The eighteen parvas
- Adi — origins of the Kurus; birth of the Pandavas and Kauravas
- Sabha — the dice game and Draupadi's humiliation
- Vana (Aranyaka) — twelve years of exile in the forest
- Virata — the year in disguise at King Virata's court
- Udyoga — efforts for peace; Krishna's embassy
- Bhishma — the war begins; the Bhagavad Gita
- Drona — Drona as commander; Abhimanyu's death
- Karna — Karna as commander and his death
- Shalya — the last day of the war
- Sauptika — the night attack by Ashvatthama
- Stri — the lament of the women
- Shanti — Bhishma's teachings on dharma and peace
- Anushasana — further instruction; the Vishnu Sahasranama
- Ashvamedhika — Yudhishthira's horse sacrifice
- Ashramavasika — the elders retire to the forest
- Mausala — the end of the Yadavas
- Mahaprasthanika — the Pandavas' last journey
- Svargarohana — the ascent to heaven
The Mahabharata's claim
The epic says of itself: "What is here may be found elsewhere; what is not here is nowhere" (yad ihāsti tad anyatra, yan nehāsti na tat kvacit). Beyond the war story it contains philosophy, law, politics, ethics and countless tales — Nala and Damayanti, Savitri and Satyavan, the Yaksha's questions to Yudhishthira.
Read on this site
- The Bhagavad Gita — all 18 chapters and 700 verses with meaning (Bhishma Parva)
- The Vishnu Sahasranama (Anushasana Parva)
- The story of Savitri — on the Vat Savitri page (Vana Parva)
Bhagavad Gita 2.47
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन ।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥
karmaṇy evādhikāras te mā phaleṣu kadācana |
mā karmaphalahetur bhūr mā te saṅgo 'stv akarmaṇi ||
You have a right to your action alone, never to its fruits. Do not let the fruit be your motive, nor be attached to inaction.
Frequently asked questions
Who wrote the Mahabharata?
Veda Vyasa; tradition says Ganesha wrote it down as Vyasa dictated.
Where is the Bhagavad Gita in the Mahabharata?
In the Bhishma Parva, as Krishna's teaching to Arjuna before the battle.
How long is the Mahabharata?
About 100,000 shlokas including the Harivamsha appendix — roughly seven times the Iliad and Odyssey together.