Mahabharata

At a glance

History, context & interpretation

The text and its story

The war between the Pandava and Kaurava cousins, with countless side stories, teachings and the Bhagavad Gita. It says of itself: 'What is here may be found elsewhere; what is not here is nowhere.'

Traditional attribution

Dictated by the sage Vyasa to Ganesha, who wrote it down with his own broken tusk.

Historical scholarship

Grew over centuries through generations of bards and editors.

Context and curiosity

Its longest versions run to about 100,000 couplets, roughly ten times the Iliad and Odyssey combined.

Chronology and transmission

This text belongs to Hinduism & Vedic India (India). The catalogue gives its approximate dating as c. 400 BCE – 400 CE and original language or script as Sanskrit. The dated manuscript witnesses and traditional claims may not refer to the same historical event.

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Sources and further reading

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahabharata

Historical descriptions are educational summaries. Religious traditions, scholarly interpretations and unverified claims are distinguished where possible; imagery may be illustrative rather than an artifact photograph.