Kingdom of the Mahabharata
Hastinapur
हस्तिनापुर
Capital of Kuru Kingdom
Hastinapur: Capital of Kuru Kingdom, located at coordinates 29.17°N, 78.02°E.
Key Facts
| Type | Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Sanskrit name | हस्तिनापुर |
| Coordinates | 29.17°N, 78.02°E |
| Significance | Capital of Kuru Kingdom |
About Hastinapur
The grand capital of the Kuru Kingdom, ruled by the Kauravas. The throne of Hastinapur was the center of power and the cause of the great war.
Why it matters: Capital of Kuru Kingdom
Rulers and Custodians
- Dhritarashtra
- Duryodhana
- Yudhishthira (after war)
Details
- Palace
- The magnificent royal palace with the Sabha (assembly hall)
- Notable
- Site of the infamous game of dice where Yudhishthira lost everything
- Architecture
- Built by Maya Danava, renowned for its beauty and grandeur
On the Map
Hastinapur sits at 29.17°N, 78.02°E.
View on the full mapEvents at Hastinapur
- Shakuntala at the CourtYear -133Dushyanta initially denies knowing Shakuntala out of fear of public opinion. A heavenly voice validates her truth, and he joyfully accepts them.
- Animandavya Curses DharmaYear -110Sage Animandavya, unjustly impaled on a stake, curses the god of justice (Dharma) to be born as a Shudra.
- Shantanu meets GangaYear -100King Shantanu of Hastinapur meets the celestial river Ganga and marries her. She agrees on the condition that he never questions her actions.
- Bhishma's Terrible VowYear -95Devavrata takes the vow of celibacy and renounces claim to the throne so his father can marry Satyavati, the fisherman's daughter.
- Death of VichitraviryaYear -73King Vichitravirya dies childless from consumption after seven years of marriage.
- Birth of DhritarashtraYear -72Sage Vyasa is summoned to perform Niyoga. He fathers Dhritarashtra with Ambika, who is born blind.
- Birth of PanduYear -71Vyasa fathers Pandu with Ambalika, who is born pale.
- The Descent of the GodsYear -70The gods and demons incarnate as the main heroes and villains of the epic (e.g., Dharma as Yudhishthira, Kali as Duryodhana, Surya as Karna).
- Birth of ViduraYear -70Vyasa fathers Vidura with a maidservant. He is the incarnation of Dharma.
- Pandu's CurseYear -60Pandu accidentally kills a sage and his wife while hunting. He is cursed to die if he ever touches a woman.
- Birth of the KauravasYear -52Gandhari gives birth to 100 sons and one daughter through a boon from Vyasa. The mass of flesh was divided into 101 parts.
- Omens at Duryodhana's BirthYear -52At the moment of Duryodhana's birth, jackals howl, donkeys bray, and fierce winds blow. Vidura counsels Dhritarashtra to abandon the child for the good of the dynasty, but paternal love prevails.
- Birth of YuyutsuYear -52While Gandhari endures her two-year pregnancy, Dhritarashtra fathers a son, Yuyutsu, with a Vaishya serving-woman. He is born the same day as Duryodhana.
- Birth of the PandavasYear -50Kunti and Madri invoke gods to give birth to the five Pandava brothers through divine boons.
- Vidura's WarningsYear -50Vidura repeatedly warns Dhritarashtra against Duryodhana's evil plans.
- Pandu Crowned KingYear -50Because of Dhritarashtra's blindness, the pale Pandu is crowned King of Hastinapura.
- Duryodhana Poisons BhimaYear -48Young Duryodhana, jealous of Bhima's strength, feeds him poisoned sweets and throws him into the river.
- Gandhari's BlindfoldYear -48Princess Gandhari marries the blind Dhritarashtra and permanently blindfolds herself out of devotion.
- Pandu's DeathYear -45King Pandu dies from a curse, and Dhritarashtra becomes king. Pandavas return to Hastinapur.
- Pandu's MarriagesYear -45King Pandu marries Kunti at her svayamvara and Madri, the princess of Madra, whom Bhishma purchases with great riches.
- Eklavya's ThumbYear -42The tribal prince Eklavya, denied training by Drona, taught himself archery before a clay statue of Drona. Asked for guru-dakshina, he cut off his thumb.
