Editing Mahabharata (section)

== Synopsis ==
[[File: Ganesha write Mahabharata.jpg|thumb|Ganesha writes the ''Mahabharata'' upon Vyasa's dictation.]]{{See also|List of characters in the Mahabharata}}
The core story of the work is that of a dynastic struggle for the throne of [[Hastinapura]], the kingdom ruled by the [[Kuru (India)|Kuru]] clan. The two collateral branches of the family that participate in the struggle are the [[Kaurava]] and the [[Pandava]]. Although the Kaurava is the senior branch of the family, [[Duryodhana]], the eldest Kaurava, is younger than [[Yudhishthira]], the eldest Pandava. Both [[Duryodhana]] and [[Yudhishthira]] claim to be first in line to inherit the throne.

The struggle culminates in the [[Kurukshetra War]], in which the [[Pandavas]] are ultimately victorious. The battle produces complex conflicts of kinship and friendship, instances of family loyalty and duty taking precedence over what is right, as well as the converse.

The ''Mahābhārata'' itself ends with the death of [[Krishna]], and the subsequent end of his dynasty and ascent of the Pandava brothers to heaven. It also marks the beginning of the Hindu age of ''[[Kali Yuga]]'', the fourth and final age of humankind, in which great values and noble ideas have crumbled, and people are heading towards the complete dissolution of right action, morality, and virtue.

=== The older generations ===
[[File: Ravi Varma-Shantanu and Satyavati.jpg|thumb|Shantanu falls in love with Satyavati, the fisherwoman. Painting by [[Raja Ravi Varma]].]]

King Janamejaya's ancestor, [[Shantanu]], the king of [[Hastinapura]], had a short-lived marriage with the goddess [[Ganga (goddess)|Ganga]] and had a son, Devavrata (later to be called [[Bhishma]], a great warrior), who becomes the heir apparent. Many years later, when King [[Shantanu]] goes hunting, he sees [[Satyavati]], the daughter of the chief of fishermen, and asks her father for her hand. Her father refuses to consent to the marriage unless Shantanu promises to make any future son of Satyavati the king upon his death. To resolve his father's dilemma, [[Bhishma|Devavrata]] agrees to relinquish his right to the throne. As the fisherman is not sure about the prince's children honoring the promise, Devavrata also takes a vow of lifelong celibacy to guarantee his father's promise.

Shantanu has two sons by Satyavati, [[Chitrāngada]] and [[Vichitravirya]]. Upon Shantanu's death, Chitrangada becomes king. He lives a very short uneventful life and dies. [[Vichitravirya]], the younger son, rules [[Hastinapura]]. Meanwhile, the King of [[Kāśī]] arranges a [[swayamvara]] for his three daughters, neglecting to invite the royal family of Hastinapura. To arrange the marriage of young Vichitravirya, Bhishma attends the swayamvara of the three princesses [[Amba (Mahabharata)|Amba]], [[Ambika (Mahabharata)|Ambika]], and [[Ambalika]], uninvited, and proceeds to abduct them. Ambika and Ambalika consent to be married to Vichitravirya.

The oldest princess Amba, however, informs Bhishma that she wishes to marry the king of Shalva whom Bhishma defeated at their swayamvara. Bhishma lets her leave to marry the king of Shalva, but Shalva refuses to marry her, still smarting at his humiliation at the hands of Bhishma. Amba then returns to marry Bhishma but he refuses due to his vow of celibacy. Amba becomes enraged and becomes Bhishma's bitter enemy, holding him responsible for her plight. She vows to kill him in her next life. Later she is reborn to King [[Drupada]] as [[Shikhandi]] (or Shikhandini) and causes Bhishma's fall, with the help of [[Arjuna]], in the battle of Kurukshetra.

=== The Pandava and Kaurava princes ===
[[File:Draupadi and Pandavas.jpg|thumb|[[Draupadi]] with her five husbands – the [[Pandavas]]. The central figure is [[Yudhishthira]]; the two on the bottom are [[Bhima]] and [[Arjuna]]. [[Nakula]] and [[Sahadeva]], the twins, are standing. Painting by [[Raja Ravi Varma]], {{Circa|1900}}.]]

