The Mahabharata

The dynastic struggle centered on two sets of cousins: the five Pandavas (sons of Pandu, though divinely fathered) and the one hundred Kauravas (sons of the blind king Dhritarashtra). Current King Duryodhana of the Kauravas, jealous of the Pandavas' prosperity, invited the eldest Pandava, Yudhishthira, to a rigged game of dice.

Yudhishthira, bound by honor and addicted to gambling, lost everything: his kingdom, his brothers, himself, and finally their shared wife, Draupadi. The Kauravas humiliated Draupadi in the court, attempting to disrobe her, but Krishna miraculously made her sari endless, protecting her dignity. The Pandavas were sentenced to thirteen years of exile.

When the exile ended, the Kauravas refused to return the kingdom. War became inevitable. The armies gathered at Kurukshetra. Arjuna, the greatest archer of the Pandavas, looked across the battlefield and saw his cousins, teachers, and elders arrayed against him. Overcome with grief at the prospect of killing his kin, he dropped his bow.

Krishna, acting as Arjuna's charioteer (and revealed as the Supreme God), paused time to deliver the Bhagavad Gita. He taught Arjuna about the immortality of the soul, the duty of a warrior (dharma), and the path of selfless action (Karma Yoga). He urged Arjuna to fight not for gain, but to uphold righteousness.

The war lasted eighteen days and involved millions of warriors. It was a war of devastating weaponry and complex morality. The code of chivalry broke down. The great grandsire Bhishma fell on a bed of arrows. The teacher Drona was tricked into laying down his arms. Karna, the secret eldest brother of the Pandavas fighting for the enemy, was killed while his chariot wheel was stuck.

In the end, the Pandavas won, but the victory was pyrrhic. Almost all the warriors on both sides were dead. The 100 Kauravas were slain. The Pandavas ruled for 36 years, seeking redemption for the sins of the war, before renouncing the world and climbing the Himalayas to reach heaven.