESfXzM7UEnKI/Maharashtra-builds-up-case-for-providing-quotas-to-Marathas.html|access-date=2020-06-07|website=Livemint|language=en|archive-date=7 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607165207/https://www.livemint.com/Politics/q71WZs7MNRESfXzM7UEnKI/Maharashtra-builds-up-case-for-providing-quotas-to-Marathas.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The copper-plate inscription of the [[Maharaja]] Sharvanatha (533–534 CE) from Khoh ([[Satna]] District, [[Madhya Pradesh]]) describes the ''Mahābhārata'' as a "collection of 100,000 verses" (''śata-sahasri saṃhitā'').<ref name=":0" />

=== The 18 parvas or books ===
The division into 18 parvas is as follows:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Parva
!Title
!Sub-parvas
!Contents
|-
|1
|''[[Adi Parva]]'' ''(The Book of the Beginning)''
|1–19
|How the ''Mahābhārata'' came to be narrated by [[Ugrasrava Sauti|Sauti]] to the assembled [[rishi]]s at [[Naimisharanya]], after having been recited at the ''sarpasattra'' of [[Janamejaya II|Janamejaya]] by [[Vaisampayana]] at [[Taxila|Takshashila]]. The history and genealogy of the [[Bhāratas|Bharata]] and [[Bhrigu]] races are recalled, as is the birth and early life of the [[Kuru kingdom|Kuru]] [[List of characters in the Mahabharata|princes]] (''adi'' means first). Adi parva describes [[Pandava|Pandavas]]' birth, childhood, education, marriage, struggles due to conspiracy as well as glorious achievements.
|-
|2
|''[[Sabha Parva]]'' (The Book of the Assembly Hall)
|20–28
|[[Mayasura|Maya Danava]] erects the [[Mayasabha|palace and court]] (''sabha'') at [[Indraprastha]]. The Sabha Parva narrates the glorious [[Yudhisthira]]'s Rajasuya sacrifice performed with the help of his brothers and Yudhisthira's rule in Shakraprastha/[[Indraprastha]] as well as the humiliation and deceit caused by conspiracy along with their own action.
|-
|3
|''[[Vana Parva]]'' ''also'' ''Aranyaka Parva'', ''Aranya Parva'' (The Book of the Forest)
|29–44
|The twelve years of exile in the forest (''aranya''). The entire Parva describes their struggle and consolidation of strength.
|-
|4
|''[[Virata Parva]]'' (The Book of Virata)
|45–48
|The year spent incognito at the court of [[Virata]]. A single warrior ([[Arjuna]]) defeated the entire Kuru army including [[Karna]], [[Bhishma]], [[Drona]], [[Ashwatthama]], etc. and recovered the cattle of the [[Virata]] kingdom.<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m04/m04026.htm SECTION XXVI (Go-harana Parva)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211130220420/https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m04/m04026.htm |date=30 November 2021 }} ''sacred-texts.com''.</ref>
|-
|5
| ''[[Udyoga Parva]]'' (The Book of the Effort)
|49–59
|Preparations for war and efforts to bring about peace between the Kaurava and the Pandava sides which eventually fail (''udyoga'' means effort or work).
|-
|6
| ''[[Bhishma Parva]]'' (The Book of Bhishma)
| 60–64
|The first part of the great battle, with [[Bhishma]] as commander for the Kaurava and his fall on the bed of arrows. The most important aspect of Bhishma Parva is the ''[[Bhagavad Gita]]'' narrated by [[Krishna]] to [[Arjuna]]. (Includes the ''Bhagavad Gita'' in chapters 25–42.)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m06/m06025.htm |title=The Mahabharata, Book 6: Bhishma Parva: Bhagavat-Gita Parva: Section XXV (''Bhagavad Gita'' Chapter I) |publisher=Sacred-texts.com |access-date=3 August 2012 |archive-date=21 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120521235153/http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m06/m06025.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m06/m06042.htm |title=The Mahabharata, Book 6: Bhishma Parva: Bhagavat-Gita Parva: Section XLII (Bhagavad Gita, Chapter XVIII) |publisher=Sacred-texts.com |access-date=3 August 2012 |archive-date=21 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120521231917/http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m06/m06042.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|7
| ''[[Drona Parva]]'' (The Book of Drona)
|65–72
|The battle continues, with [[Drona]] as commander. This is the major book of the war. Most of the great warriors on both sides are dead by the end of this book.
|-
|8
| ''[[Karna Parva]]'' (The Book of Karna)
|73
|The continuation of the battle with [[Karna]] as commander of the [[Kaurava]] forces.
|-
|9
|''[[Shalya Parva]]'' (The Book of Shalya)
|74–77
|The last day of the battle, with [[Shalya]] as commander. Also told in detail, is the pilgrimage of Balarama to the fords of the river Saraswati and the mace fight between Bhima and Duryodhana which ends the war, since Bhima kills Duryodhana by smashing him on the thighs with a mace.
|-
|10
| ''[[Sauptika Parva]]'' (The Book of the Sleeping Warriors)
|78–80
|[[Ashwatthama]], Kripa and Kritavarma kill the remaining Pandava army in their sleep. Only seven warriors remain on the Pandava side and three on the Kaurava side.
|-
|11
| ''[[Stri Parva]]'' (The Book of the Women)
|81–85
|[[Gandhari (Mahabharata)|Gandhari]] and the women (''stri'') of the Kauravas and Pandavas lament the dead and Gandhari cursing [[Krishna]] for the massive destruction and the extermination of the Kaurava.
|-
|12
| ''[[Shanti Parva]]'' (The Book of Peace)
|86–88
|The crowning of [[Yudhishthira]] as king of Hastinapura, and instructions from [[Bhishma]] for the newly anointed king on society, economics, and politics. This is the longest book of the ''Mahabharata''. 
|-
|13
| ''[[Anushasana Parva]]'' (The Book of the Instructions)
|89–90
|The final instructions (''anushasana'') from [[Bhishma]]. This Parba contains the last day of Bhishma and his advice and wisdom to the upcoming emperor [[Yudhishthira]].
|-
|14
| ''[[Ashvamedhika Parva]]'' (The Book of the Horse Sacrifice)<ref>The ''Ashvamedhika-parva'' is also preserved in a separate version, the  ''Jaimini-Bharata'' (''Jaiminiya-Ashvamedha'') where the frame dialogue is replaced, the narration being attributed to [[Jaimini]], another disciple of Vyasa. . It describes how Arjuna alone conquered the whole earth once again.  This version contains far more devotional material (related to Krishna) than the standard epic and probably dates to the 12th century. It has some regional versions, the most popular being the [[Kannada language|Kannada]] one by Devapurada Annama Lakshmisha (16th century).[http://www.harekrsna.com/sun/features/07-06/features360.htm The Mahabharata] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061106205614/http://www.harekrsna.com/sun/features/07-06/features360.htm |date=6 November 2006 }}
{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}}</ref>
|91–92
|The royal ceremony of the [[Ashvamedha]] (Horse sacrifice) conducted by Yudhishthira. The world conquest by Arjuna. Anugita is told by Krishna to Arjuna.
|-
|15
| ''[[Ashramavasika Parva]]'' (The Book of the Hermitage)
|93–95
|The eventual deaths of Dhritarashtra, Gandhari, and Kunti in a forest fire when they are living in a hermitage in the Himalayas. Vidura predeceases them and Sanjaya on Dhritarashtra's bidding goes to live in the higher Himalayas.
|-
|16
| ''[[Mausala Parva]]'' (The Book of the Clubs)
|96
|The materialization of Gandhari's curse, i.e., the infighting between the [[Yadu|Yadavas]] with maces (''mausala'') and the eventual destruction of the Yadavas.
|-
|17
| ''[[Mahaprasthanika Parva]]'' (The Book of the Great Journey)
|97
|The great journey of Yudhishthira, his brothers, and his wife [[Draupadi]] across the whole country and finally their ascent of the great Himalayas where each Pandava falls except for Yudhishthira.
|-
|18
| ''[[Svargarohana Parva]]'' (The Book of the Ascent to Heaven)
|98
| Yudhishthira's final test and the return of the Pandavas to the spiritual world (''[[svarga]]'').
|-
|''khila''
|''[[Harivamsa]] Parva'' (The Book of the Genealogy of Hari)
|99–100
|This is an addendum to the 18 books, and covers those parts of the life of Krishna which is not covered in the 18 parvas of the ''Mahabharata''.
|}