When Vichitravirya dies young without any heirs, Satyavati asks her first son [[Vyasa]], born to her from a previous union with the sage [[Parashara]], to [[niyoga|father children with]] the widows. The eldest, Ambika, shuts her eyes when she sees him, and so her son [[Dhritarashtra]] is born blind. Ambalika turns pale and bloodless upon seeing him, and thus her son [[Pandu]] is born pale and unhealthy (the term Pandu may also mean 'jaundiced'<ref>{{cite web |url=http://webapps.uni-koeln.de/tamil/ |title=Sanskrit, Tamil and Pahlavi Dictionaries |language=de |publisher=Webapps.uni-koeln.de |date=11 February 2003 |access-date=9 February 2008 |archive-date=26 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080126035307/http://webapps.uni-koeln.de/tamil/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>). Due to the physical challenges of the first two children, Satyavati asks Vyasa to try once again. However, Ambika and Ambalika send their maid instead, to Vyasa's room. Vyasa fathers a third son, [[Vidura]], by the maid. He is born healthy and grows up to be one of the wisest figures in the ''Mahabharata''. He serves as Prime Minister (Mahamantri or Mahatma) to King Pandu and King Dhritarashtra.

When the princes grow up, Dhritarashtra is about to be crowned king by Bhishma when Vidura intervenes and uses his knowledge of politics to assert that a blind person cannot be king. This is because a blind man cannot control and protect his subjects. The throne is then given to Pandu because of Dhritarashtra's blindness. Pandu marries twice, to [[Kunti]] and [[Madri]]. Dhritarashtra marries [[Gandhari (Mahabharata)|Gandhari]], a princess from Gandhara, who blindfolds herself for the rest of her life so that she may feel the pain that her husband feels. Her brother [[Shakuni]] is enraged by this and vows to take revenge on the Kuru family. One day, when Pandu is relaxing in the forest, he hears the sound of a wild animal. He shoots an arrow in the direction of the sound. However, the arrow hits the sage [[Kindama]], who was engaged in a sexual act in the guise of a deer. He curses Pandu that if he engages in a sexual act, he will die. Pandu then retires to the forest along with his two wives, and his brother Dhritarashtra rules thereafter, despite his blindness.

Pandu's older queen Kunti, however, had been given a boon by Sage [[Durvasa]] that she could invoke any god using a special mantra. Kunti uses this boon to ask [[Dharma]], the god of justice, [[Vayu]], the god of the wind, and [[Indra]], the lord of the heavens for sons. She gives birth to three sons, [[Yudhishthira]], [[Bhima]], and [[Arjuna]], through these gods. Kunti shares her mantra with the younger queen [[Madri]], who bears the twins [[Nakula]] and [[Sahadeva]] through the [[Ashvins|Ashwini]] twins. However, Pandu and Madri indulge in lovemaking, and Pandu dies. Madri commits suicide out of remorse. Kunti raises the five brothers, who are from then on usually referred to as the [[Pandava]] brothers.

Dhritarashtra has a hundred sons, and one daughter—[[Duhsala]]—through [[Gandhari (Mahabharata)|Gandhari]],<ref>{{cite book|last = Mani|first = Vettam|title = Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary With Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature|url = https://archive.org/details/puranicencyclopa00maniuoft|publisher = Motilal Banarsidass|year = 1975|location = Delhi|isbn = 978-0-8426-0822-0|authorlink =Vettam Mani|page=263}}</ref> all born after the birth of Yudhishthira. These are the [[Kaurava]] brothers, the eldest being [[Duryodhana]], and the second [[Dushasana]]. Other Kaurava brothers include [[Vikarna]] and Sukarna. The rivalry and enmity between them and the Pandava brothers, from their youth and into manhood, leads to the [[Kurukshetra]] war.

=== Lakshagraha (the house of lac) ===
After the deaths of their mother (Madri) and father (Pandu), the Pandavas and their mother Kunti return to the palace of Hastinapur. Yudhishthira is made Crown Prince by Dhritarashtra, under considerable pressure from his courtiers.

