50 Fun Facts About The Mahabharata

Which archer gave Drona his right thumb as a teacher's fee, though Drona had refused to teach him?

Ekalavya had taught himself before a clay image of Drona; when his skill outshone Arjuna's, Drona demanded the thumb so no archer would surpass his favourite pupil.

In a legend later added to the Mahabharata, which god wrote the epic down as Vyasa dictated?

Ganesha agreed to write only if his pen never stopped, so Vyasa slipped in verses so knotty that Ganesha had to pause to work them out.

What is the other major Sanskrit epic of ancient India, alongside the Mahabharata?

The Ramayana is retold inside the Mahabharata itself: the sage Markandeya tells Rama's story to console Yudhishthira after Draupadi is abducted.

What happened to Karna's chariot in his last duel, as a Brahmin had cursed?

Its wheel sank into the earth, as the Brahmin's curse foretold, and while Karna climbed down to heave it free, Arjuna struck him down.

How does Krishna die, long after the war, in the Mahabharata?

A hunter's arrow in his foot killed Krishna: the hunter Jara mistook him for a deer, then begged forgiveness, and Krishna comforted him before ascending to heaven.

How did the Pandavas get Drona to stop fighting at Kurukshetra?

A false report of his son's death did it: Bhima killed an elephant named Ashwatthama, and the famously truthful Yudhishthira told Drona that Ashwatthama was dead.

By what nickname is the Mahabharata sometimes known within the Indian tradition?

The fifth Veda: Vyasa, named 'arranger' because he arranged the Vedas, is said to have taught his pupils the Mahabharata as a fifth.

To which king, Arjuna's great-grandson, did the sage Vaisampayana first recite the Mahabharata?

Janamejaya asked Vyasa, who had come to his great sacrifice, how the Kuru feud began, and Vyasa had his pupil Vaisampayana narrate the whole story.

For the throne of which kingdom do the Pandavas and Kauravas fight?

Hastinapura's throne passed to the younger Pandu because his elder brother Dhritarashtra was born blind, so both men's sons later claimed it.

Why did Yudhishthira ask the lake spirit to revive Nakula, not Bhima or Arjuna?

So Madri still had a son: Yudhishthira said Kunti lived on through him and both mothers deserved alike; pleased, the yaksha revived all four brothers.

How many sons did Dhritarashtra and Gandhari have?

100 sons grew from a lump of flesh: after two years pregnant, Gandhari struck her womb, and Vyasa divided the mass into jars of ghee to grow.

Which goddess was the mother of Devavrata, later called Bhishma?

Ganga drowned seven newborn sons in the river, and when King Shantanu stopped her from drowning the eighth, Devavrata, she left him.

What vow did Devavrata take so that his father Shantanu could marry the fisherman's daughter Satyavati?

Lifelong celibacy was his second vow: he had already ceded the throne, but the fisherman-chief still feared Devavrata's own sons might claim it.

What was the fallen Bhishma, free to choose his death, waiting for on his bed of arrows?

The sun's northward turn: his father's boon let Bhishma die at will, so he lay on the arrows for weeks, teaching Yudhishthira how to rule, until that auspicious season began.

Why was Dhritarashtra born blind, according to the Mahabharata?

His mother shut her eyes at the sight of the unkempt sage Vyasa; her sister Ambalika turned pale at him instead, so Pandu was born pale.

What did Gandhari do for the rest of her life after marrying Dhritarashtra?

She wore a blindfold for life to share her blind husband's darkness, yet after the war one angry glance from beneath it marked Yudhishthira's toe.

Which sage gave Kunti the mantra that let her summon any god to father a child?

Durvasa granted the mantra after the young Kunti waited on the wrathful sage with great care during his stay at her adoptive father's house.

Which god was the divine father of Bhima?

Vayu's son showed his strength early: when the infant Bhima fell from Kunti's lap onto a rock, the rock shattered and the baby was unhurt.

Which god fathered Karna with the young Kunti before her marriage?

Surya's son was born with armour and earrings, and Karna generously cut them off for Indra, Arjuna's father, who came begging for them disguised as a Brahmin.

Of which kingdom did Duryodhana make Karna the king?

Anga's crown was Duryodhana's instant gift at the princes' tournament, so that Karna, mocked for his non-royal birth, could challenge Arjuna as a king.

What was the house of lac?

A flammable palace built to burn the Pandavas alive, the house of lac burned instead with its builder Purochana inside, while the brothers slipped away through a tunnel.

Whom did Karna have to kill with the one-shot weapon from Indra that he had saved for Arjuna?

Ghatotkacha, Bhima's giant son, wrought such havoc in a night battle that Karna had to spend Indra's weapon on him, which left Arjuna safe from it.

In the popular telling, what was Draupadi's swayamvara task?

Shoot a moving fish's eye via its reflection is the elaborate version; Arjuna, disguised as a Brahmin, hit the target, and princes angry that a Brahmin had won attacked him.

In the best-known account, why did Draupadi marry all five Pandavas?

Kunti told them to share their prize before she saw it was a bride, and her word had to stand; the epic adds that Shiva had once promised Draupadi five husbands.

How was Draupadi born, according to the Mahabharata?

From a fire sacrifice King Drupada held for a son who could slay Drona; her brother Dhrishtadyumna rose from the flames first, and Draupadi followed him.

What capital did the Pandavas build in the wild forest they were given?

