Vyasa’s epic of the Kuru family

The Mahabharata

  • 18 books
  • The Gita is in book six
Pull a thread in the family tree

तर्कोऽप्रतिष्ठः श्रुतयो विभिन्ना नैको मुनिर्यस्य मतं प्रमाणम् । धर्मस्य तत्त्वं निहितं गुहायां महाजनो येन गतः स पन्थाः ॥

tarko'pratiṣṭhaḥ śrutayo vibhinnā naiko muniryasya mataṃ pramāṇam | dharmasya tattvaṃ nihitaṃ guhāyāṃ mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ ||

Reasoning has no firm footing. The scriptures differ. No single sage has the final word. The truth of dharma lies hidden in a cave. The path is the one the great have walked.

Yudhishthira to the Yaksha · MBh 3.314.119

The Mahabharata is a Sanskrit epic in eighteen books about one family, the Kurus, and the war between its two branches. Tradition names the sage Vyasa as its author; he is also grandfather to both sides. The Bhagavad Gita sits in book six, and its lines echo elsewhere: Vidura speaks Gita 16.21 word for word (MBh 5.33.73).

Pull a thread

Pick someone you know from the story and follow their family out from there, then see who stood on which side on the first day of the war.

Shantanu's generation

Their sons and daughters-in-law

The three brothers

The cousins

Gandhari's children, and Yuyutsu

Kunti's and Madri's sons

Wives and kin

The next generation

Tap a name to pull its thread

Try Karna, then Kunti, and see what she kept from him until the eve of the war.