Shakuni, Duryodhana, and Dushasana plot to get rid of the Pandavas. Shakuni calls the architect [[Purochana]] to build a palace out of flammable materials like lac and ghee. He then arranges for the Pandavas and the Queen Mother Kunti to stay there, intending to set it alight. However, the Pandavas are warned by their wise uncle, [[Vidura]], who sends them a miner to dig a tunnel. They escape to safety through the tunnel and go into hiding. During this time, Bhima marries a [[demon]]ess [[Hidimbi]] and has a son [[Ghatotkacha]]. Back in Hastinapur, the Pandavas and Kunti are presumed dead.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m01/m01144.htm |title=Book 1: Adi Parva: Jatugriha Parva |publisher=Sacred-texts.com |access-date=1 September 2010 |archive-date=25 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100325214549/http://sacred-texts.com/hin/m01/m01144.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Marriage to Draupadi ===
[[File:Swayamvara Draupadi Arjuna Archery.jpg|thumb|[[Arjuna]] piercing the eye of the fish as depicted in [[Chennakeshava Temple, Belur]] built by [[Hoysala Empire]]]]

Whilst they were in hiding, the Pandavas learn of a [[swayamvara]] which is taking place for the hand of the [[Pāñcāla]] princess [[Draupadī]]. The Pandavas, disguised as [[Brahmin]]s, come to witness the event. Meanwhile, Krishna, who has already befriended Draupadi, tells her to look out for Arjuna (though now believed to be dead). The task was to string a mighty steel bow and shoot a target on the ceiling, which was the eye of a moving artificial fish, while looking at its reflection in oil below. In popular versions, after all the princes fail, many being unable to lift the bow, Karna proceeds to the attempt but is interrupted by Draupadi who refuses to marry a suta (this has been excised from the Critical Edition of Mahabharata<ref name="archive.org">{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/mahabharatha015693mbp|title=THE MAHABHARATHA|last=VISHNU S. SUKTHANKAR|date=11 March 2018|publisher=BHANDARKAR ORIENTAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE, POONA|via=Internet Archive}}</ref><ref name="bori.ac.in">{{cite web|url=http://www.bori.ac.in/mahabharata_project.html|title=The Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute : Mahabharata Project|website=bori.ac.in|access-date=3 November 2019|archive-date=20 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171220032420/http://www.bori.ac.in/mahabharata_project.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> as later interpolation<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/InterpolationsInTheMahabharata|title=Interpolations in the Mahabharata|last=M. A. Mehendale|date=1 January 2001|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>). After this, the swayamvara is opened to the Brahmins leading Arjuna to win the contest and marry Draupadi. The Pandavas return home and inform their meditating mother that Arjuna has won a competition and to look at what they have brought back. Without looking, Kunti asks them to share whatever Arjuna has won amongst themselves, thinking it to be [[alms]]. Thus, Draupadi ends up being the [[Fraternal polyandry|wife of all five brothers]].

=== Indraprastha ===
After the wedding, the Pandava brothers are invited back to Hastinapura. The Kuru family elders and relatives negotiate and broker a split of the kingdom, with the Pandavas obtaining and demanding only a wild forest inhabited by [[Takshaka]], the king of snakes, and his family. Through hard work, the Pandavas build a new glorious capital for the territory at [[Indraprastha]].

Shortly after this, Arjuna elopes with and then marries Krishna's sister, [[Subhadra]]. Yudhishthira wishes to establish his position as king; he seeks Krishna's advice. Krishna advises him, and after due preparation and the elimination of some opposition, Yudhishthira carries out the ''rājasūya yagna'' ceremony; he is thus recognized as pre-eminent among kings.

