Mahabharata is one of the epic of ancient literature. This Sanskrit epic describes the war of Kurukshetra between the Kaurava and the Pandava princes. Mahabharata is the source of inspiration for many movies and serials.
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| Mahabharata |
- The Sage Vyasa authored the Mahabharata. He is also known as Krishna Dvaipāyana, Veda Vyāsa. Many people suggest that Vyasa was not a person but a group of sages having great knowledge of Vedas.
- Mahabharata is the longest text of the world. It consists about 100,000 shlokas and 1.8 million words. The other Indian epic Ramayana, is 4 times smaller than Mahabharata.
- “Mahabharata” literally means the Great story of Bharata. It is believed that the Mahabharata was written in the early Vedic Period.
- Mahabharata was first recited by sage Vaisampayana, a disciple of Vyasa. He recited it to the king Janamejaya, the great grandson of Arjuna.
- Among the different stories and different subsections of Mahabharata, one of the main event was the conversation of Arjuna and Krishna at the battlefield. This conversation created one of the most sacred Hindu religious scripture – “Bhagavad Gita”.
- It is said that when Vyasa conceived the idea of Mahabharata. He thought that it will not be possible for him to complete it in his lifetime. So, he asked the help of Brahma and finally God Ganesha helped vyasa to write it.
- It has 18 parvas- Adi, Sabha, Van, Udyog, Virat, Bhisma, Dhron, Kama, Shalya, Stri, Shasti, Anushashan, Ashwamedhie, Ashramvasik, and Shanti. Mahaprasthanic and Swargarohan.
- Sometimes it is also called as fifth Veda due to vast inner context that it carries.
- The Kurukshetra war was fought for 18 days. Kurukshetra is in Haryana where this war was fought.
- Mahabharata has thousands of characters. Each character has a special role in the tale. Among them some of the interesting characters are- Shakuni, Krishna, Ekalavya, Karna, Bhisma, Arjun, Kunti, Draupadi, Ashwatthama, Yuyutsu, Bhima, Duryodhana, Gandhari…..any many more…