Question

tell something about Mahabharat

Answer 1

Mahabharat is a Sanskrit epic book written by Ved Vyas telling the story of a real fight between Pandvas and Kaurvas in the kingdom of Kurukshetra in 9th century BC.

Answer 2

The story is as follows:

Shantanu, the king of Hastinapur, was married to Ganga with whom he had a son called Devavrat. Several years later , Shantanu fell in love with Satyavati. Her father refused to let her marry the king unless the king promised that Satyavati's son and descendants would inherit the throne. Unwilling to deny Devavrat his rights, Shantanu declined to do so but the prince, on coming to know of the matter, vowed to renounce the throne and to remain celibate throughout his life. The prince then took Satyavati home to the palace so that the king, could marry her.On account of the terrible vow that he'd taken that day, Devavrat came to be known as Bheeshm. Shantanu was so pleased with his son that he granted to Devavrat the boon of choosing the time of his own death.

In time, Shantanu and Satyavati had two sons. Soon thereafter, Shantanu died. Satyavati's sons still being minors, the affairs of the kingdom were managed by Bheeshm and Satyavati. By the time these sons reached adulthood, the elder one had died in a skirmish with some gandharvas (heavenly beings) so the younger son, Vichitravirya, was enthroned. Bheeshm then abducted the three princesses of a neighbouring kingdom and brought them over to Hastinapur to be wedded to Vichitravirya. The eldest of these princesses Amba declared that she was in love with someone else, so she was let go; the two other princesses were married to Vichitravirya who died soon afterwards, childless.

So that the family line did not die out, Satyavati summoned her son Vyasa. Thus, the two queens each had a son of Vyasa: to the elder queen was born a blind son called Dhritarashtra, and to younger was born an otherwise healthy but extremely pale son called Pandu. To a maid of these queens was born a son of Vyasa called Vidur. Bheeshm brought up these three boys with great care.

With the boys grown, it was now time to fill up the empty throne of Hastinapur. Pandu was crowned. Bheeshm negotiated Dhritarashtra's marriage with Gandhari, and Pandu's with Pritha and Madri. With things running smoothly in the country, and with its coffers full, Pandu asked his elder brother to look after the state affairs, and retired to the forests with his two wives.

A few years later, Pritha returned to Hastinapur with her were five little boys after the death of Pandu and Madri. In the meanwhile, Dhritarashtra and Gandhari too had had children of their own: 100 sons.

Years pass, and the Kauravas grow up to be evil, led by their eldest brother Duryodhana, contrary to the Pandavas who are righteous.

Years pass, and the princes return to Hastinapur, Pritha realizes that Karna, Duryodhana's best friend, is her son born long before marriage. In the meantime, Arjun befriends Shri Krishna. The Pandavas marry Draupadi.

The sequence of events lead to the Kuru Kingdom being divided - The Pandavas receive a new kingdom - Indraprastha. The prosperity of Indraprastha angers Duryodhana. A jealous Duryodhana summons Pandavas for a dice game where Yudhishtir loses.

The Pandavas and Draupadi, as a result of losing, are forced into a 12-year exile and a year of incognito, the latter phase being spent in the kingdom of Matsya. Pandavas reunite with their children - the Upapandavas (Draupadi's sons)and Abhimanyu (Arjuna and Subhadra's son), after the exile period. Abhimanyu is married to Uttaraa.

The Pandavas' peace treaty with the Kauravas fails to materialise, thus confirming that a war is set to happen. Both, the Pandavas and Kauravas, gather their respective armies by allying with different tribes and kingdoms. Karna comes To know of his true identity and promises his biological mother that he will not kill any of the pandas except Arjun.

Shortly before the Kurukshetra War commences, Arjuna obtains the knowledge of the Bhagavad Gita from Krishna, which helps him fight for righteousness without any remorse of killing his own people in the process. The war begins and continues for 18 days - both the sides face mass destruction. The Pandavas and Kauravas lose all of their children, in-laws and allies, and the war officially ends after Duryodhana, the only remaining Kaurava, is killed by Bhima.

The Pandavas return to Hastinapura.Yudhishthira is finally crowned by Krishna, as the king of Hastinapur.