Read the family as a list
Ganga (गंगा)
The river goddess, Shantanu's first wife and Bhishma's mother. Married to: Shantanu. Children: Bhishma. Day 1: Not on the field
Shantanu (शांतनु)
King of Hastinapura, where the family's story starts. Married to: Ganga, Satyavati. Children: Bhishma, Vichitravirya. Day 1: Not on the field
Satyavati (सत्यवती)
Shantanu's second queen. Before her marriage she bore the sage Vyasa. Married to: Shantanu. Children: Vyasa, Vichitravirya. Day 1: Not on the field
Bhishma (भीष्म)
Shantanu and Ganga's son. Gave up the throne and marriage so his father could marry Satyavati. Parents: Shantanu, Ganga. Day 1: Commands the Kaurava army for the first ten days.
Vyasa (व्यास)
Satyavati's son, the sage the epic names as its author. Father of Dhritarashtra, Pandu and Vidura. Parents: Satyavati. Children: Dhritarashtra, Pandu, Vidura. Day 1: Not on the field
Vichitravirya (विचित्रवीर्य)
Shantanu and Satyavati's son. Dies young, before he has children. Parents: Shantanu, Satyavati. Married to: Ambika, Ambalika. Children: Dhritarashtra, Pandu. Day 1: Not on the field
Ambika (अंबिका)
Vichitravirya's widow, mother of Dhritarashtra. Married to: Vichitravirya. Children: Dhritarashtra. Day 1: Not on the field
Ambalika (अंबालिका)
Vichitravirya's widow, mother of Pandu. Married to: Vichitravirya. Children: Pandu. Day 1: Not on the field
Dhritarashtra (धृतराष्ट्र)
The blind king. He hears the whole war, the Gita included, from Sanjaya. Parents: Vichitravirya, Ambika, Vyasa. Married to: Gandhari. Children: Duryodhana, Duhshasana, Vikarna, Duhshala, Yuyutsu. Born to Ambika and Vyasa, in Vichitravirya's name. Day 1: Stays in Hastinapura.
Pandu (पांडु)
King after Vichitravirya. Dies in the forest before the war. Parents: Vichitravirya, Ambalika, Vyasa. Married to: Kunti, Madri. Children: Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, Sahadeva. Born to Ambalika and Vyasa, in Vichitravirya's name. Day 1: Not on the field
Vidura (विदुर)
Dhritarashtra's half-brother and counsellor. His night of advice is the Vidura Niti. Parents: Vyasa. Son of Vyasa and a woman who served in the palace. Day 1: Does not fight.
Gandhari (गांधारी)
Dhritarashtra's queen, mother of the hundred. She binds her own eyes for life. Married to: Dhritarashtra. Children: Duryodhana, Duhshasana, Vikarna, Duhshala. Day 1: Stays in Hastinapura.
Kunti (कुंती)
Pandu's queen, also called Pritha. Mother of Karna, Yudhishthira, Bhima and Arjuna. Married to: Pandu. Children: Karna, Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna. Day 1: Not on the field.
Madri (माद्री)
Pandu's second queen, mother of Nakula and Sahadeva. Dies with Pandu. Married to: Pandu. Children: Nakula, Sahadeva. Day 1: Not on the field
Duryodhana (दुर्योधन)
Eldest of Gandhari's hundred sons. He will not give the Pandavas even five villages. Parents: Dhritarashtra, Gandhari. Day 1: Leads the Kaurava side.
Duhshasana (दुःशासन)
Duryodhana's next brother. Drags Draupadi into the hall. Parents: Dhritarashtra, Gandhari. Day 1: Kaurava side
Vikarna (विकर्ण)
A younger Kaurava, the one brother who speaks up for Draupadi in the hall. Parents: Dhritarashtra, Gandhari. Day 1: Kaurava side
Duhshala (दुःशला)
Gandhari's only daughter, married to King Jayadratha. Parents: Dhritarashtra, Gandhari. Day 1: Not on the field
Yuyutsu (युयुत्सु)
Dhritarashtra's son by a woman of the palace. The one son of the king who survives the war. Parents: Dhritarashtra. His mother was a vaishya woman who served the queen. Day 1: Crosses to the Pandava side on Day 1, when Yudhishthira calls out.
Karna (कर्ण)
Kunti's first son, by the Sun, born before her marriage. Raised by the charioteer Adhiratha and his wife Radha. Parents: Kunti. Day 1: On the Kaurava side, but stays off the field until Bhishma falls.
Yudhishthira (युधिष्ठिर)
Eldest Pandava, Kunti's son by Dharma. Parents: Pandu, Kunti. Married to: Draupadi. Day 1: Pandava side
Bhima (भीम)
Second Pandava, Kunti's son by Vayu, the wind. Parents: Pandu, Kunti. Married to: Draupadi, Hidimbi. Children: Ghatotkacha. Day 1: Pandava side
Arjuna (अर्जुन)
Third Pandava, Kunti's son by Indra. The archer who sits down in his chariot and asks Krishna for help. Parents: Pandu, Kunti. Married to: Draupadi, Subhadra. Children: Abhimanyu. Day 1: Pandava side
Nakula (नकुल)
Madri's son by the Ashvins. The brother Yudhishthira chooses to bring back at the Yaksha's lake. Parents: Pandu, Madri. Married to: Draupadi. Day 1: Pandava side
Sahadeva (सहदेव)
Madri's second son by the Ashvins, the youngest Pandava. Parents: Pandu, Madri. Married to: Draupadi. Day 1: Pandava side
Draupadi (द्रौपदी)
Daughter of King Drupada, wife of the five Pandavas, and one of the epic's sharpest voices. Married to: Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, Sahadeva. Day 1: In the Pandava camp; does not fight.
Subhadra (सुभद्रा)
Krishna's sister, Arjuna's wife, Abhimanyu's mother. Married to: Arjuna. Children: Abhimanyu. Kin: Krishna. Day 1: Not on the field
Krishna (श्रीकृष्ण)
Son of Vasudeva, Kunti's brother, so a cousin to the Pandavas. Arjuna's friend and charioteer. Kin: Subhadra. Day 1: Drives Arjuna's chariot and takes up no weapon.
Hidimbi (हिडिंबा)
A rakshasi of the forest who marries Bhima. Married to: Bhima. Children: Ghatotkacha. Day 1: Not on the field
Abhimanyu (अभिमन्यु)
Arjuna and Subhadra's son. Killed on the thirteenth day inside the chakravyuha. Parents: Arjuna, Subhadra. Day 1: Pandava side
Ghatotkacha (घटोत्कच)
Bhima and Hidimbi's son. Falls to Karna's spear on the fourteenth night. Parents: Bhima, Hidimbi. Day 1: Pandava side

Start here

Six people and the choice each one made

The eighteen books

Each book in a few lines, so you know where you are in the story.

  1. Adi Parva आदि पर्व

    Beginnings: Shantanu and Ganga, Bhishma's vow, the births of the Kauravas and Pandavas, the house of lac, Draupadi's svayamvara.

  2. Sabha Parva सभा पर्व

    The assembly hall: Yudhishthira's royal sacrifice, the game of dice, Draupadi's question to the hall, and the exile.

  3. Vana Parva वन पर्व

    Twelve years in the forest. Draupadi and Yudhishthira argue about action and patience. Nala, Savitri, and the Yaksha's questions at the lake.

    Sanskrit here

  4. Virata Parva विराट पर्व

    The thirteenth year, lived in disguise at King Virata's court.

  5. Udyoga Parva उद्योग पर्व

    Getting ready for war. Vidura's night of counsel, Krishna's peace mission, Kunti's visit to Karna.

