Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita
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The great epic of the Kurukshetra war, attributed to Maharshi Ved Vyasa, with the Bhagavad Gita at its heart.
Source: Mahabharata, attributed to Maharshi Ved Vyasa: about 1,00,000 verses, among the longest poems in the world
Festivals
- Gita Jayanti / International Gita Mahotsav (Kurukshetra)
- Janmashtami
The lesson
Do your duty without attachment to its fruits (nishkama karma). Dharma is subtle, and every choice has consequences.
The Mahabharata tells of the rivalry between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, ending in the war at Kurukshetra. Before the battle, Arjuna is overcome by doubt, and Shri Krishna's teaching to him is the Bhagavad Gita: 700 verses on duty, action, knowledge and devotion.
The epic contains countless stories within stories: Savitri and Satyavan, Nala and Damayanti, Ekalavya, Karna. As the epic itself says, what is found in it may be found elsewhere, and what is not in it is found nowhere.