Unit 6 · The Mahabharata and the Gita

The Mahabharata is an epic poem in Sanskrit. Its name means something like "the great story of the Bharata family." It is often called the longest poem in the world.

Its longest versions have about 100,000 verses. That is about seven times as long as the Iliad and the Odyssey of ancient Greece put together. It is divided into 18 books, called parvas.

The Mahabharata holds a huge family story. Inside it are many smaller stories, teachings and debates. One of them is the Bhagavad Gita, which you will study in the next chapter.

Hindu tradition says the sage Vyasa made the Mahabharata. Vyasa is also a character in the story. He is the grandfather of both the Pandavas and their cousins, the Kauravas.

A famous legend, found in some versions of the first book, tells how the poem was written down. Vyasa needed a scribe. Ganesha agreed, but only if Vyasa never stopped speaking.

Vyasa agreed, with one condition of his own: Ganesha must understand every verse before writing it. When Vyasa needed a rest, he spoke a very hard verse. Ganesha had to stop and think.

Hindu tradition places the Mahabharata war at the end of an ancient age called the Dvapara Yuga. Many Hindus believe the events happened thousands of years ago.

Scholars look at the poem’s language and history. Most think it grew over many centuries, roughly between 400 BCE and 400 CE. Many storytellers added to it over time.

A fair student can name both views. You might say, "Tradition places the war in the Dvapara Yuga. Scholars think the poem grew between about 400 BCE and 400 CE."

The Pandavas are five brothers, the sons of King Pandu. Each one is known for a special quality. Their mother Kunti and stepmother Madri raise them.

Yudhishthira, the eldest, is known for truth and dharma. Bhima is famous for great strength. Arjuna is the best archer. The twins, Nakula and Sahadeva, are known for skill and wisdom.

The brothers are close and loyal. Many Hindus see them as heroes who try to live by dharma. But the epic also shows their mistakes, which makes the story richer.

The Kauravas are the hundred sons of King Dhritarashtra, who is blind. They are cousins of the Pandavas. The eldest Kaurava is Duryodhana. He wants the throne for himself.

Duryodhana is jealous of the Pandavas. He believes the kingdom should belong to him and his brothers. He tries many times to get rid of his cousins. None of his plans succeed.

The epic does not make Duryodhana simple. He is also brave and loyal to his friends. Some readers feel he had real reasons to feel wronged, even if his actions were wrong.

Draupadi is a princess who becomes the wife of the five Pandava brothers. She is proud, clever and brave. Many readers see her as one of the strongest characters in the Mahabharata.

Draupadi speaks her mind. She asks hard questions of kings and elders. When she is treated unjustly, she demands that the wrong be put right. Her words shake the whole court.

Many Hindus honor Draupadi. In parts of South India, she is worshiped as a goddess in her own temples. Writers today still retell the epic from her point of view.

The Sabha Parva, the book of the assembly hall, tells of the dice game. Duryodhana’s uncle Shakuni plays for him. Many tellings say Shakuni’s dice are loaded or his play is tricky.

Yudhishthira keeps betting and losing. He loses his wealth, his kingdom, his brothers, himself and finally Draupadi. She is dragged into the hall and insulted.

Draupadi asks the elders a sharp question: could a man who had already lost himself still bet her? No one gives a clear answer. Many tellings say Krishna protected her honor in the hall.

After the dice game, a second game is played. The Pandavas lose again. Now they must live in the forest for twelve years, then spend one more year hidden in disguise.

If they are found in the thirteenth year, they must start all over again. So they disguise themselves and serve in the court of King Virata. Arjuna even works as a dance teacher.

During the forest years, the Pandavas meet sages and hear many stories. Some of the best-loved stories inside the Mahabharata are told during this exile.

After thirteen years, the Pandavas ask for their kingdom back. Duryodhana refuses. They ask for just five villages. He refuses again. Krishna tries to make peace, but the talks fail.

The two sides meet on the plain of Kurukshetra. The poem says the war lasts eighteen days. Teachers, uncles and cousins face each other. Huge numbers die on both sides.

The Pandavas win, but the victory feels empty. So many loved ones are gone. Many readers see the Mahabharata as a story about the terrible cost of war.

Karna is one of the saddest figures in the epic. He is secretly the Pandavas’ older brother, but he was raised by a charioteer’s family. Duryodhana befriended him when others looked down on him.

Before the war, Karna learns the truth. He could join the Pandavas. But he stays loyal to Duryodhana, who stood by him. He fights against his own brothers.

