INTRODUCTION

The Mahabharata (composed between 300 BC and 300 AD) has the honor of
being the Iongest epic in worId Iiterature, 100,000 2-Iine stanzas (aIthough
the most recent criticaI edition edits this down to about 88,000), making it
eight times as Iong as Homer's Iliad and Odyssey together, and over 3
times as Iong as the BibIe (Chaitanya vii). According to the Narasimhan
version, onIy about 4000 Iines reIate to the main story; the rest contain
additionaI myths and teachings. In other words, the Mahabharata
resembIes a Iong journey with many side roads and detours. It is said that
"Whatever is here is found eIsewhere. But whatever is not here is nowhere
eIse."
The name means "great [story of the] Bharatas." Bharata was an earIy
ancestor of both the Pandavas and Kauravas who fight each other in a
great war, but the word is aIso used genericaIIy for the Indian race, so the
Mahabharata sometimes is referred to as "the great story of India."
The work is divided into 18 books (concerning an 18-day war among 18
armies). The main narrative concerning the war is contained in the first ten
books.

Pronunciation guide of the main characters:
Vyasa [Vee-YA-sha]: narrator of the story and father of Pandu and
Dhritarashtra
BHISH-ma: haIf-uncIe by marriage of Pandu and Dhritarashtra
Dhri-ta-RASH-tra: bIind king, father of Duryodhana and the Kauravas
AN-dhari: wife of Dhritarashtra
KUN-ti: wife of Pandu and mother to the five Pandavas and Karna
Yu-DHISH-thira: Ieader of the Pandavas, rightfuI heir to the throne
BHI-ma: strongest of the Pandava brothers
AR-juna: mightiest of warriors
NA-kuIa and Saha-DE-va: Pandava twins
DRAU-pa-di: wife to the five Pandavas
Du-ry-ODH-ana: Ieader of the Kauravas
Duh-SA-sa-na: brother to Duryodhana
KRISH-na: supporter of the Pandavas and avatar of Vishnu
DRO-na: teacher of the Pandavas and Kauravas
KAR-na: warrior, secret son of Kunti, aIIy of the Kauravas

Note: quotations throughout are from versions by C. V. Narasimhan [CN],
Krishna Dharma [KD] or the pIay by Jean-CIaude Carriere. Portions of the
foIIowing summary have been adapted from David WiIIiams, !eter Brook
and the Mahabharata: Critical !erspectives, 1991.

PART ONE: THE AME OF DICE
In the first two books of the Mahabharata, we Iearn the background of the
Bharatas (aIso caIIed the Kurus) Ieading up to the confIict between the five
sons of Pandu and their cousins the Kauravas. This story is toId by the
sage Vyasa, whose name came to mean the "compiIer." (ActuaIIy, the
author of the epic is unknown, probabIy many authors over centuries.)
Vyasa's mother is Satyavati, whose name means truth, so he is the "son of
truth." In teIIing his story to a descendant of the Pandavas, Vyasa says, "If
you Iisten carefuIIy, at the end you'II be someone eIse." (pIay) Vyasa
appears infrequentIy throughout the story, giving advice and aIso fathering
Pandu and Dhritarashtra.
Ancestors of the Pandavas and Kauravas
Santanu, king of Hastinapura, was married to the beautifuI anga, who was
the river goddess in disguise. She agreed to marry him as Iong as he never
questioned her actions. Over the years they had seven sons, but anga
threw each one into the river. Santanu was distressed but he kept his
promise. FinaIIy, when their eighth son was born, Santanu asked his wife
who she reaIIy was and why she had done this. anga reveaIed herseIf and
toId that her chiIdren had once been ceIestiaI beings, but were cursed to
become human. She had ended their "punishment" quickIy by drowning
them immediateIy at birth. But since Santanu had questioned her actions,
she Ieft him, aIong with his Iast son Devarata.
Devarata is better known by his Iater name Bhishma. He receives this
name, which means "of terribIe resoIve," after vowing never to marry or
have chiIdren. His father wanted to marry again (Satyavati, mother of
Vyasa), but the conditions of the marriage were that the second wife wouId
be the mother of a king someday. Honoring his father's wishes, Bhishma
makes his vow, guaranteeing that neither he nor a son of his wiII chaIIenge
the cIaim to the throne.
Years Iater, one of Bhishma's haIf-brothers dies in battIe, and the other
becomes oId enough to marry. On behaIf of his haIf-brother, Bhishma
abducts three sisters and fights off aII their suitors. On returning home, he
Iearns that one of the sisters, Amba, had aIready chosen a suitor. Bhishma
aIIows her to Ieave, but her betrothed does not want her any more. Now
abandoned, she returns to Bhishma and demands that he marry her. Ever
faithfuI to his vow, Bhishma refuses. Amba then vows that one day she wiII
kiII him, even though the gods have granted Bhishma the power to choose
the day of his death, because of his vow.
The importance and power of vows are evident throughout the epic. Once
stated, a vow becomes the truth and must be fuIfiIIed, no matter what eIse
may happen. When his father and both his haIf-brothers die prematureIy
without chiIdren, Bhishma refuses to marry his step-brother's widows
(Amba's sisters). He wiII not reIinquish his vow, even though his ceIibacy
makes no difference anymore.
The young princesses must be given chiIdren, but who can father them?
There are no other men in the famiIy besides Bhishma, and he has
renounced women. So Satyavati, the king's second wife, asks her first-born
son, Vyasa the poet, to give chiIdren to the two princesses. He goes to
them, but the princesses disIike him, for as an ascetic who has taken a vow
of poverty, he is fiIthy and smeIIs. He expIains to them that they wiII each
bear a son: however, the first wiII be born bIind because the first princess
cIosed her eyes when seeing him, and the second wiII be paIe-skinned
because the second princess became
paIe at his touch. The bIind son is caIIed
Dhritarashtra, the paIe one is Pandu.
Vyasa has a third son Vidura by a
handmaiden.
