The Mahabharata's Scope

The Mahabharata holds around 100,000 verses, and it contains far more than a single story: the Bhagavad Gita, philosophical dialogues, love stories, political theory, and detailed descriptions of warfare.

The central narrative follows a dynastic struggle between the Pandavas and Kauravas, but the poem reaches well beyond it. An Indian proverb says: "What is found in the Mahabharata may be found elsewhere. What is not found in the Mahabharata is found nowhere." This reflects Indian literature's ambition to encompass all of human experience within a single narrative framework.