Mahabharata

The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Ramayana. It centers on the dynastic conflict for the throne of Hastinapura between two sets of cousins, the Pandavas and the Kauravas, and culminates in the Kurukshetra War. The narrative also weaves in extensive subplots, political intrigue, and moral dialogues that explore duty, fate, and justice.

Traditionally ascribed to Vyasa, the epic is regarded as a composite work composed and expanded over centuries. Its core is roughly ancient, but the text as a whole likely reached its familiar form only in the early centuries CE or later. The Mahabharata is enormous, consisting of about 100,000 shlokas in 18 parvas (books), with numerous embedded stories and discourses. The Bhagavad Gita, a 700-verse philosophical dialogue, appears within the Bhishma Parva as a part of the larger narrative.

Plot elements include the dice game, the exile of the Pandavas, their return, and the long war on the plains of Kurukshetra that tests leadership, loyalty, and righteousness. The epic also contains a wide range of characters, gods, sages, and heroic deeds, framed by debates on ethics and governance.

Themes center on dharma (duty and righteousness), the complexities of moral choice, karma, and the consequences of power. The Mahabharata has had a profound influence on Hindu philosophy, literature, art, and culture, and it has been retold and reinterpreted across languages and media. Its transmission includes numerous regional versions, and critical editions have sought to standardize the text for scholarly study.