Mahabharata is one of the greatest written Hindu epic of all times. The story spans over 100000 shlokas, or over 200000 verses, as each shloka is a couplet. It is written by Veda Vyasa, in Sanskrit. Consisting of about 1.8 million words, the Mahabharata is almost 4 times longer than the Ramayana. The Mahabharata, meaning the great battle, narrates the epic Kurukshetra war and the fates of Pandava and Kaurava princes. It is centered around the central theme of Dharma, and contains devotional and philosophical content. The Mahabharata has been written in eighteen books, called parvas. The eighteen parvas are:

Besides its epic narrative of the Kurukshetra War and the fates of the Kauravas and the Pandavas, the Mahabharata contains much philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four “goals of life” or purusharthas (12.161). The latter are enumerated as dharma (right action), artha (purpose), kama (pleasure), and moksha (liberation). Among the principal works and stories that are a part of the Mahabharata are the Bhagavad Gita, the story of Damayanti, an abbreviated version of the Ramayana, and the Rishyasringa, often considered as works in their own right.

Research on the Mahabharata has put an enormous effort into recognizing and dating various layers within the text. Some elements of the present Mahabharata can be traced back up to Vedic times. The background to the Mahabharata suggests the origin of the epic occurs at a time “after the very early Vedic period” and before “the first Indian ’empire’ was to rise in the third century B.C.,”. This is a “a date not too far removed from the eighth or ninth century B.C.” is likely. It is generally agreed that “Unlike the Vedas, which have to be preserved letter-perfect, the epic was a popular work whose reciters would inevitably conform to changes in language and style.” so the earliest surviving components of this dynamic text are believed to be no older than the earliest external references we have to the epic, which may include an allusion in Panini’s fourth century BCE grammar (Ashtādhyāyī 4:2:56). It is estimated that the Sanskrit text probably reached something of a “final form” by the early Gupta period (about the 4th century CE). Vishnu Sukthankar, editor of the first great critical edition of the Mahabharata, commented: “It is useless to think of reconstructing a fluid text in a literally original shape, on the basis of an archetype and a stemma codicum. What then is possible? Our objective can only be to reconstruct the oldest form of the text which it is possible to reach on the basis of the manuscript material available.”That manuscript evidence is somewhat late, given its material composition and the climate of India, but it is very extensive.

The Mahabharata itself (1.1.61) distinguishes a core portion of 24,000 verses, the Bharata proper, as opposed to additional secondary material, while the Ashvalayana Grhyasutra (3.4.4) makes a similar distinction. At least three redactions of the text are commonly recognized: Jaya (Victory) with 8,800 verses attributed to Vyasa, Bharata with 24,000 verses as recited by Vaisampayana, and finally the Mahabharata as recited by Ugrasrava Sauti with over 100,000 verses. However, some scholars such as John Brockington, argue that Jaya and Bharata refer to the same text, and ascribe the theory of Jaya with 8,800 verses to a misreading of a verse in Adiparvan (1.1.81). The redaction of this large body of text was carried out after formal principles, emphasizing the numbers 18 and 12. The addition of the latest parts may be dated by the absence of the Anushasana-parva and “Virat-parva” from MS Spitzer, the oldest surviving Sanskrit philosophical manuscript dated to Kushan Period (200 CE), that contains among other things a list of the books in the Mahabharata. From this evidence, it is likely that the redaction into 18 books took place in the first century. An alternative division into 20 parvas appears to have co-existed for some time. The division into 100 sub-parvas (mentioned in Mbh. 1.2.70) is older, and most parvas are named after one of their constituent sub-parvas. The Harivamsa consists of the final two of the 100 sub-parvas, and was considered an appendix (khila) to the Mahabharata proper by the redactors of the 18 parvas.

