Mahabharata topics

A death at the right time

Why Bhishma waited for Uttarayana

Fifty-eight nights on the arrows, what the wait became, and whether anyone else can really choose the day they die.

How the epic is built

All eighteen books in order, what happens in each, and the four short ones after the war that most retellings never reach.

A word from the epic

The sea creature that swallows whales. Seven places it turns up in the epic, from Arjuna's ocean to an insult on the eve of war.

A story inside the story

A king who lost everything at dice, the wife he left asleep in the forest, and the snake bite that hid him until she found him again.

Two brothers

Two asuras whom nothing could kill except each other, the woman the gods made to divide them, and why their story sent Arjuna into exile.

The war

Who led the Kauravas on each day, and what happened, from the Gita on day one to the night raid after day eighteen.

The storytellers

Vyasa composed it, Vaishampayana recited it, Ugrashrava retold it, and Sanjaya narrated only the war.

The deep end

Twenty-five hard questions from the quiz, and every answer on the page.

The ranks

How Bhishma graded every warrior before the war, why atiratha comes above maharatha, and why he called Karna half a ratha.

Test yourself

A thousand questions, all checked against the Critical Edition.