Mahabharata

The Mahabharata (Devanagari: महाभारत, phonetically

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Mahābhārata - see note), sometimes just called Bharata, is one of the two major ancient Sanskrit epics of India, the other being the Ramayana. It is the second longest literary epic poem in the world (after the Tibetan Epic of King Gesar). Besides being hailed as one of the greatest literary accomplishments of humanity, it is also of immense religious and philosophical importance in India; in particular, the Bhagavad Gita, which is one of the chapters (Bhishmaparva) in the Mahabharata, is a central sacred text of Hinduism.

Related Topics:
See note - Sanskrit - Epic - India - Ramayana - Epic poem - Tibet - Epic of King Gesar - Bhagavad Gita - Hinduism

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The title may be translated as "Great India" or, more accurately, "the Great Epic of the Bharata Dynasty" (bhārata means the progeny of Bharata, the king believed to have founded the Indian kingdom of Bhāratavarsha; "Bharat" has equal status as the official name of India in all Indian governments today and is still commonly used today). The work is part of the Hindu itihaas, literally "that which happened", along with the Puranas and Ramayana. The full version contains more than 100,000 verses, making it around four times longer than the Bible, and seven times longer than the Iliad and the Odyssey combined.

Related Topics:
Itihaas - Puranas - Bible - Iliad - Odyssey

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