Duryodhana appointing Drona as commander-in-chief of the Kaurava
Note: The Drona Parva is the 7th parva of the Mahabharata. It describes the period of the battle when Drona was the commander-in-chief of the Kaurava army. The Drona Parva consists of 8909 shlokas (verses) divided into 170 sections.
This parva begins with Drona being given the command of the Kaurava army since the previous commander, Bhishma, lay badly wounded on the battlefield.
Drona’s loyalty to the Kauravas had been questioned by Duryodhana ever since the latter came to power. So, in an attempt to please Duryodhana, Drona vowed to capture Yudhishthira.
After this comes the incident of Arjuna’s retreat from the battlefield to pursue the Sansaptakas.
Subsequently, Arjuna overpowered the immensely strong Bhagadatta along with his elephant, Supritika.
While Arjuna was away, his teenage son, Abhimanyu, was slain by Jayadratha as he fought alone and heroically with several Kaurava maharathas in the Chakravyuha.
Angered by his son’s death, Arjuna single-handedly destroyed seven akshauhinis of the Kaurava army. After routing the Kaurava army, Arjuna pursued and slew Jayadratha (by whose hands Abhimanyu was killed).
Then the mighty Bhima and the valiant chariot warrior, Satyaki, entered the Kaurava ranks in search of Arjuna.
Following this, the remaining warriors of the Sansaptakas were also slain.
Several great warriors lost their lives in this parva. They included Alambysha, Srutayus, Jalasansha, Shomadatta, Virata, Drupada, Ghatotkacha, and several others.
Then came of the incident of the slaying of the great teacher and warrior: Drona.
When Ashwattham heard the news about his father’s fall, he became angry beyond measure and discharged an extremely dangerous weapon called the Narayana.
This parva also contains the story of the glorious Rudra in connection with the burning of the three cities.
The Drona parva ends with the arrival of the learned son of Sage Parasara (Vyasa Muni) who enlightened everyone by telling them about the true glory of Arjuna and Krishna.
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Pitamaha Bhishma on a bed of arrows, with Sri Krishna, Sage Narada, and the Pandavas around him
Note: Bhishma Parva, which is the 6th parva of the Mahabharata, consists of 5884 shlokas (verses) divided into 117 sections. This parva marks the beginning of the great war of Kurukshetra where Bhishma was the commander-in-chief of the Kaurava army. The first ten days of the war until the Bhishma was injured and had to lay down his arms are described in this parva.
The Bhishma parva begins with the great sage, Ved Vyasa, granting celestial vision to Sanjaya. This boon allowed him to see manifest as well as unmanifest worlds. It also gave him clear access to people’s thougths.
In the Bhumi sub-parva, of the Bhishma Parva, Sanjaya described various nations of the world to the blind King Dhritharashtra. He also described several planets, the sun, eclipses, and so on.
Also described in this parva is how Yudhishthira and his army initially became depressed when they saw the massive Kaurava army of elevel akshauhinis.
This parva also contains the famous incident of Arjuna laying down his arms and Sri Krishna expounding the great philosophy of life, death, and the soul. This philosophy was published in the world as The Bhagwad Gita.
In the Bhishma Parva, Pitamaha Bhishma routed his opponents, causing great losses to the Pandava army. When Sri Krishna saw Bhishma’s relentless attack, he broke his vow and fearlessly ran toward Bhishma’s chariot, with only a whip in his hand, to slay the latter.
A quarrel between Arjuna and Yudhishthira is also seen in this parva. Following the quarrel, Arjuna readied himself to strike Yudhishthira but was stopped by Sri Krishna, who brought him to his senses with sharp words.
The Bhishma parva ends with Bhishma falling from his chariot, pierced in the entire body by Arjuna’s arrows that had been shot, by the foremost of archers, from behind Shikhandin.
The final scene of this parva is Bhishma laying on the battlefield on a bed of arrows.
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Note: The 5th parva, which is known as the Udyoga Parva, contains Krishna’s efforts to make peace between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. However, the peace efforts were unsuccessful, therefore this parva also contains details of the battle preparations.
The Udyoga Parva is made up of 6698 shlokas (verses) divided into 186 sections.
Following is an outline of the events that are described in the Udyoga Parva.
