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# mahabharata

noun (the Mahabharata — a name)

«mahabharata» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. The Mahabharata is a very long ancient poem from India, written in Sanskrit, telling the story of a great war between two families of cousins, the Pandavas and the Kauravas. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mahabharata/#m1)
2. It is one of the holy books of Hinduism and contains many stories and teachings, including the Bhagavad Gita. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mahabharata/#m2)

### In the lessons

In religious education lessons the Mahabharata is taught as a sacred Hindu text, full of lessons about duty, honesty, family and right and wrong; Hindus believe it teaches how to live a good life. In literature it is called an epic, like the Iliad, and is one of the longest poems ever written. Phrases: "the epic Mahabharata", "stories from the Mahabharata".

### Examples

- In RE we read a story from the Mahabharata about five brothers. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mahabharata/#x1)
- The Mahabharata is one of the longest poems in the world. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mahabharata/#x2)
- Priya's grandmother tells her stories from the Mahabharata at bedtime. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mahabharata/#x3)
- The Bhagavad Gita is a part of the Mahabharata. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mahabharata/#x4)
- The Mahabharata tells of a great battle between cousins. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mahabharata/#x5)
- Hindus believe the Mahabharata teaches about duty and doing what is right. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mahabharata/#x6)

### Note

It is a proper name, so it takes a capital letter and usually "the": the Mahabharata. Spelled in English in a few ways (Mahabharata, Mahābhārata). Do not confuse it with the Ramayana, the other great Hindu epic, which tells the story of Rama and Sita.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «mahabharata» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mahabharata/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«mahabharata» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/mahabharata.html) on Mova free.