The great epic of the Bharatas · Composed by Vyasa
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata on one page: what it is, its key facts, all 18 parvas in a line each, and 14 famous shlokas in Sanskrit with plain English and Hindi meanings.
- Composed by
- Vyasa
- Krishna Dvaipayana, in tradition
- Length
- about 100,000
- shlokas, in its longest versions
- Books
- 18 parvas
- 1,995 chapters in the Critical Edition
- Inside it
- Bhagavad Gita
- in the Bhishma Parva
18 parvas · 1,995 chapters · each bar as tall as its parva
What the Mahabharata is
The Mahabharata, “the great story of the Bharatas”, is the longer of India’s two great Sanskrit epics. At its heart is a quarrel between two branches of one royal family, the five Pandava brothers and their hundred Kaurava cousins, over the throne of Hastinapura.
The quarrel leads from a rigged game of dice to thirteen years of exile and, at last, to an eighteen-day war at Kurukshetra in which almost everyone is killed. Around that story the epic gathers hundreds of others, and long teachings on duty, kingship, love, grief and freedom, among them the Bhagavad Gita.
It matters because it does not make dharma simple. Good people make hard choices and sometimes wrong ones, and the epic asks what is right when every path costs something. Hindus have long called it the fifth Veda, and its stories are still told, acted and argued over in homes and temples across India and beyond.
Key facts
- Who composed it?
- Tradition says the sage Vyasa, also called Krishna Dvaipayana, who is himself grandfather to both the Pandavas and the Kauravas. As a well-known tradition tells it, Vyasa dictated it and Ganesha wrote it down, on the condition that Vyasa never pause, while Ganesha had to understand each verse before writing it. The Ganesha story is in many printed editions but not in the Critical Edition.
- When was it composed?
- Scholars see it as growing over centuries. Its oldest parts are thought to go back to around 400 BCE, most of it was probably put together between about the 3rd century BCE and the 3rd century CE, and it reached its final form around the 4th century CE. Tradition places the war at the end of the Dvapara Yuga, shortly before the Kali Yuga began.
- How long is it?
- It is often called the longest epic poem in the world: about 100,000 shlokas in its longest versions, roughly ten times the Iliad and the Odyssey together and four times the Ramayana. (Some oral epics, such as the Kyrgyz Manas, are longer by some counts.)
- What is the Harivamsha?
- An appendix, or khila, to the 18 parvas. It tells the story of Krishna’s family and of his birth and childhood in Vrindavan, which the main epic leaves out, and is printed separately in the Critical Edition.
- What is the Critical Edition?
- Between 1919 and 1966 scholars at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI) in Pune compared manuscripts from across India and beyond to rebuild the oldest text they could support. It runs to 19 volumes and about 13,000 pages, and its verse numbers are the ones scholars use. The chapter counts and verse numbers on this page follow it.
- How long did the war last?
- 18 days, between 18 armies, eleven on the Kaurava side and seven on the Pandava side. Bhishma led the Kauravas for ten days, Drona for five, Karna for two, and Shalya for half of the last day, which ended with the duel between Bhima and Duryodhana.
- Who tells the story?
- It is a story inside a story. Vyasa’s pupil Vaishampayana first recites it to King Janamejaya, Arjuna’s great-grandson, at his snake sacrifice. The bard Ugrashravas Sauti, who heard it there, retells it to the sage Shaunaka and others in the Naimisha forest. Within it, Sanjaya describes the war to the blind king Dhritarashtra.
- Where is the Bhagavad Gita in it?
- In the Bhishma Parva, the sixth book, chapters 23 to 40 in the Critical Edition, just before the fighting begins. The Vishnu Sahasranama, the thousand names of Vishnu, is also in the epic, in the Anushasana Parva.
The 18 parvas
- 1225 chapters
Adi Parva The beginning
How the story came to be told, the births of the Kuru princes, and the rivalry between the Pandavas and their Kaurava cousins.
- 272 chapters
Sabha Parva The assembly hall
Yudhishthira loses his kingdom, his brothers and Draupadi in a rigged game of dice, and the Pandavas are sent into exile.
- 3299 chapters
Vana Parva The forest
Twelve years in the forest, full of stories told to the brothers, among them Nala and Damayanti, Savitri and the Yaksha’s questions.