The Udyoga Parva begins with the incident of Duryodhana and Arjuna approaching Krishna for help at the same time. Upon being given two options, Arjuna selected Sri Krishna as a counselor who would not participate in the battle, while Duryodhana selected Krishna’s army of one akshauhini.
Next in this parva, we see that Salya, the king of Madra, had decided to support the Pandavas. However, Duryodhana intercepted Salya when he was on his way to the Pandavas camp. Duryodhana pleased the monarch with lavish gifts, respect, and hospitality, and won King Salya over to his side.
The incident of the Pandavas sending their purohit (priest) with a message for the Kauravas is also described in this parva.
The Pandavas’ purohit narrated a story of Indra’s victory to the Kauravas. After hearing the story, King Dhritarashtra also decided to send his purohit with a message to the Pandavas, however, ultimately, he sent Sanjaya with a message of peace.
Also described in this parva, is Dhritarashtra’s anxiety and sleeplessness after hearing several things about the Pandavas, their friends, Krishna, and others.
It was on this occasion that Vidura addressed King Dhritarashtra with words full of spiritual philosophy and wisdom. The contents of Vidura’s speech are popularly known as Vidura Niti.
Meanwhile, Sanjaya returned from the Pandavas’ camp the next morning and spoke about the true identity of Krishna and Arjuna to Dhritharasthta. At the same time, the illustrious Krishna was also moved by compassion and went to Hastinapura in a final bid to make peace.
Prince Duryodhana, however, rejected Krishna’s offer of peace. This episode of the Udyoga Parva, mentions several other stories like those of Damvodvava, the story of Matuli’s search for a husband for his daughter, the history of Sage Galava, and finally, the story of the training and discipline of the son of Bidula.
Krishna exhibits his yogic powers to the assembly of kings in the Kaurava court. He also advises Karna to seek peace rather than war.
Despite his efforts, Krishna was not able to bring peace to the situation. Therefore, he returned to Upaplavya to the Pandavas’ camp and narrated all the incidents, that had occurred in Hastinapur, to them. After listening to Krishna, the Pandavas started preparing for war.
Next, we read about troops from both sides marching toward the battlefield.
On the day before the battle, Duryodhana sent a messenger, Uluka, to the Pandavas. The words of this messenger served to further anger the Pandavas.
This parva describes charioteers of different classes based on their level of skill.
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Note: The Virata Parva is the 4th parva of the Mahabharata. It consists of 2050 shlokas divided into 67 sections.
This parva deals with the thirteenth year of the Pandavas’ exile. They had to spend this year in disguise. According to the rules set in the prior game of dice, if they were recognized, they would have to go into exile for another thirteen years.
The Pandavas spend this year in King Virata’s palace. Nobody in the palace, including King Virata, knew about their real identities.
This parva begins with the Pandavas arriving in King Virata’s kingdom. When they were on the outskirts of the capital city, they hid their weapons in a large Shami tree that had grown near a cemetery.
Also described, in this parva, are the various incidents that happened while the Pandavas were living in disguise in the King’s palace.
The wicked Kichaka, pursued Draupadi out of lust and was eventually slayed by Bhima.
Meanwhile, Duryodhana sent several clever spies to search for the Pandavas. However, none of them succeeded.
This parva describes the incident where the Trigartas took hold of King Virata’s cattle. A terrible battle followed in which the king was captured by the Trigartas. However, Bhima rescued the king and his cattle.
The Kauravas became suspicious when they learned of this incident. Consequently, they too captured King Virata’s cattle. In the battle that followed, the Kauravas were single-handedly defeated by Arjuna who was disguised as Brihannala.
Following this incident, the Pandavas revealed their true identity since the year of disguise had come to an end. When King Virata learned about who these brave warriors truly were, he bestowed his daughter, Uttara, to Arjuna in marriage. However, Arjuna suggested that she come into the Pandava household as his daughter-in-law and Abhimanyu’s wife. King Virata accepted the proposal and Uttara married Abhimanyu (the son of Subhadra and Arjuna).
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Note: The Aranyaka Parva (also known as the Vanan Parva) deals with the events that happened while the Pandavas were exiled to the forest after the game of dice.
This is the 3rd parva of the Mahabharata. It consists of 11664 shlokas (verses) divided into 269 sections.
