The longest poem in the world — 100,000 ślokas across 18 books. The war of the Pāṇḍavas and the Kauravas, the destruction of an age, and the ethical and theological reflection that runs through it. Contains the Bhagavad Gītā.
1 chapter
Tradition
Smṛti. Itihāsa ("thus it was") — quasi-historical epic, c. 400 BCE – 400 CE. Traditionally ascribed to Vyāsa. The cultural matrix from which classical Hindu ethics, theology, and royal ideology emerge.
Translation
Kisari Mohan Ganguli, *The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Translated into English Prose* (Calcutta: Bharata Press, 1883–1896). Public domain. Selected sections — the opening five sections of each major parva for which clean text is available, presented as a structural and narrative overview of the epic. The Bhagavad Gītā (Bhīṣma Parva chapters 23–40) is published separately as its own book. See source for the full text.
License
Public domain (pre-1929 English translation). Reproduced for educational and religious commentary.