The story begins with Bhishma, the son of Shantanu, the king of Hastinapura and Ganga, who returns to Hastinapur and is crowned as the Crown Prince. Satyavati, a fisherwoman falls in love with Shantanu. Satyavati's father agreed to their marriage on the condition that her children would have the right to the throne. Bhishma takes an oath of celibacy to convince Satyavati to marry his father Shantanu. Later, Shantanu grants Bhishma a boon of death upon desire. Shantanu and Satyavati get married and have two children, Chitrangada and Vichitravirya.
25 years later
Chitrangada dies and on the advice of Satyavati, Bhishma wins the three princesses of the Kashi Kingdom, Amba, Ambika, and Ambalika for Vichitravirya but the eldest Princess Amba refuses to marry him and leaves for her lover who rejects her. She takes help from Bhishma's teacher Parashurama and he fights Bhishma but Lord Shiva stops the fight. Amba blames Bhishma and vows that she will be the reason for his death and dies. Vichitravirya died without any children, but Veda Vyasa, the son of Satyavati born through the occult is requested to impregnate Ambika and Ambalika the same way he was conceived. Besides the queens, Vyasa also impregnates a maid Parishrami through the occult. Soon, Ambika gives birth to Dhritarashtra, born blind, Ambalika gives birth to Pandu, born pale and Parashrami gives birth to Vidura.
25 years later
Amba is reborn as Shikandini to King Drupad of Panchal and he says that she will be the cause of Bhishma's death. Bhishma goes to Gandhar for Dhritarashtra's marriage proposal with King Subal's daughter, Gandhari because of her boon of bearing a hundred sons. After knowing her would-be-husband Dhritarashtra is blind, Gandhari decided to blindfold herself to share her husband's pain and marries him. This angers Shakuni, Gandhari's brother, and he vows to destroy Bhishma who had brought the proposal for Gandhari's marriage, and injures his thigh. Initially, Dhritarashtra rejects her because of her decision but later on accepts her as his wife. Dhritarashtra is denied the throne for being blind, and the throne is given to Pandu. Pandu marries Kunti, Princess of Kunti Kingdom, and Madri of Madra Kingdom. Pandu is later cursed by Sage Kindama, that he will die if he attempts to impregnate his wives. Pandu, heartbroken, renounces the kingdom with his 2 wives Kunti and Madri. After this Dhritarashtra becomes the de facto king of Hastinapur.
15 months later
Gandhari was pregnant for more than a year which angers Dhritarashta. Kunti uses her boon, given to her by Sage Durvasa, to invoke gods of her choice and obtain children from them. She begets Yudhishthira from Yama (the god of death and righteousness), Bhima from Vayu (the god of wind), Arjuna from Indra (the king of the gods). She also chants the boon for Madri, and Madri obtains twins - Nakula and Sahadeva - from the Ashwini Kumaras. Gandhari is upset as Dhritrashtra becomes impatient and gives birth to a lump of flesh. But this is cut into 101 pieces by Veda Vyasa, and these pieces eventually transform into children - the 100 Kauravas (led by Duryodhana) and a daughter, Dushala.
15 years later
Pandu becomes captivated by the beauty of Madri and engages in sexual intercourse with her. Madri, despite her best efforts, is unable to fend him off from the act. As a result of the sage's curse, Pandu dies. Attributing her husband's death to herself, Madri decided to end her life with Pandu, by the practise of sati. Pandavas return to Hastinapur with Kunti, after the death of Pandu and Madri. The Kauravas grow up to be evil, led by their eldest brother Duryodhana, who is highly influenced by his maternal uncle Shakuni, contrary to the Pandavas who are righteous. They conspired against the Pandavas. Shakuni tries to poison Bheema, but he is saved by his great-grandfather Naag Raj. Bhishma banishes Shakuni from Hastinapur, forcing him to return to Gandhar. All princes are sent to study under Guru Dronacharya where Dronacharya teaches everyone about warfare including his son Ashwatthama.
12 years later
The princes return to Hastinapur, where they are engaged in a competition to showcase their skills. Arjuna wins the competition, but Karna challenges Arjuna as Dronacharya declares Arjuna as the greatest bowman in the world. Kunti realizes that Karna is her son whom she had obtained from Surya, the Sun God, long before marriage. Later, Drona tells them to defeat King Drupad, who was Drona's old friend but betrayed and misbehaved with him after becoming the king. They successfully did so. Panchal is partitioned with Ashwatthama made the new king of the half and Drupad being the king of the other half. Later, Yudhishthira is crowned as the Crown Prince of Hastinapur as he is the eldest.
In the meantime, Arjuna befriends Lord Krishna, his cousin (Lord Krishna's father was Vasudev, brother of Kunti), and a leader of Yadavas and helps to unite him with Rukmini. The Kauravas attempt to kill the Pandavas using a palace made of wax, but the Pandavas escape. They go into exile so that all others believe them to be dead. In the process, the Pandavas encounter a demon by the name Hidimba. Bhima kills Hidimba but ends up marrying his sister, Hidimbi. The couple begets a son, Ghatotkacha. Meanwhile, seeking vengeance on Drona, King Drupad gets a son Dhristhadyumna, and a daughter, Draupadi born from fire. Drupad initially rejects Draupadi and ousts her from the palace but accepts her on Krishna's insistence. Arjuna disguised as a Brahmin wins Draupadi in her Swayamvar arranged by Drupad. Arjuna takes her to his mother who is doing Pooja and without realizing what he is talking about commands him to share whatever he has won with his brothers. The Pandavas eventually marry Draupadi, thus revealing their identity. They return to Hastinapur and justify their polyandry.
The sequence of events leads to the Kuru Kingdom being divided - The Pandavas receive a new kingdom - Khandavprastha. Arjuna destroys the place and gets a new bow Gandiva. They renovated the town and renamed it as Indraprastha. Later, Arjun marries Subhadra, Krishna's sister. The Pandavas conduct the Rajasuya Yagna. Krishna kills off Shishupal and Duryodhan is insulted in the court. The prosperity of Indraprastha angers Duryodhana. A jealous Duryodhana summons Pandavas for a dice game, where Yudhishthira loses his kingdom, brothers, and their common wife Draupadi. Draupadi is dragged and humiliated and disrobed in the court in front of everyone by Dushasana on the order of his elder brother Duryodhan, however, Krishna saves her honor in the end. Bheeshma, Drona, and other elders who were present in the court all cursed the Kauravas for their inhuman acts. The Pandavas and Draupadi, as a result of losing, are forced into a 12-year exile and a year of incognito (total of 13 years),
12 years later
The Pandavas spend their 12 years of exile successfully. Arjun gets Pashupatastra from Lord Shiva and Bheem meets Hanuman, who is impressed with Bheem and the rest of the Pandavas and Draupadi impress Sage Durvasa. For the final year, Duryodhan sends spies to find the Pandavas but they fail to find them. They spend their incognito in the kingdom of King Virata. After the exile, Pandavas reveal their identity and reunite with their children - the Upapandavas (the 5 sons of Draupadi) and Abhimanyu (the son of Arjuna and Subhadra), after the exile period. Abhimanyu is married to Uttaraa, the daughter of King Virata and Queen Sudeshna.
The Pandavas' peace treaty with the Kauravas fails to materialize, thus confirming that a war is set to happen. Both, the Pandavas and Kauravas, gather their respective armies by allying with different tribes and kingdoms.
Shortly before the Kurukshetra War commences, Arjuna obtains the knowledge of the Bhagavad Gita from Krishna, which helps him fight for righteousness without any remorse for killing his people in the process. The war begins and continues for 18 days - both sides face mass destruction. Shikandini is successful in killing Bhishma and Arjun injures him and puts him in a bed of arrows, Dhristhadyumna kills off Drona, Arjun kills off Karna, Bhim kills off Duryodhan's brothers including Dushasan, and avenges Draupadi's insult. In the last day, Sahadeva kills off Shakuni and the war officially ends after Duryodhana, the only remaining Kaurava, is killed by Bhima.
Ashwatthama, on seeing Duryodhana's death, is angered and raids the Pandava camp at night, killing many soldiers in the process including Dhrishtadyumna and Shikhandini. Ashwatthama also kills the Upapandavas (mistakenly thinking that they were the Pandavas) while they were sleeping. He also tries to kill a widowed Uttaraa and her unborn baby rather unsuccessfully, but both of them are revived and the child is named 'Parikshit' by Krishna. Krishna also curses Ashwatthama to remain in severe pain and immortality for the rest of his life because of his heinous act.
The Pandavas meet Bhishma for the last time and take his blessings. They return to Hastinapura, where Dhritarashtra attempts to kill Bhima but is unsuccessful. Dhritarashtra is remorseful and forgives Pandavas. Gandhari curses Krishna for letting the war happen as she loses all of her sons and grandsons, so he suffers the same fate. She curses and he and his Yadava clan will be destroyed. The show ends with Yudhishthira being finally crowned the King of Hastinapur by Krishna.