The Pandavas have a [[Mayasabha|new palace]] built for them, by [[Mayasura|Maya]] the [[Danava (Hinduism)|Danava]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m02/m02001.htm |title=Book 2: Sabha Parva: Sabhakriya Parva |publisher=Sacred-texts.com |access-date=1 September 2010 |archive-date=27 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527203909/http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m02/m02001.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> They invite their Kaurava cousins to Indraprastha. Duryodhana walks round the palace, and mistakes a glossy floor for water, and will not step in. After being told of his error, he then sees a pond and assumes it is not water and falls in. [[Bhima]], [[Arjuna]], the twins and the servants laugh at him.<ref name="Laughter at Duryodhana">{{cite web| url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m02/m02046.htm| title=Sabha parva| publisher=Sacred-texts.com| access-date=13 July 2015| archive-date=24 September 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924133159/http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m02/m02046.htm| url-status=live}}</ref> In popular adaptations, this insult is wrongly attributed to Draupadi, even though in the Sanskrit epic, it was the Pandavas (except Yudhishthira) who had insulted Duryodhana. Enraged by the insult, and jealous at seeing the wealth of the Pandavas, Duryodhana decides to host a dice-game on Shakuni's suggestion. This suggestion was accepted by Yudhisthira despite the rest of the Pandavas advising him not to play.

=== The dice game ===
[[File: Disrobing of Draupadi.jpg|thumb|Draupadi humiliated]]
[[Shakuni]], Duryodhana's uncle, now arranges a dice game, playing against Yudhishthira with loaded dice. In the dice game, Yudhishthira loses all his wealth, then his kingdom. Yudhishthira then gambles his brothers, himself, and finally his wife into servitude. The jubilant Kauravas insult the Pandavas in their helpless state and even try to disrobe Draupadi in front of the entire court, but Draupadi's disrobe is prevented by Krishna, who miraculously make her dress endless, therefore it couldn't be removed.

Dhritarashtra, Bhishma, and the other elders are aghast at the situation, but Duryodhana is adamant that there is no place for two crown princes in Hastinapura. Against his wishes Dhritarashtra calls for another dice game. The Pandavas are required to go into exile for 12 years, and in the 13th year, they must remain hidden called as ''[[Agyaata Vaasa]]''. If they are discovered by the Kauravas in the 13th year of their exile, then they will be forced into exile for another 12 years.

=== Exile and return ===
The Pandavas spend thirteen years in exile; many adventures occur during this time. The Pandavas acquire many divine weapons, given by gods, during this period. They also prepare alliances for a possible future conflict. They spend their final year in disguise in the court of the king [[Virata]], and they are discovered just after the end of the year.

At the end of their exile, they try to negotiate a return to Indraprastha with Krishna as their emissary. However, this negotiation fails, because Duryodhana objected that they were discovered in the 13th year of their exile and the return of their kingdom was not agreed upon. Then the Pandavas fought the Kauravas, claiming their rights over Indraprastha.[[File: The center of battle of Kurukshetra.jpg|thumb|A scene from the ''Mahabharata'' war, [[Angkor Wat]]: A black stone relief depicting several men wearing a crown and a dhoti, fighting with spears, swords, and bows. A chariot with half the horse out of the frame is seen in the middle.|alt=A black stone relief depicting several men wearing a crown and a dhoti, fighting with spears, swords, and bows. A chariot with half the horse out of the frame is seen in the middle.]]

=== The battle at Kurukshetra ===
{{Main|Kurukshetra War}}
[[File:Mahabharata BharatVarsh.jpg|thumb|A map of India depicting various regions during the Mahabharata period]]

The two sides summon vast armies to their help and line up at [[Kurukshetra]] for a war. The kingdoms of [[Panchala]], [[Dvārakā|Dwaraka]], Kasi, [[Kekaya]], [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]], [[Matsya kingdom|Matsya]], [[Chedi kingdom|Chedi]], [[Pandya dynasty|Pandyas]], [[Telinga]], the [[Yadu]]s of [[Mathura, Uttar Pradesh|Mathura]], and some other clans like the [[Parama Kambojas]] were allied with the [[Pandava]]s. The allies of the [[Kaurava]]s included the kings of Pragjyotisha, [[Anga]], Kekaya, Sindhudesa (including Sindhus, [[Sovira|Sauviras]] and Sivis), Mahishmati, [[Avanti (India)|Avanti]] in Madhyadesa, [[Madra]], [[Gandhara]], [[Bahlika people]], [[Kambojas]], and many others. Before war is declared, [[Balarama]] expresses his unhappiness at the developing conflict and leaves to go on [[pilgrimage]]; he does not take part in the battle. Krishna participates in a non-combatant role, as charioteer ([[Sarathi (name of Krishna)|Sarathy]]) for [[Arjuna]] and offers [[Narayani Sena]] consisting of [[Abhira tribe|Abhira]] gopas to the [[Kaurava]]s to fight on their side.<ref>{{cite book| last= Nath Soni| first = Lok| title = The Cattle and the Stick An Ethnographic Profile of the Raut of Chhattisgarh| publisher=Anthropological Survey of India| page =16| isbn= 9788185579573| year= 2000}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last= Shome| first = Alo| title = Krishna Charitra: The Essence of Bankim Chandra| page =104| isbn= 8122310354| year= 2000|publisher=Pustak Mahal}}</ref>