As his brother is bIind and unfit for the
throne, Pandu becomes the new king of
Hastinapura. One day whiIe hunting in
the forest, Pandu shoots a gazeIIe in the
act of mating. The gazeIIe was actuaIIy a brahmin priest in disguise, who
curses him saying that shouId Pandu make Iove to either of his two wives
(Kunti and Madri), he wiII die instantIy. Knowing he can never have
chiIdren, Pandu resigns the throne, and goes to Iive with his wives in the
mountains. Kunti, his first wife, informs him that she possesses a magic
power. By reciting a secret formuIa, she can invoke a god at wiII and have a
chiId by him. The mantra's power is put to the test, and three sons are born
to her: Yudhishthira, the first-born, truthfuI and virtuous, son of the god
Dharma; Bhima, the strongest of men, son of Vayu, god of the wind; and
Arjuna, an irresistibIe warrior, son of Indra. Madri, Pandu's second wife,
makes use of this power too. She gives birth to twin sons, NakuIa and
Sahadeva. Thanks to his two wives, Pandu now has five sons directIy
descended from the gods, the Pandavas, the heroes of the epic.
Years Iater, Pandu one day surrenders to his passion for Madri. Fearing for
his Iife, Madri tries to push him away but her struggIes onIy infIame his
desire more. Once they make Iove, Pandu faIIs dead, fuIfiIIing the curse,
and Madri, devoted to him aIways, joins him on the funeraI pyre.
MeanwhiIe, Dhritarashtra has become king, despite his bIindness. He weds
andhari in an arranged marriage. When she Iearns of her husband's
infirmity, she decides to cover her eyes with a bIindfoId which she wiII
never remove, to join him in his worId of darkness. Then, after an
abnormaIIy Iong pregnancy of two years, she gives birth to a baII of fIesh.
Vyasa teIIs her to spIit up the baII into 100 parts and put them in jars of
ghee (Indian butter); in this way she becomes the mother of one hundred
sons, the Kauravas.
The first born is caIIed Duryodhana. Sinister omens of vioIence greet his
arrivaI into the worId: jackaIs howI, strong winds bIow, fires rage through
the city. Dhritarashtra worries about what aII this means. Vidura teIIs him
that his first son brings hate and destruction into the worId. He wiII one day
destroy their race. Vidura urges the king to get rid of the chiId, but
Dhritarashtra ignores his advice.
Dhritarashtra is a weak ruIer. He aIIows physicaI bIindness to become a
refusaI to face reaIity and unwiIIingness to confront hard decisions, being
easiIy Ied by Duryodhana in Iater years. He continuaIIy bIames fate,
excusing his own inaction: "IrrevocabIe were aII the things that have
happened. Who couId have stopped them? What then can I do? Destiny is
sureIy aII-powerfuI" [KD 69]. But one of Dhritarashtra's advisors teIIs him:
"O king, sureIy a man who meets with caIamity as a resuIt of his own acts
shouId not bIame the gods, destiny, or others. Each of us receives the just
resuIts of our actions." [KD 538]
rowing RivaIry between the Pandavas and the Kauravas
Bhishma, now an oId man, takes the responsibiIity of raising the two sets
of cousins. They fight constantIy, and even try to kiII each other. One day a
teacher and master of arms, Drona, appears and offers his services to train
the boys. He has a secret mission: to avenge an insuIt made by a former
friend. When young, Drona was cIose to Drupada, but years Iater, when
Drona went to see his chiIdhood companion, now a great king, he was
scorned by Drupada because "onIy equaIs can be friends." As payment for
his training, Drona asks the Pandavas to avenge him. Being mighty
warriors, they conquer Drupada's kingdom, and hand it over to Drona. He
promptIy gives his former friend haIf his kingdom back, saying "now we
are equaIs."
O For revenge, Drupada has chiIdren by sorcery, born out of fIames:
son Dhrishtadyumna is fated to kiII Drona; an oracIe says daughter
Draupadi wiII "bring destruction on an unrighteous ruIer;" a third
chiId Sikhandi is Amba reborn.
O ater in the war, Drona and Bhishma wiII fight on the side of the
Kauravas not so much out of IoyaIty but because their mortaI
enemies (Dhrishtadyumna and Sikhandi) fight with the Pandavas.
Drona recognizes Arjuna's superiority as a master of arms, especiaIIy the
bow, and favors him with speciaI training. In a contest of skiII, he teIIs each
of the Pandavas to strike a target, the eye of a wooden bird in a tree. He
asks each one in turn, "O prince, teII me what you see." One by one they
respond, "I see my teacher, my brothers, the tree and the bird." Drona teIIs
them, "Then you wiII not hit the mark." Arjuna, however, says he sees onIy
the bird, and in fact, onIy the eye of the bird. Thus, focused on his target
aIone, he strikes with totaI accuracy. Drona rewards Arjuna by giving him a
supreme weapon, the Brahmasira, onIy to be used against ceIestiaI beings,
or eIse it wiII destroy the worId.
Drona stages a tournament to dispIay aII the Pandavas' skiIIs, but a
stranger appears who chaIIenges Arjuna and equaIs him in archery. This is
Karna, who the reader Iearns is Kunti's first son by Surya the sun god,
whom she bore before she married Pandu and abandoned in a basket on
the river (Iike Moses). Thus Karna is the oIder brother of the Pandavas.
However, Karna does not know his reaI mother, being raised by a chariot
driver. The Pandavas mock his IowIy sociaI status and wiII not fight with
someone who is not of royaI birth, but their cousin Duryodhana sees the
chance to make an aIIy. Ignoring the strict ruIes of caste, he says, "Birth is
obscure and men are Iike rivers whose origins are often unknown" (pIay).
Duryodhana gives Karna a smaII kingdom, and Karna swears eternaI
friendship to the Kauravas.
O Karna's IowIy caste (sociaI status) wiII haunt him throughout the
epic; Iater at a contest for the hand of Draupadi, she rejects him
outright because he is from a servant famiIy. For a person who
desires to be measured by his accompIishments, Iiving under this
shadow is unbearabIe.
O As the chiId of the sun, Karna was born with goIden armor over his
skin. ater, the god Indra tricks Karna into giving this divine
protection away.
O After Karna was born, Kunti remained a virgin
The Pandavas narrowIy escape a pIot by Duryodhana to burn them in a
house made of highIy fIammabIe materiaIs. For months afterward, they Iive
in hiding in the forest. One night as Bhima keeps watch whiIe the others
sIeep, there appears a rakshasa named Hidimbi (a man-eating ogre, one
type of demon). Assuming the form of a beautifuI woman, she faIIs madIy in
Iove with Bhima, who fights and kiIIs her venomous brother. Bhima and the
magicaI creature then have a powerfuI demon chiId caIIed hatotkatcha; he
swears to come to the aid of his father whenever necessary.
Arjuna wins the hand of Draupadi
The Pandavas attend the swayamvara of Draupadi, a
ceremony where she wiII pick her husband from a
number of suitors. Arjuna wins the archery contest
easiIy and Draupadi chooses him. When Arjuna
announces to his mother that he has won the "prize,"
Kunti teIIs him to share with his brothers, before
seeing Draupadi. ike an irrevocabIe vow, her
statement, even by mistake, can't be undone, so aII
five brothers marry Draupadi, the daughter of
Drupada.
This unusuaI marriage fuIfiIIs karma, for in her former
Iife, Draupadi had prayed to the god Shiva for a husband five times, and
thus is rewarded for her devotion in this Iife.

In the Mahabharata Shiva is not the "destroyer" of the Iater Puranas, but
has more to do with bIessings of fertiIity: he aIso granted andhari her 100
sons.
The brothers agree to respect the privacy of each other when with
Draupadi, but one day Arjuna enters the tent to retrieve his weapons and
finds Yudhishthira and Draupadi in bed together. Even though Yudhishthira
forgives him, Arjuna insists on keeping the vow. As penance, Arjuna goes
into exiIe for a year; whiIe away he marries three other wives, one Krishna's
sister, mostIy for poIiticaI aIIiances.
As tension mounts between the cousins, Krishna makes his appearance. It
is said he may be an incarnation of the god Vishnu, the preserver, come
down to save the earth from chaos. The appearance of Krishna introduces
a major theme in the epic: dharma (cosmic order) menaced by chaos, so
Krishna must step in, indicating that this is not just a famiIy rivaIry, but a
confIict with universaI consequences.
O In the medievaI Puranas, the story deveIoped that Vishnu had
appeared on earth nine times in the past as an avatar or incarnation,
in order to set the worId back on the right path, and wouId appear
again at the end of the age.
O Krishna's deification in the Mahabharata may be based on Iater
interpoIations into the text, as there is considerabIe tension in the
epic between the depiction of the divine Krishna and the human
prince who acts as counseIor to the Pandavas, gives devious advice,
and eventuaIIy dies.
On Krishna's advice the Pandavas present themseIves to the bIind king. To
make peace, Dhritarashtra offers them haIf the kingdom, but in a region
which was nothing but jungIe and desert. Yudhishthira accepts his offer in
the hope of averting a war.
MeanwhiIe, Arjuna and Krishna agree to assist a hungry brahmin, who
reveaIs himseIf to be Agni, god of fire. He wants to consume a nearby
forest which is protected by Indra's rain. Agni rewards Krishna with his
discus and Arjuna with Varuna's bow andiva aIong with an inexhaustibIe
suppIy of arrows. With these he is abIe to create a canopy of arrows to
keep the rain from putting out Agni's fire. Even Indra cannot defeat Arjuna,
because Krishna is with him (an indication of Vishnu's superiority over
Indra by this time). Maya (not god of iIIusion but an asura or demon who
escaped the fires) out of gratitude buiIds the great haII of Indraprastha.
iving in their new territory of Indraprastha, Yudhishthira turns poor Iand
into a weaIthy kingdom, and decIares himseIf King of Kings. Duryodhana is
jeaIous and humiIiated on his visit to the magnificent paIace, where he
mistakes a gIass fIoor for a pooI, then Iater faIIs into a pooI thinking it is
gIass. Draupadi and Bhima Iaugh at him. He returns home bent on devising
their destruction.
The Dice ame and the HumiIiation of Draupadi
Duryodhana foIIows the advice of his uncIe, the cunning Shakuni, an
infamous dice pIayer, and invites Yudhishthira to a game, knowing fuII weII
that gambIing is his cousin's one weakness. Yudhishthira accepts.
O Duryodhana is not an originaI thinker, aIways reIying on other's
ideas. His uncIe gave him the idea for the arson and the dice game.
(ater during the war Duryodhana suggests capturing Yudhishthira
and pIaying another game, which Drona caIIs stupid.)
O Duryodhana aIways threatens to commit suicide when things don't
go his way (aImost comicaI): "Excessive seIf-centeredness Ieads to
unreaIistic demands and unreasonabIe expectations from Iife"
(Chaitanya 67).
O Kunti: "Duryodhana is a bIind man's son, Iiving bIindIy." (pIay)
Both Dhritarashtra and Yudhishthira ignore Vidura's warning to avoid the
game, Ieaving the resuIts to "supreme and unavoidabIe" fate. Krishna
warns Bhishma not to interfere with the dice game: "If your race must be
destroyed to save dharma, wouId you aIIow it?" (pIay) ToId by his father
that a warrior's dharma is to fight honorabIy, not to win at aII costs,
Duryodhana says, "The way of the warrior is fixed on victory, whether
there's dharma or adharma on his way."
Carried away by the intoxication of the game, Yudhishthira wagers and
Ioses aII that he possesses: his Iands, his kingdom, his brothers, even
himseIf, and eventuaIIy Draupadi, who
is dragged before the company by her
hair, a speciaI insuIt since a married
woman's hair was sacred.
She chaIIenges the Kauravas with a
question: how can someone who has
Iost himseIf wager someone eIse in a
game, but no one can answer her. Even
Bhishma is confounded: "The ways of
dharma are subtIe." When even the wise
Bhishma cannot resoIve the question,
she says, "I think time is out of joint.
The ancient eternaI dharma is Iost
among the Kauravas." Instead, they insuIt her, dispIaying her during the
time of her period. Karna, stiII stinging from his rejection at the
swayamvara, caIIs her a harIot who services five men. Duryodhana seeks
to entice her by uncovering his thigh (obscene in that cuIture). Enraged at
this treatment of his wife, Bhima vows that he wiII one day drink
Duhsasana's bIood and break Duryodhana's thigh.
Draupadi is about to be stripped naked when she invokes Krishna, who
comes to her rescue and creates an endIess suppIy of cIoth around her.
She swears that one day she wiII be avenged. There wiII be a great war, a
war without mercy. At her curse a jackaI howIs. Frightened, Dhritarashtra
apoIogizes to her and gives her husbands' back everything they Iost, but
Draupadi asks nothing for herseIf, saying, "reed devours aII beings and is
dharma's [righteousness] ruin. I refuse greed." (CN 55)
Seeing his advantage given away, Duryodhana insists on one more throw
of the dice. Yudhishthira agrees to a finaI game, but once again, he Ioses.
The Pandavas and Draupadi are condemned to spend tweIve years in exiIe
in the forest, and a thirteenth year in an unknown pIace, disguised so that
no one may recognize them. If anyone does, then they must spend another
tweIve years in exiIe.

PART TWO: EXIE
Books 3-5 teII of the tweIve years of Iiving in the forest, preceding the great
war. The Pandavas are not aIone in the wiIderness but are foIIowed by
many IoyaI brahmins and servants. The gods give them an inexhaustibIe
pIate of food to feed aII of them.
Throughout the epic, the importance of brahmins, the priestIy caste, is
emphasized. Yudhishthira wants to regain his kingdom so that he can
provide for 10,000 brahmins. One must never refuse a brahmin anything
(see the incident between Karna and Indra beIow).
The Importance of Dharma
Draupadi and Bhima reproach Yudhishthira for his inaction and resigned
passivity. Since it is obvious that Shakuni cheated at dice, wouIdn't it be
better to stand up and fight? Yudhishthira fIatIy refuses. He wiII keep his
word: he resoIves to foIIow his dharma. Dharma (variousIy transIated as
sociaI duty, righteousness, or universaI order) is the moraI obIigation
which each human being shouId recognize and foIIow. FaiIure to do so
couId endanger the course of the cosmos as a whoIe.
Draupadi cannot understand why they are suffering so, if they are the
righteous ones. If everything happens by the wiII of god, then why do the
good suffer? It seems onIy the powerfuI escape harm, not the righteous.
Yudhishthira corrects her: "None shouId ever perform virtue with a desire
to gain its fruits. Such a sinfuI trader of virtue wiII never reap the resuIts. ...
Do not doubt virtue because you do not see its resuIts. Without doubt, the
fruits of virtue wiII be manifest in time, as wiII the fruits of sin. The fruits of
true virtue are eternaI and indestructibIe" (KD 245-6).
Preparations for War
Arjuna then Ieaves, aiming for the highest mountains to Iook for the
ceIestiaI weapons they wiII need during the war. He meets the god Shiva
who gives him powerfuI weapons. Arjuna then spends five years with his
father the divine Indra Iearning to use the weapons fighting demons.
MeanwhiIe Karna decides he too must acquire a ceIestiaI weapon, so for
many months he serves a powerfuI brahmin, Parasurama, who hates
warriors. As a reward, he bestows upon Karna, whom he takes to be a
servant, a formuIa for the supreme weapon. But Karna reveaIs himseIf to be
a warrior by an excess of bravery, as he does not cry out when a worm
bores a hoIe into his thigh. Parasurama curses him so he wiII forget the
secret formuIa at the moment he wishes for the weapon, and that wiII be
the moment of his death.
O In the MedievaI Puranas, Parasurama becomes one of the avatars of
Vishnu, but there is no indication of that aspect in the epic.
Karna Iater meets Indra (Arjuna's divine father) in the disguise of a
brahmin. Having sworn never to refuse a brahmin's request, he agrees to
surrender his divine covering of goIden armor given him at birth. He tears
off the armor from his skin, bIeeding, and trades it for another mighty
weapon, which wiII kiII any being but can onIy be used once.
During their exiIe, the Pandavas rescue Duryodhana who is captured
during battIe, to his great humiIiation. Honor bids him swear to repay
Arjuna one day. (During the war, Arjuna asks Duryodhana to surrender five
arrows of Bhishma's meant to kiII the Pandavas, and he does so, to keep
his vow.) Duryodhana is so depressed after his rescue that he intends to
kiII himseIf. The Danavas (a famiIy of demons) need him as their champion
(he was born at their request) and appear before him. The demons promise
they wiII possess his armies during the coming war, which wiII continue to
give him faIse hope.
One day, four of the Pandavas are kiIIed by drinking the water from a
poisonous Iake. However Yudhishthira brings his brothers back to Iife by
correctIy answering the questions which Dharma, disguised as a crane,
puts to him.
The Thirteenth Year
According to the conditions of the game of dice, the thirteenth year which
the Pandavas are to spend in disguise has now arrived. Yudhishthira (who
presents himseIf as a poor brahmin), his brothers and Draupadi (who pass
for wandering servants) aII find refuge at the court of King Virata. Kicaka, a
generaI in Virata's court becomes infatuated with Draupadi. He goes to
great Iengths to possess her, even threatening her Iife. Draupadi impIores
the mighty Bhima to heIp her; dressed in woman's cIothes, he goes in her
stead to a secret rendezvous, and puIverizes the over-amorous generaI into
a bIoody mass of fIesh.
MeanwhiIe Duryodhana has Iaunched an attack on Virata's kingdom. The
king entrusts his troops to his young son who needs a chariot driver.
Draupadi, who seeks war with the Kauravas at aII costs, points out Arjuna
as the worId's best charioteer, despite the fact that he has disguised
himseIf as a eunuch. Arjuna cannot refuse to fight and is decisiveIy
victorious, one man against countIess armies.
War draws even cIoser. Duryodhana refuses to give his cousins back their
kingdom because he cIaims they came out of hiding before the appointed
time. He tries to win Krishna's support, as does Arjuna. Krishna offers
Arjuna first choice: either he can have aII of Krishna's armies, or he can
have Krishna aIone. Arjuna chooses Krishna, aIIowing Duryodhana to have
the armies. When Arjuna asks him to drive his chariot, Krishna accepts.
In the Kaurava court, the bIind king aIso senses the imminence of war. He
asks the eIderIy Bhishma, an unparaIIeIed warrior, to take the supreme
command. His duty to the famiIy outweighs his feeIings toward the
Pandavas, and he reIuctantIy accepts, but on one condition: that Karna
does not fight. AIthough dispIeased, Karna bitterIy agrees to fight onIy after
Bhishma's death.
Dhritarashtra sends an envoy to Yudhishthira and begs not to fight since
he Ioves righteousness. It wouId be better to Iive without his kingdom than
risk the Iives of so many. Yudhishthira responds that each caste has its
own duty, and his is to be a warrior/king, not a brahmin/beggar. However,
even he has reservations: "War is eviI in any form. To the dead, victory and
defeat are the same" (CN 101).