Indraprastha's palace, built by the architect Maya, fooled Duryodhana into falling into a pool he took for solid floor, and Bhima's laughter deepened his grudge.

Whom did Arjuna elope with and marry, the sister of Krishna?

Subhadra's abduction was Krishna's own advice: for brave Kshatriyas, he told Arjuna, carrying off a bride by force was an applauded way to marry.

Who played the loaded dice against Yudhishthira on Duryodhana's behalf?

Shakuni, Duryodhana's uncle, won every throw, and Yudhishthira staked and lost his wealth, his kingdom, his brothers, himself and finally Draupadi.

How was Draupadi saved from being disrobed in the Kaurava court?

Her dress became endless as Dushasana dragged at it, and King Dhritarashtra then granted Draupadi boons that freed her husbands from slavery.

What penalty awaited the Pandavas if they were recognised during their final year in hiding?

Another twelve years of exile was the price, so Duryodhana sent spies to hunt for them during their year in hiding, and they failed to find them.

How many days did the Kurukshetra war last?

Eighteen days destroyed both armies, and on the night after the last battle Ashwatthama crept into the sleeping Pandava camp and slaughtered the victors' remaining troops.

What role did Krishna take in the Kurukshetra war?

Krishna became Arjuna's charioteer after offering the rivals a choice: his vast army, or himself unarmed. Arjuna chose Krishna, and Duryodhana went away delighted with the army.

Which of Krishna's kin refused to take part in the Kurukshetra war and went on pilgrimage instead?

Balarama had trained both Bhima and Duryodhana as fighters, so he felt bound to both sides, stayed neutral and spent the war visiting holy sites.

Which physicist said the first atomic bomb test brought to mind the Bhagavad Gita line 'Now I am become Death'?

Robert Oppenheimer recalled that as the fireball rose over New Mexico a few people laughed, a few cried and most stayed silent, while the Gita's line ran through his mind.

Between which two figures is the Bhagavad Gita framed as a dialogue?

Arjuna despairs at fighting his kin, and Krishna reminds him of his duty as a Kshatriya.

Whom did the Pandavas place in front of Bhishma on the tenth day so that he would lay down his weapons?

Shikhandi had been born a woman, and Bhishma himself had told the Pandavas he would never strike such a warrior, so Arjuna shot him down from behind Shikhandi.

What is the name of Arjuna's celestial bow?

Gandiva was procured for Arjuna by the fire god Agni, who reappeared on the brothers' last journey to demand it back, so Arjuna cast the bow into the sea.

Which battle formation did Abhimanyu know how to enter but not how to leave?

The chakravyuha closed behind Abhimanyu when Jayadratha held back the other Pandavas, and a grieving Arjuna swore to kill Jayadratha before the next sunset or walk into a fire.

How did Bhima kill Duryodhana at the end of the Kurukshetra war?

By splitting his thighs with a mace, a foul blow below the waist: Bhima had sworn to do it when Duryodhana bared his thigh to Draupadi at the dice game.

What curse did Gandhari lay on Krishna after the Kurukshetra war?

That his own family would be annihilated: Gandhari held that Krishna could have prevented the war, and he accepted the curse; 36 years later the Yadavas slaughtered one another.

The stray dog that follows Yudhishthira into the Himalayas is revealed as which god, often identified with Dharma?

Yama, as the god Dharma, was testing his son: Indra offered Yudhishthira a place in heaven if he left the dog behind, and he refused to abandon a creature so devoted to him.

How did Arjuna's grandson Parikshit die?

Bitten by a snake: Parikshit had draped a dead snake over a silent, meditating sage, whose son cursed him to die within seven days by the fangs of the serpent king Takshaka.

In Hindu tradition, the Kurukshetra war ushered in which of the world's four ages?

Kali Yuga, the last and most degenerate of the four ages, is traditionally dated from 3102 BCE, and in Hindu belief it is the age we are still living in.

Which British director staged a nine-hour Mahabharata in a quarry outside Avignon in 1985?

Peter Brook's production went on to tour the world, and in 1988 Glasgow turned its empty transport museum into the Tramway arts centre to house it.

Which bard recites the Mahabharata to sages in the Naimisha Forest in the epic's outer frame?

Ugrashrava Sauti has just come from a king's great sacrifice, where he heard Vaisampayana recite the poem, so the Mahabharata reaches us as a tale within a tale.

What name is traditionally given to the core of the Mahabharata attributed to Vyasa himself?

Jaya, 'Victory', is a name the poem gives itself: one passage says it should be heard by those who desire victory, and that a king who hears it may conquer all his foes.

Which wise half-brother of Dhritarashtra and Pandu, born to a palace maid, served the Kuru kingdom as prime minister?

Vidura was the god of justice reborn: a sage had cursed the god to a mortal life for having him impaled over an insect he had hurt as a child.

Which princess, abducted by Bhishma and then spurned, swore to cause his death and was reborn to do it?

Amba had already chosen King Salva, and Bhishma let her go to him, but Salva would not take a bride another man had carried off, leaving her with no one.

Which divine pair fathered the Pandava twins Nakula and Sahadeva?

The Ashwins are twin gods, so Pandu's second wife won two sons from the single use of the mantra Kunti allowed her, and Kunti, feeling tricked, refused to share it again.

In whose court do the Pandavas spend their final year of exile in disguise?

King Virata unknowingly took them all into service: Bhima cooked in his kitchens, while the great archer Arjuna, dressed as a woman, taught dancing to the ladies of the palace.