Mahabharata facts for kids

Hindu texts

Śruti Vedas Rig Veda Sama Veda Yajur Veda Atharva Veda Brahmanas Aranyakas Upanishads Smriti Itihasas Mahābhārata Bhagavad Gītā Ramayana Puranas (List) Tantras Sutras (List) Stotras Ashtavakra Gita Gherand Samhita Gita Govinda Hatha Yoga Pradipika

The Mahabharata, that is, the great Bharata, is one of the two most important ancient epics of India, the other being the Ramayana. The Mahabharata was compiled in Ancient India. One of the Indian sages (rishi) named Vyasa is believed to have composed the work. The legend states that god Ganesh wrote the Mahabharata while Vyasa dictated the same in city of Rourkela in Odisha State. It is possibly one of the longest work of its kind in the world. The epic contain about 110,000 couplets in eighteen sections. There is also a 19th section named Harivamsha. The Bhagavadgita, a dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna, is a part of the Mahabharata.

Sage Vyasa taught this epic to his son Suka and his students Vaisampayana and others. King Janamejaya, son of Parikshit, and the grandson of the heroes of the epic, performed a great sacrifice (yagna). The epic was retold by Vaisampayana to Janamejaya at the advice of Vyasa. Later on, an other sage Suta retold the Mahabharata similar to Vaisampayana to Janamejaya, to Saunaka and others, during a sacrifice performed by Saunaka in Naimisaranya, which is near Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh.

The Mahabharata in its eighteen sections deals with a number of topics. These topics cover a number of aspects of Hinduism, Hindu mythology, ethics, and the Hindu way of life. One more section is called Harvamsha.

Noted below are few words about the eighteen sections of the Mahabharata. In Mahabharata, these sections are called parvan. A parvan means a book. The names of all parvas or books of the Mahabharata are noted below:

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The Pandavas

Kunti wants to fulfill her maternal expectations, but she has no man. She recollects the moment when her first son Karna was conceived from an arcane mantra one sage had given her once. Surya, the Sun God, appeared to her then. Thus, Kunti remembers her secret mantra and gives birth to the five sons, which are referred to as the Pandavas.

Yudhisthira's father was god Yama; Bhima's father was Vayu, Arjuna's father was Indra. Then it was Madri who gave birth to two other sons - the twins, whose fathers were Ashwins (divine twins). Madri's sons are Nakula and Sahadeva. These all are the five Pandavas

Images for kids

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  Krishna and Arjuna at Kurukshetra, 18th–19th-century painting.

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  Modern depiction of Vyasa narrating the Mahābhārata to Ganesha at the Murudeshwara temple, Karnataka.

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  Sauti recites the slokas of the Mahabharata.

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  Vyasa Reviewing Mahabharata

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  The snake sacrifice of Janamejaya

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  Map of some Painted Grey Ware (PGW) sites.

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  Draupadi with her five husbands – the Pandavas. The central figure is Yudhishthira; the two on the bottom are Bhima and Arjuna. Nakula and Sahadeva, the twins, are standing. Painting by Raja Ravi Varma, c. 1900.

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  Arjuna piercing the eye of the fish as depicted in Chennakesava Temple built by Hoysala Empire

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  Draupadi humiliated

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  A scene from the Mahābhārata war, Angkor Wat: A black stone relief depicting several men wearing a crown and a dhoti, fighting with spears, swords, and bows. A chariot with half the horse out of the frame is seen in the middle.

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  Gandhari, blindfolded, supporting Dhrtarashtra and following Kunti when Dhritarashtra became old and infirm and retired to the forest. A miniature painting from a 16th-century manuscript of part of the Razmnama, a Persian translation of the Mahabharata

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  Bhishma on his death-bed of arrows with the Pandavas and Krishna. Folio from the Razmnama (1761–1763), Persian translation of the Mahabharata, commissioned by Mughal emperor Akbar. The Pandavas are dressed in Persian armour and robes.

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  The Pandavas and Krishna in an act of the Javanese wayang wong performance

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  Krishna as portrayed in Yakshagana from Karnataka which is based largely on stories of Mahabharata

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  Depiction of wedding procession of Lord Neminatha. The enclosure shows the animals that are to be slaughtered for food for weddings. Overcome with Compassion for animals, Neminatha refused to marry and renounced his kingdom to become a Shramana

See also

In Spanish: Mahabharata para niños