Mahabharata

American

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

Also Mahabharatum

noun

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

Mahabharata British

/ məˌhɑːˈbɑːrətə, məˌhɑːˈbɑːrətəm /

noun

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of Mahabharata

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It’s believed to have first appeared in text in the Mahabharata, one of two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India.

From Salon • Jun. 7, 2026

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 week after, he brought along an illustrated copy of the Mahabharata, the Hindu epic.

From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023