Mahabharatam
The Mahabharatam is the largest and most unique epic of our land. It is a narrative of Bharata Vamsha, the clan of Kings and warriors belonging to one family. It is a very comprehensive and exhaustive epic of all times.
It is wrongly construed as mythology, while it is the History of Bharata Varsha, our great and ancient land, made into a colorful heroic legend of cousins – Kauravas 100 in number and 5 Pandavas.
The Mahabharata is divided into 18 books called Parvas. A Parva is a stage of a certain story. This epic is regarded as Itihasa, what we call History in modern terms.
This great epic is the sourcebook of Indian thought, philosophy, and human psychology of our ancient land. The celebrated text of our country- Bhagavadgita is a part of Mahabharata. It is a storehouse of polity, social life, and many other aspects of ancient India.
Here we will discuss all the parvas for a glance. So, Let us start.
Adi Parva
describes the rule of King Shantanu of Bharata Vamsha, followed by the vow taken by Bhishma, his son not to get married to safeguard the clan. Dhritarashtra, Pandu, and Vidura are born. Dhritarastra is born blind, Pandu with a strange disease, and Vidura is the son of a servant maid, but highly wise and sober.
Dhritarastra is married to Gandhari, Pandu to Pritha (Kunti). They grow up together under the supervision of Bhishma, the elder of the family.
While Dhritarastra begets 100 sons and a daughter, Pandu has 5 sons. The boys get trained in archery, warfare, and public administration by great teachers like Drona and Kripa. They compete with each other and more often Pandavas excel against the sons of Dhritarastra. This is the beginning of sibling rivalry among them.
Pandu dies soon and his sons grow up as dependents on their uncle. Sons of Pandu show their excellence as warriors, killing Hidimba, Baka, and others who confronted them and troubled the people of their region.
After the death of Pandu, they are sent away to Khandava, with a plan to get them killed, but they come out of danger. They even try to burn Panadava princes alive by putting them into a house of lac. However, they come out of this danger and wander incognito. Arjuna is married to Krishna’s sister Subhadra.
Sabha Parva
Divine Sculptor Maya built a magnificent palace for the King, Yudhistira, the eldest among Pandavas who performs Rajasuya Yaga. Among the invitees, Jarasandha, another competitor of Kurus is killed while his friend Shishupala is a friend of Duryodhana, the eldest among Kauravas.
In this magnificent palace, Duryodhana slips down making women laugh, prompting him to pull Pandavas to a game of dice, with the cunning help of Shakuni, brother of Gandhari. The Pandavas are invited to a game of dice and get defeated by deceit leading to the disrobing of Draupadi.
The Pandavas get defeated in a second game too, making them helpless and accept Duryodhana’s condition to leave the palace and go on an exile of 12 years to a forest, and 1 year in cognito, failing which they ought to repeat this! Very strange, but this was the condition accepted with helplessness by elders- Bhishma, Vidura, Kripa, and others out of the capital city of Indraprastha, by jealous and arrogant Duryodhana, and his blind father, Dhritarastra.
Aranya Parva
After getting defeated in the game of dice, they get into a forest as per the condition as losers. Here, Bhagavan Krishna, son of Pandavas’ maternal aunt Kunti arrives. During their tenure of punishment, Arjuna gets a divine arrow and bow from Bhagavan Shiva.
The Pandavas are entertained by several Rishis who visit them. We have many stories told to them like those of Sri Rama, Nala, Shibi, Savitri and other great people.
Virata Parva
After their exile in the forest, the Pandavas go incognito and enter the city of King Virata. They don disguise as Priest, cook, horse-breeders, dance teacher,s and Draupadi as the maid of the Queen. Here again, some evil-doers like Kichaka are killed.
Arjuna gets his son Abhimanyu married to the daughter of Virata, Uttara.
Udyog Parva
The Pandavas get ready for the ensuing inevitable war with Duryodhana and the Kaurava army. Duryodhana meets Krishna asking him to help him with his army. Krishna tries for arbitration to stop war and bloodshed, but Duryodhana is adamant. War becomes inevitable.
Commanders of each side are decided and war is to begin with Bhishma leading the Kaurava army.
