MAHABHARATA

Some information about Mahabharata

 The Mahabharata is an ancient Indian epic where the main story revolves
around two branches of a family - the Pandavas and Kauravas - who, in the
Kurukshetra War ,Battle for the throne of Hastinapur.
 Interwoven into this narrative are several smaller stories about people dead
or living, and philosophical discourses.
 Mahabharata is one of the most important texts of ancient Indian, indeed
world, literature
 Who wrote Mahabharata ?
 Krishna- Dwaipayana Vyasa, himself a character in the epic, composed it;
as, according to tradition, he dictated the verses and Ganesha wrote them
down.
 At 100,000 verses, it is the longest epic poem ever written, generally thought
to have been composed in the 4th century BCE or earlier. 
 The events in the epic play out in the Indian subcontinent and surrounding
areas. It was first narrated by a student of Vyasa at a snake-sacrifice of the
great-grandson of one of the major characters of the story.
 Including within it the Bhagavad Gita
 Some important characters in Mahabharata
Bhishma Pitamah
Karna
Krishna
Arjun
Abhimanyu
Dronacharya
Kunti
Dhritarashtra
Shakuni
Yudhishthira
 Krishna
 Krishna has 108 names.
Lord Krishna is said to have 108 names among which the famous ones are Gopal, Govind,
Devakinandan, Mohan, Shyam, Ghanshyam, Hari, Girdhar, Baanke Bihari to name a few.

 Krishna had 16,108 wives.

Lord Krishna had 16,108 wives in total, out of which eight were his principal wives known as
Ashtabharya namely Rukmini, Satyabhama, Jambavati, Nagnajiti, Kalindi, Mitravinda, Bhadra,
Lakshmana who bore him 10 sons each. He rescued 16,100 women from the clutches of a
demon Narakasura who had forcibly kept them in captivity in his palace and freed them.
However, they all returned to Lord Krishna as none of their families were ready to accept them
back and so he married them all to protect their honor. However, it is said that he never had
any relations with them.
Krishna was cursed by Queen Gandhari, which led to his death and the destruction of his
dynasty.
The Kurukshetra war left all 100 of Gandhari sons dead. When Krishna approached her to pay
his condolences, the grieving mother spitefully cursed him that he along with the Yadu dynasty
would perish in 36 years.

Krishna’s skin color was dark, not blue.

Krishna good looks are the matter of folklore, but though commonly depicted in paintings and
idols as blue, his skin color was actually dark. Spiritualists believe that his all-inclusive,
magnetic aura had blue hues and so he is generally depicted as being blue in color.

