Mahabharata

American  

[muh-hah-bahr-uh-tuh] / məˈhɑˈbɑr ə tə /

Also Mahabharatum

noun

1. an epic poem of India dealing mainly with the conflict between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, with many digressions: includes the Bhagavad-Gita.

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Mahabharata British  

/ məˌhɑːˈbɑːrətə, məˌhɑːˈbɑːrətəm /

noun

1. an epic Sanskrit poem of India, dealing chiefly with the struggle between two rival families. It contains many separate episodes, the most notable of which is the Bhagavad-Gita

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Etymology

Origin of Mahabharata

< Sanskrit mahābhārata great ( mahat ) work relating the story of the descendants of Bharata

Example Sentences

The arrival of the Cartoon Network in India and a blockbuster television adaptation of the Hindu epic "Mahabharata" dented sales.

From Barron's • Feb. 1, 2026

Indian nationalists began to imagine India not as an imperial construct but as a cultural space rooted in the geography of the Mahabharata.

From BBC • Jun. 21, 2025

Shivkumar is a big thinker, an erudite physician quick with an apt quotation, whose Westwood office is stacked with Sanskrit volumes of the Mahabharata alongside books about late Bruins basketball coach John Wooden.

From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2024

The subcontinent’s traditions of amateur tussling date back to ancient times—back to the 5th century B.C.—and key figures from Indian epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata are depicted as having godly wrestling skill.

From Slate • Jun. 11, 2023

“The Mahabharata is one of two ancient poems. It was written in Sanskrit, an ancient Indic language that is no longer spoken.”

From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi