Mahabharata

The Mahabharata is the great epic of India, comprising some 18 sections. It tells the tale of the great battle between the Pandavas, understood to be sons of the gods, and the Kauravas, their cousins, who conspire to deprive the Pandavas of their kingdom. Within the epic of family rivalry and battle are included countless myths, legends, and teachings about Dharma, such as the Bhagavad Gita, which is told by the incarnate Krishna to the warrior Arjuna just as the battle is about to begin. The Mahabharata is a treasury of the culture and lore of Hindu India. Emerging over the centuries from traditions of oral epic transmission, the Mahabharata gained its present form by about 400 CE.