== Historical context ==
The historicity of the [[Kurukshetra War]] is unclear. Many historians estimate the date of the Kurukshetra war to [[Iron Age India]] of the 10th century BCE.<ref>In discussing the dating question, historian A. L. Basham says: "According to the most popular later tradition the Mahabharata War took place in 3102&nbsp; BCE, which in the light of all evidence, is quite impossible. More reasonable is another tradition, placing it in the 15th century BCE, but this is also several centuries too early in the light of our archaeological knowledge. Probably the war took place around the beginning of the 9th century BCE; such a date seems to fit well with the scanty archaeological remains of the period, and there is some evidence in the Brahmana literature itself to show that it cannot have been much earlier." Basham, p. 40, citing HC Raychaudhuri, ''Political History of Ancient India'', pp.27ff.</ref> The setting of the epic has a historical precedent in Iron Age ([[Vedic India|Vedic]]) India, where the [[Kuru (kingdom)|Kuru]] kingdom was the center of political power during roughly 1200 to 800&nbsp;BCE.<ref>M Witzel, ''Early Sanskritization: Origin and Development of the Kuru state'', EJVS vol.1 no.4 (1995); also in B. Kölver (ed.), ''Recht, Staat und Verwaltung im klassischen Indien. The state, the Law, and Administration in Classical India'', München, R. Oldenbourg, 1997, p.27-52</ref> 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.

[[Puranas|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 1,015 (or 1,050) years between the birth of [[Parikshit]] (Arjuna's grandson) and the accession of [[Mahapadma Nanda]] (400–329 BCE), which would yield an estimate of about 1400 BCE for the Bharata battle.<ref>A.D. Pusalker, ''History and Culture of the Indian People'', Vol I, Chapter XIV, p.273</ref> However, this would imply improbably long reigns on average for the kings listed in the genealogies.<ref>FE Pargiter, ''Ancient Indian Historical Tradition'', p.180. He shows estimates of the average as 47, 50, 31, and 35 for various versions of the lists.</ref> Of the second kind is analysis of parallel genealogies in the Puranas between the times of Adhisimakrishna ([[Parikshit]]'s great-grandson) and [[Mahapadma Nanda]]. 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&nbsp; BCE for Adhisimakrishna, and thus approximately 950&nbsp; BCE for the Bharata battle.<ref>Pargiter, ''op.cit.'' p.180-182</ref>

[[File: Painted Grey Ware Culture (1200-600 BCE).png|thumb|Map of some [[Painted Grey Ware]] (PGW) sites.]]
[[B. B. Lal (archaeologist)|B. B. Lal]] 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]] (PGW) sites, the association being strong between PGW artifacts and places mentioned in the epic.<ref>B. B. Lal, ''Mahabharata and Archaeology'' in Gupta and Ramachandran (1976), p.57-58</ref> [[John Keay]] suggests "their core narratives seem to relate to events from a period prior to all but the Rig Veda."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Keay |first=John |author-link=John Keay |title=India: A History |year=2000 |publisher=Grove Press |location=New York City |isbn=978-0-8021-3797-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3aeQqmcXBhoC |pages=42 |access-date=22 September 2024 |archive-date=3 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230703190805/https://books.google.com/books?id=3aeQqmcXBhoC |url-status=live }}</ref>

Attempts to date the events using methods of [[archaeoastronomy]] 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.<ref>Gupta and Ramachandran (1976), p.246, who summarize as follows: "Astronomical calculations favor 15th century BCE as the date of the war while the Puranic data place it in the 10th/9th century BCE. Archaeological evidence points towards the latter." (p.254)</ref> The late 4th-millennium date has a precedent in the calculation of the ''[[Kali Yuga]]'' epoch, based on planetary conjunctions, by [[Aryabhata]] (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]] from the Earth.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Lord-Krishna-lived-for-125-years/articleshow/844211.cms|title=Lord Krishna lived for 125 years &#124; India News – Times of India|website=The Times of India|date=8 September 2004|access-date=30 May 2020|archive-date=23 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023194614/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Lord-Krishna-lived-for-125-years/articleshow/844211.cms|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Aihole]] inscription of [[Pulakeshin II]], dated to Saka 556 = 634 CE, claims that 3,735 years have elapsed since the Bhārata battle, putting the date of ''Mahābhārata'' war at 3137BCE.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mid-day.com/articles/5151-years-of-gita/15033045|title=5151 years of Gita|date=19 January 2014|access-date=15 May 2015|archive-date=8 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108190821/http://www.mid-day.com/articles/5151-years-of-gita/15033045|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Gupta and Ramachandran (1976), p.55; AD Pusalker, HCIP, Vol I, p.272</ref>

Another traditional school of astronomers and historians, represented by [[Vrddha Garga]], [[Varāhamihira]] and [[Kalhana]], place the Bharata war 653 years after the ''Kali Yuga'' epoch, corresponding to 2449 BCE.<ref>AD Pusalker, ''op.cit.'' p.272</ref> According to Varāhamihira's ''[[Bṛhat Saṃhitā]]'' (6th century), [[Yudhishthara]] lived 2,526 years before the beginning of the [[Shaka era]], which begins in the 78 CE. This places Yudhishthara (and therefore, the Mahabharata war) around 2448–2449 BCE (2526–78). Some scholars have attempted to identify the "Shaka" calendar era mentioned by Varāhamihira with other eras, but such identifications place Varāhamihira in the first century BCE, which is impossible as he refers to the 5th century astronomer [[Aryabhata]]. [[Kalhana]]'s ''[[Rajatarangini]]'' (11th century), apparently relying on Varāhamihira, also states that the Pandavas flourished 653 years after the beginning of the Kali Yuga; Kalhana adds that people who believe that the Bharata war was fought at the end of the ''[[Dvapara Yuga]]'' are foolish.<ref>{{cite book |author=A.M. Shastri |author-link=Ajay Mitra Shastri |title=Varāhamihira and His Times |year=1991 |publisher=Kusumanjali |oclc=28644897 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mf0MAQAAMAAJ |pages=31–33, 37 |access-date=22 March 2023 |archive-date=3 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230703135614/https://books.google.com/books?id=Mf0MAQAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Sanskrit and ''Mahābhārata'' scholar [[Robert P. Goldman]] states:
<blockquote>(The ''Mahābhārata'') cloaks itself in mythology, but I don't think the text itself should be called a myth...it's an ''[[itihasa]]'' but in the terms that the tradition understood history. It is a ''[[kāvya]]'', obviously, it is a ''[[shastra]]'', and it is a teaching method for how to live in the world - how to respect your elders, how to respect the [[brahmins]], and so on. So in answer to the question "Is it history or mythology?", I would say yes, it is both of those things, and a great deal more.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mahābhārata - History or Mythology? I Prof. Robert P. Goldman|url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTdm0uoz3ws|website=youtube.com |publisher=Argumentative Indians |language=en |format=video |date=November 12, 2022}}</ref></blockquote>

