The Great Epics: Mahabharata

A book of 100,000 verses, containing story piled upon story, it was built up over centuries. So you may imagine how long and complex is its plot! When a character speaks, he is likely to say, "That reminds me of the story of So-and-so. Do you know it?" The other person always replies, "No, please tell me," and off we go into a new tale. What it really is, is an encyclopedia of dharma, righteous behaviour. Do you want to know how an officer should treat his soldiers, or a grandfather advise his grandsons? Should a man who has been unjustly wronged take vengeance or turn the other cheek? What can a mother do when she finds her children have grown up reckless and evil-minded? Answers to these and innumerable other questions are found in this astonishing book, through myths and legends, dialogues and scraps of history.
It is the story of a struggle between cousins: a family of one hundred on one side, the Kurus, more evil than good, and on the other Pandavas, five brothers of outstanding heroism and virtue and their allies. The former cheat the latter of their kingdom, and the rest is taken up with the Pandavas' struggles to regain it, ending in a great battle.