When the Pandavas left their kingdom to go to the forest, many citizens of their kingdom also followed the wise Yudhishthira. However, having lost all his wealth in the game of dice, he was unable to feed the brahmanas who were following him to the forest. Yudhishthira offers prayers to Surya Dev (the Sun God) upon the instructions of his head priest, Dhaumya, and is gifted with the power to create food and feed the brahmanas.
This parva also contains the incident of Dhritarashtra expelling Vidura. The latter went to the Pandavas, but they advised him to return to Dhritarashtra.
This is followed by the incident of Karna inciting Duryodhana to destroy the Pandavas in the forest. However, Vyasa arrives in Hastinapur and convinces Duryodhan to abandon his wicked plans.
This parva contains the story of Surabhi.
Meanwhile, Maitreya arrived in Hastinapur and suggested a course of action to Dhritarashtra. He also cursed Duryodhana.
Bhima slayed Kirmira in this parva.
After that, the Panchalas and the princes of the Vrishni race found out about Yudhishthira’s plight and went to meet him in the forest. Krishna became intensely angry when he heard about the deceit and was calmed by Arjuna’s words. Draupadi lamented to Krishna about all that had happened and Krishna consoled her and said words to help her regain her composure. Eventually, Krishna returned to Dwarka with Subhadra’s son and Drishtadyumna returned to Panchala with Draupadi’s sons.
After Krishna and Drishtadyumna left, the Pandavas went to the romantic forests of Dwaita. There, Drupadi had a long conversation with Bhima and Yudhishthira. Vyasa Muni also met the Pandavas in the forest and gifted Yudhishthira with the power of Pratismriti (the power of traveling with great speed). After Ved Vyasa left, the Pandavas left Dwaita forest and went to the forest of Kamyaka.
This parva also describes Arjuna’s wanderings in search of weapons. During this time, Arjuna battled with Mahadeva (who was disguised as a hunter) and received the Pashupatastra from Lord Shiva. He also met the lokapalas and received weapons from them. Following this, Arjuna went to the region of Indra.
This parva contains the incident when Yudhishthira cried and lamented upon meeting the great sage, Brihadaswa. The sage narrated the story of Nala and Damyanti to Yudhishthira and also taught him to play dice with skill.
After Sage Brihadaswa left, Rishi Lomasa came from the heavens to meet the Pandavas. He told them about Arjuna’s whereabouts in the regions of Indra and conveyed Arjuna’s message asking the other Pandavas to go on a pilgrimage to various holy places to gain merit.
This parva also contains the story of the pilgrimage of the great sage Narada to the shrine of Putasta.
This parva contains the episode of Indra taking Karna’s protective ear-rings.
The magnificence of Gaya is also described here.
This is followed by two stories related to Rishi Agatsya. The first story is about how he ate the asura Vatapi, and, the second story is about his sexual relationship with Lopamudra due to his desire for a child.
We are also told the story of Rishyasringa who became a brahmachari from a very early age.
This parva contains the story of Parshurama in which he vanquishes Kartavirya and the Haihayas.
The meeting between the Pandavas and the Vrishnis at the sacred place called Prabhasa is also described in this parva.
Next comes the story of Sage Bhrigu’s son, Chyavana, who ensured that the Ashwin twins had a chance to drink the soma juice at King Saryati’s sacrifice. The twins were grateful to Chyavana because the other gods had prevented them from drinking the juice. Consequently, the Ashwins blessed Chayavana with eternal youth.
This parva also describes the stories of King Mandhata and Prince Jantu.
The story of why Indra, Agni, and Dharma examined and tested King Sivi is described next.
Next comes a sacrifice conducted by King Janaka, where there was a dispute between the rishis and Vandi (a great logician and the son of Varuna). Ashtavakra defeats the great Vandi and releases his trapped father from the ocean.
Following this are the stories of Yavakrita and the great Raivya.
After this, the Pandavas go to Gandhamadana and stay in a place called Narayana. Here, Draupadi requests Bhima to bring her a sweet-scented flower. During his journey in search of the flower, Bhima meets Hanuman, has a battle with mighty rakshasas and yakshas, and vanquishes the asura Jata.
After this, the Pandavas meet with the royal sage Vrishaparva and go to the ashram of Arshtishena to live there for some time. Here Draupadi incites Bhima to take revenge against the Kauravas.
Incited by Draupadi’s words, Bhima climbs the Kailasha mountain and has a terrible battle with the yakshas.
