The Mahābhārata is one of the two major Smriti texts and Sanskrit epics of ancient India revered in Hinduism, the other being the Rāmāyaṇa. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kurukshetra War, a war of succession between two groups of princely cousins, the Kauravas and the Pāṇḍavas.
Peter Stephen Paul Brook was an English theatre and film director. He worked first in England, from 1945 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, from 1947 at the Royal Opera House, and from 1962 for the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). With them, he directed the first English-language production in 1964 of Marat/Sade by Peter Weiss, which was transferred to Broadway in 1965 and won the Tony Award for Best Play, and Brook was named Best Director. He also directed films such as an iconic version of Lord of the Flies in 1963.
Duryodhana, also known as Suyodhana, is the primary antagonist in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. He was the eldest of the Kauravas, the hundred sons of the king Dhritarashtra and his queen Gandhari.
Bhishma, also known as Pitamaha, Gangaputra, and Devavrata, is a central figure in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. He was a prince, statesman, and military commander of the ancient Kuru Kingdom. Renowned for his wisdom, valor, and unwavering principles, Bhishma served as the supreme commander of the Kaurava forces during the Kurukshetra War.
Gandhari is a prominent figure in the Hindu epic the Mahabharata. She is the daughter of King Subala, the ruler of Gandhara, and becomes the wife of Dhritarashtra, the blind king of Kuru Kingdom. In a remarkable act of solidarity, Gandhari blindfolds herself for life upon learning of her husband’s blindness, choosing to share his condition. Blessed by the god Shiva and the sage Vyasa, she bears one hundred sons through miraculous means, collectively known as the Kauravas, with her eldest, Duryodhana, becoming a key antagonist in the epic. Besides the hundred sons, she also has a daughter, Dushala. Although Gandhari possesses many virtues, she is unable to steer her sons away from their wrongdoings. The rivalry between the Kauravas and their cousins, the Pandavas, culminates in the devastating Kurukshetra war, which results in the destruction of the Kuru dynasty.
Dushasana, also spelled Duhshasana, Dussasana or Duhsasana, also known as Sushasana, is an antagonist in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. He was second eldest among the Kaurava princes and the younger brother of Duryodhana. Dushasana's jealousy and herd mentality were the two qualities said to have led to his downfall in the Mahabharata.
Dhritarashtra was a ruler of the ancient Kuru kingdom, featured as a central character in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. He is also attested in the Yajurveda, where he is acknowledged as the son of King Vichitravirya.
In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, King Shalya was the brother of Madri, and the ruler of the Madra kingdom. Skilled with the mace and a formidable warrior, he was tricked by Duryodhana to fight the war on the side of the Kauravas. He was encouraged to serve as the charioteer of Karna by Duryodhana. Shalya was an incredibly calm and deliberate fighter, his level-headedness and prowess in warfare making him a great warrior in spite of his slight build.
Yudhishthira also known as Dharmaraja, was the king of Indraprastha and later the King of Kuru Kingdom in the epic Mahabharata. He is the eldest among the five Pandavas, and is also one of the central characters of the epic.
Shakuni is one of the antagonists of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. He was the prince of the kingdom of Gandhara when introduced, later becoming its king after the death of his father, Subala. He was the brother of Gandhari and the maternal uncle of the Kauravas.
Uttarā was the princess of Matsya, as described in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. She was the daughter of King Virata and Queen Sudeshna, at whose court the Pandavas spent a year in concealment during their exile. During this period, she learned music and dance from Arjuna, the third Pandava, and later married his son, Abhimanyu. Uttarā was widowed at a young age during the Kurukshetra War. Following the Pandavas' victory in the war, she and her unborn son were attacked by Ashwatthama, and were saved by the divine intervention of Krishna. Her son Parikshit saved the Kuru lineage from extinction, and became a well-known monarch celebrated in both the Mahabharata and the Bhagavata Purana.
Mahabharat is an Indian Hindi-language epic television series based on the ancient Sanskrit epic Mahabharata. The original airing consisted of a total of 94 episodes and were broadcast from 2 October 1988 to 24 June 1990 on Doordarshan. It was produced by B. R. Chopra and directed by his son, Ravi Chopra. The music was composed by Raj Kamal. The script was written by Pandit Narendra Sharma and the Hindi/Urdu poet Rahi Masoom Raza, based on the epic by Vyasa. Costumes for the series were provided by Maganlal Dresswala. The serial claims to have used the Critical Edition of Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute as its basic source with Vishnu Sitaram Sukthankar and Shripad Krishna Belwalkar as its primary editor.
Sotigui Kouyaté was one of the first Malian Burkinabé actors. He was the father of film director Dani Kouyaté, of the storyteller Hassane Kassi Kouyaté and of the actor Mabô Kouyaté and was a member of the Mandinka ethnic group.
The Bhishma Parva, or the Book of Bhishma, is the sixth of eighteen books of the Indian epic Mahabharata. It has 4 sub-books and 124 chapters.
Mahabharat is a 2013 Indian epic mythological television series based on the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata. It aired from 16 September 2013 to 16 August 2014 on Star Plus. The series is available digitally on Disney+ Hotstar. Produced by Swastik Productions Pvt. Ltd, it starred Saurabh Raj Jain, Pooja Sharma, Shaheer Sheikh and Aham Sharma.
The Mahabharata is a French play, based on the Sanskrit epic Mahābhārata, by Jean-Claude Carrière, which was first staged in a quarry just outside Avignon in a production by the English director Peter Brook. The play, which is nine hours long in performance, toured the world for four years. For two years the show was performed both in French and in English. The play is divided into three parts: The Game of Dice, The Exile in the Forest and The War. In 1989, it was adapted for television as a six-hour mini series. Later, it was reduced to about three hours as a film for theatrical and DVD release. The screenplay was the result of eight years' work by Peter Brook, Jean-Claude Carrière, and Marie-Hélène Estienne.
Mahabharatham is an Indian Tamil-language mythological television series that aired every Sunday on Sun TV from 17 February 2013 to 29 May 2016 at 10:00 AM IST. The 166-episode show is based on Mahabharat, told by sage and seer Veda Vyasa Maharshi and supposed to be written by Lord Vinayaka Bhagavan on sage Vyasa's instruction for the bounty of human race thousands of years ago.
Suryaputra Karn is an Indian historical epic television series, which premiered on 29 June 2015 on Sony TV. Produced by Siddharth Kumar Tewary of Swastik Pictures, the series covers the life journey of Karna in the Mahabharata. The show starred Gautam Rode, Vishesh Bansal and Basant Bhatt as the lead character at various stages of his life.
Dharmakshetra is a fictional drama series which aired on the channel The EPIC Channel. The series is set in the aftermath of the battle of Mahabharata. The story is told from the perspective of the various characters as they are brought to the court of Chitragupta. All the episodes are available on streaming network EPIC ON.