- Drona and the WellYear -41The Kuru princes lose their ball down a well, and a lean brahmana retrieves it with a chain of grass blades, then recovers a ring with a single arrow. The stranger is Drona, whom Bhishma promptly appoints as preceptor of the princes.
- Education at Drona's GurukulaYear -40Kauravas and Pandavas receive military training from Dronacharya. Arjuna becomes the greatest archer.
- Pandu Retires to the ForestYear -40After conquering the world and expanding the Kuru empire, King Pandu retires to the southern Himalayas to live as a hunter-ascetic.
- Ekalavya's SacrificeYear -38Ekalavya, a Nishada prince, learns archery by worshipping a clay image of Drona. When he surpasses Arjuna, Drona demands his right thumb as guru dakshina.
- Tournament of PrincesYear -36Drona organizes a public display of martial skills by his students. Arjuna dazzles everyone while Karna challenges him.
- Kanika's CounselYear -36Alarmed by the people's love for the Pandavas, Dhritarashtra consults the minister Kanika, who delivers a ruthless discourse on statecraft: destroy a rival by any means - fire, poison, or deceit - before he grows strong.
- The Bird's Eye and the Crocodile - Drona's Tests of ArjunaYear -36Drona hangs a wooden bird in a tree and asks each prince what he sees; only Arjuna answers "only the eye." Then a staged crocodile in the Ganga finds only one student whose seeing and doing are a single motion - and Drona entrusts him with the Brahmashira, the weapon he will one day give, untested, to his own son.
- The Game of DiceYear -27Shakuni, using loaded dice, defeats Yudhishthira in a rigged game. Yudhishthira loses everything including his brothers, himself, and Draupadi.
- Draupadi's HumiliationYear -27Duryodhana attempts to disrobe Draupadi in the assembly. Krishna saves her honor by providing infinite cloth.
- The Second Game of DiceYear -27Recalled by Dhritarashtra's weakness, the Pandavas are summoned to one final throw: the losers must spend twelve years in the forest and a thirteenth unrecognized. Shakuni's dice fall as they always fall.
- Departure into ExileYear -27The Pandavas leave Hastinapura in deerskins, each in a posture heavy with meaning, while grieving citizens follow them to the city gates. Kunti remains behind in Vidura's house.
- Birth of ParikshitYear -14Abhimanyu's son Parikshit is born dead after the Ashwatthama's missile attack on Uttara's womb. Krishna revives him.
- Gandhari's BlessingYear -14Before the war, Gandhari blesses Duryodhana with protection from all weapons except on his thighs.
- Sanat-Sujata's Teaching to DhritarashtraYear -14On the eve of war, Sanat-Sujata - an ancient sage - teaches Dhritarashtra about the nature of death, the eternal soul, and the folly of attachment. Vidura arranges this meeting.
- Krishna's Mission to HastinapurYear -14Krishna goes to Hastinapur as the Pandavas' ambassador of peace, making a final attempt to avoid war. He offers Duryodhana five villages for the Pandavas.
- Krishna's Form Blazes in the Kuru CourtYear -14When Duryodhana plots to seize the peace envoy, Krishna reveals his cosmic form in the Kuru assembly - gods thronging his body, fire from his mouths - blinding all but those granted sight.
- Sanjaya Granted Divine SightYear -14Vyasa offers Dhritarashtra eyes to watch the war; the king refuses to see his sons die. So the sage bestows divine vision on Sanjaya, who will see all things by day and night and narrate the war to the blind king.
- Yudhishthira's CoronationYear -13Yudhishthira is crowned king of Hastinapur. Krishna and sages attend the ceremony.
- Dhritarashtra's EmbraceYear -13When Bhima comes to Dhritarashtra for blessings, the blind king tries to crush him in a bear hug. Krishna substitutes an iron statue.
- Vrishaketu Taken into the Pandava HouseYear -13Learning that Karna was their brother, the Pandavas embrace his sole surviving son Vrishaketu, and Arjuna himself trains the boy as his own - the last keeper of Karna's line.
- Vidura Niti - The Sleepless KingYear -12On the night before Sanjaya delivers Yudhishthira's answer in open court, the blind king cannot sleep and summons Vidura. Through the dark hours Vidura pours out the epic's great treasury of practical wisdom - and Dhritarashtra praises every word, then confesses he will follow none of it.
