Mahabharata was composed by Maharshi Veda Vyasa. It is known as the fifth Veda Shastra and is a valuable asset of Hindu culture. Mahabharata has some interesting facts to know.
The Bhagavad Gita has originated from this epic. There is a total of one hundred thousand verses in the Bhagavad Gita, and hence it is also called Shatasahastri-Samhita.
We all know about the enmity between the five sons of Pandu and the hundred sons of Dhritarashtra in the Mahabharata, but here are: 25 interesting and Lesser-Known Facts About this Great Epic
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1. Divinity of Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is said to teach about religion and many people associate it with truth and falsehood, but nowhere in the Mahabharata, in any instance, truth or falsehood is defined. Each work of the Mahabharata depends on the current state of its characters.
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2. Veda Vyasa is a Title
Ved Vyasa is not a name but a term that is given to persons knowing Vedas. There were 27 Ved Vyas before Krishnadvipayan and Krishnadvipayan was the 28th Ved Vyas, the name given to Lord Krishna for his colors like Shyam Varna and his birth on the island.
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3. Not Just one Gita
Strange, but true that there are also 10 other Gita like Vyagh Gita, Ashtavakra Gita, Parashar Gita, etc. However, the Shri Bhagavad Gita is a pure and complete Gita with information given by Lord Krishna.
4. Mahabharata was Recited for the First Time in the Court of King Janmejaya
Vaishyampayan, a disciple of Veda Vyasa, recited the Mahabharata for the first time in the court of King Janmejaya. Janmejaya was the grandson of Abhimanyu and the son of Parikshit. To avenge his father’s death, he performed several serpents (sacrificial offerings).
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5. Curse of Brahma
Shantanu was the father of Bhishma Pitamah. He was married to Ganga. In his next birth, Shantanu was King Mahabhisha. He went to serve Brahma where he saw Ganga and was attracted to her.
Meanwhile, Brahma cursed them and asked them to go to earth, due to which in his next birth he came to earth as Shantanu, son of King Pratipa, and married Ganga.
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7. Shantanu’s second wife Satyavati
Shantanu was married to Satyavati, daughter of Nishad, and had two children – Chitrangad and Vichitravirya. Chitrangad died in a battle and Vichitravirya became the king who married Ambika and Ambala, the princess of Kashi.
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8. Vidura was the incarnation of Yamaraja
Vidura was the incarnation of Yamaraja in the Mahabharata. He had a great knowledge of religion and economics. Due to the curse of the sage Mandavya, he had to be born in a human form.
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9. Karna’s birth
Kunti served the sage Durvasa in her childhood. He was pleased with Kunti’s service and gave her a miraculous mantra. Through this mantra, Kunti could ask for a child from any god.
Therefore, before marriage, Kunti demanded an infant from Surya Dev, and Karna was born.
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10. Birth of Pandavas
Pandu had left the empire due to the curse of sage Kindama and became a monk. Kunti and Madri also started living with him in the forest. Here Dharmaraja Yudhishthira was born with the mantra of Durvasa.
Similarly, Bhima from Vayudev, Arjuna was born to Indra. Kunti told this mantra to Madri and Sahadeva was born.
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11. Duryodhana’s real name was Suyodhana
After birth, Duryodhana started crying like a donkey and that’s why vultures and crows started making noise. The widower asked Dhritarashtra to kill Duryodhana as he would destroy his family, but his love for his child did not allow him to do so.
Duryodhana’s actual name was Suyodhana, but the former infamous name portrays his evil virtues.
12. Wives were placed on the left thigh
We all know that in the Mahabharata, Duryodhana won the game of Chaucer and asked Yudhishthira to ask Draupadi to sit on Duryodhana’s left thigh. For this reason, he was known as the villain.
But at that time, the wife was placed on the left thigh or left side of the male and the daughters on the right thigh or right.
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13. Magic Dice
People generally know about the six-party dice. The strange thing is that the dice with which Shakuni defeated the Pandavas in the game of Chaucer had only four sides, and no one was aware of what they were made of.