== Synopsis ==
[[File: Ganesha write Mahabharata.jpg|thumb|Ganesha writes the ''Mahabharata'' upon Vyasa's dictation.]]{{See also|List of characters in the Mahabharata}}
The core story of the work is that of a dynastic struggle for the throne of [[Hastinapura]], the kingdom ruled by the [[Kuru (India)|Kuru]] clan. The two collateral branches of the family that participate in the struggle are the [[Kaurava]] and the [[Pandava]]. Although the Kaurava is the senior branch of the family, [[Duryodhana]], the eldest Kaurava, is younger than [[Yudhishthira]], the eldest Pandava. Both [[Duryodhana]] and [[Yudhishthira]] claim to be first in line to inherit the throne.

The struggle culminates in the [[Kurukshetra War]], in which the [[Pandavas]] 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]], 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 ===
[[File: Ravi Varma-Shantanu and Satyavati.jpg|thumb|Shantanu falls in love with Satyavati, the fisherwoman. Painting by [[Raja Ravi Varma]].]]

King Janamejaya's ancestor, [[Shantanu]], the king of [[Hastinapura]], had a short-lived marriage with the goddess [[Ganga (goddess)|Ganga]] and had a son, Devavrata (later to be called [[Bhishma]], a great warrior), who becomes the heir apparent. Many years later, when King [[Shantanu]] goes hunting, he sees [[Satyavati]], the daughter of the chief of fishermen, 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, [[Bhishma|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]] and [[Vichitravirya]]. 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]] for his three daughters, neglecting to invite the royal family of Hastinapura. To arrange the marriage of young Vichitravirya, Bhishma attends the swayamvara of the three princesses [[Amba (Mahabharata)|Amba]], [[Ambika (Mahabharata)|Ambika]], and [[Ambalika]], 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]] as [[Shikhandi]] (or Shikhandini) and causes Bhishma's fall, with the help of [[Arjuna]], in the battle of Kurukshetra.

=== The Pandava and Kaurava princes ===
[[File:Draupadi and Pandavas.jpg|thumb|[[Draupadi]] with her five husbands – the [[Pandavas]]. The central figure is [[Yudhishthira]]; the two on the bottom are [[Bhima]] and [[Arjuna]]. [[Nakula]] and [[Sahadeva]], the twins, are standing. Painting by [[Raja Ravi Varma]], {{Circa|1900}}.]]

When Vichitravirya dies young without any heirs, Satyavati asks her first son [[Vyasa]], born to her from a previous union with the sage [[Parashara]], to [[niyoga|father children with]] the widows. The eldest, Ambika, shuts her eyes when she sees him, and so her son [[Dhritarashtra]] 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'<ref>{{cite web |url=http://webapps.uni-koeln.de/tamil/ |title=Sanskrit, Tamil and Pahlavi Dictionaries |language=de |publisher=Webapps.uni-koeln.de |date=11 February 2003 |access-date=9 February 2008 |archive-date=26 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080126035307/http://webapps.uni-koeln.de/tamil/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>). 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]], by the maid. He is born healthy and grows up to be one of the wisest figures 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]]. Dhritarashtra marries [[Gandhari (Mahabharata)|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]], 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]] that she could invoke any god using a special mantra. Kunti uses this boon to ask [[Dharma]], the god of justice, [[Vayu]], the god of the wind, and [[Indra]], the lord of the heavens for sons. She gives birth to three sons, [[Yudhishthira]], [[Bhima]], and [[Arjuna]], through these gods. Kunti shares her mantra with the younger queen [[Madri]], who bears the twins [[Nakula]] and [[Sahadeva]] through the [[Ashvins|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]] brothers.

Dhritarashtra has a hundred sons, and one daughter—[[Duhsala]]—through [[Gandhari (Mahabharata)|Gandhari]],<ref>{{cite book|last = Mani|first = Vettam|title = Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary With Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature|url = https://archive.org/details/puranicencyclopa00maniuoft|publisher = Motilal Banarsidass|year = 1975|location = Delhi|isbn = 978-0-8426-0822-0|authorlink =Vettam Mani|page=263}}</ref> all born after the birth of Yudhishthira. These are the [[Kaurava]] brothers, the eldest being [[Duryodhana]], and the second [[Dushasana]]. Other Kaurava brothers include [[Vikarna]] 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.

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]], who sends them a miner to dig a tunnel. They escape to safety through the tunnel and go into hiding. During this time, Bhima marries a [[demon]]ess [[Hidimbi]] and has a son [[Ghatotkacha]]. Back in Hastinapur, the Pandavas and Kunti are presumed dead.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m01/m01144.htm |title=Book 1: Adi Parva: Jatugriha Parva |publisher=Sacred-texts.com |access-date=1 September 2010 |archive-date=25 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100325214549/http://sacred-texts.com/hin/m01/m01144.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Marriage to Draupadi ===
[[File:Swayamvara Draupadi Arjuna Archery.jpg|thumb|[[Arjuna]] piercing the eye of the fish as depicted in [[Chennakeshava Temple, Belur]] built by [[Hoysala Empire]]]]

Whilst they were in hiding, the Pandavas learn of a [[swayamvara]] which is taking place for the hand of the [[Pāñcāla]] princess [[Draupadī]]. The Pandavas, disguised as [[Brahmin]]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<ref name="archive.org">{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/mahabharatha015693mbp|title=THE MAHABHARATHA|last=VISHNU S. SUKTHANKAR|date=11 March 2018|publisher=BHANDARKAR ORIENTAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE, POONA|via=Internet Archive}}</ref><ref name="bori.ac.in">{{cite web|url=http://www.bori.ac.in/mahabharata_project.html|title=The Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute : Mahabharata Project|website=bori.ac.in|access-date=3 November 2019|archive-date=20 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171220032420/http://www.bori.ac.in/mahabharata_project.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> as later interpolation<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/InterpolationsInTheMahabharata|title=Interpolations in the Mahabharata|last=M. A. Mehendale|date=1 January 2001|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>). 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 [[Fraternal polyandry|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]], the king of snakes, and his family. Through hard work, the Pandavas build a new glorious capital for the territory at [[Indraprastha]].

