The Mahābhārata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India 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.
Hindu mythology is the body of sacred stories attributed to, and espoused by, the adherents of the Hindu religion, found in Sanskrit texts such as the Vedic literature, epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana, the Puranas, and mythological stories specific to a particular ethnolinguistic group like the Tamil Periya Puranam and Divya Prabandham, and the Mangal Kavya of Bengal. Hindu myths are also found in widely translated popular texts such as the fables of the Panchatantra and the Hitopadesha, as well as in Southeast Asian texts.
The Pandavas refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva who are the central characters of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. They are acknowledged as the sons of Pandu, the King of Kuru, but were fathered by different Devas (gods) due to Pandu's inability to naturally conceive children. In the epic, the Pandavas married Draupadi, the princess of Panchala, and founded the city of Indraprastha after the Kuru Kingdom was split to avoid succession disputes. After the split, the other part of the kingdom was ruled by their cousins, the Kauravas. However, the Pandavas lost their kingdom to Duryodhana when Yudhishtira gambled it away during a game of dice. The bet Yudhishtira agreed to was that the Pandavas would hand the kingdom to the Kauravas and go into exile for 13 years. After this time the Kauravas refused to return the kingdom. As a result, the Pandavas waged a civil war against their extended family, and this conflict was known as the Kurukshetra War. With the help of the god Krishna, the Pandavas eventually won the war with the death of the Kauravas, albeit at great cost.
Draupadi, also referred to as Krishnaa, Panchali, and Yagyaseni is the main female protagonist of the Hindu epic Mahabharata, and the common consort of the five Pandava brothers—Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva. She is noted for her beauty, courage, and polyandrous marriage.
Indian epic poetry is the epic poetry written in the Indian subcontinent, traditionally called Kavya. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata, which were originally composed in Sanskrit and later translated into many other Indian languages, and the Five Great Epics of Tamil literature and Sangam literature are some of the oldest surviving epic poems ever written.
Abhimanyu is a warrior from the ancient Hindu epic Mahabharata. He was the son of Arjuna, the third of the Pandavas and the hero of the epic, and Subhadra, the younger sister of the revered Hindu deity Krishna. Abhimanyu is portrayed as a young, strong and talented warrior. He was also one of the few individuals, along with his father, who knew the technique to enter Chakravyuha, a powerful military formation.
Vidura, also known as Kshatri, plays a key role in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. He is described as the prime minister of the Kuru kingdom and is the paternal uncle of both the Pandavas and the Kauravas.
In Hindu scriptures, Durvasa, also known as Durvasas, is a legendary rishi (sage). He is the son of Anasuya and Atri. According to some Puranas, Durvasa is a partial avatar of Shiva, known for his short temper. Wherever he goes, he is received with great reverence by humans and devas alike.
Mohini is the Hindu goddess of enchantment. She is the only female avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. She is portrayed as a femme fatale, an enchantress, who maddens lovers and demons, sometimes leading them to their doom. Mohini is introduced into Hinduism in the narrative epic of the Mahabharata. Here, she appears as a form of Vishnu following the Churning of the Ocean, a mesmerising beauty who distributes the amrita to the weakened devas (gods) and depriving it to the dominant asuras (demons), allowing the former to defeat the latter with their newfound immortality.
Bharatayuddha or Bharat Yudha is a term used in Indonesia for the Kurukshetra War, and to describe the Javanese translation and interpretation of the Mahabharata. The Mahabharata was translated into (old) Javanese under the reign of king Dharmawangsa of Medang. The current poem was started by Sedah in 1157, and finished by mpu Panuluh. Mpu Panuluh also wrote the Kakawin Hariwangsa.
The Kurukshetra War, also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the Mahabharata . The conflict arose from a dynastic succession struggle between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, for the throne of Hastinapura. The war laid the foundation for the Bhagavad Gita.
Kala, IPA: [kɑːˈlə]) is a Sanskrit term that means "time" or "death". As time personified, destroying all things, Kala is a god of death, and often used as one of the epithets of Yama. In Shaivism, Kala is known as the fiery avatar of Shiva Kala Bhairava or Kalagni Rudra; and in Vaishnavism Kala is also associated with Narasimha and Pralaya. As applied to gods and goddesses, Kālá is not always distinguishable from kāla, meaning "black".
Iravan also known as Iravat and Iravant, is a minor character from the Hindu epic Mahabharata. The son of Pandava prince Arjuna and the Naga princess Ulupi, Iravan is the central deity of the cult of Kuttantavar (Kuttandavar) which is also the name commonly given to him in that tradition—and plays a major role in the sect of Draupadi. Both these cults are of Tamil origin, from a region of the country where he is worshipped as a village deity and is known as Aravan. He is also a patron god of well-known transgender communities called Alis.
Sabha Parva, also called the "Book of the Assembly Hall", is the second of eighteen books of Mahabharata. Sabha Parva traditionally has 10 parts and 81 chapters. The critical edition of Sabha Parva has 9 parts and 72 chapters.
The Vana Parva, also known as the "Book of the Forest", is the third of eighteen parvas in the Indian epic Mahabharata. Vana Parva traditionally has 21 parts and 324 chapters. The critical edition of Vana Parva is the longest of the 18 books in the epic, containing 16 parts and 299 chapters.
The Mausala Parva is the sixteenth of the eighteen books of the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata. It traditionally has nine chapters. The critical edition has eight chapters. One of the 3 shortest books within the epic, the Mausala Parva describes the demise of Krishna in the 36th year after the Kurukshetra war had ended, the submersion of Dvaraka under sea, death of Balarama by drowning in the sea, Vasudeva's death, and a civil war fought among the Yadava clan that killed many of them. The story of infighting of the Yadavas becomes the reason why the Pandava brothers renounce their kingdom and begin their walk towards heaven, events recited in the last two books of the Mahabharata.
Gods, Demons and Others is a collection of short stories by R. K. Narayan adapted from Indian history and mythology, including epics like The Ramayana and Mahābhārata. In this book, Narayan provides both vitality and an original viewpoint to ancient legends.
Purochana is a character in Hindu mythology, an architect in the kingdom of Hastinapura, and one of Duryodhana's trusted aides in the Indian epic Mahabharata. He was also a minister under the Kauravas.
The Puranic chronology is a timeline of Hindu history based on the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, and the Puranas. Two central dates are the Mahabharata War, and the start of the Kali Yuga. The Puranic chronology is referred to by proponents of Indigenous Aryans to propose an earlier dating of the Vedic period, and the spread of Indo-European languages out of India, arguing that "the Indian civilization must be viewed as an unbroken tradition that goes back to the earliest period of the Sindhu-Sarasvati tradition ."