- The Sanatsujatiya - There Is No DeathYear -11In the last of the sleepless night, Dhritarashtra asks Vidura about death, and Vidura summons the eternal youth Sanatsujata, who teaches that death is heedlessness and deathlessness is knowledge of the Self - a Gita before the Gita, spoken to the man least able to use it.
- Ashvamedha YagnaYear -10Yudhishthira performs the Ashvamedha sacrifice to cleanse the sins of the war. Arjuna follows the sacrificial horse.
- Astika Stops the Snake SacrificeYear 0King Janamejaya performs a snake sacrifice to avenge his father Parikshit's death by Takshaka. The young brahmin Astika halts the sacrifice and saves the serpent race.
- Coronation of ParikshitYear 24Before departing for heaven, Yudhishthira crowns Parikshit as the new king of Hastinapur.
- Pandavas Renounce the KingdomYear 24After 36 years of peaceful reign, news of Krishna's death and the submergence of Dwaraka reaches Hastinapur. The Pandavas understand the age has ended and renounce everything.
- Takshaka Slays King ParikshitYear 49Cursed by a sage's son to die of snakebite in seven days, King Parikshit hears the Bhagavata in vigil on a guarded tower - but Takshaka, king of serpents, comes hidden in a fruit and burns him to ash.
- Utanka Instigates JanamejayaYear 51Angry with Takshaka, Utanka goes to Hastinapur and reminds King Janamejaya that Takshaka killed his father Parikshit.
- Charvaka the False Brahmin - The Curse at the CoronationYear 52At Yudhishthira's coronation a robed figure steps out of the sea of blessing Brahmins and curses the new king as a kin-slayer - the rakshasa Charvaka, Duryodhana's old friend in disguise. The true Brahmins unmask him and burn him to ash with a single syllable of their gathered fire.
- The Last Son of KarnaYear 53Only after the pyres are lit does Kunti tell her sons that Karna was their eldest brother - and that of all his sons, one boy still lives. Vrishaketu, last child of the fallen sun, is taken in by the very men who killed his father and brothers. Arjuna makes him his own student, the throne of Anga is set back on his head, and the eldest line of Kunti's blood rides on - beside the white horse of the Ashvamedha.
- The Man in the WellYear 54To console the blind king Dhritarashtra after the war destroyed his house, the wise Vidura tells a single terrible parable: a man lost in a forest falls into a well, hangs by a creeper gnawed by black and white rats, a serpent waiting below and an elephant above - and forgets it all for a few drops of honey. The whole condition of the soul caught in the world, held in one image.
- The Revival of Parikshit - The Act of TruthYear 54Struck in the womb by Ashwatthama's brahmastra, the last heir of both houses is born dead. Krishna takes the stillborn child in his hands and stakes every kept vow of his life on one act of truth - and on that single restored breath the whole future of the epic stands.
- The Mongoose and the SacrificeYear 55At Yudhishthira's magnificent horse sacrifice, a mongoose with one half of its body turned to gold rolls in the remnants and declares the whole great rite worth less than a handful of barley flour. It tells of a starving family in a famine who gave away their last food - and their lives - to a hungry guest, and explains why no grand sacrifice can match a gift given at the cost of everything.
- The Bird and the KingYear 64Pujani, a wise bird in King Brahmadatta's palace, and the king are friends until the prince kills her nestling and she blinds the prince in revenge. The bird refuses the king's offer of renewed friendship, knowing that trust broken by blood cannot be restored, and parts to break the cycle of revenge.
