Book 13 of 18 · The Mahabharata
Anushasana Parva
अनुशासन पर्व
Anuśāsana Parva
The Book of the Instructions
What is the Anushasana Parva?
The Anushasana Parva (अनुशासन पर्व) is the thirteenth of the eighteen books of the Mahabharata. Its name means “Book of the Instructions”, and this site tells 5 stories drawn from it.
Anushasana Parva Summary
Bhishma's teaching continues and completes itself, moving from statecraft to the conduct of ordinary life. He speaks on giving and its fruits, on truthfulness, fasting, pilgrimage, the treatment of women, the power of the brahmins, and the working of karma across lifetimes. Tales such as Gautami and the snake, Nriga the lizard king and Bhangasvana the king who became a mother carry the arguments about fate, agency and gender. When the sun turns north Bhishma releases his life at last, and Yudhishthira performs the funeral rites for the grandsire who raised three generations of the family.
What This Book Is About
- dharma
- gifts
- karma
- instruction
- death of Bhishma
Stories from the Anushasana Parva
5 stories on this site are told inside this book, in canonical reading order.
- The Boy Who Questioned DeathNachiketa at the House of Yama
- The Old Woman, the Snake, and DeathGautami and the Truth of Karma
- The King Who Became a LizardNriga's long penance for one careless wrong
- The Guardian of the TrustVipula guards his teacher's wife from Indra, and conceals nothing
- The King Who Became a MotherHaving been both father and mother, he chose a mother's love
Where This Book Sits
The Anushasana Parva is book 13 of the eighteen parvas. It follows the Shanti Parva, the book of peace. The Ashvamedhika Parva, the book of the horse sacrifice, comes next.
See all eighteen parvas of the MahabharataFollow the epic as a timeline