Cast
Main
Saurabh Raj Jain as Krishna: an incarnation of the god Vishnu, born to restore dharma. He serves as the strategic guide for the Pandavas. Kunwar Vikram Soni portrays adolescent Krishna.
Shaheer Sheikh as Arjuna: the third Pandava prince and the son of Kunti–the wife of Pandu of the Kuru dynasty–and the god Indra. He is a master archer, who is guided by Krishna to fulfil his duty and uphold dharma in the Kurukshetra War. Soumya Singh portrays young Arjuna.
Arpit Ranka as Duryodhana: the eldest of the Kauravas, and Hastinapur’s crown prince, whose desire for power and enmity with the Pandavas fuels the Kurukshetra War. Alam Khan portrays young Duryodhana.
Aham Sharma as Karna: a proficient archer, and the premarital son of the sun god Surya and Kunti. He is raised by a charioteer and becomes a steadfast ally of Duryodhana and the king of Anga, while also being the elder half-brother of the Pandavas. Vidyut Xavier portrays adolescent Karna.
Rohit Bhardwaj as Yudhishthira: the eldest Pandava and paragon of justice, who becomes the emperor of Indraprastha and later Hastinapur. Rohit Shetty portrays young Yudhishthira.
Saurav Gurjar as Bhima: the second Pandava, known for his unmatched strength and fiery nature, who ultimately kills all the Kauravas. Miraj Joshi portrays young Bhima.
Vin Rana as Nakula: the fourth Pandava, who is known for his skill in swordsmanship. Devish Ahuja portrays young Nakula.
Lavanya Bhardwaj as Sahadeva: the fifth Pandava, who is notable for his wisdom. Rudhraksh Jaiswal portrays young Sahadeva.
Arav Chowdhary as Bhishma: the son of King Shantanu and the goddess Ganga, who is the revered grandsire of the Kuru dynasty, bound by a vow of celibacy and lifelong loyalty to Hastinapur.
Nissar Khan as Drona: the son of Sage Bharadwaja, who acts as the royal teacher to the Kuru princes and is devoted to his role as mentor despite the conflicts around him.
Praneet Bhat as Shakuni: the prince of Gandhara and brother to Gandhari, who acts as the cunning strategist behind Duryodhana’s plans, driven by a personal grudge.
Sayantani Ghosh as Satyavati: a fisherwoman who marries King Shantanu after securing a promise that her future son will inherit the throne. Satyavati rises to become the matriarch of the Kuru dynasty and is the grandmother of Dhritarashtra, Pandu, and Vidura.
Shafaq Naaz as Kunti: the mother to the Pandavas who possesses a divine boon allowing her to invoke gods to bear children. Before her marriage, she uses it to bear Karna, and later, at the request of her husband Pandu, she invokes the gods to bear Yudhishthira, Bhima, and Arjuna.
Thakur Anoop Singh as Dhritarashtra: the blind king of Hastinapur, who serves as the husband of Gandhari and father of the Kauravas.
Riya Deepsi as Gandhari: the princess of Gandhara and queen of Hastinapur, who blindfolds herself in solidarity with her husband Dhritarashtra and is the mother of the Kauravas.
Nirbhay Wadhwa as Dushasana: the second of the Kauravas, who serves as Duryodhana’s brother and loyal follower, infamous for his role in Draupadi’s humiliation.
Recurring
Veebha Anand[7] as Subhadra: an incarnation of goddess Yogamaya and the half-sister of Krishna. She marries Arjuna and gives birth to Abhimanyu.
Naveen Jinger as Vidura: the wise prime minister of Hastinapur and the half-brother of Dhritarashtra and Pandu.
Ankit Mohan as Ashwatthama: a fierce warrior and son of Drona. He is loyal to Duryodhana, and takes his vengeance after the Kurukshetra War.
Sudesh Berry as Drupada: The King of Panchala, and the father of Shikhandini, Dhristadyumna, and Draupadi. He is involved in a longstanding feud with Drona.
Paras Arora as Abhimanyu: The young brave son of Arjuna and Subhadra, who meets a tragic death in the war
Arun Singh Rana as Pandu: a King of Hastinapur who renounced his throne after being cursed, Pandu’s inability to have children through natural means led him to seek the intervention of the gods, who granted him sons through his wives Kunti and Madri, making him the acknowledged father of the Pandavas.