Stories Set at Hastinapur
The Dice Game
The Game That Changed Everything
Bhishma's Vow
The Terrible Oath of Devavrata
Karna's Birth & Curse
The Tragic Backstory of the Sun's Son
Utanka and the Earrings
The Origin of the Snake Sacrifice
Astika Saves the Snakes
The End of the Sarpa Satra
The River and the Island
Births of Satyavati and Vyasa
The King and the Hermit Girl
Dushyanta and Shakuntala
The Terrible Vow
The Sacrifice of Devavrata
The Abduction at Kashi
The Svayamvara and the Tragedy of Amba
The Niyoga of Vyasa
The Birth of the Kurus
The Curse of the Deer
Pandu's Fatal Hunt and the End of a King
The Birth of the Princes
Children of the Gods and the Iron Womb
The Secret of the Sun
A Mother's Plea, A Warrior's Promise
The Tournament of Champions
The Rise of Arjuna and the Arrival of Karna
The Messenger of Peace
The Divine Revelation in Hastinapura
Shantanu and the River Goddess
The Marriage That Began the Kuru Dynasty
The Curse That Killed a King
Pandu's Arrow, Kindama's Curse, and the Birth of the Pandavas
A Royal Childhood at Hastinapura
Pandavas, Kauravas, and the Lessons of Drona
The House of Lac and the Demons
The Pandavas' First Exile
The Great Departure
Krishna's Death, the End of the Yadavas, and the Pandavas' Climb to Heaven
The Forest Retreat
Book 15 - How the Blind King Walked Into the Woods to Die
The Iron Maces
Book 16 - The Curse That Destroyed Krishna's People
The Great Journey
Book 17 - The Pandavas Walk North to Die, and the Dog Who Followed
The Ascent to Heaven
Book 18 - The Last Illusion, and the End of the Story
The Eve of Battle
Last Embassies Before Kurukshetra
The Fall of Bhishma and the Earrings
Indra's Gift, the Grandsire's Bed of Arrows
The Aftermath of War
The Night Massacre, the Women's Lament, and a Curse on Krishna
Bhishma on the Bed of Arrows
Fifty-Eight Days of Teaching, and a King Crowned at His Feet
The Horse Sacrifice
Arjuna Follows a Wandering Horse, and Dies at His Own Son's Hand
The Fire-Born and the Woman Who Became a Man
Drupada's Children, Drona's Old Feud, and Amba's Vow Across Lives
Ancient Beginnings
The Earth's Plea, the Descent of the Gods, and the Sages Who Began the Telling
The Epic Composed
Vyasa at Badarikashrama, Astika at the Snake Sacrifice, and the Story First Told
The Palace of Illusions
Mayasura's Masterpiece and the Laughter That Started a War
The Ghosha Yatra
Duryodhana Goes to Mock the Exiles and Is Saved by Them
The Last Son of Karna
Vrishaketu, the Boy the Pandavas Raised in Their Brother's Place
The Man in the Well
Vidura's Parable of the Soul
The Mongoose and the Sacrifice
The Gift That Outweighed an Empire's Rite
The Sage on the Stake
Ani-Mandavya and the Birth of Vidura
The Bird and the King
How a single vengeance ended a long friendship
Drona and Drupada
The Broken Friendship
Tapati and Samvarana
The Daughter of the Sun
Vidura Niti
The Sleepless King
The Sanatsujatiya
There Is No Death
Charvaka the False Brahmin
The Curse at the Coronation
The Revival of Parikshit
The Act of Truth
The Bird's Eye and the Crocodile
Drona's Tests of Arjuna
Vikarna, the Kaurava Who Spoke
One Voice in the Dice Hall
The Sixteen Kings
The Consolation of Yudhishthira
Vidula's Fire
The Mother Who Would Not Let Her Son Kneel
Samba and the Dragged City
Balarama's Plough at the Walls of Hastinapura
The Charioteer's Son
Adhiratha, the father Karna chose
The Blindfold of Gandhari
A vow read as devotion and as protest
Ganga Beyond the River
The mother who shaped Bhishma
Kunti's Last Fire
Renunciation after the victory
Madri, the Second Queen
The overshadowed wife who chose the fire
Sanjaya's Embassy
The honest voice of a dishonest court
The Last Witness
Sanjaya after the divine eye
The Fisher Queen's Burden
Satyavati's regency and renunciation
Subhadra of Dwaraka
Sister, wife, and guardian of the line
Uttaraa, Mother of the Last Heir
A girl's widowhood and a dynasty's thread
Vidura, Dharma in a Servant's House
The clean conscience of Hastinapura
Bharata, the All-Tamer
The emperor who chose worth over blood
The Poisoned Prince
Bhima at Pramanakoti and the naga realm
The Birth of Duryodhana
A doom announced and ignored
The King Who Fought His Name
Chitrangada and the gandharva's duel
The Iron Embrace
Dhritarashtra's grief given a body
