What is your ideal cast for Mahabharat?

In some ways, the entire story of the Mahabharata is an explanation of how our world, the world of the Kali Yuga, came into being, and how things got to be as bad as they are. The Ramayana has its share of suffering and even betrayal, but nothing to match the relentless hatred and vengeance of the Mahabharata. The culmination of the Mahabharata is the Battle of Kurukshetra when two bands of brothers, the Pandavas and the Kauravas, the sons of two brothers and thus cousins to one another, fight each other to death, brutally and cruelly, until the entire race is almost wiped out.

The five sons of Pandu, the Pandavas, are the heroes of the story. The eldest is King Yudhishthira. Next is Bhima, an enormously strong fighter with equally enormous appetites. After Bhima is Arjuna, the greatest of the warriors and also the companion of Krishna. The last two are twins, Nakula and Sahadeva. These five brothers share one wife, Draupadi (she became the wife of all five of them by accident, as you will learn).

The enemies of the Pandavas are the Kauravas, who are the sons of Pandu's brother, Dhritarashtra. Although Dhritarashtra is still alive, he cannot manage to restrain his son Duryodhana, who bitterly resents the achievements of his cousins, the Pandavas. Duryodhana arranges for his maternal uncle to challenge Yudhishthira to a game of dice, and Yudhishthira gambles everything away, even himself. The Pandavas have to go into exile, but when they return they engage the Kauravas in battle. Krishna fights on the side of the Pandavas, and serves as Arjuna's charioteer. The famous "Song of the Lord," or Bhagavad-Gita, is actually a book within the Mahabharata, as the battle of Kurukshetra begins. When Arjuna faces his cousins on the field of battle, he despairs and sinks down, unable to fight. The Bhagavad-Gita contains the words that Krishna spoke to Arjuna at that moment.

The Pandavas do win the battle. Duryodhana is killed, and the Kaurava armies are wiped out. But it is hardly a happy ending. Yudhishthira becomes king, but the world is forever changed by the battle's violence. If you are familiar with the Iliad, you might remember how that epic ends with the funeral of the Trojan hero Hector, a moment which is utterly bleak and sad. The same is true for the Mahabharata. There are many truths that are learned in the end, but the victory, such as it is, comes at a terrible price.

Character brief

Yudhishtra

The eldest of the Pandava brothers. He is also known as Dharamraj' and is an epitome of virtue. He is recommended as the wisest of the brothers but yet, fails to protect his wife, Draupadi in the gambling game as his indecisiveness and innocence empowers his better judgement.

Arjuna

One of the Pandavas brothers, Arjuna is a gallant warrior and a skilled archer with deadly accuracy. He is the most adored disciple of Guru Dronacharya. Along with Yudhishtira, he is on the side of Dharma', morality and righteousness. The name Arjuna means "one of pure deeds." He is said to be an incarnation of the ancient sage Nara. One of the greatest archers of his generation, Arjuna is described as very handsome and popular with the ladies. Besides Draupadi, he married Subhadra, Ulipi.

Karna

Karna is the illegitimate kid of Kunti. He is the central character in Mahabharata, the unsung hero, the invincible warrior. The ill-fated prince chooses the side of the Kauravas even after Kunti tries to persuade him to take the side of the Pandavas. But Karna is courageous and fights till the end for what he believes is the truth.

Dhritarashtra

The blind king of Hastinapur who believes his blindness is a curse upon him. He fails to gain the sympathy of the readers as he lacks the stronghold power of a king and fails to maintain peace among his family and kingdom.

Gandhari

Wife of Dhritarashtra who gives up her eyesight for her husband. She is one of the wisest female characters of Mahabharata but falls as a silent puppet in front of her husband's commands. She gains the sympathy of the readers as she witnesses the death of her sons one by one. She is the only one who has the courage to curse Lord Krishna in the end.

Shakuni

Brother of the queen Gandhari, he is one the most clever and hated character in Mahabharata. He schemes against his rivals, the Kauravs with no sign of mercy. He utilizes his exemplary skills at gambling to destroy his enemies by physically, mentally and emotionally torturing them. He is responsible for laying the foundation stone for the destructive war of Kurukshetra.

Dronacharya

Royal guru (teacher) to Pandavas and Kauravas. He is a ferocious warrior of tremendous combating skills. He takes the side of Dharma'or righteousness and supports the Pandavas till the very end.

