The Mahabharata (condensed)

The Mahābhārata ( mə-HAH-BAR-ə-tə, MAH-hə-; Sanskrit: महाभारतम्, IAST: Mahābhāratam, pronounced [mɐɦaːˈbʱaːrɐt̪ɐm], 'Great Bharata') is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India revered in Hinduism, the other being the Ramayana. Both are considered smṛti and itihasa texts. The Mahābhārata narrates the events around the Kurukshetra War, while also discussing philosophical concepts, such as the four "goals of life" or puruṣārtha. A principal element of the Mahābhārata is the Bhagavad Gita, which is a prominent sacred text in Hindu traditions.

The Mahābhārata recounts the events of the dynastic struggle for the throne of Hastinapura, that leads to the battle of Kurukshetra, a war of succession between princely cousins, the Kauravas and the Pāṇḍavas. The multiple stories in the Mahābhārata include the story of Damayanti, Shakuntala, Pururava and Urvashi, Savitri and Satyavan, Kacha and Devayani, Rishyasringa and an abbreviated version of the Rāmāyaṇa. The epic theorizes about dharmayuddha, "just war", and the Bhagavad Gita discusses the Vedic concept of dharma (duty, rightful action) in a dialogue between the Pandava prince Arjuna and his charioteer guide Krishna.

Traditionally, the authorship of the Mahābhārata is attributed to Vyāsa. There have been many attempts to unravel its historical growth and compositional layers. The bulk of the Mahābhārata was probably compiled between the 3rd century BCE and the 3rd century CE, with the oldest preserved parts not much older than around 400 BCE. The text probably reached its final form by the early Gupta period (c. 4th century CE).

The epic is traditionally ascribed to the sage Vyasa, who is also a major figure in the epic. Vyasa described it as being an itihasa (transl. history). He also describes the Guru–shishya tradition, which traces all great teachers and their students of the Vedic times.