Mahabharata the great Bharata, an immense and magnificent epic of war, friendship, devotion and struggle, a treasure trove of wisdom, statecraft and simply magnificent story-telling.

The main storyline about the epic stuggle and war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas is interwoven with tales, philosophical treatises, religious teaching and examples of statemanship. Although ostensibly a war between good and evil the story refrains from black and white viewpoints, antagonists have redeeming qualities and even the main protagonists, out of necessity, perform acts that would be considerd immoral.

This makes the story so much more real and educational. For good to triumph, hard decisions are often required. This is exemplified in the core of the Mahabharata - the Bhagavad Gita. At the onset of the war, considering the deeds he needs to perform the Pandava Hero, Arjuna, falls into despair. Krishna then expains to him how to overcome this delusion and teaches him the way of Bhakti Yoga.

The Mahabharata can be read as an epic tale, as a guide to statemanship, or as a religious manual or as all of these combined. It contains all the wisdom of ancient India, narrated though stories and parables. Great sages like Vidura, Vyasa, Markandeya, etc all teach on morals and ethics, Krishna himself teaches the ultimate philosophy in the Gita.