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 [[Mayasabha|new palace]] built for them, by [[Mayasura|Maya]] the [[Danava (Hinduism)|Danava]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m02/m02001.htm |title=Book 2: Sabha Parva: Sabhakriya Parva |publisher=Sacred-texts.com |access-date=1 September 2010 |archive-date=27 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527203909/http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m02/m02001.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> 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]], [[Arjuna]], the twins and the servants laugh at him.<ref name="Laughter at Duryodhana">{{cite web| url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m02/m02046.htm| title=Sabha parva| publisher=Sacred-texts.com| access-date=13 July 2015| archive-date=24 September 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924133159/http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m02/m02046.htm| url-status=live}}</ref> 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 ===
[[File: Disrobing of Draupadi.jpg|thumb|Draupadi humiliated]]
[[Shakuni]], Duryodhana's uncle, now arranges a dice game, playing against Yudhishthira with loaded dice. 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 calls for another dice game. The Pandavas are required to go into exile for 12 years, and in the 13th year, they must remain hidden called as ''[[Agyaata Vaasa]]''. 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]], 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.[[File: The center of battle of Kurukshetra.jpg|thumb|A scene from the ''Mahabharata'' war, [[Angkor Wat]]: A black stone relief depicting several men wearing a crown and a dhoti, fighting with spears, swords, and bows. A chariot with half the horse out of the frame is seen in the middle.|alt=A black stone relief depicting several men wearing a crown and a dhoti, fighting with spears, swords, and bows. A chariot with half the horse out of the frame is seen in the middle.]]

=== The battle at Kurukshetra ===
{{Main|Kurukshetra War}}
[[File:Mahabharata BharatVarsh.jpg|thumb|A map of India depicting various regions during the Mahabharata period]]

The two sides summon vast armies to their help and line up at [[Kurukshetra]] for a war. The kingdoms of [[Panchala]], [[Dvārakā|Dwaraka]], Kasi, [[Kekaya]], [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]], [[Matsya kingdom|Matsya]], [[Chedi kingdom|Chedi]], [[Pandya dynasty|Pandyas]], [[Telinga]], the [[Yadu]]s of [[Mathura, Uttar Pradesh|Mathura]], and some other clans like the [[Parama Kambojas]] were allied with the [[Pandava]]s. The allies of the [[Kaurava]]s included the kings of Pragjyotisha, [[Anga]], Kekaya, Sindhudesa (including Sindhus, [[Sovira|Sauviras]] and Sivis), Mahishmati, [[Avanti (India)|Avanti]] in Madhyadesa, [[Madra]], [[Gandhara]], [[Bahlika people]], [[Kambojas]], and many others. Before war is declared, [[Balarama]] expresses his unhappiness at the developing conflict and leaves to go on [[pilgrimage]]; he does not take part in the battle. Krishna participates in a non-combatant role, as charioteer ([[Sarathi (name of Krishna)|Sarathy]]) for [[Arjuna]] and offers [[Narayani Sena]] consisting of [[Abhira tribe|Abhira]] gopas to the [[Kaurava]]s to fight on their side.<ref>{{cite book| last= Nath Soni| first = Lok| title = The Cattle and the Stick An Ethnographic Profile of the Raut of Chhattisgarh| publisher=Anthropological Survey of India| page =16| isbn= 9788185579573| year= 2000}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last= Shome| first = Alo| title = Krishna Charitra: The Essence of Bankim Chandra| page =104| isbn= 8122310354| year= 2000|publisher=Pustak Mahal}}</ref>

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]] to fight for a righteous cause in the famous [[Bhagavad Gita]] section of the epic.

Though initially adhering to chivalrous notions of warfare, both sides soon adopt dishonorable tactics. At the end of the 18-day battle, only the Pandavas, [[Satyaki]], [[Kripa]], [[Ashwatthama]], [[Kritavarma]], [[Yuyutsu]] and Krishna survive. Yudhisthira becomes king of Hastinapur. All warriors who died in the Kurukshetra war go to swarga.

=== The end of the Pandavas ===
[[File:Totheforest.jpg|thumb|left|Gandhari, blindfolded, supporting Dhrtarashtra and following Kunti when Dhritarashtra became old and infirm and retired to the forest. A miniature painting from a 16th-century manuscript of part of the Razmnama, a [[Persian language|Persian]] translation of the ''Mahabharata'']]

After "seeing" the carnage, [[Gandhari (Mahabharata)|Gandhari]], who had lost all her sons, curses [[Krishna]] 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]] 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]] 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]] 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]], the Pandavas, Draupadi and Dhritarashtra's sons eventually ascended to [[svarga]] and "attained the state of the [[god]]s", and banded together – "serene and free from anger".<ref>{{cite book |title=Mahabharata |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/mahabharata0000raja |chapter-url-access=registration |chapter=Yudhishthira's final trial |publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan |year=2005 |edition=45th |first=Chakravarti |last=Rajagopalachari |author-link=C. Rajagopalachari |location=Mumbai |isbn=978-81-7276-368-8}}</ref>

== Themes ==
[[File:M 134 Short.png|thumb|The god Krishna acts as a charioteer to Arjuna in the battle of the Bhagavad Gita, a section of the Mahabharata. Taken from an illustrated manuscript scroll, 1795 C.E. held in the [https://images.is.ed.ac.uk/luna/servlet/detail/UoE~3~3~210~198024:Mahabharata-Scroll-Section-134?qvq=q:LIMIT%3A%20UoE~3~3;lc:UoE~3~3&mi=253&trs=264 archive collection] at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.]]

=== Just war ===
The ''Mahābhārata'' offers one of the first instances of theorizing about ''[[Dharma-yuddha|dharmayuddha]]'', "[[Just war theory|just war]]", 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.<ref name="google">{{cite book|title=Just War in Comparative Perspective|author=Robinson, P.F.|date=2003|publisher=Ashgate|isbn=978-0-7546-3587-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UwjC1peqwx0C&pg=PA117|page=117|access-date=2 October 2015}}</ref>

== Translations, versions and derivative works ==
=== Translations ===
[[File:Razmnama Bhishma.jpg|right|thumb|Bhishma on his death-bed of arrows with the [[Pandavas]] and [[Krishna]]. Folio from the ''[[Razmnama]]'' (1761–1763), Persian translation of the ''Mahabharata'', commissioned by Mughal emperor [[Akbar]]. The Pandavas are dressed in Persian armour and robes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.plantcultures.org/pccms/action/showItem?id=340 |title=picture details |publisher=Plant Cultures |access-date=1 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113221249/http://www.plantcultures.org/pccms/action/showItem?id=340 |archive-date=13 November 2007 }}</ref>]]

The first [[Bengali language|Bengali]] translations of the ''Mahabharata'' emerged in the 16th century. It is disputed whether [[Kavindra Parameshwar]] of [[Hooghly district|Hooghly]] (based in [[Chittagong]] during his writing) or [[Sri Sanjay]] of [[Sylhet]] was the first to translate it into Bengali.<ref>{{cite Banglapedia|author=Mohanta, Sambaru Chandra|article=Mahabharata}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|language=bn|url=https://thikana.us/%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%82%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BE-%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B9%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF%E0%A7%87-%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%B2%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%9F/|work=Thikana|title=বাংলা সাহিত্যে সিলেট|author=Husam, Shamshad|access-date=31 October 2022|archive-date=26 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221026220509/https://thikana.us/%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%82%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BE-%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B9%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF%E0%A7%87-%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%B2%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%9F/|url-status=live}}</ref>

A [[Persian language|Persian]] translation of ''Mahabharata'', titled ''[[Razmnameh]]'', was produced at [[Akbar]]'s orders, by [[Faizi]] and [[ʽAbd al-Qadir Badayuni]] in the 16th century.<ref>{{cite book| last= Gaṅgā Rām| first = Garg| title = Encyclopaedia of the Hindu world, Volume 1| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=0U2QRpDv2KMC&pg=PR12| page =129| isbn= 978-81-7022-376-4| year= 1992| publisher = Concept Publishing Company}}</ref>

