Mahabharata has over 100,000 verses and is hailed as the longest epic in the world. This 1.8 million word epic was composed byVeda Vyasa and written by Lord Ganesha. It spans over eighteen chapters begining with Adiparva and Sauti’s narration of the story in the assembly of Rishis and culminating with Yudhisthira’s final test and the return of the Pandavas to the spiritual world in the Svargarohana Parva.
Our play begins at the latter-half of Adiparva with the young Prince Janmejaye, great-grandson of Pandava Prince Arjun, slaying Nagas to avenge the death of his father King Parikshit. Vaishampayana, a disciple of Veda Vyasa, halts the destruction and in the process narrates the story of Mahabharata.
Vaishampayana begins his narrative with Prince Devavrata and his terrible oath that made him Bheeshma. It trails through the curse of Amba, birth of the blind Prince Dhritarashtra and the pale Prince Pandu, their wedding to Princess Gandhari and Princess Kunti respectively, and the germination of jealousy, hate, anger and disappointment as Pandu, the younger brother is crowned the King of Hastinapur. The seeds of rivalry strengthen their roots with the death of King Pandu and subsequent crowing of his blind older brother Dhritarashtra as the caretaker King of Hastinapur.
The roots spread their influence and the rivalry is passed down to the hundred sons of Dhritarashtra, also known as the Kauravas, and the five sons of Pandu, also known as the Pandavas. Cruel twist of fate brings the Kauravas and Pandavas to the battleground of Kurukshetra where a bitter war is fought between them for eighteen days. Our play culminates at Stri Parva with Gandhari, Kunti, and other women of Kauravas and Pandavas lamenting over their dead.