After that, the Pandavas meet Kubera and subsequently, Arjuna, after the mighty archer had obtained several celestial weapons.
Soon after that, Arjuna had an encounter with the Nivatakavachas who stayed in Hiranyaparva. He also had encounters with the Paulomas and Kalakeyas. Arjuna won all these battles.
Then Arjuna tried to display the celestial weapons to Yudhishthira but Sage Narada prevented him from doing so.
This parva also contains the story of the Pandavas leaving Gandhamadana and the story of how Bhima was caught in the grip of a mighty serpent. He was eventually released when Yudhishthira was successfully able to answer certain questions.
After this, the Pandavas returned to the Kamyaka forest. Here, they met Krishna once again.
Soon after the Pandavas met Krishna, Sage Markandeya arrived in Kamyaka forest and recited various stories to the Pandavas. Among these were descriptions of Prithu (the son of Vena), Saraswati, Rishi Tarkhya, Matsya, Indradyumna, Dhundhumara, and Angira.
This parva also contains the meeting of Draupadi and Satyabhama.
After this meeting, the Pandavas returned to the romantic Dwaita forest.
Then they participated in a procession to see calves. There, they saw Duryodhana being held captive. Duryodhana was eventually rescued by Arjuna
Then Yudhishthira saw a deer in a dream.
After this, the Pandavas went back to Kamyaka forest.
This parva also contains the stories of Vrihidraunika and Sage Durvasa.
Also contained in this parva is the incident of Draupadi’s kidnapping by Jayadrata, following which Bhima overpowered him and shaved his head.
This parva, describes in detail, how Lord Rama won the battle against Ravana.
The story of Savitri is also narrated in this parva.
Lord Dharma (the god of justice) gave advice to his son, Yudhishthira, toward the end of this parva.
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Note: The word sabha means assembly. Therefore, the Sabha Parva – which is the 2nd parva of the Mahabharata – deals with the building of the grand assembly hall of the Pandavas and the events that happened thereafter. The Sabha Parva, which is made up of 2507 shlokas (verses), consists of the following stories.
The Sabha Parva begins with Maya Danava (the architect of the asuras) constructing a grand palace for the Pandavas, based on celestial designs.
Several sages and kings are invited to celebrate the completion of the palace. Sage Narada is the first sage to arrive at the Pandavas’ palace. Narada enlightens them with various descriptions and stories of the celestial regions and also grand kings of the past who lived in Bharatvarsha.
This parva also deals with the preparations for the Rajasuya sacrifice (the campaign of universal conquest) by Yudhishthira.
At that time, Jarasandha, the king of Magadha, had captured several kings and princes and was going to offer them in a sacrifice. Sri Krishna makes a plan to vanquish and slay him with the help of Bhima. He also frees the kings and princes who were held captive by Jarasandha.
In this parva, the four brothers of Yudhishthira go in four directions to being all the kings under their sway. They succeed and return with huge tributes. The conquests of the four brothers are described in detail.
After accepting Yudhishthira as their emperor, these kings arrive at his Rajasuya Yagna with even more tributes. All this along with the slaying of Sisupala is also described in this parva.
Duryodhana’s awkwardness in the Pandavas’ palace which was filled with celestial mirages, Bhima’s ridiculing of Duryodhana, and the latter’s subsequent sorrow, anger, and jealousy are also described in this parva.
Also described are the preparations Duryodhana and Sakuni made to deceitfully snatch the kingdom of the Pandavas. The game of dice and the shameful incidents that happened as a consequence are also described in detail.
The Sabha Parva ends with the Pandavas leaving their kingdom and going into exile.
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Note: The Adi Parva is the first of the 18 books that make up the Mahabharata. This parva contains 19 sub-parvas which are further divided into a total of 227 chapters. These 227 chapters contain 8884 slokas. What follows is a brief outline of all the 19 sub-parvas.
Anukramanika Parva
This parva begins with the bard, Ugrasrava Sauti, going to the Naimisha Forest to meet the rishis who had assembled at Saunaka Kulapati’s 12-year yagna. The rishis express a desire to hear the composition of Ved Vyasa called Bharata, and thus, the entire story of The Mahabharata is narrated by Ugrasrava Sauti to the rishis.
