Mahabharata << muh HAH `bah` ruh tuh >> is an important text for Hinduism. It is one of two great epics (long poems about heroic events) written in Sanskrit, a literary language of ancient India. The other is the Ramayana.
With approximately 75,000 verses, the Mahabharata is one of the longest poems in the world. Scholars debate the details of the poem’s composition. According to the Mahabharata, the wise man Vyasa was its author. However, the poem appears to be a work written by several authors over centuries. Sections of the Mahabharata may be more than 2,500 years old.
The name of the Mahabharata refers to the Bharata dynasty (series of rulers). The epic details a conflict between two families descended from King Bharata. The Pandava brothers, assisted by the god Krishna, engage in a mighty struggle to regain their lost kingdom from their Kaurava cousins. The epic addresses various ethical issues and human concerns. Some of its heroes are considered divine.
The Mahabharata contains many other stories and dialogues. The Bhagavad-Gita is a section of the poem that some Hindus especially study.
