Book 12 of 18 · The Mahabharata

Shanti Parva

शान्ति पर्व

Śānti Parva

The Book of Peace

What is the Shanti Parva?

The Shanti Parva (शान्ति पर्व) is the twelfth of the eighteen books of the Mahabharata. Its name means “Book of Peace”, and this site tells 41 stories drawn from it.

Shanti Parva Summary

The longest book in the Mahabharata, and the one furthest from battle. Yudhishthira, sick with guilt, wants to renounce the throne he has just won, and is argued back into kingship by his brothers, by Draupadi, by Vyasa and by Krishna. He is then taken to Bhishma, still lying on his bed of arrows, who spends his last weeks teaching the duties of a king, the conduct proper to times of distress, and finally the long discourse on liberation. Fables, kings, sages and animals crowd its chapters, from the cat and the mouse to Prithu, Shuka and the Narayaniya, making it the epic's great compendium of ethics and philosophy.

What This Book Is About

  • kingship
  • rajadharma
  • liberation
  • ethics
  • instruction

Stories from the Shanti Parva

41 stories on this site are told inside this book, in canonical reading order.

  1. Charvaka the False BrahminThe Curse at the Coronation 5 min
  2. Bhishma on the Bed of ArrowsFifty-Eight Days of Teaching, and a King Crowned at His Feet 24 min
  3. The Boy Who Would Not BowPrahlada and the Man-Lion 10 min
  4. The Three StepsVamana and the Generosity of Bali 11 min
  5. The Honest MerchantTuladhara and the Proud Ascetic 11 min
  6. The King Who Became a DeerJada Bharata and the Snare of Attachment 11 min
  7. The King Who Fed the WorldRantideva's Last Water 10 min
  8. The First KingVena, Prithu, and the Milking of the Earth 11 min
  9. The Devotee and the Sage's WrathAmbarisha and the Discus of the Lord 11 min
  10. The Sacrifice of SatiDaksha's Pride and the Wrath of Shiva 10 min
  11. The Procession of IndrasIndra's Pride and the Vastness of Time 11 min
  12. The Boar Who Lifted the EarthVaraha and the Rescue of the Drowned Earth 8 min
  13. The Son Who DelayedChirakari and the Wisdom of Not Acting in Haste 10 min
  14. The Dove and the HunterThe Pigeon Who Honored Its Enemy 9 min
  15. The Gatekeepers Who Became DemonsThe Curse of the Kumaras and the Three Births 8 min
  16. The Twin SagesNara, Narayana, and the Eternal Companionship 9 min
  17. The Demons Born of SleepMadhusudana and the Dawn of Creation 9 min
  18. The King Who Chose HellVipashchit and the Compassion That Emptied a Hell 9 min
  19. The Sage of Twenty-Four TeachersDattatreya and the Wisdom of the World 11 min
  20. The Son Who Flew to FreedomShuka, Vyasa, and the Inward Renunciation 9 min
  21. The Woman Who Out-Argued a KingSulabha, Janaka, and the Inward Freedom 10 min
  22. That Thou ArtUddalaka teaches his proud son the one Self 9 min
  23. The Boy Who Told the TruthSatyakama Jabala, of no known family, wins wisdom by honesty 9 min
  24. The Sage Who Knew the SelfYajnavalkya, Gargi, and Maitreyi at Mithila 9 min
  25. The Brothers and the Stolen FruitStrict justice and willing acceptance between two sage brothers 9 min
  26. The Ungrateful GuestThe noble crane and the benefactor's murderer 9 min
  27. The Sinner Who Called the NameA fallen brahmin saved at death by the holy name 10 min
  28. The King Who Lost His SonGrief turned to the knowledge of the deathless soul 10 min
  29. The Bird and the KingHow a single vengeance ended a long friendship 9 min
  30. The Cat and the MouseTwo enemies who saved one another, and the wisdom of the weak 10 min
  31. The Sage Who Forgot HimselfNarada lives a whole life in an instant of illusion 10 min
  32. The Son Who Taught His MotherKapila, an avatar born as a son, teaches Devahuti liberation 10 min
  33. The King Who Had One HourLiberation won in a single hour of life 10 min
  34. The City of Nine GatesNarada's allegory of the soul in the body 11 min
  35. The King Who Lived in the EyesA quarrel of king and priest, and the origin of blinking 9 min
  36. The King Consoled in GriefA brahmana lifts a grieving king with the truth 10 min
  37. The Camel Who Would Not MoveA boon of ease that fed sloth to ruin 10 min
  38. The Vulture and the JackalTwo voices over a dead child: hope and acceptance 10 min
  39. The Tree That Defied the WindA proud silk-cotton tree humbled by its own fear 10 min
  40. The Yogi of Many WorldsThe true goal of yoga is peace, not powers 10 min
  41. The Sage Who Tested the GodsBhrigu finds the greatest is greatest in forbearance 10 min

Where This Book Sits

The Shanti Parva is book 12 of the eighteen parvas. It follows the Stri Parva, the book of the women. The Anushasana Parva, the book of the instructions, comes next.

See all eighteen parvas of the MahabharataFollow the epic as a timeline