Sangraha Parva
Sauti explains the meaning of one Akshauhini, to the rishis, in this parva. He also provides various summaries of the Mahabharata.
Paushya Parva
The Paushya parva deals with the greatness of Utanka
Pauloma Parva
We learn about the history of sage Bhrigu and his descendants, in this parva.
Astika Parva
The Astika Parva describes the birth of Garuda and the Nagas (snakes), the churning of the ocean, and the birth of the celestial horse Uchchaihsrava. This parva also contains a description of King Bharata’s dynasty.
Adivansavatara Parva
This parva contains several stories of Pandava and Kuru princes.
The Sambhava parva describes the birth of several kings and heroes from Bharatavarsha. It also tells us how the sage, Krishna Dwaipayana, was born. Then, it goes on to describe the partial incarnations of various deities, the birth of powerful danavas, yakshas, serpents, gandharvas, birds, and of all other creatures. King Bharata’s life and adventures are also described in this parva.
The greatness of the Ganga, the births of the Vasus as children of King Shantanu, and their ascension to heaven are also described here. In this parva, we learn about why Bhishma renounced the throne of Hastinapur, his terrible vow, and how he protected Chitrangada and Vichitravirya (the sons of Shantanu and Satyavati). Herein are also contained the stories of the births of Dhritarashtra and Pandu, and also the birth of their children.
Jatugriha Parva
This parva tells us how Duryodhana plotted to burn the Pandavas in a house of lac in the village of Varnavata. We learn about how Vidura, based on a gut feeling about Duryodhana’s dark plan, warned Yudhishthira about the dangers that lay ahead. To ensure that his words were not understood by others who were present at that spot, Vidura spoke with Yudhishthira in the secret mlechchha language. This parva narrates the story of how the Pandavas escaped from the dangerous house of lac, and, how the evil man, Purochan, was burned in that house, instead of the Pandavas.
In this parva, we read about the Pandavas journey through a dangerous forest where they met Hidimba who fell in love with Bhima. We learn about the anger of her demonic brother and how Bhima slayed him. Hidimba and Bhima get married in this parva and Hidimba gives birth to their son, Ghatotkacha.
Vaka-vadha Parva
This parva describes the meeting of the Pandavas with Vyasa after escaping from the house of lac. He advises them to stay in disguise in the city of Ekachakra at a brahmana’s house. Also contained is the story of how Bhima slays the asura Vaka. Later, we also learn about the extra-ordinary births of King Drupada’s children: Draupadi and Dhrishtadyumna;
Chitraratha Parva
In this parva, the Pandavas go to Panchala, upon the advice of Ved Vyasa. On the way to Panchala, Arjuna had to battle with a gandharva, called Angaparva. Arjuna won the battle and, because the gandharva was impressed with Arjuna’s skills and bravery, they became friends. The gandharva tells the stories of Tapati, Vasishtha, and Aurva to Arjuna.
Swayamvara Parva
The Swayamvara Parva describes the journey of the Pandavas (who were disguised as brahmanas) to Panchala. In Panchala, Arjuna successfully pierced the mark set by Drupada and Princess Draupadi garlanded him in front of all the kings. A fight erupted in the swayamvara hall between Arjuna and Bhima on one side and several other kings, led by Karna, on the other. When Krishna and Balarama saw the valor of those two disguised men, Krishna immediately recognized them as Bhima and Arjuna. Finally, we learn about King Drupada’s dejection when he finds out that his daughter, Draupadi, will be marrying five husbands.
This parva contains the wonderful story of the five Indras, who were born as the Pandavas and were divinely ordained to marry the celestial Goddess, incarnated as Draupadi.
Viduragamana Parva
In this parva, Vidura arrives at King Drupada’s palace. The Pandavas leave Panchala for Hastinapura with the blessings of Drupada and Krishna. There is an attempt to reconcile the differences between the Pandavas and their Kaurava cousins. Eventually, the Pandavas are given half the kingdom (the region of Khandavaprastha). Their capital city, Indraprastha, is also constructed in this parva.
Rajya-labha Parva
This parva contains sage Narada’s advice to the Pandavas regarding their marriage. Also narrated here are the stories of Sunda and Upasunda.