Suhani Dhanki as Madri: the princess of Madra and Pandu's second wife, who dies alongside him. With the divine boon shared by her co-wife Kunti, Madri was able to give birth to Nakula and Sahadeva, whom she entrusted to Kunti’s care to raise after her death.
Karan Suchak as Dhrishtadyumna: the twin brother of Draupadi who serves as the commander of the Pandava forces during the Kurukshetra War. He is miraculously born from the sacrificial fire to bring the end of Drona
Shikha Singh as Shikhandini: King Drupad and Queen Kokila's daughter; Satyajit, Dhrishtadyumna and Draupadi's elder sister; Princess of Panchala and the Amba's reincarnation.
Puneet Issar as Parshurama: The sixth avatar of Lord Vishnu and the teacher of Bhishma, Drona, and Karna
Garima Jain as Dushala: King Dhritarashtra and Queen Gandhari's daughter, Pandavas and Kauravas' sister, Jayadrath's wife and Suratha's mother. Ashnoor Kaur plays as young Dushala
Ali Hassan as Jayadratha: King Brihanmanas's son and later King of Sindhu Kingdom, Dushyala's husband, and Suratha's father.
Hassan also portrayed Takshak: Nagraj and Ruler of Takshila who killed Arjuna's grandson Parikshit.
Sandeep Arora as Vikarna: Third Kaurava prince, King Dhritarashtra and Queen Gandhari's third and Duryodhan and Dushasna's younger brother and Dushyala's elder brother.
Raj Anadkat as Young Vikarna (Third eldest brother among the 100 Kauravas)
Production
Background
In November 2005, a report from Variety stated Bobby Bedi's plan to make three feature films and 100 hours of television programming on Indian epic Mahabharat under Kaleidoscope Entertainment with the television version planned to be delivered by the end of 2007.[11] In 2006 it was revealed making for Star Plus which was to be directed by Chandraprakash Dwivedi.[12][13] It was a part of Bedi's 360 degree approach to the epic through TV, film, gaming and theme parks.[14] Planned for 100 episodes with new actors, it was planned to premiere in March 2008 but got postpone due to production to August 2008 and later January 2009.[13][15][16]
During this, Ekta Kapoor was simultaneously producing a series on Mahabharat since January 2008 titled Kahaani Hamaarey Mahaabhaarat Ki for a rival channel to premiere in mid 2008 which she earlier planned for Star but could not as the channel roped Bedi.[17][18] This led on to a pressure in the production as they wanted to rush their premiere before Kapoor due to which Dwivedi quit midway after association with them for two years after which three directors were working on it.[19][20] But, they were not able to rush up the series before Kapoor's. 50 episodes were shot at the sets created in Morna between Noida and Delhi for a year after paying ₹6 Crores.[16] However, as the channel was not satisfied with those episodes, they were asked to rework the entire series again pushing its premiere to 2009. But, Bedi reportedly started selling it in DVDs which created problems between them and the channel, and the production was stalled.[16] However, in December 2008, Star took Bedi to Bombay High Court filing an arbitration petition alleging that the production house took ₹6 Crore for the production of the series in advance but has not produced even a single episode while a senior executive from the production house stated, " This legal notice is Star's way of pulling out of the show. Maybe it doesn't want to go ahead with the Mahabharat project after all."[21] After these, the shooting was expected to restart from February 2009 but in mid 2009 the production was cancelled and the project was given over to Siddharth Kumar Tewary's Swastik Productions to start fresh.[22][16]
Development
It took us four years of research and brainstorming sessions to conceive and execute the show.
More than 400 people were involved in production with 200 people working on graphics.[24] Renowned author Devdutt Pattanaik was roped as the chief consultant and guiding person for the series.[25] Also writer Salim Khan, music directors Ajay-Atul and Ismail Darbar and action director Ram Shetty were involved.[26]
Speaking about bringing Mahabharat to television again, Star Plus senior vice-president Nikhil Madhok said, "With over 20 years having passed since the telecast of Mahabharat serial on Doordarshan, we felt that the younger generation should be re-introduced to this epic. Also, the plot of this epic is open to interpretation and has many intricacies in it, unlike that of let's say Ramayan, which is fairly linear and is passed on from generation to generation."[27]
According to producer Siddharth Kumar Tewary, the Draupadi cheer haran (disrobing) sequence, which Tewary himself directed, took 20 days to shoot.[28]
Even in the last fight between Bheema and Duryodhana, the actors shared that the scene took 3 days to shoot.[29]
Originally planned for 128 episodes, its growing popularity gave an extension for about 100 more episodes as Tewary wanted to explore the story further in January 2014.[30][31] However, it ended with 267 episodes.
