The Mahābhārata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Rāmāyaṇa. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kurukshetra War and the fates of the Kaurava and the Pāṇḍava princes and their successors.
Satyavati was the queen of the Kuru king, Shantanu of Hastinapur and the great-grandmother of the Pandava and Kaurava princes. She is also the mother of the seer Vyasa, author of the epic. Her story appears in the Mahabharata, the Harivamsa and the Devi Bhagavata Purana.
Kaurava is a Sanskrit term which refers to descendants of Kuru, a legendary king of India who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the epic Mahabharata. Usually, the term is used for the 100 sons of King Dhritarashtra and his wife Gandhari. Duryodhana, Dushasana and Vikarna are the most popular among the brothers. They also had a sister named Dussala and a half-brother named Yuyutsu.
Draupadi, also referred to as Krishnaa, Panchali and Yajnaseni, is the heroine of the Hindu epic, Mahabharata. She was the common wife of the five Pandava brothers—Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. She is described to be the most beautiful woman of her time and was prophesied to bring the end of many warriors.
Bhishma, also known as Pitamaha, Gangaputra and Devavrata, was a statesman of Kuru Kingdom and one of the most powerful warriors in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. He was the eighth and only surviving son of the Kuru King Shantanu and the river goddess Ganga. He was related to both the Pandavas and the Kauravas through his half-brother, Vichitravirya.
Abhimanyu is a warrior from the ancient Hindu epic Mahabharata. He was born to the third Pandava prince Arjuna and Yadava princess Subhadra, who was also Krishna's sister. He is believed to be an incarnation of Varchas, son of Chandra. Abhimanyu was raised by his maternal relatives as his father Arjuna, along with his 4 brothers and wife, was sent into Vanvas for 13 years. After his father's return Abhimanyu married Uttarā, the princess of Matsya. During the Kurukshetra War, Abhimanyu fought by his father's side. On the thirteenth day of the war, the mightiest Kaurava warriors came together and formed the Chakravyuha, the young Abhimanyu was able to penetrate it, but could never make his way out, and was slain inside it, fighting them all alone. His son, Parikshit, was the one who saved the lineage from extinction and went onto become a legendary king.
Gandhari is a prominent character in the Indian epic the Mahabharata. She was a princess of Gandhara and the wife of Dhritrashtra, the blind king of Hastinapura, and the mother of a hundred sons and a daughter, the Kauravas.
Vidura also known as Kshatri is one of the central characters in the Mahabharata, a major Hindu epic. He is described as the prime minister of the Kuru Kingdom and also the uncle of the Pandavas and Kauravas.
Droṇa, also referred to as Dronacharya, was royal preceptor to the Kauravas and Pandavas. He was a friend of Guru Sukracharya, the guru of Asuras, including Mahabali. He was the son of the sage Bharadwaja and a descendant of the sage Angirasa. He was a master of advanced military arts, including the divine weapons or Astras. He was also the second commander- in- chief of kaurava army from 11th day to 15th day. He failed 4 times in capturing Yudhisthira (11th, 12th day, 14th day when Arjuna was busy fighting to kill Jaydratha and 14th night. He was beheaded by Dhrishtadyumna when he was meditating to release his soul on the battlefield.
Drupada, also known as Yajnasena, is a character in the Mahābhārata. The son of King Prishata, he was the king of the land of Southern Panchala. His capital was known as Kampilya. Drupada was killed by Drona in the Kurukshetra War.
In the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata, Yudhishtira is the first among the five Pandava brothers. He was the son of the king Pandu of Kuru and his first wife, Kunti and was blessed to the couple by the god Dharma, who is often identified with the death god Yama. In the epic, Yudhishthira becomes the emperor of Indraprastha and later of Kuru Kingdom (Hastinapura).
Shikhandi is a androgynous character in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. He is born as female named Shikandini to Drupada, the king of Panchala, however later transforms into a male. He is the brother of Draupadi, the female protagonist of the epic and common wife of the Pandavas.
Shakuni is an antagonist of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. He was the prince of the Gandhara Kingdom, and later became its king after the death of his father, Subala. He was the brother of Gandhari and the maternal uncle of the Kauravas.
Kripa, also known as Kripacharya, is a figure in Hindu mythology. According to the epic Mahabharata, he was a council member of Kuru Kingdom and a teacher of the Pandava and Kaurava princes.
The Kurukshetra War, also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the Indian epic poem The Mahābhārata . The conflict arose from a dynastic succession struggle between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and Pandavas, for the throne of Hastinapura. It involved several ancient kingdoms participating as allies of the rival groups.
Sauvīra was an ancient kingdom of the lower Indus Valley mentioned in the Late Vedic and early Buddhist literature and the Hindu epic Mahabharata. It is often mentioned alongside the Sindhu Kingdom. Its capital city was Roruka, identified with present-day Aror/Rohri in Sindh, mentioned in the Buddhist literature as a major trading center. According to the Mahabharata, Jayadratha was the king of the Sindhus, Sauviras and Sivis, having conquered Sauvira and Sivi, two kingdoms close to the Sindhu kingdom. Jayadratha was an ally of Duryodhana and the husband of Duryodhana's sister Dussala. The kingdom of Sauvira is also stated to be close to the Dwaraka and Anarta kingdoms.
Kunti, also known as Pritha, is one of the female protagonists of the epic, Mahabharata. She is best known as the mother of the Pandavas, the main protagonists of the epic, and the warrior Karna. She is also mentioned in the Bhagavata Purana because of her connection with Krishna, the main figure of the text. She is described to be beautiful, intelligent and shrewd.
The Vana Parva, also known as the "Book of the Forest", is the third of eighteen parvas in the Indian epic Mahabharata. Aranya Parva traditionally has 21 sub-books and 324 chapters. The critical edition of Aranya Parva is the longest of the 18 books in the epic, containing 16 sub-books and 299 chapters.
LGBT themes in Hindu Epics involve Hindu deities or heroes whose attributes or behavior can be interpreted as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or as having elements of gender variance and non-heterosexual sexuality. Traditional Hindu literary sources do not speak of homosexuality directly, but changes of sex, homoerotic encounters, and intersex or third gender characters are often found both in traditional religious narratives such as the Vedas, Mahabharata, Ramayana and Puranas as well as in regional folklore.