- 467 chapters
Virata Parva At King Virata’s court
The thirteenth year, lived in disguise at King Virata’s court, ends when Arjuna drives off a Kaurava raid.
- 5197 chapters
Udyoga Parva The effort for peace
Both sides gather allies, and Krishna goes to Hastinapura to make peace, but Duryodhana will not give up even five villages.
- 6117 chapters
Bhishma Parva The book of Bhishma
The war begins, Krishna speaks the Bhagavad Gita, and after ten days Bhishma falls onto a bed of arrows.
- 7173 chapters
Drona Parva The book of Drona
Drona leads the Kauravas; young Abhimanyu dies inside the wheel formation, and Drona is killed after a half-truth about his son.
- 869 chapters
Karna Parva The book of Karna
Karna leads the Kaurava army for two days and is killed by Arjuna when his chariot wheel sinks into the earth.
- 964 chapters
Shalya Parva The book of Shalya
On the last day Shalya leads and falls, and Bhima breaks Duryodhana’s thigh in a duel with maces.
- 1018 chapters
Sauptika Parva The sleeping warriors
Ashvatthama attacks the Pandava camp at night and kills its sleeping warriors, among them Draupadi’s sons.
- 1127 chapters
Stri Parva The women
Gandhari, Kunti and the women of both sides mourn their dead on the battlefield, and Gandhari curses Krishna.
- 12353 chapters
Shanti Parva Peace
Grieving Yudhishthira is crowned, and Bhishma, on his bed of arrows, teaches him the duties of a king and the path to freedom.
- 13154 chapters
Anushasana Parva Instructions
Bhishma’s teaching goes on, on giving, duty and devotion, with the Vishnu Sahasranama, and then he leaves his body.
- 1496 chapters
Ashvamedhika Parva The horse sacrifice
Yudhishthira performs the horse sacrifice, Arjuna follows the horse across the land, and Krishna teaches the Anugita.
- 1547 chapters
Ashramavasika Parva Life in the hermitage
Dhritarashtra, Gandhari, Kunti and Vidura retire to the forest, where the old king and the two queens later die in a fire.
- 169 chapters
Mausala Parva The clubs
Thirty-six years after the war the Yadavas destroy one another in a drunken brawl, Krishna leaves the world, and the sea takes Dvaraka.
- 173 chapters
Mahaprasthanika Parva The great journey
The Pandavas and Draupadi walk toward the Himalayas and fall one by one; Yudhishthira will not enter heaven without his faithful dog.
- 185 chapters
Svargarohana Parva The ascent to heaven
In heaven Yudhishthira chooses to stay with his brothers in hell, passes this last test of dharma, and is united with his family.
14 famous shlokas
Sanskrit, English letters, and the meaning in English and Hindi
- Adi Parva
Narayanam namaskritya The opening prayer
नारायणं नमस्कृत्य नरं चैव नरोत्तमम्।
देवीं सरस्वतीं चैव ततो जयमुदीरयेत्॥Narayanam namaskritya naram chaiva narottamam,
Devim sarasvatim chaiva tato jayam udirayet.Bowing first to Narayana, to Nara, the best of men, and to the goddess Sarasvati, one should then recite the Jaya, “the Victory”.
पहले नारायण को, नरों में श्रेष्ठ नर को और देवी सरस्वती को प्रणाम करके, तब ‘जय’ नाम के इस ग्रन्थ का पाठ करना चाहिए।
It is chanted before any reading of the epic, and keeps its oldest name, Jaya; Nara and Narayana are often seen as Arjuna and Krishna.
- 1.56.33
Yad ihasti tad anyatra What is here is everywhere
धर्मे चार्थे च कामे च मोक्षे च भरतर्षभ।
यदिहास्ति तदन्यत्र यन्नेहास्ति न तत्क्वचित्॥Dharme charthe cha kame cha mokshe cha Bharatarshabha,
Yad ihasti tad anyatra yan nehasti na tat kvachit.On dharma, wealth, desire and freedom, best of the Bharatas: what is found here may be found elsewhere, but what is not here is found nowhere.