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14. The Mahabharata is Written by Lord Ganesha
The Mahabharata was composed by Maharishi Veda Vyasa and written by Lord Ganesha on the condition that Maharishi Veda Vyasa would continue to recite the shlokas written without stopping even once.
Then Veda Vyasa also laid a condition that he would understand the meaning of the shlokas as he pronounced them, but Ganesha would not write them without interpreting them in his mind.
Therefore, in this manner, throughout the epic, Ved Vyas sometimes used to pronounce hard shlokas which would take time for Ganesha to understand, and Ved Vyas rested a little at that time.
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15. No Zodiac Signs
Astrologers depended on constellations to make predictions, as there was no zodiac sign in the Mahabharata era. In the constellations, Rohini was in the first place and not Ashwini.
16. Mahabharata was Indeed a World War
Did you know that foreigners were also involved in the war of Mahabharata? The actual war was not just between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, but also between the armies of Rome and Yemen.
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17. Dushasan Killed Abhimanyu
The seven maharishis who composed the Chakravyuh for Abhimanyu’s death are believed to be the cause of his death, but this is not an absolute truth.
Duryodhana’s son was killed by Abhimanyu, one of the seven nobles. Angry over this, Dushasana killed Abhimanyu.
18. Arjuna was Cursed to be an Eunuch
Apsara Urvashi of Inderlok cursed Arjuna, as he addressed Urvashi as ‘mother’, on which Urvashi got angry and cursed her that he would become a eunuch.
On this, Lord Indra told Arjuna that this curse would become a boon for you during one year of unknown life, and at the end of that period, he would regain his masculinity.
After spending 12 years in the forest, the Pandavas spent the 13th year in exile at the court of King Virat. Arjuna used his curse and lived there as a eunuch named Brihannala.
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19. Duryodhana’s boon to Arjun
Lord Krishna reminded Arjuna about his incomplete boon i.e. when Arjuna saved Duryodhana’s life during his stay in the forest, Duryodhana asked him to ask for a boon and Arjuna asked for a boon when the appropriate time came.
Had said So Arjuna went to Duryodhana and asked him for five golden arrows, invoked by Bhishma’s mantras.
Duryodhana had announced the killing of Pandavas with these arrows. When Arjuna asked for those five golden arrows, Duryodhana was frightened, but he had promised, so he had to give arrows.
Then when the next morning he went to Bhishma and asked for five golden arrows, he laughed and said that it was not possible now and said that whatever would happen tomorrow in the war of Mahabharata had been written long ago and nothing would have changed.
20. Lord Krishna Broke his Promise
In the war of Mahabharata, Lord Krishna broke his promise not to bear arms when he saw that Arjuna was not able to withstand Bhishma’s powers. He became helpless, and then he immediately gave up the chariot and jumped into the battlefield.
He took out one of the wheels of the chariot and threw it towards Bhishma to kill him. Arjuna tried to stop Krishna but failed.
21. Why lord Krishna sided with Pandavas
Do you know why Lord Krishna sided with the Pandavas instead of the Kauravas? Both Arjuna and Duryodhana went to Krishna to ask for his help.
They reached his room. Duryodhana had reached his chamber earlier and sat down at Krishna’s head. Arjuna went to Krishna’s feet and stood with folded hands.
When Krishna woke up, he first saw Arjuna, smiled, and said that he would support him.
22. Jayadratha’s boon
In the Mahabharata, Jayadratha was protecting the Kauravas. He was using his boon to prevent the Pandavas from entering the Chakravyuh.
Jayadratha had a boon from Lord Shiva that he could stop the Pandavas except Arjuna for one day in the battle.
Arjuna had the patronage of Lord Krishna, so he stayed out of this boon. But when Arjuna’s son was killed in Chakravyuh, then later Arjun killed Jayadratha with his arrow.
23. Draupadi was an incarnation of Goddess Durga.
Surprisingly, Draupadi was an incarnation of Goddess Durga. Once late at night, Bhima saw Draupadi as mother Durga, she was asking Bhima for the blood of Bhima in an empty bowl. Scared of death, he narrated the whole story to her mother – Kunti.
