Mahaparva

Mahaparva, also transliterated as Maha Parva, is a Sanskrit term that literally means “great episode” or “great festival.” In Hindu literary usage, parva denotes a division or section of a larger narrative, and maha- serves as an intensifier indicating grandeur or significance. The phrase is thus a generic descriptor that can apply to major portions of epic or ceremonial works, depending on the context.

In the traditional Sanskrit epic Mahabharata, the text is commonly divided into 18 parvas, such as Adi Parva, Vana Parva, and Shanti Parva. Some modern editors, translators, or commentators have occasionally used the label “Maha Parva” to refer to the entire Mahabharata or to a particularly substantial portion of it, but this is not a canonical designation in the standard manuscript tradition. Consequently, references to “Maha Parva” in scholarly or popular texts are often ambiguous and depend on the editor’s conventions rather than an established parva name.

Beyond the Mahabharata, the term can appear in regional retellings or devotional literature as a general reference to a major festival or significant event, though there is no universally recognized festival by that exact name across Indian traditions. The primary value of the term lies in its linguistic meaning rather than in a fixed, standalone work.

See also: Mahabharata, Parva, Adi Parva, Vana Parva.