25 Interesting Historical Facts About Mahabharat - The Great Indian Battle

The Kurukshetra War is a battle mentioned in the Hindu epic poem Mahābhārat, which is also called the Mahabharat Battle. The rivalry emerged out of a dynastic struggle for the throne of Hastinapura between two classes of kin, the Kauravas and Pandavas. It included the intervention of many ancient kingdoms as supporters of the competing parties.

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The site of the battle in Kurukshetra in north India is identified as having occurred. While only relating to those eighteen days, the war story comprises more than a quarter of the text, indicating its considerable significance within the novel, which covers decades of warring families overall. The story portrays individual fights and deaths between different heroes on both sides, military forces, war diplomacy, character meetings and conversations, and the weapons used. The war-related chapters (Parvas – from chapter six to ten) are considered among the oldest in all the Mahabharat.

We are all aware of the rivalry that occurred in Mahabharat between Pandu’s five sons and the hundred Dhritrashtra sons. The rivalry between them played an important part in the dice game and eventually, the Pandavas lost their land to the Kauravas and their common wife Draupadi. And after the 13-year exile, when Pandavas returned, Duryodhana declined to give them half of their land that turned into the Kurukshetra War in which Lord Krishna gave Arjuna, known as the Bhagwad Gita, his ethical lecture.

25 Amazing Historical Facts About Mahabharat

Vedvyas is not a name but a post given to those knowledgeable about Vedas. According to Krishnadweepayan, there were 27 Vedvyas. And Krishnadweepayan was the 28th Vedvyas, granted this name because he was born on an island and had a wheatish skin colour like Lord Krishna.
Vaishampayan the Vedvyas disciple first read Mahabharat in King Janamejay’s House who was Abhimanyu’s grandson and Parikshit’s uncle. He had done several Sarp Yagya to take revenge on the death of his father.
According to Dharma Granthas, there are 33 major gods and one of them is Ashtha Vasu, born as Shantanu and son of Ganga. Their eighth son was called Bhishma.
Vidur was Yamraj’s incarnation in Mahabharat and was a great scholar of Dharma Shatra and Artha Shastra. He had to be raised as human because of the curse of the Rishi Mandavya’s.
Owing to the curse of Rishi Kindam Pandu left his kingdom and became a sanyasi. Kunti and Madri also began living with them in a forest where they were raised by Dharmaraj Yudhishthir’s mantra of Durvasa. Likewise, Arjun was born from Vayudeva Bhima and Indra’s and. Kunti gave Madri the mantra and Sahdev was born.
We all know Duryodhana won the chess game in Mahabharat and asked Yudhisthir to let Draupadi sit on his left thigh. He is known as a villain because of this. But in those times a wife was given a position on a man’s left or left thigh, and daughters were held on the right or right thigh side.
Mahabharat is said to teach about Dharma and many people also link it with truth or lies but there is no concept of truth or lies in Mahabharat in any case. Every single behaviour of people in Mahabharat depends on the circumstances they are in.
Do you know that Mahabharat’s war even involved foreigners? The real battle was not only between Pandavas and Kauravas, Rome and Greece powers were also a part of it.
Do you know that Arjun was cursed by Urvashi an Indralok Apsara when he addressed her ‘girlfriend’ and claimed he was going to become a eunuch? On this Lord, Indra told Arjun that during the one year stay in hiding this curse would act as a blessing and after spending that time he will recover his masculinity. And in Mahabharat, having spent 12 years in the jungle, Pandavas spent the 13th year of exile incognito, in King Virat’s court. Arjuna used this spell and lived as Brihannala, a eunuch.
Lord Krishna broke his pledge in the battle of Mahabharat that he would not pick up any weapons. But when he saw that Arjun could not equal the strength of Bhishma, he became powerless and suddenly threw down the rein of the chariot and jumped out onto the battlefield, raised one of the wheels of the chariot and threatened Bhishma with killing him. Arjun tried to avoid Krishna but in vain.
Kauravas had been guided by Jayadrath at Mahabharat. He used his blessing to block the ‘Charavihus’ from reaching the Pandavas. As Lord Shiva gave Jayadrath a gift to keep the Pandavas brother in the war for one day except for Arjun who was protected by Krishna. But when Arjun’s son was killed with his arrow in the ‘Chakravihu’ then Arjun later killed Jayadrath.
Duryodhana refused to listen to Bhagwad Gita saying he already knows good or bad. He also said some force doesn’t let him choose the right path. Had he listened to the words of Krishna, he could have averted the whole war.
Mahabharat was composed by Maharishi Vedvyas and written by Lord Ganesha on the condition that Maharishi Vedvyas continually speak the shlokas which are to be written without even stopping for once. Then Vedvyas also gave a condition that he would speak shlokas understanding their meaning, but without interpreting them in his mind, Ganesha could not write them. So sometimes in this way in the whole epic Vedvyas speak challenging Shlokas which took time for Ganesha to understand the meaning and meanwhile Vedvyas took a rest.

