Online Course · Self-Paced
18 Parvans of the Mahabharata
An Online Course Based on the Critical Edition by the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute
The largest epic in world literature. Eighteen books spanning origins, exile, war, and renunciation — taught by the scholars who steward its definitive text.
About This Course
The Complete Arc
The Mahabharata is the largest epic in world literature. Composed over centuries, transmitted across generations, it shaped the patterns by which Indian civilization thinks about conflict, duty, and consequence.
The epic unfolds across eighteen parvans. This course follows the BORI Critical Edition — the reconstructed text, separated from centuries of later additions. It begins with origins in the Adi Parvan — the house of Kuru, the births that set events in motion, the dice game that made war inevitable. It moves through exile in the forests, disguise in foreign courts, failed negotiations, and eighteen days of battle. It ends not with victory but with renunciation — the long walk northward in the Mahaprasthanika Parvan, and the final ascent in the Svargarohana Parvan.
The Mahabharata is an unparalleled exploration of the human condition. It contains ancient India's insights on Dharma, Niti, Cosmology, Philosophy, and Psychology. It poses ethical dilemmas that remain timeless: What does loyalty require when loyalties conflict? What does one owe to family, and what to truth? How does one act when every choice causes harm?
This course covers the complete arc — all eighteen parvans, from origins to conclusion, based on BORI's Critical Edition and taught by scholars of the epic.
The Foundation
The Critical Edition
Why Was It needed
The text you encounter matters. Not all versions of the Mahabharata are the same. Over two millennia, the epic traveled across regions, languages, and traditions. Each transmission added. Scribes expanded passages. Regional traditions inserted or changed episodes. The text that circulated in Bengal was not the text that circulated in Kashmir. Like a river gathering tributaries from source to sea, the Mahabharata gathered narratives as it traveled. This is not corruption — it is the natural life of the largest epic in the world.
But this necessitated a need for an authentic account.
How Critical Edition was Compiled
In 1919, the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute began the work of reconstruction. Scholars compared manuscripts from every region — 1,259 in total — to establish which verses appeared in the oldest recoverable layer of the text. The work took forty-seven years.
This is not one version among many. It is the version against which all others are measured.
Consulted
Scholarship
Constituted Text
Published
General Editors
Structure
Curriculum
15 lectures · 18 parvans · The complete arc from origins to conclusion
"Whether we realize it or not, it remains the content of our collective unconscious... We must therefore know this epic, if we are to know ourselves."
— V.S. Sukthankar, General Editor, Critical EditionFaculty
Course Instructors
This course was conceptualized and curated by Dr. Gauri Moghe. It is taught by scholars of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute — the institution that created and continues to steward the Critical Edition.
Dr. Gauri Moghe
Course CuratorScholar at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, specializing in Mahabharata studies and Sanskrit textual traditions.
Contributing Scholars
Research Institute
Critical Edition
BharatVidya & BORI
Common Questions
Do I need prior knowledge of the Mahabharata?+
No. The course assumes you know the broad story — most do from childhood — but not the structure. That is what you were never formally taught.
What is the Critical Edition?+
The Critical Edition is the scholarly reconstruction of the Mahabharata created by BORI between 1919 and 1966. It compared 1,259 manuscripts from across India to establish the oldest recoverable text, removing later additions and regional variations.
How long do I have access?+
Lifetime. Watch at your own pace. Return to any lecture when you wish.
Is there a certificate?+
Yes. Upon completing all lectures, you receive a certificate of completion jointly issued by BharatVidya and BORI.
The Mahabharata lives in India's collective consciousness.
We carry it in the way we think about loyalty, duty, consequence. About what it means to win, and what it costs to hold on. This course is the orientation to the source.
Start the Course →One-time payment · Lifetime access · Certificate included