According to what one character says at Mbh. 1.1.50, there were three versions of the epic, beginning with Manu (1.1.27), Astika (1.3, sub-parva 5) or Vasu (1.57), respectively. These versions would correspond to the addition of one and then another ‘frame’ settings of dialogues. The Vasu version would omit the frame settings and begin with the account of the birth of Vyasa. The astika version would add the sarpasattra and ashvamedha material from Brahmanical literature, introduce the name Mahabharata, and identify Vyasa as the work’s author. The redactors of these additions were probably Pancharatrin scholars who according to Oberlies (1998) likely retained control over the text until its final redaction. Mention of the Huna in the Bhishma-parva however appears to imply that this parva may have been edited around the 4th century

18 Parvas of Mahabharata

Adi Parva

Adi Parva, the ‘book of beginning’ is the first of the eighteen parvas of the great epic of Mahabharata. It lays the basic story startup, narrated by Sauti, summoned by the rishis at Naimisharanya. The Adi Parva narrates the history of the Bharata race in detail, also tracing the history of the Bhrigu race. The early life of the Pandava and Kaurava prince families is also depicted in this parva. This parva is divided into 19 sub parvas and about 236 chapters. The death of the rakshasa Vaka and the marriage of Draupadi were some of the major events of the Adi Parva.

Sabha Parva

Sabha Parva, also known as the book of the Assembly Hall, contains the popular story of Game of Dice, the event that was the turning point in the lives of the Kauravas and the Pandavas. This Parva accounts the details Maya Danava and his efforts to construct the palace and court, Indrapastha. The parva ends with the game of dice ending with the exile of the Pandavas. The Rajasuya Yajna, performed by Yudhisthira is also one of the major highlights of this Parva.

Vana Parva or Aranya Parva

The Vana Parva or the Aranya Parva, the third book of Mahabharata, is also popularly known as the Book of the Forest. This is one of the longest Parvas of the Mahabharata, and contains detailed accounts of the life of the Pandavas during their exile in the forest, for the period of twelve years. It contains all the descriptions of their discussions and the lessons that they learn in forest. Their tales in the forests, are still popular stories, told by Grandmothers to their grandchildren. It also contains the preparation of war by the Pandavas.

Virata Parva

The Virata Parva, the fourth book of Mahabharata, largely deals with the thirteenth year of exiled life lived in incognito in the Kingdom of Virat. The five brothers stayed there in disguise, and Draupadi too stayed in the kingdom for a year, in disguise. All of them were disguised in accordance with their skill and quality. Another major episode in this parva is the death of the general of Virat’s army, Kichika, who was also the brother of Virat’s wife, Sudeshna.

Udyoga Parva

Udyoga Parva, the fifth of the eighteen parvas of Mahabharata, is also known as the Book Of Effort, which consists of 10 sub-parvas and about 198 chapters. Udyoga Parva deals with the period immediately following the end of the exile of the Pandavas. This book describes the effort to keep peace after their half of the kingdom had been denied to the Pandavas. After the failed attempts to maintain peace, the preparation for the Great War, Kurukshetra War, began.

Bhishma Parva

The Bhishma Parva, or the book of Bhishma, deals with the first ten days of the eighteen days of the Kurukshetra War. This parva is named after the commander in chief of the Kaurava army, Bhishma. This parva is centered around the life story Bhishma, the son of Santanu. This parva also contains the story of Santanu’s marriage to Satyavati, a fisher-maid. This book is also widely studied in The Bhagvad Gita, one of the most popular books based on the Hindu religion. The book ends with Bhishma seriously injured and unable to lead the army.

Drona Parva

The seventh book of the Mahabharata, the Drona Parva, is based on the Drona, who takes over as the commander in chief of the Kaurava armies. He was appointed on the 11^th day, and he died on the 15^th day of the eighteen day war. This parva also denotes how the great war became brutal with each passing day. Drona had to fight for the Kaurava army, though he knew that the Pandavas were right. This was because he was indebted to the kingdom of Hastinapur for all the assistance that they provided. Hence, he was bound to fight for the king Dhritrashtra.

