Mahabharata the mahabharata the name for the region

Mahabharata - The Mahabharata (the name for the region of India is Bharata) one of two epics,
differs from the Homeric length in of roughly 86 to 100 thousand verses, several times longer than the
Iliad and Odyssey combined. Frame story where, a broader narrative reminds you of this other story.
Like a Russian egg doll going deeper and deeper. Most surface retelling is very complex.
Bhagavad Gita - Most popular in Hinduism; Second most translated after the Bible. The importance of
the Gita in the Hindu tradition; people have a hard time capturing the text. Ghandi only owned the

Bible, the Quran and the Baghavad Gita- If you replace the word war, with work, it is a guide to
making difficult moral decisions.
Sm ti ṛ - Smrti, the revered/ remembered tradition. Empowered human author. Would be the case with
the Mahabharta.
Pandu : King of the Pandavas.
Kunti and Madri : Pandu's Wives:
The Five Pandava Brothers . On one side you have these as the good guys. Protagonists, but are more
mixed and anti-heros too: Yudisthira (son of Junti by Dharma (moral order), next in line for king;
Bhima son of Kunti by Vayu the wind; Arjuna son of Kunti by Indra (king of the gods); Nakula : son
of Madri (by the Asvins); Sahadevav : son of Mardi by the Asvins (twin deities- equaivalent to the
Gemini, twin roman deities);
Draupadi : wife of the five Pandava brothers.
Krishna : Lord of the Universe, friend and ally to the Pandavas. Drives Arjuna into the battle.
Bhisa : the son of King Santanu and the holy river Ganga, advisor and teacher of both the Pandavas and
their brothers.
Other side, Dritarastra : blind king of the Kauravas. Ghandhari : wife of Dhritarastra and mother of
his 100 sons. Durydhana : eldest of the Kaurava brothers; Duhsasana : Duryodhana's closest brother
and ally.
Competing claims for the throne between Yudisthira (major flaw of gambling with dice) and the other
side's Duryodhana. The Pandava brothers have 12 years of exile after the dice game, Battle wages for
18 days, destroys most of humanity. All humans even bad guys are doing their best. The gods dictate,
rta, dictate that the Pandava must win. Krishna teaches them to fight dirty in order to win. All die and
eventually go to heaven. Yudisthira, in penance, must wander earth for years with no humans left, only
companion is a dog (in their culture, like rats).
Krishna - Krishna: Lord of the Universe, friend and ally to the Pandavas. Drives Arjuna into the battle.
Krishna Answer'sArjuna's Dilemma. Immortality of the soul. Obligations of Dharma, or duty. Bhakti,
or devotion to god.
Arjuna - Arjuna son of Kunti by Indra (king of the gods). Called to lead the charge into battle. “How
can I commit murder of my brothers?”
Dharma - Obligations of Dharma, or duty. Abstractly, killing is wrong, but in context and caste, we
have moral obligations. You were born a warrior and so must fight.