The Mahabharata

The Mahabharata is a sacred Hindu epic that chronicles the conflict between two branches of a family: the Kauravas and the Pandavas. This monumental work is approximately three times the length of the Bible, though only about 4,000 lines constitute the main story. The rest comprises additional myths and teachings.

Despite its complexity and intricacy, I find the Mahabharata to be a fascinating subject of study because it addresses nearly all imaginable aspects of life, which we can still relate to today and find guidance in. The following is my summary of the key events of the epic:

The Family Line

Santanu & Ganga

The story begins with Santanu, the king of Hastinapura, who marries Ganga, a goddess disguised as a mortal. Ganga agrees to stay with Santanu on one condition: he must never question her actions. Over the years, Ganga bears seven sons, all of whom she drowns in a river. When their eighth child is born, Santanu, unable to contain his distress, breaks his word and questions Ganga's actions. Consequently, Ganga leaves him but explains that the children were celestial beings cursed to live as humans. To end their punishment, she had agreed to end their mortal lives. The eighth son, Bhishma, is allowed to live.

When Santanu wishes to remarry, his bride demands that their future child be named heir to the throne. To ensure his father's happiness, Bhishma takes a solemn vow never to marry or have children, eliminating any potential rivals for the throne. Impressed by this selfless act, the gods grant Bhishma the power to choose the time of his own death.

Santanu dies prematurely without children by his second wife. Concerned, she turns to her firstborn son from a previous marriage and asks him to help conceive children for the two princesses of Hastinapura. Due to the princesses' reactions (one closed her eyes, and the other turned pale) to his appearance and smell (he had taken a vow of poverty), one son is born blind (Dhritarashtra) and the other pale-skinned (Pandu).

Dhiratashtra & Pandu

As Dhritarashtra is deemed unfit to rule due to his blindness, Pandu becomes the new king of Hastinapura. However, Pandu is cursed after accidentally killing a deer during mating, which was actually a priest in disguise. The curse prevents him from having children, as touching his wives would result in his death. Pandu resigns his throne and retreats to the mountains with his two wives.

Through divine intervention, Pandu's wives bear him five sons: Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, and twins Nakula and Sahadeva. These five become known as the Pandavas, the heroes of the Mahabharata. Years later, Pandu succumbs to the curse when he attempts to embrace one of his wives.

Meanwhile, Dhritarashtra claims the throne despite his blindness. His wife, showing her devotion, blindfolds herself to experience the world as he does. After an unusually long pregnancy, she gives birth to 100 sons, known as the Kauravas. The first-born, Duryodhana, is prophesied to bring hatred and destruction to the world. Vidura urges Dhritarashtra to get rid of Duryodhana, but the king, being weak and indecisive, turns a blind eye (no pun intended) to the advice and is afraid to confront hard decisions.

The Exile

Duryodhana & Yudhishthira: 12 Years of Exile

As the Pandavas and Kauravas grow up under the care of their uncle Bhishma (the one who possesses the ability to choose the day of his death) tensions escalate. Duryodhana, the eldest Kaurava, devises a plan to exploit Yudhishthira's weakness for gambling. He challenges Yudhishthira to a game of dice, which results in Yudhishthira losing everything - his possessions, his kingdom, and even his freedom.

As a consequence, Yudhishthira, his wife Draupadi, and his four brothers are exiled from the kingdom. They must live in the forest in disguise for 12 years, followed by a 13th year in an unknown location - if recognized, they must repeat the 12 years.

Books 3-5 of the Mahabharata describe these 12 years in exile, leading up to the great war. During this time, several significant events occur:

• Arjuna embarks on a journey to the highest mountain in search of celestial weapons. There, he encounters Shiva, who bestows them upon him. Arjuna then spends the next five years mastering the weapons by battling demons.
• Karna, Duryodhana's loyal friend of low birth status, also seeks a powerful weapon. He eventually acquires one capable of killing any being, but it can only be used once.
• In a dramatic turn of events, the four brothers of the Pandavas are killed after drinking water from a poisonous lake. However, Yudhishthira, through his wisdom and virtue, manages to bring them back to life.

The 13th Year of Exile

During the 13th year, the Pandavas and Draupadi find refuge at the court of King Virata, carefully maintaining their disguises. However, events unfold that lead to a confrontation:

• Duryodhana, suspecting the Pandavas' presence, launches an attack on Virata's kingdom.
• Draupadi, eager to provoke war with the Kauravas, points out the disguised Arjuna (posing as an eunuch) as the world's best charioteer. This revelation gives Duryodhana a pretext to refuse to return the kingdom to the Pandavas, claiming they revealed themselves before the agreed-upon time.

As war looms, both Arjuna and Duryodhana seek Krishna's support. Krishna offers Arjuna a choice: either Krishna's entire army or Krishna himself as a non-combatant charioteer. Arjuna chooses Krishna, leaving Duryodhana with the formidable army.

The blind king Dhritarashtra, sensing the imminence of war, pleads with Yudhishthira to avoid conflict. Yudhishthira responds by invoking the concept of dharma (duty), stating that as a warrior, it is his duty to fight. Though he acknowledges the evil nature of war, he recognizes that for the dead, victory and defeat hold no meaning.

Krishna makes a final attempt to prevent the battle by reasoning with Duryodhana. When Duryodhana refuses to listen and instead orders Krishna's arrest, Krishna reveals his divine form, his body flashing like lightning.

At last, Krishna speaks with Karna, revealing to him that he is actually the brother of the Pandavas. Karna, anguished by his mother's abandonment of him as an infant, chooses to fight alongside the Kauravas, even though he foresees their defeat and his own death.

Duryodhana remains obstinate. The war becomes inevitable.

The War: The Bhagavad Gita

The books 5-10, known as the Bhagavad Gita, recount the 18-day war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. This part of the epic is so profound and extensive that it deserves its own separate article.