The MAHABHARATis one of the epic stories in our Indian history, other than Ramayan. It portrays the struggle between the two gangs of cousins “the pandava” and “the kaurava” in the Kurukshetra.

The Mahabharat is considered as the longest epic poem known and has been described as “the longest poem ever written”

THE OLDER GENERATION

 Shantanu, the king of Hastinapur, once’s married with goddess Ganga and has son with her named Devavrata later knowns as Bhishma. After many years, when King Shantanu sees Satyavati while he was hunting, she was the daughter of the chief of fisherman, and asks her father for her hand. Her father refuses for marriage unless the King Shantanu promises to make their son as the king of the Hastinapur after his death. To resolve his father’s dilemma, Devavrata agrees to relinquish his right to the throne. And takes the oath of not getting married to anyone. Later Satyavati gave birth to his two sons  Chitrangada and Vichitravirya. The miseries still have not ended, king Shantanu died soon and their son Chitrangada also lived a short life. After all this Vichitravirya was announced as the king of Hastinapur and he was later married to the kasi daughters Amika and Ambalika. The older daughter Amba refuses to marry as she wish to marry swayamvara but due to certain reasons swayamvara refuses to marry her and with this she became the great enemy of Bhishma and she gives herself to the angi (fire). And later she was born as Shrikhandi the daughter of Drupada. She was the cause of Bhishma’s death and wish to defeat him with the help of Arujuna.

PANDVA AND KAURAVA PRINCES

Vichitravirya was died young with no children later Satyavati ask Vyas to father them with the widows. The eldest, Ambika, gives birth to her son Dhritarashtra who as born blind. Ambalika gave birth to her son Pandu. Later Ambika and Ambalika send their maid instead, to Vyasa’s room. Vyasa fathers a third son, Vidur, by the maid. He was announced as Prime Minister (Mahamantri or Mahatma) to King Pandu and King Dhritarashtra.
When both the princes grow up, Dhritarashtra was about to be crowned king by Bhishma but due to his blindness King Pandu was honoured and the throne was given to him. Dhritarashtra was married to the Gandhari, a princess from Ghandhara, Pandu was married twice to, kunti and madri. Ghandhari also blindfolded herself for the rest of her life to feel the pain as her husband Dhritarashtra.
Her brother Shakuni was angry as his sister was married to an blind man and vows to take revenge on the Kuru family.
Later Pandu, Madri and Kunti went for excel and their they had their 5 sons. Kunti was give boon by the Druvasa that she could invoke any mantra and have her son. Kunti uses this boon to ask Dharma the god of justice, Vayu the god of the wind, and Indra the lord of the heavens for sons. She gives birth to three sons, Yudhishthira, Bhima, and Arjuna, And shares her rest mantra with Madri, she later gave birth to twins Nakul and Sahadeva through the Ashwini, Later on usually referred to as the Pandava brothers.
Due to uncertain situation King Pandu died and Madri commits suicide.
Ghandhari gave birth to her hundred sons, all born after the birth of Yudhishthira. These where names as the Kaurava brothers, the eldest being Duryodhana and the second Dusasaha.. The competitiveness and enmity between them and the Pandava brothers, leads to the Kurukshetra war.

TO BE CONTINUED IN NEXT ARTICLE……