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50 free The Mahabharata trivia questions with answers — trivia quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Mahabharata trivia quiz covers the great Sanskrit epic from its 100,000 verses and 18 parvas to the last walk into the Himalayas. It starts with the text: Vyasa's authorship, Ganesha the scribe, the frame story told to King Janamejaya at a snake sacrifice, the epic's sheer length compared with the Iliad and Odyssey, and the traditional dates for the war. Then it works through the story: Shantanu and Ganga, Devavrata's terrible vow, the blind Dhritarashtra and pale Pandu, Kunti's mantra and the five Pandavas, the hundred Kauravas, the house of lac, the fish-eye swayamvara, Indraprastha, the loaded dice and Draupadi's endless sari, thirteen years of exile and the 18-day war. There are questions on Karna's earrings and armour, Bhishma on his bed of arrows, Shikhandi, Abhimanyu in the chakravyuha, Gandhari's curse, the Bhagavad Gita's 700 verses, and the dog who turns out to be Yama, plus Peter Brook's nine-hour play and B. R. Chopra's television series. Difficulty runs from easy to expert and is shown on every question. Every answer was checked against a reference page and each question carries its citation. Try our Ramayana and Hindu mythology quizzes next.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01To which sage is the authorship of the Mahabharata traditionally attributed?
Vyasa
He is also a major character in the epic, fathering Dhritarashtra, Pandu and Vidura.
Q 02According to the epic's first section, which god wrote down the text to Vyasa's dictation?
Ganesha
Scholars consider this a later interpolation, and the Critical Edition leaves it out.
Q 03What is the other major Sanskrit epic of ancient India, alongside the Mahabharata?
The Ramayana
Both are classed as smriti and itihasa texts, and the Mahabharata even contains an abbreviated Ramayana.
Q 04Roughly how many shlokas does the longest version of the Mahabharata contain?
Over 100,000
That is about 1.8 million words, roughly ten times the Iliad and Odyssey combined.
Q 05The Mahabharata is roughly how many times longer than the Iliad and Odyssey combined?
Ten
It is about four times the length of the Ramayana but still 2.5 times shorter than the Kyrgyz Epic of Manas.
Q 06Into how many parvas, or books, is the Mahabharata divided?
18
The number 18 recurs throughout the epic: 18 days of war, 18 armies, 18 chapters of the Gita.
Q 07By what nickname is the Mahabharata sometimes known within the Indian tradition?
The fifth Veda
Vyasa himself described it as itihasa, or history.
Q 08To which king, Arjuna's great-grandson, is the epic first recited by the sage Vaisampayana?
Janamejaya
He was holding a snake sacrifice to avenge his father Parikshit, who died of a snakebite.
Q 09For the throne of which kingdom do the Pandavas and Kauravas fight?
Hastinapura
It was the seat of the Kuru clan; the Pandavas later built their own capital at Indraprastha.
Q 10How many Pandava brothers are there?
Five
Yudhishthira, Bhima and Arjuna were born to Kunti and the twins Nakula and Sahadeva to Madri.
Q 11How many sons did Dhritarashtra and Gandhari have?
One hundred
They also had one daughter, Duhsala; Duryodhana was the eldest son and Dushasana the second.
Q 12Which goddess was the mother of Devavrata, later called Bhishma?
Ganga
She had a short-lived marriage with King Shantanu of Hastinapura.
Q 13What vow did Devavrata take so that his father Shantanu could marry the fisherman's daughter Satyavati?
Lifelong celibacy
He had already renounced the throne; the extra vow guaranteed Satyavati's descendants would rule.
Q 21What was the house of lac, the Lakshagraha?
A flammable palace built to burn the Pandavas alive
Vidura warned them and sent a miner to dig an escape tunnel; the world presumed them dead.
Q 22Which Pandava married the demoness Hidimbi and fathered Ghatotkacha?
Bhima
It happened while the brothers were in hiding after escaping the house of lac.
Q 23What was the task at Draupadi's swayamvara?
Shoot a moving fish's eye via its reflection
Q 14What boon was Bhishma granted that let him decide when he would die?
Ichcha Mrityu
He lay on his bed of arrows until the auspicious Uttarayana before letting go.
Q 15Why was Dhritarashtra born blind, according to the epic?
His mother shut her eyes at the sight of Vyasa
Ambalika turned pale instead, so her son Pandu was born pale and sickly.
Q 16What did Gandhari do for the rest of her life after marrying the blind Dhritarashtra?
Wore a blindfold
Her brother Shakuni was so enraged that he vowed revenge on the Kuru family.
Q 17Which sage gave Kunti the mantra that let her summon any god to father a child?
Durvasa
She used it to bear sons by Dharma, Vayu and Indra, and shared it with Madri.
Q 18Which god was the divine father of Bhima?
Vayu
Yudhishthira was fathered by Dharma and Arjuna by Indra; the twins came from the Ashwini twins.
Q 19Which sun god fathered Karna with the young Kunti before her marriage?
Surya
She abandoned the baby in a basket on the Ganges; he was born with golden earrings and armour like his father.
Q 20Of which kingdom did Duryodhana make Karna the king?
Anga
The gift bought Karna's lifelong loyalty to the Kaurava cause.
Arjuna, disguised as a Brahmin, strung the steel bow and won her.
Q 24Why did Draupadi become the wife of all five Pandavas?
Kunti told them to share what Arjuna had won without looking
Their mother thought they had brought home alms.
Q 25How was Draupadi born, according to the epic?
From a fire sacrifice
Hence her name Yajnaseni; she is also called Panchali and Krishnaa.
Q 26What capital did the Pandavas build in the wild forest they were given?
Indraprastha
Maya the Danava built them a palace so dazzling that Duryodhana mistook a floor for water and a pond for floor.
Q 27Whom did Arjuna elope with and marry, the sister of Krishna?
Subhadra
Their son Abhimanyu died inside the chakravyuha on the war's thirteenth day.
Q 28Who played the loaded dice against Yudhishthira on Duryodhana's behalf?
Shakuni
Yudhishthira lost his wealth, his kingdom, his brothers, himself and finally Draupadi.
Q 29How was Draupadi saved from being disrobed in the Kaurava court?
Her dress became endless
Krishna worked the miracle while the elders looked on aghast.
Q 30How long were the Pandavas required to spend in exile after the second dice game?
Twelve years, plus one incognito
If discovered in the thirteenth year they faced another twelve; they hid at the court of King Virata.