The deep end
25 tough Mahabharata questions, with answers
These come from a bank of a thousand questions, and none of them is a warm-up. Every answer is on this page. Tap to open it and check yourself. No sign-in, and no answers hidden at the bottom. Get more than fifteen and you know the Mahabharat better than almost anyone who has only watched it.
Before you start
Nothing here is from the famous parts. There is no question about who shot the fish, or how many Pandavas there were. These come from the corners of the epic: a dog who curses a king, a yaksha who lends his manhood and must wait for a death to get it back, the reason Karna would not wash his feet.
Answers follow the Critical Edition, the text reconstructed at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. Every one of the thousand questions is held to that standard.
Twenty-five questions
Answers are one tap away.
1. What is the meaning of “Timingila” — the gigantic sea creature mentioned in several places in The Mahabharata?
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Whale-swallower.
2. What does Sauptika Parva mean?
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Book of the Sleepers.
3. Who cursed Yama (Dharma deva) to be born on earth as Vidura — a Shudra?
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Rishi Mandavya.
4. Kubera cursed the yaksha Sthunakarna for exchanging his masculinity for Shikhandi's femininity, saying that Sthunakarna would remain female. The yakshas begged him to set a limit. What limit did Kubera set?
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Sthunakarna would regain his male form after Shikhandi's death.
5. What vow (vrata) did Karna decide to observe until he had killed Arjuna?
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Not to wash his feet.
6. What did Sarama, the dog of the gods, do to Janamejaya for letting his brothers mistreat her puppy?
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She cursed him.
7. What boon did Brahma grant the Rakshasa Charvaka, who was Duryodhana's friend?
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Fearlessness from all beings, as long as he did not disrespect Brahmanas.
8. How did a Brahmana curse Karna for killing the calf of his cow?
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Karna's chariot-wheel will get stuck when he is fighting his greatest opponent.
9. Who cursed Rajarishi Nahusha to be born as a giant serpent on earth?
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Agastya.
10. What was Prabhasa, the youngest Vasu and future Bhishma, also called?
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Dyaus.
11. How did Rishi Vasishtha curse the Vasu called Prabhasa, the future Bhishma, for being the main culprit in stealing his cow Nandini?
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He would live in the world for a long time.
12. Kubera gave the Antardhana astra to Arjuna. For its ability to put the enemy to sleep, what was the Antardhana also known as?
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Prasvapana.
13. What is another name for the Pashupata, the astra capable of destroying all creation, which was given to Arjuna by Shiva?
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Raudra.
14. In return for Karna's kavacha and kundala, Indra gifted him Vasavi astra, which Karna used to kill Ghatotkacha in Kurukshetra. How many times could the Vasavi astra be used?
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Once.
15. What was Angaraparna, the Gandharva who attacked the Pandavas as they fled from Varanavata, also called?
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Chitraratha.
16. What was Alambusha, the Rakshasa who fought on the side of the Kauravas, also known as?
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Shalakantaka.
17. Supratika was the name of King Bhagadatta's elephant. What does Supratika mean?
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Having a beautiful trunk.
18. Being blind, Dhritarashtra was also known as Pragnachakshu. What does Pragnachakshu mean?
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Having knowledge for his eye.
19. One of Shiva's names is Nilalohita. What does it mean?
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Blue-red.
20. Which child was cursed to be born crooked?
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Ashtavakra.
21. Why did Shukracharya curse Yayati with premature old age?
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For secretly fathering children with Sharmishtha, his wife's maid.
22. How many years after Vinata laid her eggs did Garuda emerge?
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1000 years.
23. How many offences by Shishupala did Krishna pardon?
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100.
24. How did Gandhari curse Krishna?
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The Yadava clan would end in 36 years.
25. To fulfill a divine prophecy and father the sage Astika, who would ultimately save the entire Naga race from King Janamejaya's sacrifice, the ascetic Jaratkaru reluctantly married the sister of the Naga king Vasuki. What does Jaratkaru mean as explained by Sauti Ugrashrava?
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Jara means to waste, and Karu implies vastness.
That is 25 of a thousand. The other 975 work the same way, except that the ones you answer wrongly come back until you get them right.
Keep reading
Both of those are about Bhishma, long before he was Bhishma. The epic ranks its warriors too, and that is worth an article of its own: ratha, maharatha and atiratha, what the grades mean, and why almost every list online puts them in the wrong order.