The Mahabharata Trivia
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100 free The Mahabharata trivia questions with answers — trivia quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
This Mahabharata trivia quiz covers the great Sanskrit epic from its 100,000 verses and 18 parvas to the last walk into the Himalayas. It starts with the text: Vyasa's authorship, Ganesha the scribe, the frame story told to King Janamejaya at a snake sacrifice, the epic's sheer length compared with the Iliad and Odyssey, and the traditional dates for the war. Then it works through the story: Shantanu and Ganga, Devavrata's terrible vow, the blind Dhritarashtra and pale Pandu, Kunti's mantra and the five Pandavas, the hundred Kauravas, the house of lac, the fish-eye swayamvara, Indraprastha, the loaded dice and Draupadi's endless sari, thirteen years of exile and the 18-day war. There are questions on Karna's earrings and armour, Bhishma on his bed of arrows, Shikhandi, Abhimanyu in the chakravyuha, Gandhari's curse, the Bhagavad Gita's 700 verses, and the dog who turns out to be Yama, plus Peter Brook's nine-hour play and B. R. Chopra's television series. Difficulty runs from easy to expert and is shown on every question. Every answer was checked against a reference page and each question carries its citation. Try our Ramayana and Hindu mythology quizzes next.
30 of 100 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which archer gave Drona his right thumb as a teacher's fee, though Drona had refused to teach him?
Ekalavya
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.
Q 02In a legend later added to the Mahabharata, which god wrote the epic down as Vyasa dictated?
Ganesha
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.
Q 03What is the other major Sanskrit epic of ancient India, alongside the Mahabharata?
The Ramayana
The Ramayana is retold inside the Mahabharata itself: the sage Markandeya tells Rama's story to console Yudhishthira after Draupadi is abducted.
Q 04What happened to Karna's chariot in his last duel, as a Brahmin had cursed?
Its wheel sank into the earth
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.
Q 05How does Krishna die, long after the war, in the Mahabharata?
A hunter's arrow in his foot
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.
Q 06How did the Pandavas get Drona to stop fighting at Kurukshetra?
A false report of his son's death
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.
Q 07By what nickname is the Mahabharata sometimes known within the Indian tradition?
The fifth Veda
The fifth Veda: Vyasa, named 'arranger' because he arranged the Vedas, is said to have taught his pupils the Mahabharata as a fifth.
Q 08To which king, Arjuna's great-grandson, did the sage Vaisampayana first recite the Mahabharata?
Janamejaya
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.
Q 09For the throne of which kingdom do the Pandavas and Kauravas fight?
Hastinapura
Hastinapura's throne passed to the younger Pandu because his elder brother Dhritarashtra was born blind, so both men's sons later claimed it.
Q 10Why did Yudhishthira ask the lake spirit to revive Nakula, not Bhima or Arjuna?
So Madri still had a son
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.
Q 11How many sons did Dhritarashtra and Gandhari have?
100
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.
Q 12Which goddess was the mother of Devavrata, later called Bhishma?
Ganga
Ganga drowned seven newborn sons in the river, and when King Shantanu stopped her from drowning the eighth, Devavrata, she left him.
Q 13What vow did Devavrata take so that his father Shantanu could marry the fisherman's daughter Satyavati?
Lifelong celibacy
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.
Q 21What was the house of lac?
A flammable palace built to burn the Pandavas alive
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.
Q 22Whom did Karna have to kill with the one-shot weapon from Indra that he had saved for Arjuna?
Ghatotkacha
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.
Q 23In the popular telling, what was Draupadi's swayamvara task?
Q 14What was the fallen Bhishma, free to choose his death, waiting for on his bed of arrows?
The sun's northward turn
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.
Q 15Why was Dhritarashtra born blind, according to the Mahabharata?
His mother shut her eyes
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.
Q 16What did Gandhari do for the rest of her life after marrying Dhritarashtra?
Wore a blindfold
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.
Q 17Which sage gave Kunti the mantra that let her summon any god to father a child?
Durvasa
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.
Q 18Which god was the divine father of Bhima?
Vayu
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.
Q 19Which god fathered Karna with the young Kunti before her marriage?
Surya
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.
Q 20Of which kingdom did Duryodhana make Karna the king?
Anga
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.
Shoot a moving fish's eye via its reflection
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.
Q 24In the best-known account, why did Draupadi marry all five Pandavas?
Kunti told them to share their prize
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.
Q 25How was Draupadi born, according to the Mahabharata?
From a fire sacrifice
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.
Q 26What capital did the Pandavas build in the wild forest they were given?
Indraprastha
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.
Q 27Whom did Arjuna elope with and marry, the sister of Krishna?
Subhadra
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.
Q 28Who played the loaded dice against Yudhishthira on Duryodhana's behalf?
Shakuni
Shakuni, Duryodhana's uncle, won every throw, and Yudhishthira staked and lost his wealth, his kingdom, his brothers, himself and finally Draupadi.
Q 29How was Draupadi saved from being disrobed in the Kaurava court?
Her dress became endless
Her dress became endless as Dushasana dragged at it, and King Dhritarashtra then granted Draupadi boons that freed her husbands from slavery.
Q 30What penalty awaited the Pandavas if they were recognised during their final year in hiding?
Another twelve years of exile
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.