The Night Among the Danavas
Despair flattered into destiny
Dussala, the Only Sister
What women inherit from men's wars
Kanika's Counsel
The advisor a frightened king wanted
Karna's Conquest of the World
Greatness spent on an unworthy debt
The Seven Days of Parikshit
A good king's lapse and a good death
Hastinapura, City of the Elephant
The capital that held the whole epic
The Offer on the Chariot
Krishna reveals the secret to Karna
Pandu's Conquest
The pale king who filled the treasury
The Uncle Who Stayed
Shakuni of Gandhara, without the legends
Yuyutsu, Keeper of the House
Dissent's long, unglamorous fidelity
The Branch That Left
The Kurus who moved away and died in the war anyway
The Brother Who Should Have Been King
A lawful crown the rain refused to bless
The Teacher Who Came Too Late
Flour stirred in water, and a mountain walked to
The Physician Who Turned Back
The man who could have saved the king
The Dog at the Sacrifice
The curse that began a dynasty's last chapter
The Boy Who Invented Marriage
The argument Pandu made on the mountain
The Stranger at the Well
How the Kuru princes got their teacher
Half a Kingdom
One sitting of the Kuru court decides everything
The Teacher Who Remembered
The third disciple and what he refused to pass on
The Counselor Sent Away
Thrown out of the court, and back the same week
The Sage Who Carried a Crow
Kalakavrikshiya, and counsel for a king with nothing left
Utathya Instructs the Emperor
The brahmana who told Mandhata what a crown is for
Vamadeva and the King of Kosala
The counsel a young king asked for and got
Kripa's Last Argument
The morning after Karna, somebody finally says stop
The First Envoy
Drupada's old priest carries the claim to Hastinapura
The Reckoning of the Warriors
Bhishma prices every man on the field, and Karna walks out
The Perfected One at the Door
A brahmana asks what the soul is walking through
Mahabhisha's Glance
One unguarded look in Brahma's court sets a dynasty moving
Prahlada's Judgment
Within Vidura's night counsel, an asura king rules the truth against his own son
The Ascetics at the Gate
The morning five orphans were handed to Hastinapura
The Twins in the Heath
Indra's dancer, a sage's dropped bow, and the children a king carried home
The Heir Apparent
A crown promised, a second fee demanded, and the conquests that frightened a blind king
The Hand That Rose From the Grass
Bhishma's own memory of Shantanu's shraddha at the gate of Ganga
The Departure of Bhishma
The sun turns north, and the grandsire lets go
The Wordy Darts
Fifteen Years of Bhima's Unforgiveness
The King Asks Leave of His People
An Assembly Absolves the Man Who Ruined It
The Gift Sacrifice
Ten Days of Giving for the Enemy Dead
Satayupa and the Forest Kings
Narada Names the Rulers Who Chose the Woods
The Court Comes to the Forest
An Army Marches Out to Visit Two Old Ascetics
Vyasa Brings Back Parikshit
A Son Bathes His Dead Father at the Snake Sacrifice
The Fire That Was Not Unholy
Yudhishthira Accuses Agni of Ingratitude
The Naked Priest of Varanasi
How a king outbid Indra for a brother nobody wanted
The Battle No One Else Can Fight
Krishna names the enemies still living in Yudhishthira's flesh
Where the Kingdom Ends
A sentence of exile that its author could not locate
The News Krishna Held Back
A grandfather is spared until his daughter refuses it
The Sacrifice of Profuse Gold
Yudhishthira gives away the earth and is given it back
The Rain Agastya Did Not Need
Twelve years of drought against one sage's seeds
The Signs Before the War
What Vyasa saw in the sky, the cattle and the birth-rooms
Kurukshetra Day 8: The Rakshasa's Hour
Iravan falls and Ghatotkacha answers for him
The Banners and the Bows
Sanjaya names every standard on the field
The Women in the Tent
Subhadra, Draupadi and Uttaraa on the night Abhimanyu died
What Krishna Told His Charioteer
The night Krishna decided to break his own vow
Kurukshetra Day 14: The Longest Day
Sunset Vow, False Dusk, and a Battle That Would Not Stop at Nightfall
The King Counts His Army
Every soldier paid, examined and willing, and still losing
The Arrows He Did Not Want to Shoot
Arjuna, Kripa, and a lesson in arms turned back on its teacher
The Oath of a Bereaved Father
The house of Bahlika ends in a single night