 Krishna’s death was the result of a number of curses and his own act of adharma against
Vali.
Krishna died due to the culmination of many curses. As legend goes, Gandhari’s curse on
Krishna was that he would die with the entirety of his clan in 36 years. Krishna was cursed a
second time by the sage Durvasa, when he was asked by him to apply kheer all over his body.
Krishna obeyed but did not apply kheer on Durvasa’s feet as they were resting on the ground.
Enraged, Durvasa cursed Krishna saying that his death would be by his foot.
 Bhishma Pitamah
In the Mahabharata, Bhishma also known as Bhishma
Pitamah and Gangaputra Bhishma was well known for his pledge of celibacy.
Originally named as Devavrata, he was the eighth son of
the Kuru King Shantanu and the river goddess Ganga. 
Bhishma was blessed with a boon from his father that he could choose the
time of his death or he may remain immortal till he desires. 
He was related to both the Pandavas and the Kauravas through his half-
brother, Vichitravirya (Son of Satyavati). 
He was one of the greatest archers and warriors of his time and was trained
by Lord Vishnu's sixth avatar Parshurama .
He also handed down the Vishnu Sahasranama to Yudhishthira when he was
on his bed of arrows after the battle of Kurukshetra.
 Dronacharya
Drona or Guru Drona or Raja guru Devadrona was royal preceptor to
the Kauravas and Pandavas.
He was a friend of Guru Sukracharya, the guru of Asuras
He was the son of rishi Bharadwaj
He was a master of advanced military arts, including the divine Astras.
He was also the second commander- in- chief of Kauravas army from 11th day to
15th day in the battle
He was beheaded by Dhrishtadyumna when he was meditating to release his soul on
the battlefield.
Drona held the invincible sword of Lord Brahma. 
This sword was the primordial weapon created by the gods for the destruction of evil.
The name of the sword was Asi, the personification and the primary energy behind
all the weapons ever created.
Dronacharya’s guru dakshina by ekalava
 Arjuna
Arjuna is the main protagonist of the Indian epic Mahabharata and also
appears in other ancient Hindu texts.
He was born when Indra, god of rain, blessed Kunti and Pandu with a son.
He was the third of the Pandavas brothers and known as Madhyam Pandava
From childhood, Arjuna was a brilliant student and was favored by his
beloved teacher, Drona.
Arjuna is depicted as a skilled archer and wins the hand of Draupadi in
marriage.
She becomes his first wife and is simultaneously married to Arjuna's
brothers because of Kunti's misunderstanding.
He plays a main role in the Bhagavad Gita alongside Krishna.
During his second exile, Arjuna gained many celestial weapons.
Despite being a powerful warrior Arjuna was also skilled in music and dance.
For Agyatvāsa Arjuna stayed in Matsya Kingdom and disguised himself as
an eunuch named Brihannala.
After the exile, his disciple, Uttara was married to his son, Abhimanyu.
Before the beginning of the Kurukshetra War, Lord Krishna became his
charioteer and taught him the sacred knowledge of Gita. 
In the war, Arjuna defeated and killed many warriors. After the war, Arjuna
was killed by his son, Babhruvahana, but revived by Ulupi.
 Abhimanyu
He was the son of the third Pandava prince Arjuna and Yadava princess Subhadra.
 He is believed to be an avatar of Varchas, son of Chandra.
 From childhood, Abhimanyu lacked fatherly love and was raised by his maternal
relatives.
• Arjuna Putra - true successor of Arjuna. Abhimanyu was one of the greatest archers in
the world .
• Subhadranandan - son of Subhadra.
• Varchas Avatar - avatar of Varchas.
• Krishna Shishya - the disciple of Krishna.
After Yudhishthira had lost the game of dice, all the Pandavas along with Draupadi were
sent on exile. Subhadra, during this period stayed with her brothers in Dwarka, where
she, along with her family members, raised Abhimanyu
 They were trained in arms and warfare by Pradyumna, Balarama and Krishna.
Then after the completion of this exile the Kurukshetra war was declared.
 Before the start of this war the Pandavas stayed in the Kingdom of Virat where
Abhimanyu marries the Virat princess Uttara.
In the war, Abhimanyu fought from his father’s side. He displayed great valour in
the war,
despite the fact that he was a youngster.
On the 13th day of the war, Arjuna was diverted to South by Susharma and
Trigartas
taking advantage of his absence, Duryodhana and his allies made a plan to trap
Yudhishthira so that the war can be stopped easily and without losing much army.
The army of Kauravas, under Dronacharya, formed Chakravyuh. Abhimanyu
knew how
to enter it but didn’t know how to exit. He went into the trap followed by his
paternal
uncles.
 Near the edges of the Chakravyuh, Abhimanyu ends up killing Laxmana, the
son of
Duryodhana.
Outraged by the killing of his son, Duryodhana orders Dronacharya to change the plan
into killing Abhimanyu, but Abhimanyu was followed by the remaining four Pandavas
 However the four Pandavas were stopped by Jayadratha.
 Therefore Abhimanyu was alone inside the center of the Chakravyuh with 6 – 7 great
warriors or maharathies like Drona, Duryodhana, Karna, Dushasana, Ashwatthama,
Shakuni and Kripacharya
 He was attacked by all these great warriors and killed by betrayal which was against the
rules of the war.
 Credits
  Anchit (Krishna)

Bharath (Bheeshma)

Adithya (Drona)

Aarya (Arjun)

Anirudh (Abhimanyu)