Arjuna-vananasa Parva
This parva describes Arjuna’s exile to the forest because he broke the vow by having seen Yudhishthira and Draupadi seated together. During the exile, Arjuna meets Ulupi, the daughter of a naga (serpent). Arjuna also visited several sacred places, and, in one such place, he saved five maidens who had been turned into alligators by the curse of a brahmana. The parva ends with the meeting of Krishna and Arjuna at the holy place called Prabhasa.
Subhadra-harana Parva
This parva deals with the story of how Arjuna fell in love with Subhadra and carried her away, in a special chariot, on the counsel of her brother Krishna.
Harana-harana Parva
In this parva, we see that the warriors of the Vrishni clan were angered when they found out that Subhadra had been abducted by Arjuna. However, eventually, the warriors calm down and agree to Arjuna and Subhadra’s wedding. Also mentioned in this parva is the birth of Subhadra and Arjuna’s son, Abhimanyu, as well as the five children of Draupadi.
This parva begins with the pleasure trip of Krishna and Arjuna to the banks of the Jamuna. There, they met Agni who sought their help to devour the Khandava forest. They helped Agni, and, in gratitude, Agni presented Arjuna with the bow called Gandiva. Agni also presented the discus – Sudarshan Chakra – to Krishna.
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Note: In the previous post, Sauti explained the meaning of an akshauhini to the rishis. After that, he named the eighteen parvas of the Mahabharata along with the main stories and incidents described in them.
The following words are spoken by Sauti to Saunaka Kulapati (the rishi whose yagna all the other rishis had assembled to attend in Naimisha forest).
O Saunaka, this best of narrations called (Maha)Bharata that I am telling you about right now, was formerly repeated by an intelligent disciple of Vyasa at a sacrifice ordained by King Janamejaya.
Every story in this world depends upon the Mahabharata just like the human body depends on the feet. This epic poetry, which speaks of the highest wisdom, is greatly cherished by all the poets. The wonderful sections of this poem are full of subtle meaning and contain the wisdom of the Vedas. This history, called the (Maha)Bharata provides us with the knowledge of the Brahman.
Now, I will tell you about the various sections that constitute this narrative.
Note: The following sub-parvas are from the Adi Parva, which is the 1st parva of The Mahabharata.
The first few parvas of the Adi Parva are:
Anukramanika Parva.
Sangraha Parva.
Paushya Parva.
Pauloma Parva.
Astika Parva.
Among these, the Paushya, Pauloma, and Astika parvas, describe the valor and fame of various kings. These parvas are filled with wonderful words and descriptions. They contain information about various rites and mannerisms.
Note: Next, Sauti mentions other sub-parvas, of the Adi Parva.
Adivansavatarana Parva.
Sambhava Parva (containing wonderful and thrilling incidents).
Jatugrihadaha Parve (in which the house of lac is set on fire).
Hidimbabadha Parva (the killing of Hidimba).
Baka-badha Parva (slaying of Bakasura).
Chitraratha Parva.
Swayamvara (Draupadi’s swayamvara).
Vaivahika Parva (Draupadi’s marriage).
Viduragamana Parva (advent of Vidura).
Rajyalabha Parva (where the Pandavas acquire the Khandavaprastha region for their kingdom).
Arjuna-banavasa Parva (exile of Arjuna).
Subhadra-harana Parva (the carrying away of Subhadra by Arjuna).
Harana-harika Parva.
Khandava-daha Parva (the burning of the Khandava forest).
Maya-darsana (meeting with Maya the asura architect).
Note: The Vairata parva which is the 4th parva of the Mahabharata describes the stay of the Pandavas, in disguise, for a year in King Virata’s palace. It contains the following stories.
The entry of the Pandavas and the fulfillment of their promise to live in disguise for a year without being recognized by anyone.
The destruction of the Kichakas.
The Kauravas’ attempt to take King Virata’s cows.
The marriage of Abhimanyu with the daughter of King Virata.
Note: Next comes the Udyoga Parva, which is the 5th parva in the Mahabharata. It consists of the following stories.
Sanjaya-yana Parva (the arrival of Sanjaya).
The sleeplessness of Dhritarashtra due owing to his anxiety.
Sanatsujata Parva, which contains the mysteries of spiritual philosophy.
Yanasaddhi Parva.
The arrival of Krishna and the Bhagawat-yana Parva follows. This contains the stories of Matali, Galava, Savitri, Vamadeva, and Vainya, Jamadagnya and Shodasarajika.
