MahabharataVeda Vyasa

• The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India.

• the authorship of the Mahabharata is attributed to the great sage Veda Vyasa (Krsna Dvaipaya)

• Longest epic of the world• one hundred thousand verses, long prose

passages, or about 1.8 million words in total• roughly ten times the length of the Iliad and

Odyssey combined or about four times the length of the Ramayana.

• called Mahabharata due to the immense size and its dealing with the story of the people of the race descended from the ancient emperor Bharata

• Shantanu, king of Hastinapura, was married to the beautiful Ganga, who was the river goddess in disguise.

• Bhishma… 8th son left• Shantanu married again with Satyavati, mother of

Vyasa• Bhishma abducted 3 sisters, Amba, Ambika, and

Ambalika.• Amba then vowed that one day she would kill him.• Satyavati… ask Vyasa to give childern to two

princesses Ambika and Ambalika.• first child would be born blind, Dhritarashtra…

2nd child will be pale-skinned, Pandu

• Pandu shoots a gazelle of a brahmin, so he cursed him…

• Kunti… Yudhisthira, Bhima and Arjuna• Madri… Nakula and Sahaveda

(Pandavas)• After Pandu died, Dhritarashtra has

become king, despite his blindness.• Gives birth to a ball of flesh,… became a

parent of 100 sons. (Kauravas)• Duryodhana… first son of Kauravas

brings hate

• Because of jealous, Duryodhana planned to kill the Pandavas…

• Pandavas escaped… then lived in forest.• Pandavas attend swayamvara of Draupadi…

Arjuna wins Draupadi as “prize”• Kunti tells Arjuna to share his prize to his

brothers without seeing first Draupadi. Then, five brothers married Draupadi.

• As tension between families mounts, Krishna makes his appearance to intervene.

• To avert war, Krishna advice King Dhritarashtra to give the half of the kingdom to Pandavas… Yudhisthira accepts.

• Indraprastha… new kingdom lead by Yudhisthira… Duryodhana felt jealous.

• Pandavas lost to a dice game then they lost everything, including Draupadi.

• Duryodhana uncovers Draupadi, but Krishna rescue her.

• She swears that one day she will be avenged.

• Pandavas are condemned to spend 12 years of exile in forest and a 13th year in an unknown place to disguise.

• Arjuna aims to the highest mountains to look for celestial weapons… Shiva gave him.

• Meanwhile Duryodhana has launched an attack on Virata's kingdom. Then lost to Arjuna.

• Duryodhana refuses to give his cousins back their kingdom

• Krishna offers Arjuna first choice: either he can have all of Krishna’s armies, or he can have Krishna alone..Arjuna chooses Krishna. When Arjuna asks him to drive his chariot, Krishna accepts.

• Krishna pleads with Dhritarashtra one last time to restore to the Pandavas their rightful kingdom.

• Convinced by Duryodhana, not to. “I can sacrifice my life, my wealth, my kingdom, my everything, but I can never live in peace with the Pandavas.”

• Then begins the war at Kuru’s Field when Duryodhana refuse to give back the Pandavas Kingdom.

• They set some rules but eventually broken.• Arjuna thinks before he acts. Arjuna hesitates

before such killing, wanting to retreat from life and responsibility (tension between dharma and moksha).

• Krishna then reveals his divine, universal nature to Arjuna in a magnificent vision of a multitude of gods, stretching out to infinity.

• Resolved now to perform his duty to his lord, Arjuna leads his troops into battle.

• On the first day, Bhisma leads the Kuaravas army to enter the battle and he wins the war.

• No one cannot fight with Bhisma, because he was blessed with the power to choose his time of death.

• Sikhandi was put into war. Bhisma refuse to fight a woman. Then killed by Bhisma.

• Sikhandi is the reincarnation of Amba, who cursed Bhisma.

• Bhima kills most of the 100 Kauravas, who were demons incarnate.

• The war lasted for 18 days.• Duryodhana choose to fight with Bhima. Bhima

stikes his legs. Duryudhana died.• Krishna reveals that the gods allowed this war to

relieve Earth of her great burden. Duryodhana was the incarnation of Kali, lord of the 4th age.

• Bhisma lay down in the bed of arrows.• Bhishma tells Yudhishthira, “If one fights against

trickery, one should oppose him with trickery. But if one fights lawfully, one should check him with dharma.”

• Krishna Vasudeva departed from this earth thirty-six years after the war.

• Pandavas also leave this world… the Great Journey

• Yudhisthira and his dog arrives at entrance of paradise.

• Draupadi and his brothers died along the way.• The gate keeper tells Yudhisthira to leave his

dog if he wants to enter the paradise.• He refuses to leave aa creature so faithful, and

is permitted to enter, for this was a test, the dog was the god Dharma in disguise.

• In paradise, Yudhisthira saw his enemies are there, smiling and contented.

• He decides to stay with his loved ones, Draupadi in hell, rather than enjoy the delights of heaven with his enemies.

• This too was a test, the “final illusion.”• They are all permitted to enter paradise.

Thank You! :)