Duryodhana

The eldest of the Kaurava clan, Duryodhana is a strong and powerful leader. But he can be easily persuaded by others as he is blinded by greed and jealousy. He is witnessed as the leader of the evil side who has the courage and potential to go against the five powerful brothers.

Lord Krishna

The lovable god is highlighted as the biggest political reformer. Critics question his decision of taking sides in the war since the gods are supposed to be equal to all without preferences for mortals. Lord Krishna is embarked with the responsibility of upholding righteousness and balance in the world.

Sanjay

A highly underestimated character, Sanjay acted as the 'eyes' for the blind king Dhritarashtra. Sanjay was blessed with divyadrishti by Vyasa. He can see the events taking place at a faraway place in real time. Sanjay was also the adviser and charioteer to Dhritarashtra.

Nakul and Sahdev

One of the Pandavas, Nakul was supposedly the most handsome in the entire Kuru lineage. He was the son of Madri, Pandu's second wife. Nakul was a warrior like his brothers, though he might not be remembered for it. He and Bheem led the Pandavas on the first day of battle. He defeated Dushasan too the same day. He also assisted Arjun in taking Bhishma down.

Same goes for the youngest Pandava, the other son of Madri. He was also quite easily forgotten. Sahdev was an expert in astrology. He was sought by Krishna to tell him the opportune time to start the war. But Sahdev was an honest man, so he disclosed the time to the Kauravas as well. Among other warriors, Sahdev slayed Shakuni on the eighteenth day of war. He also killed Shakuni's son Uluka. He is also known to have conquered several southern kingdoms of Indraprastha.

Draupadi

Daughter of King Drupada, King of Panchala. She married all the five Pandavas, though Arjuna had won her in the Swayamvara. Because of the vow all the brothers had to share her in common.

Bhishma Pitamah

He was the son of Shantanu and Ganga. He took a vow so that there could never be any child of his who could ever claim the throne. This magnitude of sacrifice gives him the name "Bhishma" which means "one who has taken a terrible vow". He is the sentinel of the prosperity of the kingdom of Hastinapur. He is one of the potent characters of Mahabharata, a fine illustration of ethics and fairness.

Bheema

He was the strongest character in Mahabharata and champion in Mace fighting. Bheema was entitled to slay all 100 Kaurava brothers . Bheema was so strong that even Indra could not defeat him in battle. Bheema's half body was of vajra as boon given by Lord Shiva and Parvati to him . During childhood when Duryodhana threw Bheema into the river of poisonous snakes by giving me poison cheatingly , Lord Vasuki saved Bheema and gave him elixir which gave Bheema strength of 10000 elephants . During Mahabharatha war it was only Bheem who didnt bowed to Vaishnava Astra which was released by Karna. Bheema achieved many feats; he killed Bakasura, Keechak, Jarasandh, Hidimb, Kirmira.

Vyasa

Who maybe the writer of this epic is also seen as an illegitimate son of Satyavati, second wife of Shantanu. Satyavati asks him to beget children on the widows of Chidrangada and Vichitravirya. He being ugly, Vichitravirya's widow closes her eyes and gives birth to a blind son, Dhritrashtra. the widow of Chitrangada turned pale and gave birth to Pandu. The third child, Vidura was born from a Royal maid.

Vidura

Brother of Dhritrashtra and Pandu. He was the chief advisor in the court. He is an intellectual person that we can see in this epic. He can be also seen as a messenger who takes the proposal of the Dicing game to Yudhishthra.

Kunti

Wife of Pandu. She gives Pandu three sons, Yudhishthra from Dharma, Bhima from Vayu and Arjuna from Indra. Her great penance to Lord Sun gives her an unacknowledged son, Karna before her marriage. She is seen as a great mother as when the Pandavas are sent to exile, she also goes with them.

Abhimanyu

He was the son of Arjuna and Subhadra, sister of Krishna. He played an important role in Chakravyuha. He learnt the art of breaking into the Chakravyuha when he was in Subhadra's womb. It was then Krishna was narrating the art of breaking into Chakravyuha to Subhadra. But he did not know how to destroy the formation once he was inside, as Subhadra fell asleep while listening to the story and he could learn only half of the technique. That's why he got trapped and died in the Chakravyuh.

Vaishampayana

He was the traditional narrator of the epic Mahabharata. He was the pupil of Vyasa.

Duhshasan

Younger brother to Duryodhana, and brother to the Kauravas. He was sitting right next to Duryodhana and Shakuni in the dicing game. He was the one who dragged Draupadi with her hair to the court and molested and humiliated her in front of the Kuru clan by exposing his thigh to her.