Before the battle, Arjuna, noticing that the opposing army includes his cousins and relatives, including his grandfather [[Bhishma]] and his teacher [[Drona]], has grave doubts about the fight. He falls into despair and refuses to fight. At this time, Krishna reminds him of his duty as a [[Kshatriya]] to fight for a righteous cause in the famous [[Bhagavad Gita]] section of the epic.

Though initially adhering to chivalrous notions of warfare, both sides soon adopt dishonorable tactics. At the end of the 18-day battle, only the Pandavas, [[Satyaki]], [[Kripa]], [[Ashwatthama]], [[Kritavarma]], [[Yuyutsu]] and Krishna survive. Yudhisthira becomes king of Hastinapur. All warriors who died in the Kurukshetra war go to swarga.

=== The end of the Pandavas ===
[[File:Totheforest.jpg|thumb|left|Gandhari, blindfolded, supporting Dhrtarashtra and following Kunti when Dhritarashtra became old and infirm and retired to the forest. A miniature painting from a 16th-century manuscript of part of the Razmnama, a [[Persian language|Persian]] translation of the ''Mahabharata'']]

After "seeing" the carnage, [[Gandhari (Mahabharata)|Gandhari]], who had lost all her sons, curses [[Krishna]] to be a witness to a similar annihilation of his family, for though divine and capable of stopping the war, he had not done so. Krishna accepts the curse, which bears fruit 36 years later.

The Pandavas, who had ruled their kingdom meanwhile, decide to renounce everything. Clad in skins and rags they retire to the [[Himalaya]] and climb towards heaven in their bodily form. A stray dog travels with them. One by one the brothers and Draupadi fall on their way. As each one stumbles, Yudhishthira gives the rest the reason for their fall ([[Draupadi]] was partial to [[Arjuna]], [[Nakula]] and Sahadeva were vain and proud of their looks, and Bhima and Arjuna were proud of their strength and archery skills, respectively). Only the virtuous Yudhishthira, who had tried everything to prevent the carnage, and the dog remain. The dog reveals himself to be the god Yama (also known as Yama Dharmaraja) and then takes him to the underworld where he sees his siblings and wife. After explaining the nature of the test, Yama takes Yudhishthira back to heaven and explains that it was necessary to expose him to the underworld because (Rajyante narakam dhruvam) any ruler has to visit the underworld at least once. Yama then assures him that his siblings and wife would join him in heaven after they had been exposed to the underworld for measures of time according to their vices.

Arjuna's grandson [[Parikshit]] rules after them and dies bitten by a snake. His furious son, Janamejaya, decides to perform a snake sacrifice (''[[sarpasattra]]'') to destroy the snakes. It is at this sacrifice that the tale of his ancestors is narrated to him.

=== The reunion ===
The ''Mahābhārata'' mentions that [[Karna]], the Pandavas, Draupadi and Dhritarashtra's sons eventually ascended to [[svarga]] and "attained the state of the [[god]]s", and banded together – "serene and free from anger".<ref>{{cite book |title=Mahabharata |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/mahabharata0000raja |chapter-url-access=registration |chapter=Yudhishthira's final trial |publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan |year=2005 |edition=45th |first=Chakravarti |last=Rajagopalachari |author-link=C. Rajagopalachari |location=Mumbai |isbn=978-81-7276-368-8}}</ref>