Tales from the Mahabharat

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Introduction

The War

The Mahabharat is a Sanskrit story composed around two thousand years ago about a war between the five Pandav brothers and the hundred Kaurav brothers over the throne of Hastinapur. The Pandavas (singular: Pandav) and the Kauravas (singular: Kaurav) were first cousins; their respective fathers, Pandu and Dhritarashtra, were half-brothers. The Pandavas were the good guys. They had Lord Krishna (the eighth avatar of Vishnu, the Preserver of the universe) on their side and finally vanquished the evil Kauravas. 

The Pandavas

The five sons of Pandu are called the Pandavas. Pandu had two wives, Kunti and Madri. Note that the Pandavas were not Pandu's biological children; a rishi had cursed Pandu that he would die if he made love to his wife. The Pandavas, from oldest to youngest, were:

The Pandavas were married to Draupadi, the daughter of King Drupad.

The Kauravas

Duryodhan was the oldest Kaurav and an expert mace fighter. Dushasan was the second oldest Kaurav. The Kauravas' parents were the blind Dhritarashtra and his wife, Gandhari.

Cause of the Dispute

Vichitraveerya ruled the kingdom of Hastinapur. After his death, his oldest stepson, Dhritarashtra, would've been the heir to the throne. But, since Dhritarashtra was born blind, his younger half-brother, Pandu, was crowned king instead. King Pandu unexpectedly died, after which Dhritarashtra was made the interim king of Hastinapur until Pandu's oldest son, Prince Yudhishthir, was old enough to take up the throne. Duryodhan, the eldest son of Dhritarashtra, believed his father had been unfairly denied Hastinapur's throne because of his blindness. So, Duryodhan believed that he, not Prince Yudhishtir, should become the next king of Hastinapur. 

Contents

The following are some snippets from this epic, in no particular order.

Sources