Knowra Mahabharata Mahabharata The Mahabharata is an ancient Sanskrit epic centered on a dynastic conflict between the Pandavas and Kauravas, interwoven with teachings, legends, and the Bhagavad Gita.
Pandavas : The five brothers—Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva—who contend for the Kuru kingdom. Their exile, alliances, and return drive the epic’s central conflict.
Dice Game in the Mahabharata : A rigged gambling match in which Yudhishthira loses his kingdom, brothers, and Draupadi. The game converts courtly rivalry into exile and a public humiliation that demands redress.
Vyasa : A sage credited in Indian tradition with composing the Mahabharata and arranging the Vedas. The epic presents Vyasa as both its author and a participant in its family history.
Dharmaśāstra : A genre of Sanskrit texts that discuss law, social duties, and religious conduct. The epic’s debates about duty intersect with the normative concerns of this tradition.
Ramayana : An ancient Sanskrit epic centered on Rama’s exile, the abduction of Sita, and her rescue from Ravana. Its more focused quest narrative contrasts with the Mahabharata’s sprawling dynastic story.
Kauravas : The hundred sons of Dhritarashtra, led by Duryodhana, who oppose the Pandavas. Their rivalry with their cousins turns a succession dispute into war.
Draupadi : The shared wife of the five Pandavas and a central figure in the Mahabharata. Her treatment at the Kaurava court exposes the limits of law and honor.
Sanskrit Epic Poetry : A literary tradition of long Sanskrit narratives, especially the Mahabharata and Ramayana. The Mahabharata is one of this tradition’s two foundational epics.
Bhagavata Purana : A Sanskrit Purana devoted especially to devotion to Krishna and accounts of his life. Its Krishna traditions show how epic characters developed across later Hindu literature.
Iliad : An ancient Greek epic poem centered on Achilles and a brief period of the Trojan War. Both epics depict war, but the Mahabharata embeds a far wider range of teachings and stories.
Show all 27