The Mahabharata is the story of a Great War (Mahā: Great; bhāra: War) fought between two sets of cousins vying for the family's kingdom of Hastinapura. The winners, the Pandavas (sons of Pandu), consisting of five brothers and Draupadi, their wife-in-common, endured much abuse from their hundred Kaurava (descendants of Kuru) cousins before the final battle that engaged all South Asia.
The Mahabharata war is usually considered mythical. The war described in it is most likely mythical - there are no archaeological discoveries that substantiate a war of the described scale and extent. Astronomical evidence internal to the epic has been used to indicate dates that range from before 3000 BCE to about 1200 BCE. References to foreign countries are either inconsistent or incredible. An oral tradition was put down in writing, possibly between 400 BCE (or earlier) and 400 ACE.
These stories have been selected because they illustrate an aspect of human behaviour in response to a problem; and from the nature of the response, we can appreciate the condition of the world and of humanity in the past.
The Selected Stories
THE EDUCATION OF THE PRINCES
The first story shows how their guru Drona enters the story life and how he tests them. The test is usually considered to show Arjuna's strengths. I've varied the story slightly to show more than that.
A KING'S FRIEND
Some background on Drona and how he is betrayed and humiliated by a childhood friend; his revenge that ends with professed renewal of friendship as equals; and, a vignette that shows that equality does not create friendship, but in this case, continues a cycle of revenge.
KARNA
A mysterious warrior appears during a tournament and challenges Arjuna's primacy as the best warrior - he is rejected from the arena. Duryodhana befriends him. Nobody except Kunti knows that he is her oldest son Karna, born before marriage of the Sun god. The story shows how the caste ("jaati") system discriminated even as the injustice was easily recognized.
KNOWLEDGE IS NOT POWER
Karna is a study in tragedy, Indian-style. He seeks the knowledge of ancient weapons that could make a warrior invincible, but flaws of character cause the knowledge he has gained to fail him at the critical moment in his duel with Arjuna.
EKALAVYA
Another story that shows the injustice enabled by the caste/jaati system, despite the empathy one might have. Their ambition and love makes both Drona and Arjuna flawed, but Arjuna does not pay for his moral shortcomings, unlike Karna. The world is unfair
RESPECT
Bhima goes of on an errand for Draupadi and encounters an old monkey. Despite his outward show of respect for the aged animal, he does not really respect anything weaker than himself. Bhima is unable to lift the monkeys tale - a chastened Bhima discovers that the monkey is his older brother Hanuman and learns a lesson un humility.
YAKSHAPRASHNA
Yudhishthira's strengths - knowledge and judgment - are revealed in this story - his brothers die when they try to use their power to take what they want. Yudhishthira yields to the crane-yaksha's demand that Yudhishthira answer his questions - by answering all of them, Yudhishthira shows his wisdom. Yudhishthira's judgment is tested when he is given a boon to revive one of his brothers.
THE FINAL JOURNEY
The Pandavas abdicate and go on a journey to Swarga (heaven) - the journey is a fantasy usually explained as the operation of reward and punishment in heaven and hell. I try to highlight how this story reveals Indian ideas about epistemology - heaven being a world of Platonic ideals.
