What is the Mahabharata?

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Mahabharata is known as one of the longest epic poems ever made. It is a series of tales and legends. People say that it was written down by Ganesha, the god of writing and beginnings. Ganesha is the elephant-headed god. The main conflict in the Mahabharata is the feud between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. The Pandavas and Kauravas are cousins that fought over the throne of Hastinapura. To end this conflict, they played a dice game, but the Karuavas cheated and won. The Pandavas were sentenced to exile for twelve years into the forest, and when they came back the feud turned into a war within the family. By the end of the war, twelve warriors died. The Pandavas ended up winning the war because five Pandavas survived and only one Kaurava survived.

[1]- picture of the Kauravas and the Pandavas playing the dice game

Sources: The Mahabharata yellow packet, lecture notes on the Mahabharata, [2]

Katy Shafer