Was Karna right or wrong? Readers disagree. The epic itself says that dharma is subtle, which means hard to see clearly. That is one reason people still argue about this story.

The Bhagavad Gita means "the song of the Lord." It is found in the sixth book of the Mahabharata, the Bhishma Parva. It has 18 chapters and 700 verses.

The whole Gita is a conversation. It takes place on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, just before the war begins. Arjuna asks questions, and Krishna answers them.

Many Hindus treasure the Gita above almost any other text. It has been translated into English and hundreds of other languages. Many families keep a copy at their home shrine.

Arjuna rides into the middle of the battlefield. He looks at the other army. He sees his uncles, his cousins, his friends and his beloved teacher, Drona.

Arjuna’s body shakes. His mouth goes dry. He tells Krishna he does not want a kingdom if it means killing his own family. He sets down his bow and sits in the chariot.

The first chapter of the Gita is sometimes called "Arjuna’s sorrow." Many readers see Arjuna’s pain as very human. Anyone can feel stuck when every choice seems wrong.

In the Mahabharata, Krishna is Arjuna’s friend and cousin. He agrees not to fight in the war. Instead, he drives Arjuna’s chariot. A charioteer steers the horses.

When Arjuna sits down in despair, Krishna becomes his teacher. Later in the Gita, Krishna says he is God. Many Hindus honor Krishna as an avatar of Vishnu, or as God himself.

Many Hindu pictures show this scene. Krishna holds the reins of white horses and turns to speak. Arjuna listens with his hands folded. Families often hang this picture at home.

One of the most famous verses in the Gita is 2.47. In it, Krishna says Arjuna has a right to his work, but not to its results. He should act without clinging to the reward.

Think of a student who studies hard because learning matters, not only for a prize. Many Hindus read this verse as advice to do good work and let go of worry about results.

Krishna calls this karma yoga, the path of action. Karma means action. In this path, a person does their duty well and offers the results to God, as many Hindus understand it.

Krishna tells Arjuna not to grieve. He teaches that the true self, the atman, is not the body. The body is born and dies, but, the Gita says, the atman does not.

The Gita compares this to changing clothes. As a person throws away worn-out clothes and puts on new ones, the self leaves one body and takes on another (Gita 2.22).

This idea of being born again and again is called samsara. Many Hindus believe in samsara. Other religions have different beliefs about what happens after death.

The Gita describes several paths. One is the path of action. One is the path of knowledge. One is bhakti, the path of loving devotion to God. Many Hindus say the Gita honors all three.

Readers also disagree about the battle. Some read it as a real war and a lesson about duty. Mahatma Gandhi read the battle as a picture of the struggle between good and bad inside each person.

Great Hindu teachers wrote commentaries on the Gita, explaining it in different ways. Today, families, students and leaders around the world still read it and argue about its meaning.

During the Pandavas’ forest exile, a sage tells them many stories. One is about Princess Savitri. She chooses a young man named Satyavan to marry. He lives in the forest with his blind father.

A sage warns her that Satyavan will die in exactly one year. Savitri says she has chosen and will not change her mind. She marries him and lives simply in the forest.

As the day draws near, Savitri fasts and prays. On the last day, she goes with Satyavan into the woods. This is where Yama, the lord of death, comes for him.

When Yama takes Satyavan’s life, Savitri follows him. She speaks wisely about goodness and friendship. Yama is pleased and grants her wishes, but never her husband’s life.

She asks for her father-in-law’s sight and kingdom to be restored. Then she asks to have many children with Satyavan. Yama agrees without thinking. But that wish needs Satyavan alive!

Yama keeps his word and returns Satyavan’s life. Many Hindu women honor Savitri with a yearly fast and prayers for their families. The story is in the Vana Parva.

Another forest story is about King Nala and Queen Damayanti. Nala loses his kingdom to his brother in a game of dice, much like Yudhishthira. Both kings lose everything.

Nala and Damayanti are separated in the forest. Damayanti searches bravely for her husband. Nala, changed in form, works as a charioteer for another king.

In the end, Damayanti finds a clever way to bring Nala back. He wins back his kingdom. The story is told to Yudhishthira to give him hope during his own exile.

The Mahabharata makes a bold claim about itself. It says that what is found in it may be found elsewhere, but what is not found in it is found nowhere.

The epic holds family quarrels, friendship, love, war, grief, and questions about right and wrong. Many readers say they recognize their own lives in its stories.

The Mahabharata has been retold as TV shows, plays, novels and comics. In 1985, the director Peter Brook staged a famous version that ran for about nine hours. People keep finding new meanings in it.