The Night They Lit the Field
Duryodhana's order that turned a battlefield into a lamp-lit hall
What Krishna Had Already Done
Arjuna asks, and gets a list he did not expect
The Dart That Was Never Thrown
A blind king asks the only question that mattered
Held Back by Bhima's Arms
Satyaki and Dhrishtadyumna nearly finish the war for the Kauravas
The Weapon That Would Not Burn Them
Ashwatthama's fire, and why it left two men standing
The Word Brought to Hastinapura
Sanjaya rides through the night with the news of Karna
A Thousand Lamps Around Karna
Yudhishthira rises from his bed to look at his enemy
The Omens of Dwaraka
A City Watches Its Own Death Approach
The Death of Vasudeva
Krishna's Father Outlives Everyone
What the Blind King Was Told
Duryodhana's inventory of the rajasuya, and the quarrel it started
The Honey-Gatherer on the Cliff
Vidura's last warnings, and the answer he got
The Second Throw
One cast of the dice for thirteen years
The Road Out of Hastinapura
What Vidura read in the way they walked
The Last of the Hundred
Bhima closes an eighteen-year account in a single afternoon
The Oath Comes Due
Susharman, his thirty-five sons, and the last of the sworn men
The Kingdom Poured on the Fire
A sage is mocked with dead cattle and burns a realm with them
The Errand Before the Grief
Krishna drives to Hastinapura to reach a mother before her curse does
Karna at Rajapura
A bride carried off, a hundred kings unhorsed, and the city a rival gave away
The Victory Nobody Wanted
Five brothers, a wife and a sage argue a king back onto his throne
The Crowning of Yudhishthira
A king anointed by the man he could not save
What the Brothers Wanted Most
An evening argument about virtue, wealth and desire
The Horse-Headed Voice in the Deep
How the Vedas were sung back out of the hands of thieves
The Queen Asks Her Questions
Gandhari puts the victors on trial, and Vyasa stands in the way
The Return of the Portions
Who everybody turned out to have been
The Choice at Dwaraka
Ten crore soldiers on one side of the bed, one unarmed man on the other
The Net and the Mountain Honey
Two birds who quarrelled in flight, and a cliff nobody came down from
How a Charioteer Came to Know God
The blind king asks why the sight was given to a suta
The Braid She Refused to Bind
Draupadi answers Bhima's peace with her own hair
What Kunti Sent Instead of Comfort
A mother counts her sons aloud, then tells them to fight
The Meal He Chose to Eat
A king's banquet refused, a servant's supper accepted
Garuda's Map of the World
The four directions described from a bird's back
The Cities of Tents
Two capitals raised on Kurukshetra before a single arrow
The Consecration of the Grandsire
Bhishma takes command on two conditions, and the sky rains blood
Twenty-Three Days on the Saraswati
Bhishma fights his own preceptor and neither man can win
The Question of Days
Each commander prices the enemy army in mornings
The Ones Who Would Not Turn Back
The city walks out with its kings, and a sage answers the weeping
The Cow Who Wept for the Weaker Calf
Indra learns why a mother's love is not divided equally
The Curse on Duryodhana's Thigh
A sage asks politely once, and is answered with a scratched foot
The Promise Made in the Kamyaka Woods
The allies arrive, and Draupadi asks Krishna what her friendship is worth
The Queen Who Put God on Trial
A bird on a string, and a child breaking its toys
The Blind King Counts the Odds
A father adds up his enemies and hears whose fault it was
The Golden Plough
The sacrifice a king held because the one he wanted was forbidden him
The Warning in the Dream
A father begs his son to live, and the son chooses to be remembered
Where a Good King Must Be Living
The Kuru court tries to find five men by their weather
The Guard at the Wheel
Kumara of Panchala checks Drona in front of Yudhishthira's chariot, and pays for it
The Elephant Corps and the King of Anga
Bhima breaks Duryodhana's elephant division and beheads the Anga king in mid-fall
The King on Foot
Drona breaks Yudhishthira's bow, dart, mace and car, and the king escapes on Sahadeva's chariot
The King Names the Pairs
Yudhishthira assigns each Pandava his enemy as Karna's array comes on
Ashwatthama Breaks the King's Guard