The first complete English translation was the [[Victorian literature|Victorian]] prose version by [[Kisari Mohan Ganguli]],<ref>Several editions of the [[Kisari Mohan Ganguli]] translation of the ''Mahabharata'' incorrectly cite the publisher, Pratap Chandra Roy, as the translator and this error has been propagated into secondary citations. See the publisher's preface to the current Munshiram Manoharlal edition for an explanation.</ref> published between 1883 and 1896 (Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers) and by [[Manmatha Nath Dutt]] ([[Motilal Banarsidass]] 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]] and is available online.<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/maha/index.htm The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511230051/http://sacred-texts.com/hin/maha/index.htm |date=11 May 2008 }} at the [[Internet Sacred Text Archive]]</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | author = P. Lal | author-link = P. Lal | title = Kisari Mohan Ganguli and Pratap Chandra Roy | place = Calcutta | journal = An Annotated Mahabharata Bibliography | url = http://mahabharata-resources.org/ganguli-roy.html | access-date = 9 September 2013 | archive-date = 5 June 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140605081003/http://mahabharata-resources.org/ganguli-roy.html | url-status = live }}</ref>

An early poetry translation by [[Romesh Chunder Dutt]] and published in 1898 condenses the main themes of the ''Mahābhārata'' into English verse.<ref>[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/19630 The ''Mahabharata of Krishna''-Dwaipayana Vyasa translated by Romesh Chunder Dutt] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111010000053/http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/19630 |date=10 October 2011 }} at the Online Library of Liberty.</ref> A poetic rendering of the full epic into English, done by the poet [[Purushottama Lal|P. Lal]] and completed posthumously by his student, was published by [[Writers Workshop (publisher)|Writers Workshop]], [[Calcutta]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Mahabharata in English verse : The art of translation |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/leisure/story/20240122-mahabharata-in-english-verse-the-art-of-translation-2487859-2024-01-12 |website=India Today |language=en |date=12 January 2024}}</ref> The P. Lal translation is a non-rhyming verse-by-verse rendering, and it is the only edition in any language to include all slokas in all recensions of the work (not just those in the ''Critical Edition''). Dr. Pradip Bhattacharya stated that the P. Lal version is "known in academia as the '[[vulgate]]'".<ref name=Bhattacharya>{{Cite web|title=Review : Bibek DebRoy: The Mahabharata, volume 7|url=https://pradipbhattacharya.com/2017/05/27/review-bibek-debroy-the-mahabharata-volume-7/|access-date=2021-05-31|website=pradipbhattacharya.com|archive-date=2 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602215243/https://pradipbhattacharya.com/2017/05/27/review-bibek-debroy-the-mahabharata-volume-7/|url-status=live}}</ref> The text is a "[[transcreation]]"<ref>{{cite web |title=The Mahabharata of Vyasa – WritersWorkshopIndia.com |url=https://www.writersworkshopindia.com/books/the-mahabharata-of-vyasa-all-volumes/ |website=www.writersworkshopindia.com}}</ref> rather than a traditional translation.<ref name=AgarwalVol10>{{Cite web|last=Agarwal|first=Abhinav|date=2015-04-12|title=Book review: 'The Mahabharata' Volume 10 translated by Bibek Debroy|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/review-book-review-the-mahabharata-volume-10-translated-by-bibek-debroy-2076809|access-date=2021-05-31|website=DNA India|language=en|archive-date=2 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602221604/https://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/review-book-review-the-mahabharata-volume-10-translated-by-bibek-debroy-2076809|url-status=live}}</ref>

A project to translate the full epic into English prose, translated by various hands, began to appear in 2005 from the [[Clay Sanskrit Library]], published by [[New York University]] Press. The translation is based not on the ''Critical Edition'' but on the version known to the commentator [[Nīlakaṇṭha Caturdhara|Nīlakaṇṭha]]. Currently available are 15 volumes of the projected 32-volume edition.

Indian Vedic [[Shripad Damodar Satwalekar|Scholar Shripad Damodar Satwalekar]] translated the Critical Edition of Mahabharata into Hindi<ref>{{Cite web|title=Indian Artwork – Buddha Statues & Hindu Books – Exotic India Art|url=https://www.exoticindiaart.com/book/details/complete-mahabharata-translated-by-padma-bhushan-shripad-damodar-satwalekar-set-of-16-volumes-NAI945/%7Caccess-date=2021-06-27|access-date=2021-06-27|website=www.exoticindiaart.com|language=en|archive-date=7 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907124735/https://www.exoticindiaart.com/book/details/complete-mahabharata-translated-by-padma-bhushan-shripad-damodar-satwalekar-set-of-16-volumes-nai945/%7caccess-date=2021-06-27|url-status=live}}</ref> which was assigned to him by the [[Government of India]]. After his death, the task was taken up by Shrutisheel Sharma.<ref>S R, Ramaswamy (1972). ''ಮಹಾಭಾರತದ ಬೆಳವಣಿಗೆ''. Mysore: Kavyalaya Publishers.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Veda Vyasa |first=S. D. Satwalekar |url=http://archive.org/details/Mahabharata_with_Hindi_Translation_-_SD_Satwalekar |title=Mahabharata with Hindi Translation – SD Satwalekar |publisher=Sanskrit eBooks |language=Sanskrit}}</ref><ref group="note">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).</ref>

Indian economist [[Bibek Debroy]] 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".<ref name=AgarwalVol10/> 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.<ref name=Bhattacharya/> Gautam Chikermane of ''[[Hindustan Times]]'' wrote that where "both Debroy and Ganguli get tiresome is in the use of adjectives while describing protagonists".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Chikermane|first=Gautam|date=2012-07-20|title=Review: The Mahabharata: Volume 5|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/books/review-the-mahabharata-volume-5/story-4N0tAg3jNLWFeWkxfCbHEP.html|access-date=2021-05-31|website=Hindustan Times|language=en|archive-date=2 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602215505/https://www.hindustantimes.com/books/review-the-mahabharata-volume-5/story-4N0tAg3jNLWFeWkxfCbHEP.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Another English prose translation of the full epic, based on the ''Critical Edition'', is in progress, published by [[University of Chicago]] Press. It was initiated by [[Indologist]] [[J. A. B. van Buitenen]] (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]] 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.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Fitzgerald|first=James|date=2009|title=Reading Suggestions for Getting Started|url=https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Sanskrit_in_Classics_at_Brown/Mahabharata/MBh2Biblio|access-date=|website=Brown|archive-date=4 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204021051/https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Sanskrit_in_Classics_at_Brown/Mahabharata/MBh2Biblio|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Frederick M. Smith|url=https://clas.uiowa.edu/religion/people/frederick-m-smith|website=University of Iowa|access-date=12 October 2021|archive-date=24 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024172737/https://clas.uiowa.edu/religion/people/frederick-m-smith|url-status=live}}</ref>

Many condensed versions, abridgments and novelistic prose retellings of the complete epic have been published in English, including works by [[Ramesh Menon (writer)|Ramesh Menon]], [[William Buck (translator)|William Buck]], [[R. K. Narayan]], [[C. Rajagopalachari]], Kamala Subramaniam, [[Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi|K. M. Munshi]], Krishna Dharma Dasa, Purnaprajna Dasa, [[Romesh Chunder Dutt|Romesh C. Dutt]], Bharadvaja Sarma, [[John D. Smith]] and [[Sharon Maas]].