हे भरतश्रेष्ठ, धर्म, अर्थ, काम और मोक्ष के विषय में जो यहाँ है, वह दूसरी जगह भी मिल सकता है; पर जो यहाँ नहीं है, वह कहीं नहीं है।
The epic’s own claim to hold all of life, said by Vaishampayana at the start and repeated at the very end (18.5.38).
- 3.297.41
Mata gurutara bhumeh The Yaksha’s questions
माता गुरुतरा भूमेः पिता उच्चतरश्च खात्।
मनः शीघ्रतरं वायोश्चिन्ता बहुतरी नृणाम्॥Mata gurutara bhumeh pita uchchatarash cha khat,
Manah shighrataram vayosh chinta bahutari nrinam.A mother weighs more than the earth; a father stands higher than the sky. The mind is swifter than the wind, and nothing grows so thick in people as worry.
माता पृथ्वी से भी भारी है, पिता आकाश से भी ऊँचा है। मन हवा से भी तेज़ है, और मनुष्यों में चिन्ता से अधिक कुछ नहीं बढ़ता।
Yudhishthira’s answer to the Yaksha at the lake is the line most children learn about honouring their parents.
- Vana Parva
Ahany ahani bhutani The greatest wonder
अहन्यहनि भूतानि गच्छन्तीह यमालयम्।
शेषाः स्थावरमिच्छन्ति किमाश्चर्यमतः परम्॥Ahany ahani bhutani gachchhantiha yamalayam,
Sheshah sthavaram ichchhanti kim ashcharyam atah param.Day after day, living beings go to the house of Yama, yet those who are left behave as if they will stay forever. What could be more wondrous than that?
हर दिन प्राणी यमराज के घर जाते हैं, फिर भी जो बचे हैं वे ऐसे जीना चाहते हैं मानो सदा रहेंगे। इससे बड़ा आश्चर्य और क्या होगा?
Yudhishthira’s answer to “What is the greatest wonder?” is quoted at funerals and wherever people forget that life is short.
- Vana Parva
Dharma eva hato hanti Dharma protects its protector
धर्म एव हतो हन्ति धर्मो रक्षति रक्षितः।
तस्माद्धर्मं न त्यजामि मा नो धर्मो हतोऽवधीत्॥Dharma eva hato hanti dharmo rakshati rakshitah,
Tasmad dharmam na tyajami ma no dharmo hato vadhit.Dharma destroyed destroys; dharma protected protects. So I will not abandon dharma, lest dharma, destroyed, destroy us.
नष्ट किया गया धर्म नष्ट कर देता है, और रक्षा किया गया धर्म रक्षा करता है। इसलिए मैं धर्म को नहीं छोड़ता, कहीं नष्ट हुआ धर्म हमें नष्ट न कर दे।
Its first line, “dharmo rakshati rakshitah”, is a motto of many schools and institutions; Manusmriti 8.15 has the same line.
- 3.297.71
Anrishamsyam paro dharmah Kindness is the highest dharma
आनृशंस्यं परो धर्मः परमार्थाच्च मे मतम्।
आनृशंस्यं चिकीर्षामि नकुलो यक्ष जीवतु॥Anrishamsyam paro dharmah paramarthach cha me matam,
Anrishamsyam chikirshami Nakulo yaksha jivatu.Kindness is the highest dharma, higher to my mind than the greatest gain. I choose to be kind: let Nakula live, Yaksha.
मेरे मत में दया सबसे बड़ा धर्म है, सबसे बड़े लाभ से भी ऊपर। मैं दया ही करना चाहता हूँ: हे यक्ष, नकुल जीवित हो जाए।
Offered one brother’s life, Yudhishthira picks his stepmother Madri’s son over his own mighty brothers, and so wins back all four.
- 5.33.66
Shad doshah purusheneha Six faults to give up
षड्दोषाः पुरुषेणेह हातव्या भूतिमिच्छता।
निद्रा तन्द्री भयं क्रोध आलस्यं दीर्घसूत्रता॥Shad doshah purusheneha hatavya bhutim ichchhata,
Nidra tandri bhayam krodha alasyam dirghasutrata.Anyone who wants to do well in life should give up six faults: too much sleep, drowsiness, fear, anger, laziness and putting things off.