Bidulaputrasasana.
Both sides muster their troops.
The story of Sheta.
The quarrel of the high-souled Karna.
Troops of both sides march to the battlefield of Kurukshetra.
Among the various soldiers, the Rathis and Atirathas are numbered.
Duryodhana sends Uluka with a message to the Pandava camp, which angers the latter.
The story of Amba.
Bhishma is named the commander-in-chief of the Kaurava army.
Note: The 6th parva of the Mahabharata is the Bhishma Parva. It consists of the following stories.
The creation of the region of Jambu, Bhumi, and the account of the formation of islands.
Note: The 7th parva is the Drona Parva. Following are the stories included in this parva.
The installation of Drona.
The destruction of the Sansaptakas.
The death of Abhimanyu.
The vow of Arjuna to slay Jayadratha.
The death of Jayadratha.
The death of Ghatotkacha.
The death of Drona.
The discharge of the Narayana astra.
Note: The 8th parva of the Mahabharata is the Karna Parva. Kisari Mohan Ganguli’s translation simply names this parva without going into any details.
Note: The 9th parva of the Mahabharata is the Salya Parva. It contains the following stories.
Duryodhan immerses himself in a lake.
The encounter between Bhima and Duryodhana.
Saraswata Parva.
Descriptions of holy shrines.
Description of various genealogies.
Note: The Sauptika parva (which is the 10th parva) contains disgraceful incidents performed by the Kauravas after the war was over. This refers to the remaining Pandava soldiers being killed when they were sleeping and the wounding of the embryo in Uttara’s womb by Ashwathaman.
Note: The 11th parva is the Stri Parva. It contains the following incidents.
Jalapradana: the oblations of water to the manes of the deceased.
The wailings of the women because of the destruction and grief caused by the war.
Sraddha: describing the funeral rites performed for the slain Kauravas.
Note: The 12th parva is the Shanti Parva. It contains the following incidents.
The destruction of the Rakshasa Charvaka who tried to deceive Yudhishthira in the guise of a brahmana.
The coronation of the wise Yudhishthira.
Grihapravibhaga Parva.
Rajadharmanusasana Parva.
Apaddharma Parva.
Mokshadharma Parva.
After these come the discussions known as Suka-prasna-abhigamana, Brahma-prasnanusana.
The next parva (the 13th parva) is the Anusasanika. It contains the incident of the ascension of Bhishma to heaven, followed by several other discussions.
The 14th parva is the Ashwamedhika Parva. It contains the story of Yudhishthira’s horse ceremony and the Anugita – which are words of spiritual importance.
The 15th parva is the Ashramvasa Parva. It contains an account of the Pandavas’ meeting with the spirits of their deceased sons, followed by the arrival of Narada.
The 16th parva is the Mausala Parva. It is filled with cruel and terrible incidents (such as the death of Sri Krishna, Balarama, and the infighting within the Yadava race).
The next parva is the Mahaprasthanika Parva which describes the journey of the Pandavas to heaven. This is the 17th parva.
Finally, comes the Purana called Khilvansa. It contains Vishnuparva (Vishnu’s frolics and feats as a child), the destruction of Kansa, and the very wonderful Bhavishyaparva (in which there are prophecies regarding the future).
The high-souled Vyasa, composed 300 parvas and organized them into 18 sections (also called parvas). The above is a brief outline of the same.
https://draupadiparashakti.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/draupadi-blanc.png00Paraghttps://draupadiparashakti.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/draupadi-blanc.pngParag2022-10-31 14:43:462024-06-20 09:02:51A Listing With a Brief Outline of all the Parvas of the Mahabharata
Note: In the previous post, Sauti compared the Mahabharata to a tree. In this post, he outlines a brief summary of the Mahabharata. Sauti provides several summaries of the epic one after another, beginning with this one, with each summary going into greater detail. As a reader, I find the summaries very useful because they give me a bird’s eye view of the whole epic before it begins. Without the summaries, it is very easy to get lost in the various stories and stories within stories that adorn the Mahabharata.
These words are spoken by Sauti to the ascetics in Naimisha Forest. He begins this summary with King Pandu.