=== ''Critical Edition'' ===
Between 1919 and 1966, scholars at the [[Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute]], [[Pune]], compared the various manuscripts of the epic from India and abroad and produced the ''Critical Edition'' of the ''Mahābhārata'', on 13,000 pages in 19 volumes, over the span of 47 years, followed by the ''[[Harivamsha]]'' in another two volumes and six index volumes. This is the text that is usually used in current ''Mahābhārata'' studies for reference.<ref>[http://www.virtualpune.com/html/channel/edu/institutes/html/bhandark.shtml Bhandarkar Institute, Pune] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019070605/http://www.virtualpune.com/html/channel/edu/institutes/html/bhandark.shtml |date=19 October 2018 }}—Virtual Pune</ref> 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 culture|Tamil]] street theatre, [[terukkuttu]] and [[kattaikkuttu]], the plays of which use themes from the Tamil language versions of ''Mahābhārata'', focusing on [[Draupadi]].<ref>{{Cite book| last = Srinivas| first = Smriti| title = Landscapes of Urban Memory| publisher = Orient Longman| orig-year = 2001| year = 2004| isbn = 978-81-250-2254-1| oclc = 46353272| page = 23}}</ref>

[[File: Wayang Wong Bharata Pandawa.jpg|thumb|The [[Pandava]]s and [[Krishna]] in an act of the Javanese ''[[wayang wong]]'' performance]]

Outside the Indian subcontinent, in [[Indonesia]], a version was developed in ancient [[Java]] as [[Kakawin Bhāratayuddha]] in the 11th century under the patronage of King [[Dharmawangsa]] (990–1016)<ref>{{cite book| title=The Javanization of the Mahābhārata, Chapter 15. Indic Transformation: The Sanskritization of Jawa and the Javanization of the Bharata| year=2006| publisher=ANU Press| doi=10.22459/A.09.2006| isbn=9780731521326| url=http://press.anu.edu.au/austronesians/austronesians/mobile_devices/ch15s07.html| editor-last1=Bellwood| editor-last2=Fox| editor-last3=Tryon| editor-first1=Peter| editor-first2=James J.| editor-first3=Darrell| doi-access=free| access-date=6 October 2014| archive-date=11 November 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141111122107/http://press.anu.edu.au/austronesians/austronesians/mobile_devices/ch15s07.html| url-status=live}}</ref> 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]]), and [[wayang]] shadow puppet performances. This Javanese version of the ''Mahābhārata'' differs slightly from the original Indian version.{{refn|group=note|For example, [[Draupadi]] is only wed to [[Yudhishthira]], not to all the Pandava brothers; this might demonstrate ancient Javanese opposition to [[polyandry]]. {{citation needed|date=March 2016}} The author later added some female characters to be wed to the Pandavas, for example, Arjuna is described as having many wives and consorts next to [[Subhadra]]. Another difference is that [[Shikhandi]]ni does not change her sex and remains a woman, to be wed to [[Arjuna]], and takes the role of a warrior princess during the war. {{citation needed|date=March 2016}} Another twist is that [[Gandhari (character)|Gandhari]] is described as an antagonistic character who hates the Pandavas: her hate is out of jealousy because, during Gandhari's [[swayamvara]], she was in love with Pandu but was later wed to his blind elder brother instead, whom she did not love, so she blindfolded herself as a protest.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}}}} Another notable difference is the inclusion of the [[Punakawan]]s, the clown servants of the main figures in the storyline. These [[Semar]], [[Petruk]], Gareng, and Bagong, who are much-loved by Indonesian audiences. {{citation needed|date=March 2016}} There are also some spin-off episodes developed in ancient Java, such as [[Arjunawiwaha]] composed in the 11th century.

A [[Kawi language|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]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abebooks.com/first-edition/Indonesian-Ramayana-Uttarakanda-Gusti-Putu-Phalgunadi/3848278350/bd|title=Indonesian Ramayana: The Uttarakanda by Dr. I Gusti Putu Phalgunadi: Sundeep Prakashan, New Delhi 9788175740532 Hardcover, First edition.|website=abebooks.com|access-date=2018-11-27|archive-date=4 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804000559/https://www.abebooks.com/first-edition/Indonesian-Ramayana-Uttarakanda-Gusti-Putu-Phalgunadi/3848278350/bd|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Derivative literature ===
[[Bhasa]], the 2nd- or 3rd-century CE Sanskrit playwright, wrote two plays on episodes in the ''Marabharata'', ''[[Urubhanga]]'' (''Broken Thigh''), about the fight between [[Duryodhana]] and [[Bhima]], while ''[[Madhyamavyayoga]]'' (''The Middle One'') set around [[Bhima]] and his son, Ghatotkacha. The first important play of 20th century was ''[[Andha Yug]]'' (''The Blind Epoch''), by [[Dharamvir Bharati]], which came in 1955, found in ''Mahabharat'', both an ideal source and expression of modern predicaments and discontent. Starting with [[Ebrahim Alkazi]], it was staged by numerous directors. [[V. S. Khandekar]]'s Marathi novel, ''Yayati'' (1960), and [[Girish Karnad]]'s debut play ''Yayati'' (1961) are based on the story of King [[Yayati]] found in the ''Mahabharat''.<ref>{{cite book|title=The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre: Asia|author=Don Rubin|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=1998|isbn=978-0-415-05933-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-MUiXjMUl34C&pg=PA219|page=195|ref=Ru|access-date=30 May 2020|archive-date=7 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907124734/https://books.google.com/books?id=-MUiXjMUl34C&pg=PA219|url-status=live}}</ref> Bengali writer and playwright, [[Buddhadeva Bose]] wrote three plays set in Mahabharat, ''Anamni Angana'', ''Pratham Partha'' and ''Kalsandhya''.<ref>[http://www.boloji.com/hinduism/084.htm The Mahabharata as Theatre] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100114220734/http://boloji.com/hinduism/084.htm |date=14 January 2010 }} by Pradip Bhattacharya, 13 June 2004.</ref> [[Pratibha Ray]] wrote an [[Moortidevi Award|award]] winning novel entitled [[Yajnaseni (novel)|Yajnaseni]] from [[Draupadi]]'s perspective in 1984. Later, [[Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni]] wrote a similar novel entitled ''[[The Palace of Illusions: A Novel]]'' in 2008. Gujarati poet [[Chinu Modi]] has written long narrative poetry ''[[Bahuk]]'' based on the figure [[Bahuka (Nala)|Bahuka]].<ref name="bk">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Topiwala |first=Chandrakant |encyclopedia=Gujarati Sahityakosh (Encyclopedia of Gujarati Literature) |title=Bahuk |language= gu |year=1990 |publisher= [[Gujarati Sahitya Parishad]] |volume=2 |location=Ahmedabad |pages=394 }}</ref> [[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 [[Yajnaseni (play)|solo play]] based on [[Yajnaseni (novel)|Ray's novel]] by personalizing and taking [[Draupadi]] alone in the scene.

