Tag: history

According to tradition, Ved Vyasa composed the Mahabharata but Lord Ganesha wrote it down as Vyasa dictated. Ganesha set the condition that Vyasa must recite continuously without pause. Valmiki wrote the Ramayana, not Mahabharata.

The Mahabharata is divided into 18 parvas (books), including Adi Parva, Sabha Parva, Vana Parva, and ending with Svargarohana Parva. The number 18 is sacred in Hinduism as the Bhagavad Gita also has 18 chapters.

Pradyumna was the son of Lord Krishna and Rukmini. He was a powerful warrior and prince, and his own son Aniruddha was part of the Yadava dynasty. Arjuna's son was Abhimanyu, not Pradyumna.

According to the traditional Mahabharata account, the Kurukshetra war between the Pandavas and Kauravas lasted for 18 days. Each day featured fierce battles, and the war culminated on the 18th day with the defeat of the Kauravas. This duration is well-documented across multiple translations and retellings of the epic.

According to the Mahabharata, Dhritarashtra and Gandhari had 100 sons, collectively known as the Kauravas. Duryodhana was the eldest, followed by Dushasana and 98 other brothers. This number is central to the epic's narrative, representing the complete adversarial force against the 5 Pandava brothers.

Parikshit was the son of Abhimanyu (Arjuna's son) and Uttara. He was born after Abhimanyu's tragic death in the Kurukshetra war and was the sole survivor of the Pandava lineage. Parikshit later became the king and father of Janamejaya, placing option B as his grandson, not son.

The Bhagavad Gita is contained in the Bhishma Parva (Book 6) of the Mahabharata. It forms chapters 23-40 of this Parva and occurs just before the great war begins, when Arjuna faces his moral dilemma on the battlefield. The dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna spans 18 chapters (700 verses).

Uttara was Abhimanyu's wife and the mother of Parikshit. She was the princess of Matsya kingdom and daughter of King Virata. During the Pandavas' year of incognito exile, Abhimanyu married her, and she was pregnant with Parikshit when Abhimanyu was killed in the war.

'Satyameva Jayate' (Truth alone triumphs) is India's national motto, adopted from the Mundaka Upanishad. It appears in Devanagari script at the bottom of India's national emblem. 'Vande Mataram' is the national song, 'Jana Gana Mana' is the national anthem, and 'I bow to thee, Mother' is a translation of 'Vande Mataram'.