Mahabharat Magazine - SWATI BHATTACHARYA

"The Mahabharata is a story of the dynasty of King Shantanu, the ruler of Hastinapur. It is a story about the decisions taken by his successors and the Royal household, that determined to a great extent the fate of Hastinapur. The story revolves around the Kauravas and the Pandavas, who were cousin brothers. Duryodhana was the eldest amongst the Kaurava brothers and was the son of Dhritarashtra. Yudhishtira, Bheema, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva were five brothers and were called as the Pandavas because they were the sons of Pandu. Kunti was the mother of the Pandavas.

A lot of the Mahabharata revolves around how the Kauravas tried to get rid of the Pandavas and to stake claim to the throne of Hastinapur and how finally both the groups ended up fighting a war against each other. Though finally, the Pandavas won the war, not much good was done as everything was destroyed in the war and hence, after making Parikshit the King, the Pandavas left Hastinapur forever. "