[[Amar Chitra Katha]] published a 1,260-page [[Mahabharata (comics)|comic book version of the ''Mahabharata'']].<ref name="Amar Chitra Katha Mahabharata">{{cite book | title=Amar Chitra Katha Mahabharata | publisher=Amar Chitra Katha | author=Pai, Anant | year=1998 | location=Mumbai | page=1200 | isbn=978-81-905990-4-7 | editor=Pai, Anant | others=Kadam, Dilip (illus.)}}</ref>

=== In film and television ===
[[File:FullPagadeYakshagana.jpg|right|thumb|Krishna as portrayed in [[Yakshagana]] from [[Karnataka]] which is based largely on stories of ''Mahabharata'']]

In [[Cinema of India|Indian cinema]], several film versions of the epic have been made, dating back to 1920. The ''Mahābhārata'' was also reinterpreted by [[Shyam Benegal]] in ''[[Kalyug (1980 film)|Kalyug]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/fr/2003/01/17/stories/2003011700990100.htm |title=What makes Shyam special |publisher=Hinduonnet.com |date=17 January 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110112210119/http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/fr/2003/01/17/stories/2003011700990100.htm |archive-date=12 January 2011 |url-status=usurped}}</ref> [[Prakash Jha]] directed 2010 film [[Raajneeti]] was partially inspired by the ''Mahabharata''.<ref name="Raajneeti Controversy">{{cite news |title=Fact of the matter |url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/article439799.ece |newspaper=The Hindu |date=27 May 2010 |author=Kumar, Anuj |access-date=11 August 2013 |archive-date=30 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140330142142/http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/article439799.ece |url-status=live }}</ref> A [[Mahabharat (2013 film)|2013 animated adaptation]] holds the record for India's most expensive animated film.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/mahabharat-theatrical-trailer-animated-film-112591.html|title=Mahabharat: Theatrical Trailer (Animated Film)|date=19 November 2013|access-date=16 December 2013|archive-date=17 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217000203/http://www.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/mahabharat-theatrical-trailer-animated-film-112591.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1988, [[B. R. Chopra]] created a television series named ''[[Mahabharat (1988 TV series)|Mahabharat]].'' It was directed by [[Ravi Chopra]],<ref name="TV">{{IMDb title|qid=Q3312543|title=Mahabharat}} (1988–1990 TV series)</ref> 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]]'', 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]], a well-known presentation of the epic is [[Peter Brook]]'s nine-hour play, which premiered in [[Avignon]] in 1985, and its five-hour movie version [[The Mahabharata (1989 film)|''The Mahābhārata'']].<ref>{{IMDb title|qid=Q2917578|title=The Mahabharata}} (1989 mini-series).</ref> In the late 2013 ''[[Mahabharat (2013 TV series)|Mahabharat]]'' was televised on STAR Plus. It was produced by Swastik Productions Pvt.

A [[Zee TV]] television series aired from 26 October 2001 to 26 July 2002 and starred Siraj Mustafa Khan as [[Krishna]] and Suneel Mattoo as [[Yudhishthira]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.exchange4media.com/international-news/zee-tv-to-launch-two-mythological-serials-4627.html|title=Zee TV to launch two mythological serials|date=2001-12-25|website=Exchange4Media Dot Com|language=en|access-date=2022-06-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020113/spectrum/tv.htm|title=Good Lord!|date=2002-01-13|website=Tribune India Dot Com|language=en|access-date=2022-07-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/sanjay-khan-excited-about-maha-kavya-mahabharat/articleshow/1632627753.cms|title=Sanjay Khan excited about Maha Kavya Mahabharat|date=2001-10-21|website=Times Of India Dot Com|language=en|access-date=2022-07-02}}</ref>

Uncompleted projects on the ''Mahābhārata'' include one by [[Rajkumar Santoshi]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2003/feb/24/news1|title=In brief: Mahabharat will be most expensive Indian movie ever|newspaper=The Guardian|date=24 February 2003|via=www.theguardian.com|access-date=12 December 2016|archive-date=26 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170326140711/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2003/feb/24/news1|url-status=live}}</ref> and a theatrical adaptation planned by [[Satyajit Ray]].<ref>{{cite web|title=IndiaStar book review: Satyajit Ray by Surabhi Banerjee |author=C. J. Wallia |year=1996 |url=http://www.indiastar.com/satyajitray.html |access-date=31 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514050120/http://www.indiastar.com/satyajitray.html |archive-date=14 May 2008 }}</ref>

===In folk culture===
Every year in the [[Garhwal division|Garhwal region]] of [[Uttarakhand]], villagers perform the ''[[Pandav Lila]]'', 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]], [[damau]] and two long trumpets [[bhankore]], accompany the action. The amateur actors often break into a spontaneous dance when they are "possessed" by the spirits of the figures of the ''Mahabharata''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sax |first=William Sturman |date=2002 |title=Dancing the Self: Personhood and Performance in the Pāṇḍava Līlā of Garhwal |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn= 9780195139150}}</ref>

=== Jain version ===
{{Further|Salakapurusa}}
[[File: Neminath Wedding.JPG|thumb|Depiction of wedding procession of Neminatha. The enclosure shows the animals that are to be slaughtered for food for weddings. Overcome with Compassion for animals, Neminatha refused to marry and renounced his kingdom to become a Shramana]]

[[Jainism|Jain]] 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]]s) and ''Pandavapurana'' (stories of [[Pandava]]s).<ref>{{Cite book| last =Jaini | first =Padmanabh | title =Collected Papers on Jaina Studies | publisher =Motilal Banarsidass Publ. | year =2000 | location =Delhi | isbn =978-81-208-1691-6 }} p. 351-52</ref> From the earlier canonical literature, ''Antakrddaaśāh'' (8th cannon) and ''Vrisnidasa'' (''upangagama'' or secondary canon) contain the stories of [[Neminatha]] (22nd [[Tirthankara]]), Krishna and Balarama.<ref>{{Cite book| last =Shah | first =Natubhai | title =Jainism: The World of Conquerors | publisher =Sussex Academy Press | year =1998 | location =Sussex | series =Volume I and II | isbn =978-1-898723-30-1 }}  vol 1 pp. 14–15</ref> 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).<ref>{{Cite book| last =Jaini | first =Padmanabh | title =Collected Papers on Jaina Studies | publisher =Motilal Banarsidass Publ. | year =2000 | location =Delhi | isbn =978-81-208-1691-6 }} p. 377</ref> According to [[Jain cosmology]] Balarama, Krishna and Jarasandha are the ninth and the last set of Baladeva, Vasudeva, and Prativasudeva.<ref name="Jaini 1998">{{Cite book| last =Jaini | first =Padmanabh | title =The Jaina Path of Purification | publisher =Motilal Banarsidass | year =1998 | location =New Delhi | isbn =978-81-208-1578-0 }} p.305</ref> 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]]s and are reborn in heavens, while on the other hand Krishna and Jarasandha are reborn in hell.<ref>{{Cite book| last =Jaini | first =Padmanabh | title =Collected Papers on Jaina Studies | publisher =Motilal Banarsidass Publ. | year =2000 | location =Delhi | isbn =978-81-208-1691-6 }} p. 351</ref> In keeping with the [[Karma in Jainism|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]] and attain [[Moksa (Jainism)|liberation]].<ref name=" Jaini 1998" /> Krishna and Balrama are shown as contemporaries and cousins of 22nd Tirthankara, Neminatha.<ref>{{Cite book| last =Roy | first =Ashim Kumar | title =A history of the Jainas | publisher =Gitanjali Pub. House | year =1984 | location =New Delhi | isbn =978-0-8364-1136-2 | oclc =11604851 | page=20}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite book| last =Helen | first =Johnson | editor =Muni Samvegayashvijay Maharaj|title =Trisastiśalākāpurusacaritra of Hemacandra: The Jain Saga| orig-year=1931 | publisher =Oriental Institute| year =2009 | location =Baroda | language =en|isbn =978-81-908157-0-3|volume=Part II}} refer story of Neminatha</ref><ref name="Devdutt 2017">{{cite web | title=How different are the Jain Ramayana and Jain Mahabharata from Hindu narrations? | author=Devdutt Pattanaik | website=Devdutt | date=2 March 2017 | url=http://devdutt.com/articles/indian-mythology/mahabharata/differentnarrations.html | access-date=22 March 2017 | author-link=Devdutt Pattanaik | archive-date=7 March 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170307111548/http://devdutt.com/articles/indian-mythology/mahabharata/differentnarrations.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

