Mahabharata (Ved Vyas)
The Mahabharata was composed by Maharshi Ved Vyas. It is the longest epic poem in the world with over 100,000 shlokas in 18 Parvas, plus the Harivamsa. It includes the Bhagavad Gita (spoken by Krishna to Arjuna at Kurukshetra) and encompasses dharma, artha, kama, and moksha.
- The Mahabharata is the world's longest epic poem — with 100,000 shlokas it is 7 times the Iliad and Odyssey combined.
- Composed by Veda Vyasa, it narrates the Kurukshetra War between the Pandavas and Kauravas.
- Divided into 18 Parvas (books) plus the Harivamsa as an appendix.
- Contains the Bhagavad Gita — 700 verses of Krishna's teaching that is India's most celebrated philosophical text.
- The epic's central theme is dharma — 'Yato dharmah tato jayah' (where there is dharma, there is victory).
- Characters like Yudhishthira (dharma), Arjuna (heroism), Bhishma (vow), and Karna (loyalty) represent archetypal human dilemmas.
- The Mahabharata explicitly states: 'What is here, may be elsewhere. What is not here, is nowhere.'
- Traditionally dated to around 3102 BCE (start of Kali Yuga) but composed/compiled over centuries.
Structural Organization
Example: Mahabharata, Bhishma Parva, Adhyaya 25 = Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1
Key Topics
Key Figures
Key Texts & Works
Featured Shlokas
Veda Vyasa Opens the Mahabharata
Mahabharata · Chapter Adi Parva 1 · Verse 1
नारायणं नमस्कृत्य नरं चैव नरोत्तमम्। देवीं सरस्वतीं चैव ततो जयमुदीरयेत्॥
nārāyaṇaṃ namaskṛtya naraṃ caiva narottamam | devīṃ sarasvatīṃ caiva tato jayam udīrayet ||
Having bowed to Nārāyaṇa, to Nara the foremost of men, and to the goddess Sarasvatī, one should proclaim “Jaya” (victory).
The Essence of Dharma
Mahabharata · Chapter Vana Parva 313 · Verse 128
धर्म एव हतो हन्ति धर्मो रक्षति रक्षितः। तस्माद्धर्मो न हन्तव्यो मा नो धर्मो हतोऽवधीत्॥
dharma eva hato hanti dharmo rakṣati rakṣitaḥ | tasmād dharmo na hantavyo mā no dharmo hato’vadhīt ||
Dharma, when destroyed, destroys; dharma, when protected, protects. Therefore dharma must not be destroyed, lest destroyed dharma destroy us.
Svasti — Blessing of All Beings
Mahabharata · Chapter Shanti Parva · Verse 369
स्वस्ति प्रजाभ्यः परिपालयन्तां न्यायेन मार्गेण महीं महीशाः। गोब्राह्मणेभ्यः शुभमस्तु नित्यं लोकाः समस्ताः सुखिनो भवन्तु॥
svasti prajābhyaḥ paripālayantāṃ nyāyena mārgeṇa mahīṃ mahīśāḥ | go-brāhmaṇebhyaḥ śubham astu nityaṃ lokāḥ samastāḥ sukhino bhavantu ||
May there be welfare for the people; may the rulers of the earth protect it by the path of justice. May there always be well-being for cows and brahmins; may all beings in all worlds be happy.