MAHABHARATA, an epic poem, or a collection of ancient lays, of different dates. The ground work of the poem, the Kaurava and Pandava war, contains 24,000.verses. The leading story com mences with Atri, a flash of light from whose eye produced the moon (which in Sanskrit is male), and that being was the ancestor of the Lunar dynasty of kings. One of these kings was Puru ravas, whose love for the heavenly nymph Urvasi is detailed in Kalidasa's drama Vikramorvasi. His descendants in a direct line were Ayas, Nahusha, and Yagati, the last becoming the father of Puru and Yadu. The line of Yadu acquired celebrity through Vasudeva and his sister Kunti or Pritha, and also through his sans Krishna and Bala Rama, who have become deified as incarnations of the god Vishnu. Puru's son was Dushyanta, who married Sakuntala, and their son was Bharata. From Bharata descended successively Hastin, Kuru, and Santanu. Santanu married Satyavati, already the mother of Vyasa, but their children died without offspring, and Satyavati then asked her son Vyasa to marry her widowed daughters-in-law ; by one of them lie had Dhritarashtra, born blind, and by another,. Pandu, born a leper or an albino. Dlirittimslitm married Gandhari, and amongst their chil dren were Dury5dhana, also called Suyodlituiri,. and Duhsasana,—these were the Kaurava. Pandu married two wives, viz. Pritha, sister of Vasu , dem and aunt of Krishna, and Madri. By Pritha he had three sons, Yudislithra, Bhinia, and.
Arjuna ; by Madri, twins, Vakula and Sahadeva ; and these were the Pandava. Both the Kaurava and the Pandava were related to Krishna, but the Pandava more nearly so, owing to their mother Pritha being aunt of Krishna. Vyasa, the compiler of the Mahabharata, is the reputed grandfather of both the Kaurava and the Pan dava. It is the series of events which happened in the time of the Kaurava and Pandava that forms the groundwork of the great epos of the Mahabharata, and they may thus be briefly related.
Santana had resided in Bastinapur, the ancient Dehli, and after his demise Dhritarashtra was by seniority entitled to succeed. But, as he was blind, he resigned the throne in favour of his brother Pandu. The latter became a powerful monarch, but after a while, having become tired of his regal duties, he abdicated and retired to the forests of the Himalaya, to indulge in his favourite sport, the chase. His brother Dhrita rashtra then resumed the reins of government, but, being blind, his uncle Bhishma governed for him, and conducted the education of his sons. After a while Pandu died, and his widow Pritha and her five sons returned to Dhrita rashtra's court to be educated along with his own children, their cousins. But the Pandava brothers were superior lads, and their cousin Duryodhana, out of jealousy, tried to destroy them, first by poison, then at trials of arms. Subsequently, Drona, a Brahman, who had taught the Kaurava, brought about a reconciliation, and the relatives unitedly attacked Drupada, king of Panchala (Kanouj), who, principally by the Pandava's aid, was defeated. On this the blind king Dhrita
rashtra resolved to pass over his son Duryodhana, and named his nephew Yudislithra, the eldest of the Pandava, to the throne ; and their cousin Duryodhana made another effort to destroy them, by burning them alive. This also they escaped, but they considered it advisable to conceal them selves, which they did by assuming the form of mendicant Brahmans, and retiring to the forests. After some time, they were informed by Vyasa that Drupada, king of the Panchala, would make his daughter Draupadi queen of a tournament, to be won by the most successful competitor, and she was won by Arjuna. On this occurred a civil commotion, in which Drupada nearly lost his life ; but Draupadi went with the Pandava brothers, and became their joint polyandric wife.
After the tournament the Kaurava and Pan dava made peace, the former to reign at Has tinapur, the ancient Dehli, and the Pandava, at Khandavaprastha, the modern Dehli. Yudish thra, the eldest of the Pandava, reigned so suc cessfully, that he resolved to declare himself emperor by the performance of the Rajasaya sacrifice. This was accomplished with much splendour ; but Yudishthra was afterwards in volved by his cousin Duryodhana in a game at dice, and Yudishthra lost everything,—kingdom, wealth, and his joint wife Draqpadi. DuryOdhana offered to restore their kingdom if they would exile themselves for 13 years. \In these 13 years they all took service with king Virata of Matsya, and ultimately defended him against an attack of Duryodhana. On this account Virata gave his daughter Uttara in marriage .to Abhimanya, son of Arjuna by Subandra. In claiminirestoration to their kingdom at the close of the 13 years, the Pandava first tried negotiations, offering to be content with five small towns, but they ulti mately resolved to fight it out on the plain of Kuru-kshetra, the rules of battle being duly laid down. In the battle that ensued, and which lasted 18 days, the Kaurava lost successively all their chiefs, Bhishma on the tenth day, Drona on the fifth day, Karna on the second day, and their last commander, Salya, was killed on the first day of his command. In these battles much foul play was practised on both sides. After the close of the battle, Yudishthra was elected heir - apparent of the old blind king Dhritarashtra. But the latter subsequently ab dicated and led the life of a recluse, along with his wife Gandhari, Pritha, the mother of the Pandava, and their uncle Viclura. Vidura soon died, and all the rest of the royal exiles perished in a forest conflagration. The grief of the Pan dava for this was great, and they too, after hearing also of Krishna's death and of the de struction of Dwaraka, resolved to abdicate ; they all set out for Mount Meru, but all save Yudish thra perished before reaching it.