After subduing many kingdoms with his wisdom and prowess, King Pandu left his kingdom to live in a certain forest with the Munis. He spent his time hunting animals and imbibing wisdom from the sages. One day, while hunting, he killed a stag that was coupling with its mate. The stag cursed hunter. This curse brought severe misfortune upon Pandu and it served as a warning to his sons about the correct conduct of princes.
Because of the curse, Pandu had to abstain from having a physical relationship with his wives, Kunti and Madri. Therefore, in order to have children, his wives embraced the Gods: Dharma, Vayu, Sakra (Indra), and the Ashwin twins. The five sons, born of celestial fathers, grew up under the care of two mothers. They were also surrounded by ascetics and holy people in the sacred groves of the forest.
After Pandu died, those ascetics took the five children to King Dhritarashtra. The sons of Pandu, who had till now lived as brahmacharis with their hair tied in knots on their heads, followed the ascetics to Hastinapur. There, the ascetics addressed Dhritarashtra and said, “these are our students. They are like your sons. They are the Pandavas.” And saying this, the ascetics disappeared.
When these boys were introduced as the sons of Pandu, the distinguished citizens of the kingdom shouted with joy. The remaining citizens were divided. Some agreed that they were indeed the sons of Pandu while others disagreed. A few wondered how could they be Pandu’s sons when the latter had been dead for such a long time.
In any case, all the citizens welcomed them to Hastinapur and said: “The family of Pandu has come to us through divine intervention! Let their welcome be announced!”
After the voices of the citizens ceased, the invisible spirits applauded the Pandavas and caused every point of heaven to resound with their celebration. Sweet-scented flowers were showered from the sky along with the sound of kettle drums and conch shells.
Such are the wonderful events that happened upon the arrival of the young princes, who had already studied all the Vedas and several other shastras in the forest.
In the days that followed, these princes were respected by all and resided in Haspinapur without fear from anyone.
The principal men were pleased with the purity of Yudhishthira, Arjuna’s courage, Kunti’s respectful attention to her superiors, and the humility of the twins: Nakula and Sahadeva. Everyone rejoiced in the heroic virtues of the princes.
Several years later, Arjuna obtained the virgin Draupadi (also known as Krishnaa) at her swayamvara by performing a very difficult feat of archery. After performing that difficult feat, he was greatly respected among the archers of the world. He was also respected on the battlefield, where he appeared like a sun – difficult to behold by his foes. Soon after the wedding, he vanquished all the neighboring kingdoms and tribes to help his eldest brother – Yudhishthira – perform the Rajasuya yagna.
Yudhishthira succeeded in performing the yagna with the help of Vasudeva’s wise advice and the valor of his brothers after they slayed Jarasandha (the king of Magadha) and Shishupal (the last Chedi king).
Abundant provisions and offerings were made during the Rajasuya yagna and immense transcendent merits were acquired through it.
Duryodhana also attended Yudhishthira’s yagna. There he saw the great wealth of the Pandavas scattered all around in the form of various offerings, precious stones, gold, and jewels. A great number of cows, elephants, and horses. Garments in exquisite textures, precious shawls, and furs. Carpets made from ranku skin.
Duryodhan was filled with envy when he saw all this wealth. And then, when he saw the grand assembly hall of the Pandavas, built by Maya danava (the asura architect), he was inflamed with anger. He set out to wander in that assembly hall, but was confused by certain architectural deceptions, and fell into a pond of water. Bhima laughed derisively at Duryodhan when he saw him fall into the water. Sri Krishna was also present when Bhima laughed at his cousin. All this filled Duryodhan with jealousy, anger, and displeasure due to a sense of lack in comparison to the Pandavas.
Duryodhan returned to Hastinapur, with an afflicted mind filled with anger and jealousy. It caused him to become pale, ill, and listless. When King Dhritarashtra learned about his son’s condition, he consented to a game of dice between the Kauravas and Pandavas. The king gave his consent because of his affection for his son, Duryodhan. Krishna was furious when he learned about this game. However, he did nothing to prevent the disputes that arose on the day of the vile game. He ignored the unjustifiable actions of the Kauravas, but in due time, he caused all the kshatriyas to kill each other in a terrible war.
https://draupadiparashakti.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/draupadi-blanc.png00Paraghttps://draupadiparashakti.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/draupadi-blanc.pngParag2022-10-21 05:09:082023-12-13 09:35:50A Very Brief Summary of the Mahabharata