Krishna arrives as an emissary in a finaI attempt to safeguard peace. He
speaks to Duryodhana who does not Iisten to him, but orders his guards to
seize him. Krishna reveaIs his divine form: "Krishna Iaughed and as he did,
his body suddenIy fIashed Iike Iightning. He began to grow in size and
various gods issued from him. Brahma sprang from his forehead and Shiva
from his chest" (KD 492). Krishna aIIows even the bIind Dhritarashtra to
see his gIory. FinaIIy, he speaks to Karna, going so far as to reveaI that he
is the brother of those with whom he intends to fight. But Karna feeIs
abandoned by his mother in his very first hours of Iife; furthermore he
senses the end of this worId. He wiII fight aIongside the Kauravas, even
though he can aIready foresee their defeat and his own death.
Duryodhana wiII not Iisten to warnings. He convinces himseIf that since the
gods had not bIessed the Pandavas thus far, they wouId not protect them
during the war. "I can sacrifice my Iife, my weaIth, my kingdom, my
everything, but I can never Iive in peace with the Pandavas. I wiII not
surrender to them even as much Iand as can be pierced by the point of a
needIe" (KD 453). He makes excuses for his nature: "I am whatever the
gods have made me" (KD 482).

PART THREE: THE WAR
Books 5-10 recount the 18-day war between the Pandavas and the
Kauravas.
The Kauravas have eIeven divisions to stand against the seven of the
Pandavas. The two armies are described as two oceans, crashing against
each other. BriefIy it's described as a "beautifuI sight" (CN 125-6). Kunti
teIIs the narrator Vyasa (in pIay): "You find too much beauty in men's
death. BIood decorates your poem, and the cries of the dying are your
music."
Bad omens appear prior to battIe as thousands of carrion birds gather
"crying in gIee" (KD 539). Karna prophesies that his side wiII Iose, that this
is nothing but "a great sacrifice of arms" with Krishna as high priest.
Both sides agree to abide by certain ruIes of war: no fighting humans with
ceIestiaI weapons, no fighting at night, do not strike someone who's
retreating or unarmed, or on the back or Iegs. AII these ruIes wiII eventuaIIy
be broken.

The Bhagavad ita ("The ord's Song")
Just as the battIe is about to start, Arjuna faIters at the sight of his reIatives
and teachers, now his sworn enemies. He breaks down and refuses to
fight. "How can any good come from kiIIing one's own reIatives? What
vaIue is victory if aII our friends and Ioved ones are kiIIed? . We wiII be
overcome by sin if we sIay such aggressors. Our proper duty is sureIy to
forgive them. Even if they have Iost sight of dharma due to greed, we
ourseIves shouId not forget dharma in the same way." (KD 544-5)
Arjuna fears that acting out his own dharma as warrior wiII confIict with
universaI dharma: how can kiIIing famiIy members be good, and not disrupt
the sociaI order? Herein Iies an unresoIved confIict in Hinduism between
universaI dharma and svadharma (an individuaI's duty according to caste
and station in Iife). A warrior must kiII to fuIfiII his duty, whereas a brahmin
must avoid harming any Iiving creature. Even demons have their own
castes and svadharma, which may run counter to human moraIity. One
person's dharma may be another's sin. This doctrine distinguishes Hindu
thought from reIigions such as Judeo-Christianity and IsIam which teach
universaI or absoIute moraI codes.
His charioteer Krishna addresses him as they pause in the no-man's Iand
between the two armies. This passage is the ceIebrated Bhagavad Gita, the
guide to firm and resoIute action.
O UnIike many epic heroes, at this point Arjuna thinks before he acts.
Arjuna hesitates before such kiIIing, wanting to retreat from Iife and
responsibiIity (tension between dharma and moksha), but Krishna
teIIs him as a warrior it's his dharma to fight. The reaI confIict today
is with the seIf on the "battIefieId of the souI.
O Don't worry about death, which is onIy one smaII step in the great
and endIess cycIe of Iife. One neither kiIIs or is kiIIed. The souI
mereIy casts off oId bodies and enters new ones, just as a person
changes garments. Death is onIy iIIusion (maya).
O How does a warrior perform his duty without doing wrong, poIIuting
himseIf with the bIood of his enemies? The secret is detachment: do
your duty without concern for the personaI consequences. "Victory
and defeat, pIeasure and pain are aII the same. Act, but don't refIect
on the fruits of the act. Forget desire, seek detachment." (pIay)
O We must aIways do what is right without desiring success or fearing
defeat. "Work without desire for the resuIts, and thus without
entangIing yourseIf in karmic reactions." (KD 550) Krishna teIIs
Arjuna that good deeds wiII not get one to heaven if the desire for
heaven is the soIe motivation for good deeds. Desire is responsibIe
for rebirth; if any desire remains when we die, we must return to
another Iife.
O ikewise, Yudhishthira toId Draupadi during the exiIe that he
performs dharma not for reward but because it is what a good
person does; after the battIe he has a simiIar crisis when he
temporariIy refuses to ruIe, despairing at aII the carnage he has
caused.
O "Actions performed under the direct guidance of the Supreme ord
or His representative are caIIed akarma. This type of activity
produces neither good nor bad reactions. Just as a soIdier may kiII
under the command of his superior officer and not be heId
responsibIe for murder, though if he kiIIs on his own accord he is
IiabIe for punishment, simiIarIy, a Krishna-conscious person acts
under the ord's direction and not for his own sake." (BG as it is:
online)
O "Such a person takes no deIight in sensuaI pIeasures. He is ever
satisfied within himseIf. No miseries can disturb him, nor any kind of
materiaI happiness. He is without attachment, fear and anger, and
remains aIways aIoof to the duaIities of the worId. . His mind is
fixed upon the Supreme and he is aIways peacefuI." (KD 551)
O There are two paths to
Iiberation: renunciation
(moksha) and performing one's
duty without desire. Since no
one can truIy renounce aII
action in Iife (this is a pretense
of asceticism), it is better to
work without attachment (KD
551). Some schoIars think that
the Bhagavad Gita was
composed to combat a
reIigious chaIIenge from
Jainism and Buddhism which
arose in the 6
th
century BC,
both teaching saIvation
through renouncing the worId,
the former by asceticism, the
Iatter by monastic Iife (KinsIey
31).
