Mahābhārata

Sanskrit Hindu epic consisting of 18 books and 90,000 stanzas, originally written in about 900 BC and probably composed in its present form in about 300 BC. It forms with the Rāmāyana the two great scriptural epics of the Hindus. It contains the Bhagavad-Gītā, or Song of the Blessed, an episode in the sixth book, which is regarded as one of the most sacred of Hindu works.

The poem, set on the plain of the Upper Ganges, deals with the fortunes of the warring families of the Kauravas and the Pandavas, each descended from King Bharata, and reveals the ethical values of ancient Indian society and individual responsibility in particular.

As a Hindu scripture, the Mahābhārata teaches Hindus how to deal with anger and jealousy, rivalry and greed, and that good will triumph over evil. The stories that make up the epic are often acted out in dance, theatre, and puppet shows. It ends with the victorious Pandavas retiring to a life of meditation in the Himalayas.

In the Bhagavad-Gītā, the hero Arjuna has to grapple with the possibility of fighting and killing his friends and relatives who are fighting for the other side. He is advised on the right action by his charioteer, who is the god Krishna in disguise. Krishna advises him to fight because as long as he loves God, and offers his actions to God, he can fulfil his duty. The Bhagavad-Gītā's message is of the importance of love and actions based in love.