Kunti then told Draupadi never to hurt Bhima. Being mortal, Draupadi had to promise, and she bites her lips while doing so. Kunti cleans the blood on her lips from the edge of her clothes and vows that Bhima will fill the bowl for her.
24. Duryodhana did not Listen to Gita
Duryodhana refused to listen to the Bhagavad Gita, saying that he knew about right and wrong. He also said that some powers were not allowing him to choose the right path. If he had listened to Krishna, war could have been avoided.
25. Eklavya was reborn as Dhrupathdyumna
Eklavya was reborn as Dhrupathdyumna, the twin brother of Draupadi. He was killed by Krishna during Rukmani’s abduction.
Therefore, Krishna as Guru Dakshina gave him the boon to be reborn and complete revenge on Drona.
Interesting Facts About Mahabharata: FAQ
What is Mahabharata
Mahabharata is a historical epic. Mahabharata was written by lord Ganesha under the guidance of Maharishi Vyasa. Mahabharata is a story of a place, Hastinapur, and the family of Pandavas and Kauravas. Mahabharata is an epic of war between two groups of cousin families of the same place Hastinapur. A fight between 100 Kauravas and 5 Pandavas.
Who wrote Mahabharata
Mahabharata was written by lord Ganesha under the guidance of Maharishi Vyasa.
When was Mahabharata written?
Mahabharata was compiled between the 3rd century BCE and the 3rd century CE. Originally events of Mahabharata are from 400 century BCE. Mahabharata was written by lord Ganesha under the guidance of Maharishi Vyasa.
Is Mahabharat real
Mahabharata is a real epic story. Many archaeologists and historians have confirmed that it is not a just story. But all the events have happened in the past. As per archaeologists Originally events of Mahabharata are of 400 century BCE.
When did Mahabharata occur
As per K. Sadananda, The fight of Mahabharata started on 22 November 3067. According to S. Balakrishna war of Mahabharata started in 2559 BCE. Originally events of Mahabharata are from 400 century BCE. Mahabharata was compiled between the 3rd century BCE and the 3rd century CE. Mahabharata was written by lord Ganesha under the guidance of Maharishi Vyasa.
When did Mahabharata happen
22 November 3067
As per K. Sadananda, The fight of Mahabharata started on 22 November 3067. According to S. Balakrishna war of Mahabharata started in 2559 BCE. Originally events of Mahabharata are from 400 century BCE. Mahabharata was compiled between the 3rd century BCE and the 3rd century CE. Mahabharata was written by lord Ganesha under the guidance of Maharishi Vyasa.
How long is the Mahabharata
18 days
Mahabharata is an epic of war between two groups of cousin families of the same place Hastinapur. The war was fought between 100 Kauravas and 5 Pandavas. War was narrated by Sanjay each day of the Kurukshetra war.
How old is Mahabharata
The War of Mahabharata started could date back to 2559 BCE.
As per K. Sadananda, The fight of Mahabharata started on 22 November 3067. According to S. Balakrishna war of Mahabharata could date back to 2559 BCE. Originally events of Mahabharata are from 400 century BCE. Mahabharata was compiled between the 3rd century BCE and the 3rd century CE. Mahabharata was written by lord Ganesha under the guidance of Maharishi Vyasa.
Where did Mahabharata take place?
Kurukshetra, north india.
Mahabharata takes place in Kurukshetra, north India. Mahabharata was held between two cousin brothers 100 Kauravas and 5 Pandavas.
What happened in Mahabharata
1. Pandavas crowned the ruler of Hastinapur.
2. Gandhari curses Krishna wishing the death of the whole Yadava clan of Krishna.
3. Pandavas ruled for Hastinapur for 36 years.
4. Later Pandavas handed the Hastinapur to their kids to rule in the search of mukti.
5. Lord Krishna leaves the mortal body of a human and leaves for baikuntha.
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