THE MAHABHARATA

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Vyasa is a central and revered figure in most Hindu traditions. He is also sometimes called Veda Vyāsa ( veda-vyāsa, "the one who classified the Vedas") or Krishna Dvaipāyana (referring to his complexion and birthplace). He is the author of the Mahabharata, as well as a character in it. He is considered to be the scribe of both the Vedas and Puranas. According to Hindu beliefs, Vyasa is an avatar of the god Vishnu. Vyasa is also considered to be one of the seven Chiranjivins (long lived, or immortals), who are still in existence according to Hindu belief.Vyasa lived around the 3rd millennium BCE. The festival of Guru Purnima is dedicated to him. It is also known as Vyasa Purnima, for it is the day believed to be both his birthday and the day he divided the Vedas.
Vyasa appears for the first time as the compiler of, and an important character in, the Mahabharata. It is said that he was the expansion of the god Vishnu who came in Dwaparayuga to make all the Vedic knowledge available in written form which was available in spoken form at that time. He was the son of Satyavati, daughter of the fisherman Dusharaj, and the wandering sage Parashara (who is credited with being the author of the first Purana: Vishnu Purana). He was born on an island in the river Yamuna. There are two different views regarding his birthplace. One of the views suggests that he was born in the Tanahun district in western Nepal, other view suggests that he was born on Island in Yamuna river near Kalpi, Uttar Pradesh, India. Vyasa was dark-complexioned and hence may be called by the name Krishna, and also the name Dwaipayana, meaning 'island-born'.
Vyasa was grandfather to the Kauravas and Pandavas. Their fathers, Dhritarashtra, Pandu and Vidura were the sons of Vyasa. The third son, Vidura, was born to a serving maid Parishrami. Shere as Dhrutharashtra and Pandu are Sons of Ambalika and Ambika.
Vyasa is believed to have lived on the banks of Ganga in modern day Uttarakhand. The place was also the abode of sage Vashishta along with Pandavas, the five brothers of Mahabharata.

SUMMARY:

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Pandu and Dhirtrashtra are two brothers who rule Hastinapur. Pandu gets married to Kunti, who conceives five sons and names them Yudhister, Bhimsen, Arjun, Nakul and Sahdev, while Dhirtrashtra, who is blind, gets married to Gandhari, and gives birth to a 100 sons, including Duryodhan and Dushasan. Gandhari's brother, Shakuni, also resides with them. After Pandu passes away, Dhirtrashtra decides to bequeath the empire to Yudhister much to the chagrin of Duryodhan, who plots with Shakuni to kill them in a palace made of wax, but the brothers and Kunti manage to escape and live incognito in a forest where Bhimsem meets with, Hidimba, slays her demon brother, Hidimb, gets married to her and sires a son, an illusionist, Ghatotkach. The brothers do reveal their identity when Arjun wins a competition at Panchal to wed Draupadi defeating Duryodhan, Dushashan, Jarasandh and others. Kunti unwittingly asks the brothers to share Draupadi, as she had in a previous birth as Devi Maa Parvati, prayed to Bhagwan Shri Shivji five times for a husband. Dhirtrashtra acknowledges the enmity between the cousins and asks five brothers to re-locate to Khandavprasth, which is subsequently transformed by Bhagwan Shri Indra's aide, Vishwakarma, and re-named Indraprasht. Duryodhan is then humiliated by Draupadi, who mocks him and tells him that sons of a blind man are also blind, when he stumbles in the Maya Mahal, and he takes a vow to humiliate her. Shakuni then invites the five brother to gamble at Hastinapur where Yudhister ends up losing Indraprasht, his brothers, his wealth as well as Draupadi herself. Bhagwan Shri Kishan comes to her aid when Dushashan publicly disrobes her as no one comes to her defense.
The Pandavas are then sentenced to 13 years in exile, which will be extended by 12 years more if they are discovered during the 13th year. The 13 years pass by, Arjun also gets married to Subhadra and sires a son, Abhimanyu. When the Pandavs return to claim Indraprasht, the Kauravas oppose and challenge them to a war in the Kurkshetra. Duryodhan chooses Bhagwan Shri Kishan's armies, while Arjun chooses Kishanji, who decides to only be the charioteer for Arjun. And it is here that Kishanji who shows his true self to Arjun when he hesitates to kill his relatives, cousins, and gurus. It is here that Gandhari will bless Duryodhan with a body of steel, Kunti will go to plead with Karan to show mercy to her five sons, and Bhagwan Shri Hanuman, the elder brother of Bhimsen, decides to make an incognito appearance, in this epic battle between Good and Evil.