Karna Parva

The Karna Parva, the eighth book of the Mahabharata, consists of only one sub-parva, having 96 chapters. This parva revolves entirely around the life story of Karna, starting with his birth, till his death in the great war in the hands of Arjuna. It describes Karna’s appointment as the third commander in chief of the Kaurava army. The war also describes the exhaustion of all the people involved in the war. The epic confrontation of Karna and Arjuna is contained in this parva.

Shalya Parva

The Shalya Parva, the ninth book of the Mahabharata, consists of 4 sub parvas and 64 chapters. This Parva shows the take-over of the Kaurava army by Shalya, after the death of Karna, in the hands of Arjuna. This Parva also has details of the last day of the great Kurukshetra war. One of the major episodes in this parva is the death of Shakuni in the hands of Sahadeva. This Parva also recites Shalya’s death, by Yudhishthira. Out of the entire Kaurava army, only three survive by the end of the battle.

Sauptika Parva

The tenth book of Mahabharata, the Sauptika Parva, or the book of the sleeping, consists of 2 sub parvas and 18 chapters. Sauptika Parva deals with revenge taken by Aswatthama, Kripa and Kritavarman, the three out of four survivors of the kuru army. They take their revenge on the night after the 18^th day, when they go to the Pandavas army camp and killed all those who were sleeping. However, the Pandava brothers, Krishna and Satyaki survived as they weren’t sleeping.

Stri Parva

The eleventh book, Stri Parva, or the book of the women, consists of 4 sub-parvas and 27 chapters. This book dealt with impact of the war on the women, whose husbands and sons and fathers dies in the battlefield of the great Kurukshetra War.

Shanti Parva

The Shanti Parva, the book of peace, is the twelfth book of the 18 books of Mahabharata, and is also one of the longest parvas after the end of the war. It deals with aftermath of the great battle, and the crowning of Yudhishthira as the king of Hastinapur, and the instructons given by Bhishma to the new king, Yudhishthira. This parva also deals with the attempt to restore peace in the kingdom.

Anushasana Parva

The thirteenth book of the Mahabharata, the Anushasana Parva, the book of instructions, deals with Bhishma giving the final instructions to Yudhidhthira, in continuation with what he started in the Shanti Parva. Bhishma discusses with him and the sages, the duties of a ruler, and also gives him instruction on Dharma.

Ashvamedhika Parva

The Ashvamedhika Parva, is fourteenth parva, meaning the book of the horse sacrifice. This has accounts of the royal ceremony of Ashvameda or horse sacrifice conducted by Yudhishthira, on the instructions of Krishna. This parva consists of 2 sub parvas and 92 chapters. It also has accounts of Krishna advising Yudhishthira to conduct mining in Himavat to restore the wealth in the kingdom, which had been evacuated due to the great War.

Ashramavasika Parva

The Ashramavasika Parva, the fifteenth parva of the Mahabharata, comprises of 3 sub-parvas and 92 chapters. This Parva describes the period of prosperous and golden rule under the kingship of Yudhishthira after the Kurukshetra war. The popular meeting of Yudhishthira with Narada is narrated in this Parva.

Mausala Parva

The sixteenth book of the Mahabharata, the Mausala Parva, consists of only sub-parva. It means the book of clubs. It has nine chapters and is one of the shortest parvas of the Mahabharata. It has accounts of the death of Krishna 36 years after the Kurukshetra war. It also contains sorrowful incidents of Lord Krishna’s tribesmen.

Mahaprasthanika Parva

The seventeenth parva of the 18 parvas of the Mahabharata, Mahaprasthanika parva, means the Book of the Great Journey. It consists of three chapters making it the shortest Parva of the Mahabharata. It recites the journey of Pandavas across the Indian Territory and finally their ascent to the Himalayas.

Svargarohana Parva

The last Parva of the Mahabharata, Svargarohana Parva consists of five chapters, making it the second shortest Parva. It means the Book of the Ascent to Heaven. It describes Yudhishthira’s arrival to heaven and how he deals with the people in heaven and hell.