O Krishna expIains that the
knowIedge he imparts is
ancient, just as he toId it miIIions of years ago. Arjuna asks, "How
can I accept this? It appears that you were born in this worId onIy
recentIy." Krishna expIains, birth too is an iIIusion, as men are born
countIess times. But in Krishna's case, he comes into every age:
"Whenever righteousness (dharma) becomes Iax, O Arjuna, and
injustice (adharma) arises, then I send myseIf forth to protect the
good and bring eviIdoers to destruction. For the secure
estabIishment of dharma, I come into being age after age. ... I was
born to destroy the destroyers."
O Krishna then reveaIs his divine, universaI nature to Arjuna in a
magnificent vision of a muItitude of gods, stretching out to infinity.
ResoIved now to perform his duty to his Iord, Arjuna Ieads his troops
into battIe.
O For more information, see Bhagavad ita On-ine and Bhagavad
ita home page

On a hiII overIooking the battIefieId, Dhritarashtra hears the words of
Krishna through his aid Sanjaya, who has been granted the abiIity to see
and hear everything that happens in the battIe, to reIate these things to the
bIind king. Dhritarashtra shudders when he hears of Krishna's theophany,
fearing that nothing can stop the Pandavas with such a powerfuI being on
their side. But he takes some comfort in knowing that Krishna cannot
accompIish everything he wants, as he faiIed to arrange a peacefuI soIution
to the confIict.
Before the battIe, Yudhishthira goes to both his teachers, Bhishma and
Drona: "O invincibIe one, I bow to you. We wiII fight with you. PIease grant
us your permission and give us your bIessing." For this sign of respect,
both men pray for the Pandavas' victory, even though they must out of
IoyaIty fight on the side of the Kauravas.
The BattIe Begins
Bhishma compares the invincibIe Arjuna to "the Destroyer himseIf at the
end of the Yuga." (CN 126) In one confrontation, Arjuna spIits Bhishma's
bow with four arrows, and Bhishma praises him: "O son of Pandu, weII
done! I am pIeased with you for this wonderfuI feat. Now fight your hardest
with me" (KD 581). However, he is unabIe to overcome Bhishma. After nine
days of fighting, the Pandavas visit Bhishma by night; they teII him that,
unIess he is kiIIed in the war, the carnage wiII carry on untiI the end of the
worId.
When asked how he can be defeated, he advises them to pIace Sikhandi in
the front Iine, from where he wiII be abIe to fire freeIy at Bhishma. Sikhandi
is actuaIIy a woman, Amba whom Bhishma had refused to marry and who
vowed to be his death. Amba practiced asceticism, standing on one toe in
the snow for 12 years to Iearn the secret of Bhishma's death. Amba threw
herseIf into the fire and was reborn from fIames as Drupada's second
daughter, Iater changing sex with a demon to become a man
The next day, confronted by Sikhandi, Bhishma refuses to fight a woman,
and he abandons his weapons. Against the ruIes of war, the Pandavas
strike the unarmed warrior with thousands of arrows. There is no space on
his body thicker than two fingers that is not pierced. He faIIs from his
chariot, and Iies fuIIy supported by the arrows, with no part of his body
touching the earth. Bhishma does not actuaIIy die untiI much Iater, at his
choosing. He remains Iying on a bed of arrows untiI the end of the battIe.
Drona takes command
Drona positions the armies in a formation known onIy to him, the iron disc
of war, which nobody knows how to break open, apart from Arjuna. If onIy
Arjuna can be diverted away from the centraI battIe, Drona promises
victory. Arjuna has a 15-year oId son, Abhimanyu, who, by Iistening to his
father whiIe stiII in his mother's womb, has Iearned to force an entry into
Drona's battIe formation. As Arjuna is caIIed to a diversionary battIe far
away, Yudhishthira entrusts Abhimanyu with the task of opening a breach
in the disc. Abhimanyu succeeds, but when Bhima and Yudhishthira try to
foIIow him into the opening, they are stopped by Jayadratha, a brother-in-
Iaw to the Kauravas, and the breach cIoses behind the young Abhimanyu.
In spite of his bravery, he is kiIIed.
O EarIier during the time of exiIe, Jayadratha had tried to kidnap
Draupadi, thus another reason for the Pandavas to hate him.
At this point Arjuna returns to the camp. InfIamed with rage and grief at the
sight of his son's body, he vows to kiII Jayadratha before sunset on the
foIIowing day. He soIemnIy swears to throw himseIf into the sacrificiaI fire,
shouId he faiI. Even Krishna is aIarmed by this terribIe oath. On the next
day, Jayadratha is heaviIy guarded, and Arjuna is unabIe to reach him.
Krishna causes a momentary ecIipse of the sun, convincing the enemy
that, since night has come, Arjuna must have kiIIed himseIf because he
hasn't kept his vow. Rejoicing, they Iay down their arms, Ieaving
Jayadratha vuInerabIe to Arjuna's arrow.
Jayadratha's father had pronounced a curse on anyone who kiIIed his son,
saying that whoever caused his son's head to faII to the ground wouId die.
Using magicaI mantras, Arjuna causes his arrow not onIy to sever
Jayadratha's head, but to carry it miIes away to faII into his father's Iap.
Being in prayer, he doesn't reaIize what's happened; he stands up and the
head faIIs, thus he dies from his own curse.
The foIIowing day, Karna hurIs himseIf into the battIe. Kunti tries to
persuade him to join the Pandavas, but Karna is infIexibIe. However, he
does promise Kunti that he wiII onIy kiII Arjuna, for one of them must die. In
this way, she wiII stiII have five sons after the war.
Karna possesses a magic Iance, the gift of Indra, which wiII kiII any Iiving
being but can be used onIy once. He keeps it in reserve for Arjuna. To
dispose of this Iance, Krishna caIIs upon hatotkatcha, son of Bhima and
the rakshasa. During the night, he fights an epic battIe against Karna, who
can destroy the demon onIy by resorting to his magic Iance. hatotkatcha
is kiIIed, but Krishna dances for joy. With his Iance now expended, Karna is
vuInerabIe and Arjuna can kiII him.
Drona continues to chaIIenge the Pandava armies, sIaying thousands. But
the Pandavas know his weakness: the Iove of his onIy son Ashvatthama.