जो जीवन में उन्नति चाहता है, उसे छह दोष छोड़ देने चाहिए: अधिक नींद, ऊँघ, डर, क्रोध, आलस और काम को टालते रहना।
From Vidura’s night-long advice to King Dhritarashtra, the Vidura Niti, it is still taught to students as plain good sense.
- 5.35.49
Na sa sabha yatra na santi vriddhah No truth without honesty
न सा सभा यत्र न सन्ति वृद्धा न ते वृद्धा ये न वदन्ति धर्मम्।
नासौ धर्मो यत्र न सत्यमस्ति न तत्सत्यं यच्छलेनानुविद्धम्॥Na sa sabha yatra na santi vriddha, na te vriddha ye na vadanti dharmam,
Nasau dharmo yatra na satyam asti, na tat satyam yach chhalenanuviddham.It is no assembly where there are no elders; they are no elders who do not speak up for dharma; it is no dharma where there is no truth; and it is no truth that is mixed with deceit.
वह सभा सभा नहीं जहाँ बड़े-बुज़ुर्ग न हों; वे बुज़ुर्ग बुज़ुर्ग नहीं जो धर्म की बात न कहें; वह धर्म धर्म नहीं जिसमें सत्य न हो; और वह सत्य सत्य नहीं जिसमें छल मिला हो।
Vidura’s words recall the dice hall, where the elders kept silent as Draupadi was shamed; it is often quoted to councils and courts.
- 11.2.3
Sarve kshayanta nichayah Every meeting ends in parting
सर्वे क्षयान्ता निचयाः पतनान्ताः समुच्छ्रयाः।
संयोगा विप्रयोगान्ता मरणान्तं हि जीवितम्॥Sarve kshayanta nichayah patanantah samuchchhrayah,
Samyoga viprayoganta maranantam hi jivitam.Everything gathered is in the end scattered; everything raised up in the end falls; every meeting ends in parting, and every life ends in death.
जो कुछ इकट्ठा होता है वह अन्त में बिखर जाता है, जो ऊँचा उठता है वह अन्त में गिरता है, हर मिलन का अन्त बिछड़ना है, और हर जीवन का अन्त मृत्यु है।
Vidura says it to comfort Dhritarashtra after the war, and it is read in grief as a gentle word on letting go.
- 11.17.6
Yato dharmas tato jayah Where dharma is, there is victory
इत्युक्ते जानती सर्वमहं स्वं व्यसनागमम्।
अब्रुवं पुरुषव्याघ्र यतो धर्मस्ततो जयः॥Ity ukte janati sarvam aham svam vyasanagamam,
Abruvam purushavyaghra yato dharmas tato jayah.When he asked this, I already knew all the sorrow that was coming to me, and still I said, tiger among men: “Where there is dharma, there is victory.”
जब उसने यह माँगा, तब मैं जानती थी कि मुझ पर कैसा दुख आने वाला है, फिर भी मैंने कहा, हे पुरुषसिंह: ‘जहाँ धर्म है, वहीं विजय है।’
Gandhari tells Krishna how she answered her son Duryodhana’s plea for a blessing; “yato dharmas tato jayah” is the motto of India’s Supreme Court.
- 12.288.20
Na manushach chhreshthataram Nothing is higher than a human being
नाहं शप्तः प्रतिशपामि किंचिद्दमं द्वारं ह्यमृतस्येह वेद्मि।
गुह्यं ब्रह्म तदिदं वो ब्रवीमि न मानुषाच्छ्रेष्ठतरं हि किञ्चित्॥Naham shaptah pratishapami kinchid damam dvaram hy amritasyeha vedmi,
Guhyam brahma tad idam vo bravimi na manushach chhreshthataram hi kinchit.When I am cursed, I do not curse back, for I know that self-control is the door to immortality. I tell you this secret teaching: there is nothing higher than a human being.
जब कोई मुझे शाप देता है, तो मैं बदले में शाप नहीं देता, क्योंकि मैं जानता हूँ कि संयम ही अमरता का द्वार है। मैं तुम्हें यह गुप्त ज्ञान बताता हूँ: मनुष्य से श्रेष्ठ कुछ भी नहीं है।
The divine swan’s teaching, told by Bhishma, is loved for its high view of human life: a human birth is the best chance to rise.