    Sanskrit here

  6. Bhishma Parva भीष्म पर्व

    The first ten days of the war, with Bhishma in command. The Bhagavad Gita is here, before the first arrow.

    Read the Bhagavad Gita

  7. Drona Parva द्रोण पर्व

    Days eleven to fifteen under Drona. Abhimanyu dies inside the chakravyuha.

  8. Karna Parva कर्ण पर्व

    Days sixteen and seventeen under Karna, who falls to Arjuna.

  9. Shalya Parva शल्य पर्व

    The eighteenth day under Shalya. Bhima breaks Duryodhana's thigh.

  10. Sauptika Parva सौप्तिक पर्व

    Ashwatthama's night raid on the sleeping camp, and the curse that follows.

  11. Stri Parva स्त्री पर्व

    The women of both sides on the battlefield. Gandhari's grief.

  12. Shanti Parva शांति पर्व

    Yudhishthira, crushed by the war, wants to leave the throne. Bhishma, on his bed of arrows, teaches him kingship, hard times and release.

    Sanskrit here

  13. Anushasana Parva अनुशासन पर्व

    More of Bhishma's teaching, then his death.

    Sanskrit here

  14. Ashvamedhika Parva आश्वमेधिक पर्व

    Yudhishthira's horse sacrifice. Arjuna asks to hear the Gita again; Krishna answers with the Anugita.

    Sanskrit here

  15. Ashramavasika Parva आश्रमवासिक पर्व

    Dhritarashtra, Gandhari, Kunti and Vidura go to live in the forest.

  16. Mausala Parva मौसल पर्व

    The Yadavas destroy one another. Krishna leaves the world.

  17. Mahaprasthanika Parva महाप्रस्थानिक पर्व

    The Pandavas and Draupadi walk north toward the mountains, a dog following them.

  18. Svargarohana Parva स्वर्गारोहण पर्व

    Yudhishthira at the gate of heaven, and the end of the story.

If you came here from a series

BR Chopra's Mahabharat (1988), the Star Plus serial (2013) and Kurukshetra, the animated series on Netflix since October 2025, all draw on these books, closely in places and freely in others. Kurukshetra tells the war in 18 episodes, each from one warrior's side. If a character from the screen stayed with you, find them in the family above and read what the Sanskrit has them say.

Questions people ask

Is the Mahabharata a true story?
The epic calls itself itihasa, "so it was". Many in the tradition read it as history; scholars differ on what memory of real events lies behind it. We present the text and the tradition and leave that question open.
Who wrote the Mahabharata?
Tradition names the sage Vyasa, who is also a character: grandfather of both the Pandavas and the Kauravas. The Adi Parva says Ganesha wrote it down as Vyasa recited. Vaishampayana tells it at King Janamejaya's sacrifice, and the bard Ugrashravas retells it in the Naimisha forest. Scholars describe a text that grew over a long time.
Is the Mahabharata longer than the Bible?
Yes, by a wide margin. Tradition calls it the collection of a hundred thousand verses. K. M. Ganguli's complete English translation runs past two million words; the King James Bible has under 800,000.
Who are the 100 Kauravas?
Gandhari's hundred sons with Dhritarashtra, led by Duryodhana and Duhshasana, and one daughter, Duhshala. The Adi Parva lists all hundred names. Dhritarashtra also had a son, Yuyutsu, by a woman who served the queen; he crossed to the Pandava side on the first day.
Is Ashwatthama still alive?
In the Sauptika Parva, after his night raid on the sleeping camp, Krishna curses him to wander the earth for three thousand years, alone and in pain. Popular tradition counts him among the chiranjivis, the long-lived ones. The epic does not say where he is now.
Where is the Bhagavad Gita in the Mahabharata?
In the Bhishma Parva, the sixth book: chapters 23 to 40 in the Pune critical edition, 25 to 42 in the vulgate. Sanjaya tells it to the blind king Dhritarashtra.
Why did Karna side with Duryodhana?
He tells Krishna: the charioteer's family raised him, and Duryodhana stood by him for thirteen years. Not for the whole earth could he make those bonds false (MBh 5.141.12).

Keep one line close

Week 1 of the Gita by email: one verse a day and what it asks of you.

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Sources and method

The family tree uses only well-established relations. Divine fathers and mothers the epic leaves unnamed are given in words, never as names on the tree. Lines come from the Sanskrit we hold for books 3, 5, 12, 13 and 14, a southern-recension text whose numbering runs close to the Kumbhakonam edition. The English is Wisdom's own, read with Nilakantha's commentary, with K. M. Ganguli's public-domain translation consulted.

Wisdom translation, edited by Ankur Shukla.