Bhishma Parva
This is the beginning of the war, Arjuna feels unhappy to kill cousins. Hence, Bhagavan Krishna fills confidence in him through his Song Divine- Srimad Bhagavad Gita. Arjuna wakes up to action and faces the army. Deathless Bhishma tells him how to stop him from participating in the war with eunuch Shikhandi. Bhishma sheds his arrows and reclines on a bed of arrows. He gracefully ends himself at the beginning of Uttarayana of Sun.
Drona Parva
Drona takes over to lead the Kaurava army. Abhimanyu, the young son of Arjuna – Subhadra is sent into war and gets killed. Ghatotkacha, Saindhava get killed. Ashwathama gets furious after death of his father Drona and kills sons of the Pandavas in army camp at night when they were sleeping.
Karna Parva
Karna, whom Kunti conceived before her marriage is now the leader of the Kaurava army. He gets Shalya, as a charioteer to fight against Arjuna in an important battle. Shalya helps Arjuna, by refusing to lift the chariot out of the mud and Karna is killed, even Dusshasana gets killed by Bhima.
Shalya Parva
Shalya, brother of Pandu’s wife Madri takes over the 9th-day battle, on Kaurava’s side. Duryodhana gets defeated by Bhima by conceit. He immerses himself in water and Bhima tempts him to fight. Both fight and Duryodhana gets killed by Bhima.
Sauptika Parva
After the death of Duryodhana, Drona’s son Ashwathama takes over to lead the army. He is out on a killing spree, killing several kings except Krishna, who did not fight and Pandavas. Arjuna takes out the gem on his head making him weak, and insulted Ashwathama goes to penance.
Stree Parva
Dhritarashtra is severely shocked by the death of all his sons. His brother Vidura tries to console the blind king. All the warrior women have lost their husbands, and some self-immolate themselves. Angry Gandhari curses Sri Krishna, that like her family, his family of Yadavas gets destroyed by a civil war, which happens later.
Shanti Parva
The Pandavas have to take over the rule of the kingdom, but Yudhistira is reluctant after losing his kin. Bhishma on his bed of arrows teaches him Rajadharma, to be followed under any situation, which he is bound to follow.
Anushasana Parva
Bhishma, the grandsire leaves his body by his own will. Krishna consoles his mother, Ganga.
Ashwamedhika Parva
Yudhistira is sorry about killing the Kauravas, but is made to rule the kingdom. But his rule is ideal for people to have peace and prosperity. Pareekshit is born to Uttara. The Pandavas perform horse sacrifice.
Ashrama vasika Parva
Yudhistira rules Hastinavati for 15 years. Meanwhile, King Dhritarastra decides to go for penance with his wife. Kunti and Vidura join them. The Pandavas meet them in the forest to seek blessings. The royal couple, Kunti, and others get killed in a wildfire in the forest.
Mousala Parva
A civil war among Krishna’s family begins where all the Yadavas get killed. Bhagavan Krishna decides to leave human form, on the pretext of hitting by a hunter’s arrow. His wives and remaining Yadavas enter fire.
Mahaprasthana Parva
Yudhistira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva decide to end their human forms, after installing Yuyutsu in Kaurava side, and Pareekshit on the Pandava regions as Kings to rule. The Pandavas shed their forms one after the other in a move to reach heaven.
Svargarohana Parva
Yudhistira reaches heaven to find Duryodhana already there, by waging a heroic war. Yudhistira had to see Naraka, the hell for his mistakes small they might be. Yudhistira and brothers enter into the divine forms of Yama, Vayu, Indra, and Ashwinis. Here ends the story of the Mahabharatam.
Final Word
Mahabharata is unique in many aspects. It has Polity, Ethics, a Virtuous lifestyle, nobility, and finally victory to only Dharma- the righteous conduct. There is a saying that there is nothing that the great Epic has not touched.
Pandavas represent the right conduct, and Kauravas are the opposite of this. Krishna, the Master of the Universe helped Pandavas, as they had complete, unquestioned Devotion and Faith in Him.
Future poets of India, owe very much to this great Epic in its content and message. It is like rain, which always nurtures trees and living beings.
Hence, the story of Mahabharata, the sourcebook for future generations, has ever relevant message of truth, steadfastness, valor, fighting for a right cause, and all essential traits of mankind of all times.
Article by Prof P. Padmanabha Rao
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