- 13.114.8
Na tat parasya sandadyat Do not do to others
न तत्परस्य संदद्यात्प्रतिकूलं यदात्मनः।
एष सङ्क्षेपतो धर्मः कामादन्यः प्रवर्तते॥Na tat parasya sandadyat pratikulam yad atmanah,
Esha sankshepato dharmah kamad anyah pravartate.Do not do to another what you would find hurtful if it were done to you. That, in short, is dharma; anything else comes from selfish desire.
जो बात तुम्हें अपने लिए बुरी लगे, वह दूसरों के साथ मत करो। संक्षेप में यही धर्म है; इसके अलावा जो कुछ है, वह स्वार्थ भरी इच्छा से होता है।
This is the Mahabharata’s golden rule, the whole of dharma in one line, given by Brihaspati to Yudhishthira.
- 13.117.37
Ahimsa paramo dharmah Non-violence is the highest dharma
अहिंसा परमो धर्मस्तथाहिंसा परो दमः।
अहिंसा परमं दानमहिंसा परमं तपः॥Ahimsa paramo dharmas tathahimsa paro damah,
Ahimsa paramam danam ahimsa paramam tapah.Not harming any being is the highest dharma; it is the highest self-control, the highest gift and the highest discipline.
किसी भी प्राणी को हानि न पहुँचाना सबसे बड़ा धर्म है; यही सबसे बड़ा संयम, सबसे बड़ा दान और सबसे बड़ा तप है।
Bhishma’s praise of non-violence, close to Gandhi’s heart; the line “dharma himsa tathaiva cha” often added to it is not in the epic.
- 18.5.49
Urdhvabahur viraumy esha Vyasa’s cry
ऊर्ध्वबाहुर्विरौम्येष न च कश्चिच्छृणोति मे।
धर्मादर्थश्च कामश्च स किमर्थं न सेव्यते॥Urdhvabahur viraumy esha na cha kashchich chhrinoti me,
Dharmad arthash cha kamash cha sa kimartham na sevyate.With my arms raised I cry out, and no one listens: wealth and pleasure both come from dharma, so why will no one follow dharma?
मैं दोनों हाथ उठाकर पुकारता हूँ, पर कोई मेरी नहीं सुनता: धर्म से ही धन और सुख भी मिलते हैं, तो लोग धर्म का पालन क्यों नहीं करते?
Near the very end, Vyasa sums up his whole epic in this cry; it belongs to the four verses the text calls the Bharata Savitri.
Questions
Who wrote the Mahabharata?
Tradition says the sage Vyasa composed it, with Ganesha as his scribe, and that his pupil Vaishampayana first recited it. Scholars see it as the work of many poets and reciters over several centuries, gathered around an older story of the Bharata war.
How many verses are in the Mahabharata?
About 100,000 shlokas in its longest versions, and many manuscripts speak of it as a work of a hundred thousand verses. The Critical Edition, which leaves out passages found in only some manuscripts, is shorter, and has 18 parvas in 1,995 chapters.
Is the Bhagavad Gita part of the Mahabharata?
Yes. It is in the Bhishma Parva, the sixth of the 18 books, at the moment the armies face each other at Kurukshetra. It is read so widely on its own that many people do not know it sits inside the epic.
Is “Ahimsa paramo dharmah, dharma himsa tathaiva cha” in the Mahabharata?
Only the first half. “Ahimsa paramo dharmah”, non-violence is the highest dharma, appears several times, for example in the Anushasana Parva (13.117.37). The second half, “and violence in defence of dharma too”, is a modern addition that is not found in the Sanskrit text.
How long did the Kurukshetra war last?
Eighteen days. The epic counts the days by its commanders: ten under Bhishma, five under Drona, two under Karna, and the last under Shalya. The night raid on the Pandava camp followed at the end of the eighteenth day.
Is it unlucky to keep the Mahabharata at home?
Some families believe it brings quarrels into the house, but that is a folk belief, not a teaching of the text. The epic itself ends by blessing those who read or hear it, and many homes keep it beside the Ramayana and the Gita.
Where should a beginner start?
Start with a good retelling in your own language to learn the story, then read a few famous passages in full: the Yaksha’s questions in the Vana Parva, the Vidura Niti in the Udyoga Parva (chapters 33 to 40), the Bhagavad Gita, and Bhishma’s teachings in the Shanti Parva.