== Kuru family tree ==
{{Kuru family tree}}

== Cultural influence ==
In the ''[[Bhagavad Gita]]'', [[Krishna]] explains to [[Arjuna]] his duties as a warrior and prince and elaborates on different [[Yoga|Yogic]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://yoga.about.com/od/bhagavadgita/a/thegita.htm |title=Introduction to the Bhagavad Gita |publisher=Yoga.about.com |access-date=1 September 2010 |archive-date=3 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203185714/http://yoga.about.com/od/bhagavadgita/a/thegita.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> and [[Vedantic]] philosophies, with examples and analogies. This has led to the ''Gita'' often being described as a concise guide to [[Hindu philosophy]] and a practical, self-contained guide to life.<ref>Maharishi Mahesh Yogi; ''On the Bhagavad Gita: A New Translation and Commentary with Sanskrit Text'', chapters 1 to 6, Preface p. 9</ref> In more modern times, [[Swami Vivekananda]], Netaji [[Subhas Chandra Bose]], [[Bal Gangadhar Tilak]], [[Mahatma Gandhi]] and many others used the text to help inspire the [[Indian independence movement]].<ref>Stevenson, Robert W., "Tilak and the Bhagavadgita's Doctrine of Karmayoga", in Minor, p. 44.</ref><ref>Jordens, J. T. F., "Gandhi and the Bhagavadgita", in Minor, p. 88.</ref>

It has also inspired several works of modern [[Hindi]] literature, such as [[Ramdhari Singh Dinkar]]'s ''[[Rashmirathi]]'', which is a rendition of ''Mahabharata'' centered around [[Karna]] and his conflicts. It was written in 1952, and won the prestigious [[Jnanpith Award]] in 1972.

== Explanatory notes ==
{{reflist|group=note}}

== Citations ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== General sources ==
* Badrinath, Chaturvedi. ''The Mahābhārata: An Inquiry in the Human Condition'', New Delhi, Orient Longman (2006).
* Bandyopadhyaya, Jayantanuja (2008). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=gwUF11NRyT4C Class and Religion in Ancient India]''. Anthem Press.
* {{Cite book |last=Basham |first=A. L. |title=The Wonder That Was India: A Survey of the Culture of the Indian Sub-Continent Before The Coming of the Muslims|year=1954 |publisher=Grove Press |location=New York }}
* Bhasin, R. V. ''Mahabharata'' published by National Publications, India, 2007.
* J. Brockington. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=HR-_LK5kl18C The Sanskrit Epics]'', Leiden (1998).
* Buitenen, Johannes Adrianus Bernardus (1978). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=wFtXBGNn0aUC The Mahābhārata]''. 3 volumes (translation / publication incomplete due to his death). [[University of Chicago Press]].
* 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.
* [[Alf Hiltebeitel|Hiltebeitel, Alf]]. ''The Ritual of Battle, Krishna in the Mahabharata'', SUNY Press, New York 1990.
* Hopkins, E. W. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=hC1d-xN6nzoC 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.
* {{Cite book|last=Keay |first=John |author-link=John Keay |title=India: A History |year=2000 |publisher=Grove Press |isbn=978-0-8021-3797-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tarbo7OzEO8C }}
* {{Cite book |last=Majumdar |first=R. C. |author-link=R. C. Majumdar |title=The History and Culture of the Indian People: (Volume 1) The Vedic Age |year=1951 |publisher=George Allen & Unwin Ltd. |location=London |title-link=The History and Culture of the Indian People}}
* 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]]. {{ISBN|0-500-27616-1}}
* Mehta, M. ''The problem of the double introduction to the Mahabharata'', [[JAOS]] 93 (1973), 547–550.
* Minkowski, C. Z. ''Janamehayas ''Sattra'' and Ritual Structure'', JAOS 109 (1989), 410–420.
* Minkowski, C. Z. 'Snakes, ''Sattras'' and the Mahabharata', in: ''Essays on the Mahabharata'', ed. A. Sharma, Leiden (1991), 384–400.
* [[Hermann Oldenberg|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: ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=-0tcQr3WzqsC New methods in the research of epic]'' (ed. H. L. C. Tristram), Freiburg (1998).
* Oldenberg, H. ''Das Mahabharata'', Göttingen (1922).
* [[Pāṇini]]. ''Ashtādhyāyī''. [http://www.wilbourhall.org/pdfs/chandravasu/book4.pdf Book 4]. Translated by Chandra Vasu. [[Benares]], 1896. {{in lang|sa|en}}
* Pargiter, F. E. ''Ancient Indian Historical Tradition'', London 1922. Repr. Motilal Banarsidass 1997.
* {{Cite book|last=Sattar|first=Arshia (transl.)|author-link=Arshia Sattar|title=The Rāmāyaṇa by Vālmīki|publisher=Viking|year=1996|page=696|isbn=978-0-14-029866-6}}
* Sukthankar, Vishnu S. and Shrimant Balasaheb Pant Pratinidhi (1933). ''The Mahabharata: for the first time critically edited''. [[Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute]].
* Sullivan, Bruce M. ''Seer of the Fifth Veda, Krsna Dvaipayana Vyasa in the Mahabharata'', Motilal Banarsidass, New Delhi 1999.
* Sutton, Nicholas. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=rFyUHC-ORp4C 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
* [[Michael Witzel|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 ==
{{wikisourcelang|sa|महाभारतम्|''Mahabharata''}}
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Wikisource|The Mahabharat}}
{{Commons category}}
* [https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/maha/index.htm Sacred-Texts: Hinduism] – English translation of 18 parvas of ''Mahabharata''
* [http://mahabharata-resources.org/harivamsa/harivamsa-cs-index.html harivamsham – mahaabhaarat khila parva] – English translation of harivamsa Parva of ''Mahabharata''
* [https://bombay.indology.info/mahabharata/statement.html Sanskrit etext of the ''Mahābhārata'' online] (licensed and approved by [[Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute|BORI]])
* [http://www.holybooks.com/mahabharata-all-volumes-in-12-pdf-files/ All volumes in 12 PDF files] (Holybooks.com, 181&nbsp;MB in total)
* [http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Sanskrit_in_Classics_at_Brown/Mahabharata/MBh2Biblio.html#Poona Reading Suggestions, J. L. Fitzgerald, Das Professor of Sanskrit, Department of Classics, Brown University]
* [https://sanskritdocuments.org/mirrors/mahabharata/mahabharata-bori.html Critical Edition Prepared by Scholars at Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute BORI]
* {{librivox book | title=The Mahabharata by Vyasa: The epic of ancient India condensed into English verse| author=Dutt}}

{{Mahabharata}}
{{Works based on the Mahabharata|state=collapsed}}
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