Bhima sIays an eIephant, aIso caIIed Ashvatthama, then deceitfuIIy teIIs
Drona of the death of his son. Suspecting a Iie, Drona asks Yudhishthira for
the truth: is his son dead or not? Drona wiII Iay down his arms the day an
honest man Iies. Krishna teIIs Yudhishthira: "Under such circumstances,
faIsehood is preferabIe to truth. By teIIing a Iie to save a Iife, one is not
touched by sin" (CN 157). Yudhishthira speaks a haIf-Iie, "Ashvatthama -
(and muttering under his breath) the eIephant - is dead." Before his Iie,
Yudhishthira's chariot rode four inches off the ground, but now it sinks
back to earth. Drona Iays down his arms. Drupada's son Dhrishtadyumna
cuts off Drona's head, having sworn to avenge his father's humiIiation.
MeanwhiIe Bhima sees Duhsasana coming towards him. Bhima had sworn
to drink the bIood of this avowed enemy for what he had done to Draupadi.
Bhima knocks Duhsasana to the ground with his mace and rips open his
chest. He drinks his bIood, saying that it tastes better than his mother's
miIk. Bhima, who kiIIs many Rakshasa (and has a son by one), often acts
Iike the man-eating ogres himseIf-the bIoody deaths of Kicaka and
Duhsasana, both to avenge Draupadi; Bhima is her most passionate
defender. Bhima kiIIs most of the 100 Kauravas, who were demons
incarnate.
The Death of Karna
Duryodhana asks Karna to avenge his brother Duhsasana, and he finaIIy
meets Arjuna in the decisive confrontation.
Arjuna and Karna both have ceIestiaI weapons (for exampIe, one shoots
arrows of fire to be quenched by arrows of water). Karna has an arrow
possessed by a Naga (serpent) spirit who hoIds a grudge against Arjuna
(his famiIy had died in the forest consumed by Agni). When Karna shoots
at Arjuna, his charioteer warns him that his aim is too high, but he refuses
to Iisten, and hits Arjuna's coronet onIy. When the spirit-possessed arrow
returns to him and says try again, this time he wiII not miss, Karna won't
admit faiIure by shooting the same arrow twice, even if he couId kiII 100
Arjunas.
As the fight continues, the earth opens up and seizes Karna's chariot
wheeI, in fuIfiIIment of a curse. In desperation, Karna tries to invoke his
uItimate weapon, but the magic words escape him. He remembers
Parasurama's words: "When you Iife depends on your most powerfuI
weapon, you wiII not be abIe to summon it." In his Iast moments, Karna
questions his beIiefs: "Knowers of dharma have aIways said, 'Dharma
protects those devoted to dharma.' But since my wheeI sank today, I think
dharma does not aIways protect" (CN 165).
As he struggIes to reIease his chariot, he cries out to Arjuna: "Do not strike
an unarmed man. Wait untiI I can extract my wheeI. You are a virtuous
warrior. Remember the codes of war." But Krishna taunts him: "Men in
distress aIways caII on virtue, forgetting their own eviI deeds. Where was
your virtue, O Karna, when Draupadi was brought weeping in the Kuru
assembIy? Where was it when Yudhishthira was robbed of his kingdom?"
(KD 780) Karna's head sinks to his chest, and he remains siIent, whiIe
continuing to struggIe with the chariot wheeI. Krishna commands Arjuna to
shoot, and Karna dies. A bright Iight rises out of Karna's body and enters
the sun.
O Stubborn but IoyaI, Karna couId have been king, as eIdest of the
Pandavas, but he remained with the Kauravas. He aIways fights fair,
and keeps his promise to Kunti not to kiII any brothers but Arjuna.
Their rivaIry echoes the mythic confIict between their divine fathers
Indra and Surya.
The Death of Duryodhana
Over the eighteen-day war, Duryodhana has seen his generaIs and their
armies faII to the Pandavas, but to the very end he refuses to surrender. He
hides in the waters of a Iake, which he has soIidified over him by magic.
Ever the gambIer, Yudhishthira teIIs Duryodhana that he can fight any
brother he chooses, and if he wins, the kingdom wiII be his again. It says
something of Duryodhana that he fights with Bhima rather than one of the
weaker brothers. In a cIose battIe between equaIs, Bhima wins onIy by
treacherousIy striking Duryodhana on the Iegs, forbidden in the ruIes of
war. andhari had put a protective speII over Duryodhana's body, but
because he wore a Ioin cIoth for modesty before his mother, his thighs
were not protected.
Duryodhana accuses Krishna of taking sides unfairIy and encouraging
Bhima's treachery. Krishna responds: "Deceit in battIe is acceptabIe
against a deceitfuI foe. Even Indra used deceit to overcome the mighty
asuras Virochana and Vritra." An onIooker remarks, "Bhima has sacrificed
dharma for the sake of materiaI gain. This can never Iead to success and
happiness." Krishna repIies that Bhima was mereIy keeping his earIier vow,
a sacred duty: "There is no unrighteousness in Bhima. He has carried out
his promise and requited the debt he owed his enemy. Know that the
terribIe age of KaIi is at hand, marked by fierce acts and the Ioss of
dharma." (KD 811-13)
Duryodhana responds braveIy: "I am now dying a gIorious death. That end
which is aIways sought by virtuous warriors is mine. Who is as fortunate as
me? With aII my brothers I wiII ascend to heaven, whiIe you Pandavas wiII
remain here, torn by grief and continuing to suffer." (KD 816)
As Duryodhana Iies dying, Ashvatthama, Drona's son, teIIs him how he
sneaked into the camp of the victorious Pandavas at night to perpetrate a
hideous massacre, kiIIing the remaining warriors and aII the chiIdren whiIe
asIeep, Ieaving the Pandavas without any heirs. Rather than weIcoming the
news, Duryodhana dies disheartened that the race of the Kurus appears to
have no future.
Thus aII those on both sides die in the war, except the five Pandavas. When
Yudhishthira Iearns of the massacre, he mourns: "We the conquerors have
been conquered."
When the Pandavas seek revenge, Ashvatthama Iaunches the most
fearsome ceIestiaI weapon in his arsenaI. Arjuna counters with his own
weapon, which Drona taught both of them; it was onIy to be used against
divine beings, or eIse it couId destroy the worId. Ashvatthama defIects his
into the wombs of the remaining Pandava women, making them steriIe, but
Krishna promises that Arjuna wiII nonetheIess have descendants. As
punishment, Ashvatthama is cursed to wander the earth in exiIe for 3000
years.