Design
The set covering 10 acres of land in Umargam, Valsad, Gujarat was designed by the art director Omung Kumar.[32]
The costume designer of the series Nidhi Yasha along with her consultant Bhanu Athaiya, had referred 450 books related to period textiles, costume and jewellery.[33][34]
Different ancient techniques have been used to achieve the various looks. A lot of bright coloured silks, handlooms, gold and jewellery structured embroidery patterns have been used.
It took a study of over 450 books related to period textiles, costume and jewelry and four years of hard-work to arrive at the current look and feel of the show. An extensive study on jewelry structures according to ethnicity, fabrics, drapes and costume was undertaken.
Star spent ₹5.1 billion (US$60 million) on the project and spent another ₹410 million (US$4.8 million) on marketing the show, making it India's most expensive TV series.[37] As a part of marketing, Star constructed Mahabharat museum across malls in cities consisting selective weapons, jewellery and finery of Mahabharat along with 3D virtual tour of the sets of Hastinapur.[38] In towns the same concept was adapted with wheels-canter vans along with LED.[38]
The sets of the series at Umargam in Gujarat cost ₹100 crores and production costs of ₹13-15 Lakhs per day.[39][40]
The actors shared that they had to go through acting workshops and various trainings for about a year where they were explained in detail what to do and how.[45][46][47]Rajit Kapur trained the actors by conducting acting workshops.[48][47][49][50][51]
Writing for Rediff, Nishi Tiwari wrote that "If it maintains the quality of writing and able actors who portray key characters, we may have another winner among us".[52]DNA India praised the costumes, scenery, Krishna's flute theme which was given by Raj Mohan Sinha,[53] and most of the CGI special effects, but said the serial's pace was too fast.[54]
Hindustan Times criticised, "Everything is so exaggerated that you feel you are watching a series of unreal events rather than following a deeply emotional story. Even relatively less important moments are treated with such overblown drama that when you really need the drama at crucial junctures — such as Bheeshma’s brahmacharya pledge — the impact is lost." The background music was also criticised for being loud all the time.[55]
Viewership in India
Its premiere had a viewership of approximately 8.4 million impressions (8.445 TVTs - Television Viewership in Thousands) and 4.09 TVR.[56][57] That week it averaged 6.356 TVTs.[58] The viewership ratings of the week of 1 December 2013 reached 9.801 TVTs. The game of dice leading to Draupadi's 'cheer haran' took Mahabharat at its peak viewership (10 TVMs) and helped the broadcasting channel Star Plus clock one of the highest GTVMs.[59] Overall, it became the tenth most watched Hindi GEC of 2013 with an average viewership of 5.6 million and a peak viewership of 7.2 million.[60]
In week 29 of 2014, it was at fifth position with 7.1 TVTs while the following week it jumped to second position with 9.2 TVTs.[61]
The show was listed in the list of top 20 TV series of all time in 2016.[62]
During the COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown in India, it started re-airing on Star Plus from 30 March 2020 to 25 July 2020.[63] It soon became one of the most-watched Hindi GEC series featuring in the top five programs even during the re-run.[64][65]
Impact
This series is regarded as the costliest show ever launched by StarPlus and one of the costliest Indian television series, being the first Indian television show to be made on a budget more than ₹100 crores.[66][67][68]
In 2014, the cast of Mahabharat were invited to hold a fan meeting tour at Jakarta and Bali. The Times of India reported that the show has a huge fan following abroad and as result, the prominent characters from the show had been called to Indonesia for a special event.[69][70][71] The main casts of Mahabharat, performed on "Mahabharat Show: Fan Meeting Tour" in the year 2014 .[72][73][74][75][76]
In June 2020, Karnataka Chief Minister Yediyurappa then, on watching the Kannada dubbed version appreciated the series and stated that the character Krishna played by Saurabh Raj Jain impressed him and also stated that just like every Mahabharata.[77]
Awards and nominations
It won the trophy for the Best Drama in Star Guild Awards 2013 as well as number of accolades in other award shows.[78] Show won Best Historical/Mythological serial award in Indian Television Academy Awards. It won the Indian Telly Awards for Actor in a Supporting Role (Drama), given to Aham Sharma for his portrayal as Karna, and Actor in a Negative Role to Praneet Bhat in 2014. The crew members also won the awards for Best Costumes for a TV Programme, Best Make – Up Artist, and Best Stylist.[79]
