The Mahabharat war started on the Margashirsha Shukla Ekadashi. With the first ray of the Sun, the Kaurava and Pandava armies were ready to write history. Duryodhana, the leader of the Kauravas army made Bhishma Pitamah the commander-in-chief Whereas Yudhishtir made Dritdhyumna-brother of Draupadi the commander-in-chief. 

When Vyasa first wrote the Mahabharata with the help of Ganesha, his entire focus was on the Yuddha (war) and the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita. He named it Jaya, meaning “Universal Victory,” 

The Mahabharata War was the largest in ancient India. It involved almost all the kingdoms from the present-day region of India and kingdoms from Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Tibet, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka. 

The estimated total number of warriors who participated in the war was around 4.8 million. Despite such massive participation, there were exceptions. Many important warriors chose not to fight or join in the war. Here are their stories

During Arjuna’s 12-year exile, he traveled across the Indian subcontinent. In the course of his wanderings, he came to Manipur and was stunned by the beauty and bravery of Chitangada. He approached Chitravahana to ask for her hand in marriage. The king agreed upon a condition that any child born from their marriage would be heir to the throne of the Manipur not as the child of Pandava.

Gandhari was the Princess of Gandhara and the daughter of King Subala. Before her marriage, she performed severe penance to please Lord Shiva. Pleased with her devotion, Lord Shiva granted her a boon to have 100 children. She was later married to Dhritarashtra, the King of Hastinapur.

Shubhadra was the daughter of Vasudeva and Rohini. Krishna and Balaram were her brothers. She was born after Krishna moved all Yadavas to Dwarka, so she was much younger than both brothers.

Bhishma Pitamah was the great Grand Uncle of Kauravas and Pandavas. He was the unparalleled archer and warrior of his time. He even defeated his Guru Parashurama. After the Kurukshetra war, he gave all his teaching to Yudhisthir and also perched him the famous Vishnu Sahasranama. 

We all know about Draupadi, who is believed to have been the most beautiful woman of her time. Draupadi was the daughter of King Drupada and was married to all five Pandavas. Drupada was the King of Panchala, which is why she was also called Panchali. Additionally, she was known as Krishnaa due to her dark complexion and Yagyaseni because she was born from a Yagna (sacrificial fire).

We all have heard the name Eklavya and often wondered how was his life and was he really able to defeat Arjuna. Why did Guru Drona reject him?  Let’s try to find out the answer here with his real-life story.  

Ulupi was the daughter of the Naga king Kauravya, who ruled the underwater kingdom in the Ganga River. Initially, she was married to a Naga prince, but he died in a fight with Garuda shortly after their marriage. During exile, one day after finishing prayer in the Ganga river, Arjuna turned toward the shore, but the water force pulled him and when he woke up he was in the Naglok. Ulupi brought him there and confessed her affection to him. Arjuna said that he was in exile and bound by a vow of celibacy.

We all know about Draupadi, whom Arjuna won in the Swayamvara. But later She married all the Pandava brothers. Along with Draupadi, Arjuna had three more wives, and through them, he had sons as well. Vyasa’s Mahabharata does mention all of them, but not in much detail. Here, we will discuss the stories behind all of Arjuna’s marriages and his sons.

Rama was about to be crowned as the next King, and the night before a sequence of events happened that turned Rama’s life and future of the Bharavarsha upside down. 

Kaikeyi the stepmother of the Lord Rama, whom Rama loved dearly and she also loved him equally like her own son. How did she suddenly turn into an evil mother?