The Mahabharata is an ancient Sanskrit epic that centers on a dynastic struggle within the Kuru lineage, focusing on two branches of the royal family—the Pandavas and the Kauravas—contending for the throne of Hastinapura. At its narrative heart stand the five Pandava brothers and their hundred Kaurava cousins, led by Duryodhana, whose rivalry escalates from childhood tensions to open conflict. The story traces their shared ancestry, the injustices suffered by the Pandavas, the infamous rigged game of dice that leads to their loss of kingdom and exile, and the failed attempts at reconciliation upon their return. All of this culminates in the great war of Kurukshetra, an eighteen-day conflict that decides the fate of the kingdom and reshapes the moral and political landscape of the epic’s world.

Yet the Mahabharata is far more than a war chronicle; it is a vast tapestry of interwoven tales about kings, sages, gods, heroes, and ordinary people, all used to illuminate the workings of dharma and karma. Its episodes explore righteousness, prosperity, desire, and liberation through complex human situations in which the “right” course of action is rarely obvious. The epic repeatedly portrays the difficulty of discerning and following dharma in real life, showing how duty can clash with affection, personal desire, and social obligation. In this way, it offers a sustained reflection on the consequences of greed, pride, and unrighteousness, as well as on the transient nature of power, success, and even life itself.

At the philosophical core of the work stands the Bhagavad Gita, a dialogue between Krishna and the warrior Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Faced with the prospect of fighting his own kin and teachers, Arjuna is plunged into moral crisis, and Krishna responds with teachings on duty, the nature of the self, right action, devotion, and the paths that can lead toward spiritual insight and liberation. This discourse does not present dharma as a simple, rigid code, but as something deeply contextual, shaped by one’s role, relationships, and the demands of the moment. Through such dialogues and narratives, the Mahabharata functions simultaneously as a grand epic of war and politics and as a profound exploration of ethics, spirituality, and the challenges of living righteously in a morally complex world.