The Mahabharata along with the Ramayana is one of India’s great epics. Here are some unknown facts about Mahabharata that are fascinating. The great epic, intrigues, inspires and teaches. The great Bhagavad Gita is an essential and integral part of the Mahabharata. The sheer number of characters and the humongous canvas of its plot make the Mahabharata a unique epic. We present here some unknown facts about the Mahabharata that are sure to amaze you.

10 Unknown Facts About Mahabharata

The composition of the Mahabharata is attributed to the sage Veda Vyasa, who is believed to have lived more than 3,000 years ago. The plot of Mahabharata revolves around the conflict between cousins and their battle over a kingdom. However, the story is wrapped in complex layers with plots and sub-plots intertwining and creating a web of intrigue. If you like Mahabharata trivia, these unknown facts about Mahabharata are sure to appeal to you.

1. Longest Poem – Unknown Facts About Mahabharata

The Mahabharata is in verse form and is believed to be the longest poem ever written. There are many versions of the epic, but the longest version is made up of over 100,000 individual shlokas, which consist of over 200,000 lines. The Mahabharata has over 1.8 million words. In terms of length, the Mahabharata is about four times the Ramayana and over 10 times the combined length of the Iliad and the Odyssey.

2. Lone Survivor – Unknown Facts About Mahabharata

Yuyutsu is one of the Kaurava brothers, though his role is not well known, his character stands out in the Mahabharata. He is the only Kaurava to have survived the war. Yuyutsu took the side of Dharma and fought alongside the Pandavas. Just before the Kurukshetra war began, Yudhishtra made an announcement, that anyone wishing to change sides could do so now. Yuyutsu then came over to the Pandava’s side and fought with them. He is the only Kaurava who was not killed in the war. Yuyutsu was Dhritrashtra’s son from Gandhari’s maid named Sughada.

3. Hanuman’s Cameo – Unknown Facts About Mahabharata

Hanuman, one of the central characters in the Ramayana which dates back to the Treta Yuga also makes a cameo appearance in the Mahabharata which dates to the Dwapara Yuga. Hanuman meets the mighty Bhima when the Pandavas are in exile.

This happens when a fragrant flower blown by the wind drops near Draupadi. She is so enamoured with the flower that she asks Bhima to get more of the flowers for her. He sets off in search of the flowers. On the way, he comes across a huge monkey blocking the path. He arrogantly asks the monkey to give way to him, Bhima the son of Kunti, and Vayu, the brother of the mighty Bhima.

The monkey does not budge, saying that he is old, and asks Bhima to shift its tail and go on his way. Bhima tries with all his might but is unable to move the monkey’s tail by even an inch. He realizes that the monkey is no ordinary being, and he falls at its feet with respect. The monkey reveals its true form as Hanuman and blesses Bhima showing him the way to a pond where the flowers desired by Draupadi could be found.

4. The Chiranjeevis – Unknown Facts About Mahabharata

Two of the major characters of the Mahabharata are among the Chiranjeevis, immortals for whom there is no death and who live forever. They are Ashwatama, the son of Dronacharya, and Kripacharya. Of course, Hanuman who appears briefly in the Mahabharata is also a Chiranjeevi.

5. The Kauravas – Unknown Facts About Mahabharata

It is generally perceived that the Kauravas were 100 in number. However, Dhritrashtra actually had 102 children. These included the 100 sons who took part in the Kurukshetra war and were killed during its course, and also Yuyutsu, his son from Gandhari’s maid. He and Gandhari also had one lone daughter who was born last, her name was Dushala, and she was married to Jayadratha, the person who orchestrated the killing of Abhimanyu.

6. Vikarna’s Dilemma – Unknown Facts About Mahabharata

The infamous humiliation of Draupadi after Yudhishtra loses a game of dice to Shakuni and Duryodhana is well known. But not many know about the lone voice of protest that arose from the Kaurava side. This was the voice of Vikarna, the third son of Dhritrashtra, who was born after Duryodhana and Dushasana.

Vikarna was against the Kurukshetra war and voiced his objection to the humiliation of Draupadi, saying that it was the humiliation of the entire Kuru clan. Though he was against all that Duryodhana stood for, he fought alongside the Kauravas considering it his duty.

7. Balarama’s Absence – Unknown Facts About Mahabharata

Krishna played a pivotal role in the Mahabharata as Arjuna’s charioteer and guided the course of the Kurukshetra war. However, his brother Balarama was conspicuous by his absence. Duryodhana had been Balarama’s student and learned Mace fighting from him.

So Balarama did not want to fight with his student. He did not want to fight with his own brother Krishna, which would have been the case if he took Duryodhana’s side. So Balarama, remaining neutral went on a tirth yatra (Holy Pilgrimage), before the start of the Kurukshetra war.

8. Pandavas Father – Unknown Facts About Mahabharata

The Pandavas were thus named as they were the sons of Pandu. However, Pandu who was under a curse could not father children naturally, so the Pandavas were conceived by his wives Kunti and Madri through divine intervention by different deities. Kunti had been given a mantra by the sage Durvasa using which she invoked different deities.

Yudhishtra, the eldest son whose father was Yama and his mother was Kunti. Bhima was sired by Vayu and he was also born to Kunti. Arjuna was sired by Indra and born to Kunti. Nakul and Sahadeva were sired by the Ashwini twins and were born to Madri.

9. Only 10 Survivors – Unknown Facts About Mahabharata

The devastating effects of war are underlined by the fact that there were only 10 surviving members left after the 18-day Kurukshetra war. They were the 5 Pandavas, Krishna, Ashwatama, Kripacharya, Kritivarma, and Satyaki.

10. The Upapandavas – Unknown Facts About Mahabharata

Draupadi had 5 sons, one each from the five Pandava princes. They were collectively known as Upapandavas. Prativindhya was Yudhisthira’s son, Sutasoma was Bhima’s son, Shatanika was the son of Nakula, Shrutasena was the son of Sahadeva, and Shrutakarma was Arjuna’s son.

The Upapandavas took part in the Kurukshetra war and were killed on the last day of the war. Ashwatama along with others burnt them alive when they were sleeping, mistaking them for the Pandavas.

How did you find these amazing and relatively unknown facts about the Mahabharata? The Mahabharata is full of many intriguing and astounding facts, and these are just a few of them. Do share your thoughts with us and subscribe to our blog for regular updates. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram also.

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