धर्मो रक्षति रक्षितः — Dharma protects those who protect it

Mahābhārata

महाभारत · The Great Epic of Bhārata

The world's longest epic poem — 100,000 verses, 18 sacred books, the eternal dialogue of the Bhagavad Gītā, and the great war that ended an age.

100,000+
Sanskrit Verses
18
Parvas (Books)
3,000+
Characters
~3102 BCE
Traditional Date
18 Days
Kurukshetra War
The Great Protagonists

Characters of the Epic

From divine avatars to tragic warriors — 24 immortal souls whose dharma and adharma shaped the fate of Bhārata

Lineage of Bharata

The Royal Family Tree

From sage Parāśara through Vyāsa to the Pāṇḍavas and Kauravas — the Kuru dynasty that shook the world

From Creation to Kali Yuga

Complete Timeline of Events

Every major event of the Mahābhārata — from the birth of the Kuru lineage to the end of Dvāpara Yuga

Janapadas of Āryāvarta

Kingdoms of Ancient India

The mighty realms that sent their armies to Kurukshetra — and where to find them in modern India today

Pilgrimage Across Bhārata

Sacred Sites & Locations

Ancient battlefields, holy rivers, and sacred forests — where the Mahābhārata lives on in modern India

18 Days · 18 Akshauhinis

The War in Numbers

The staggering scale of the Kurukshetra War — the most documented epic conflict in ancient literature

Day by Day

18 Days of Kurukshetra

Click any day card for the complete account of that day's events

Astras & Shastras

Divine Weapons Encyclopedia

From Gāṇḍīva to Brahmastra — the supernatural weapons that could invoke gods, destroy armies, and end ages

Then & Now

Ancient India — Mahābhārata Map

15 key locations from the epic plotted across the Indian subcontinent — click any marker for details

Gaṅgā Yamunā Kurukshetra Hastinapur Indraprastha Dwārakā Pāñcāla Gandhāra Magadha Anga Matsya Vidarbha Kāśī Mathurā Badrinath Prayāga Sindhu ~500 km approx. N S E W
Battlefield
Kingdom Capital
Sacred City
Divine/Sage Location
Allied Kingdom

Click any marker for details · Positions are approximate based on scholarly consensus · References: BORI Critical Edition

Stories Within the Story

Sub-tales & Upākhyānas

The Mahābhārata contains hundreds of nested stories — each a complete universe of dharma, love, sacrifice, and wisdom

The Song of God · Bhīṣma Parva, Chapters 23–40

Bhagavad Gītā — All 18 Chapters

The eternal dialogue between Arjuna and Lord Krishna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra — 700 verses of timeless wisdom

The Philosophy

Key Dharmic Concepts

The philosophical vocabulary of the Mahābhārata — from Dharma to Moksha, Karma to Yoga, Ahimsa to Svadharma

Shlokas & Mantras

Sacred Verses

The most celebrated shlokas from the Mahābhārata and Bhagavad Gītā — in Devanāgarī with transliteration and English translation

The 18 Sacred Books

The Eighteen Parvas

100,000 verses organized into 18 Parvas — the complete structure of the world's longest epic poem, authored by Sage Vyāsa

Test Your Knowledge

Mahābhārata Quiz

15 shuffled questions across characters, war events, weapons, philosophy, and Bhagavad Gītā — with explanations

Temple Sounds
— awaiting the cosmic moment —