A roof of arrows over Yudhishthira, and the insult the king threw back
Kunti's Swayamvara
The princess no king asked for chooses Pandu in a hall of monarchs
Kunti Knows Her Son
The mother who recognised Karna in the arena and stayed silent
Vidura's Embassy to Panchala
The envoy sent to bring the Pandavas home from Drupada's court
The Errand Vidura Did Not Want
Carrying the invitation to the dice game he had begged the king not to send
The Kingdom Given Back
Dhritarashtra releases the Pandavas and returns everything they lost
The Vows Sworn Before Exile
Four brothers name their killings on the way out of the dice hall
The Tree and the Forest
Krishna answers Sanjaya at Upaplavya and decides to go to the Kurus himself
Arjuna's Message to the Kurus
Sanjaya recites the message in open court, and names every man who will die
Madhavi Chooses the Forest
At her own swayamvara she passes over every king and takes the woods for a husband
The March to Kurukshetra
Duryodhana walks out on the last counsel and orders the host to move that same day
The Grandsire Chooses His Hour
Bhishma remembers Santanu's boon and refuses to die in the wrong season
Karna Takes the Field
The vow that kept him out of ten days of war, and the grief that brought him into it
The Consecration of Drona
Karna names the Preceptor commander, and Drona names the man he cannot kill
Krishna's Gift to the Dying Grandsire
The Boon That Took Away Pain, Hunger and Thirst So Bhishma Could Speak
Arjuna Empties Dwaraka
One bowman escorts a dead city inland, and the sea walks behind him
The Ten Kinsmen Against the Ten Sons
Day six: Dhrishtadyumna kills two princes, ten Pandavas duel ten Kauravas, and Bhima goes into the elephants on foot
The Seventh Day After Noon
Bhima and Duryodhana wound each other twice, Sanjaya tells the blind king whose fault the war is, and Satanika kills Dushkarna
The Three Columns
At midday on the eighth day the Pandava army splits into three attacking bodies, Arjuna's son Iravan is killed, and Bhishma sends twelve warriors to pull Duryodhana out of the fire.
The Evening After Bhishma Fell
Both armies stop the war for a night, and Arjuna gives the grandsire the only pillow he will accept.
The King Falls Out of His Seat
Dhritarashtra hears that Drona is dead, faints in his hall, and wakes to ask who was supposed to be guarding him
The Blind King Is Answered
Dhritarashtra laments the night after Abhimanyu's death, and his own messenger tells him whose fault it is
The Night After Drona
The sleepless camp, four men in a tent, and the thread tied round Karna's wrists
The Price on Arjuna's Head
Karna offers everything he owns to any man who will point out Arjuna
The Seventeen Hundred
Shalya's followers charge against orders, and Duryodhana's army breaks twice before he turns it round
The Flight of the Royal Ladies
The last of the eleven armies dies, Duryodhana walks into a lake, and the Kaurava camp runs for Hastinapura
The Plunder of the Kaurava Camp
The victors ride into Duryodhana's empty tents, and Arjuna's chariot turns to ash
The Lineages of Gods and Demons
Vaishampayana recites the descent of every creature from Brahma and the daughters of Daksha
The King Who Only Breathed
Karna answers Drona with the tale of a minister who took everything but the throne
The Sacrifice of Battle
Duryodhana makes the coming war his own rite, and his father disowns him for it
Poverty Is a Person's Death
Yudhishthira tells Krishna why a ruined man loses his shame, and still asks for peace
The Kings Who Were Passed Over
Dhritarashtra reads his son the family's own record of elder sons who never got the throne
Sanjaya Describes the Earth
The blind king asks what the earth is worth, and his charioteer answers with the whole of it
The Islands Beyond Jambudvipa
Sanjaya measures the seven islands, the world elephants and the sun
The Muster of the Eighteenth Day
An oath never to fight alone, and the count of what was left of both armies
The Secret of the Gods
Vyasa tells the blind king why the war was ordained before his eldest son was born
The Gods and the Salavrikas
Vyasa answers Yudhishthira's guilt with the war heaven fought for thirty-two thousand years
Arjuna's Hymn at Parting
On the road to Hastinapur, Arjuna praises Krishna and gives him leave to go home