Strange but real that there are 10 other Gitas including Vyadh Gita, Ashtavakra Gita, Parashar Gita etc. Though the Shri Bhagwad Gita is the pure and full Gita containing knowledge about Lord Krishna.
Shantanu was Bhishma Pitamah’s father and he was married to Ganga. Shantanu was king Mahabhish in his next birth, and he went to serve Brahma where he saw Ganga and attracted her. In the meantime Brahma cursed him and said he was going to hell because of this in his next birth he was born as King Prateep son Shantanu and married to Ganga but she made a promise from Shantanu that he would never ask her question. He agreed.
Shantanu’s second marriage was to Nishad Satyavati’s daughter and had two kids called Chitrangad and Vichitravirya. Chitrangad died in battle and then Vichitravirya became a king who had married Kashi’s princess Ambika and Ambalika.
Kunti had served Rishi Durvasa in her childhood. He was impressed and gave her a magical mantra of which Kunti could ask any God for a child. So, before marriage, she asked Surya Dev for a child and Karna was born.
Gandhari kept vessels with ghee for two years and from the first vessel, Duryodhanawas born and on the same day Bhima and then the rest. Duryodhana started crying like a Donkey after the birth and due to this vulture and crows started making noise. Vidar told Dhritshashtra to kill Duryodhana as he will destroy his family but he could not do it in love for his child. Duryodhana’s real name was Suyodhana.

People generally know about the six-sided dice. Amazing is that there were four sides to the dice Shakuni defeated the Pandavas in Checker’s game by. And no-one knows what that dice were made of.
Astrologers depend on constellations to predict the future because there were no sun signs during Mahabharat times. Rohini was in the first place of the constellation, not Ashwini.
It is also believed that a Chakravhyu’s seven Maharathis was the reason for the death of Abhimanyu, but this isn’t the complete truth. Abhimanyu killed one of seven Maharathis (warriors) son of Duryodhan. Angry over this, Abhimanyu had been killed by Dushasan.
Lord Krishna reminded Arjun of his unsatisfied boon, i.e. when Arjun saved the life of Duryodhan when they were living in a forest and said he was going to ask for it in due time. So, Arjun went to Duryodhana and asked for five golden arrows chanted by Bhishma’s mantras and declared that Pandavas had been killed with the help of those arrows.
Do you know why in place of Kauravas Lord Krishna supported Pandavas? Both Arjun and Duryodhan went to seek Krishna’s support in the war and went into his room. Duryodhan entered his room first and sat next to his head on Krishna’s bed. Arjun went to the foot of the bed and stood there with hands folded. When Krishna woke up he saw Arjun first, smiled and said that he will support him.
Draupadi’s twin brother Dhrishtadyumna was reincarnated Eklavya. As Krishna had killed him during the abduction of Rukmini. Thus Krishna blessed him in place of Guru Dakshina that he could reincarnate and take revenge on Drona.
Amazing, Draupadi was an avatar of Goddess Durga. Once in the late night, Bhima saw that Draupadi, as Goddess Durga, was in her empty bowl asking for Bhima’s blood, scared to death, he told his mother, Kunti, the whole story. Then she demanded that Draupadi never hurt Bhima. Draupadi, being a mortal, had to promise her, and bites her lip hesitantly in the act. With the edge of her cloth, Kunti wiped the blood off her lips and promised Bhima would fill the bowl for her.