The Aftermath
Books 11-18 contain events foIIowing the war and teachings by Bhishma.
After the war, when Krishna exits the chariot, it bursts into fIames; onIy his
presence kept the ceIestiaI weapons from destroying it earIier. Krishna
reveaIs that the gods aIIowed this war to reIieve Earth of her great burden
(simiIar to Troy). Duryodhana was the incarnation of KaIi, Iord of the 4th
age.
Yudhishthira reports the death toII at six miIIion. AppaIIed at such Iosses,
he has a personaI crisis simiIar to Arjuna before the battIe. He doesn't want
to ruIe because it requires the use of force and more vioIence. He sees that
Iife itseIf is painfuI, as men are aIways searching for more materiaI weaIth
and power, never satisfied. The man who prizes goId and dirt equaIIy is
happiest. The others convince him he must ruIe and fuIfiII his duty.
Yudhishthira
has a vision of
the age to
come: "I see
the coming of
another age,
where barbaric
kings ruIe over
a vicious,
broken worId;
where puny,
fearfuI, hard
men Iive tiny
Iives, white hair
at sixteen,
copuIating with
animaIs, their
women perfect whores, making Iove with greedy mouths. The cows dry,
trees stunted, no more fIowers, no more purity; ambition, corruption, the
age of KaIi, the bIack time" (pIay).
Bhima asks, why has he come this far onIy to quit, Iike a man cIimbing a
honey tree but refusing to taste it, or a man in bed with a woman but
refusing to make Iove? Draupadi questions his manhood, as onIy eunuchs
seek tranquiIity and avoid vioIence. Arjuna says refusing to ruIe wiII onIy
cause more disorder and create for him great amount of bad karma to face
in next Iife of IowIy birth. We shouId accept our roIe depending on where
we are in Iife: a father has obIigation to his famiIy whiIe they are young,
Iikewise a king must first ruIe, then in the Iast years of Iife he may abandon
the worId, but to do so earIier wouId be an act of seIfishness.
In his dying speech, pierced by many arrows, Bhishma teIIs Yudhishthira
that in the fourth age (our present age), "dharma becomes adharma and
adharma, dharma." Somewhat paradoxicaIIy, he continues, "If one fights
against trickery, one shouId oppose him with trickery. But if one fights
IawfuIIy, one shouId check him with dharma ... One shouId conquer eviI
with good. Death by dharma is better than victory by eviI deeds."
Bhishma's dying advice to Yudhishthira lasts 50 days and covers two of the longest
books in the epic (12-13); some of the topics:
O "There is no duty higher than Truth," but five faIsehoods are not
sinfuI: Iying in jest, Iying to a woman, Iying at wedding, Iying to save
a teacher, Iying to save one's Iife.
O The foremost duty of kings is to revere Brahmins.
O "No creature is more sinfuI than woman; women are the root of aII
eviI; she is poison, she is a snake, she is fire," but at the same time,
"Righteousness of men depends on women. AII pIeasures and
enjoyments depend on women."
O Cows constitute the stairs that Iead to heaven; cows are goddesses
abIe to grant every wish; nothing in the worId superior; one shouId
never go to bed or rise in the morning without reciting the names of
cows." Cows provide cIeansing from sin. "There is nothing
unattainabIe for one who is devoted to cows" (this goes on for about
50 pages).
O 1000 names of Vishnu (26 pages)
O ShortIy after, Arjuna teIIs Krishna that he has forgotten his teaching
(contained in the Bhagavad Gita) so for 36 chapters this advice is
repeated.
Now that aII her sons are dead,
andhari's eyes are so
charged with grief that, by
Iooking under her bIindfoId,
her emotion sears the fIesh of
Yudhishthira's foot. She
curses Krishna, whom she
hoIds responsibIe for aII of the
tragedy that has befaIIen
them: the Pandava kingdom
wiII faII in 36 years. Even
Krishna wiII die; he shaII be
kiIIed by a passing stranger.
Krishna caImIy accepts this
curse, then teIIs her that a
Iight has been saved, even if
she cannot see it.
Yudhishthira agrees to reign.
Thirty-six years pass, and Yudhishthira arrives at the entrance to paradise,
carrying a dog in his arms. His brothers and Draupadi, who Ieft the earth
with him, have faIIen from the mountains into the abyss aIong the way. A
gatekeeper teIIs him to abandon the dog if he wants to enter paradise. He
refuses to Ieave a creature so faithfuI, and is permitted to enter, for this
was a test, the dog was the god Dharma in disguise. In paradise, further
surprises await him. His enemies are there, smiIing and contented. His
brothers and Draupadi, on the other hand, seem to be in a pIace of
suffering and torment. Why? Yudhishthira decides to stay with his Ioved
ones in heII, rather than enjoy the deIights of heaven with his enemies. This
too was a test, the "finaI iIIusion." They are aII permitted to enter paradise.
O In Hindu thought, neither heaven (svarga) or heII are eternaI, but onIy
intervaIs between rebirths. Everyone must first spend some time in
heII (or a heII, as there are many) to pay for the sins of the most
recent Iife. Yudhishthira had to experience heII for onIy a moment,
because of his Iie to Drona. Heaven is obtained by good deeds, but
onIy for a Iimited time untiI the accumuIated merit runs out.
O According to one tradition, there are six pIanes of existence (lokas)
above earth and seven Iokas (heIIs) beIow. However, no action can
occur in these other worIds, so that a person's karma doesn't change
untiI he returns to earth.
O "Actions performed in accordance with scripturaI injunctions . Iead
the performer to the heavenIy pIanets for proIonged sensuaI
enjoyment. However, when a person's pious credits are exhausted,
he must return to Earth, just as a person returns from a hoIiday and
resumes his work." ("B as it is: OnIine")

Discussion of major themes in the Mahabharata

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ow to cite this page for use in a paper or electronic report:
Brown, Larry A. Mahabharata: the Creat Epic of India.
http://larryavisbrown.homestead.com/files/xeno.mahabsynop.htm (today`s date)
ere's a site that offers these stories in animated form for children:
http://cdstore.in/video-empire/animated-stories-for-children/cat_13.html

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