Mahabharata Podcast

Episode 100 - Summing up

12 Apr 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 100 - I've put together my review of the epic, in its totality.  I discuss the strange way in which the epic goes into fine detail ...

The 18 notebooks of the Mahabharata are now complete...

30 Mar 2012

Contributed by Lukas

There are 18 books to the Mahabharat.  You can see my source books lined up in back, with the Kindle to finish it off.  Coincidentally, I fi...

Episode 99 - Epilogue 2: The Snake Sacrifice

28 Mar 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 99 - This is the final piece that brings us around, back to the beginning.  We covered some of this territory before, back in Episo...

Episode 98 - Epilogue 1: The Beginning

22 Mar 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 98 - This is the first of two episodes that take us from the death of the Pandavas down to the Snake Sacrifice, held by Arjun's great-gr...

Episode 97 - The End

16 Mar 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 97 - So this is it-- the final installment from the Mahabharata.  Book 18, the Svargarohanika Parva, is done, and the 18 parvas of the M...

Episode 96 - The Death of the Pandavas

15 Mar 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 96 - Arjun returns home with some bad news and some good news.  The bad news is that they have lost their powers and have lost their fri...

Episode 95 - Arjuna's Defeat

13 Mar 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 95 - Krishna is dead.  Balaram is dead.  The city of Dwarka sinks beneath the waves, and the refugees of that once-great city are m...

Episode 94 - The Kali Yuga

06 Mar 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 94 - The Dark Age is now unquestionably upon us.  The elder Kurus, living austere lives in the forest, found themselves consumed by a fo...

Episode 93 - The Ashwamedha Sacrifice

28 Feb 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 93 - The white horse returns home, only to be tied to a post, killed, & cut up into little pieces.  The priests do their best to fol...

Episode 92 - The Anugita and the Wayward Stallion

21 Feb 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 92 - This is another eventful episode.  Krishna & Arjun take a break and go on a leisure trip to Indraprastha, where it appears Arju...

Episode 91 - The Death of Bhisma

15 Feb 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 91 - We get treated to a last handful of the Final Teachings, and then Bhisma dies.  The poor guy set quite an objective for himsel...

Episode 90 - The Final Teachings, part 2

07 Feb 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 90 - A few more stories from Bhisma's final teachings.  We learn that Vyasa had a son, named Suka, who really did not seem to be pl...

Episode 89 - The Final Teachings, part 1

01 Feb 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 89 - For some reason, the first three full-fledged stories from the Anusasana Parva all center around a Banian tree.  They also share th...

News Update: Next episode is currently under construction!

26 Jan 2012

Contributed by Lukas

I've finally managed to read through the entire Anusasana Parva, and I've started working on the next episode. This took some serious reading, since ...

Episode 88 - The Book of Peace

12 Jan 2012

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 88 - This episode begins the voluminous Last Teachings of Bhisma.  As Bhisma lies on his bed of arrows, the Pandavas, Krishna &...

Episode 87 - Rama's Famous Genocide

28 Dec 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 87 - Yuddistira is finally convinced that he should remain king, and he gets down to business.  He marches straight to the palace a...

Holiday Message - Is Kubera Santa Claus?

25 Dec 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Merry Christmas to all you Christians (and folks who just like getting gifts)!  It struck me last night that the myth of Santa Claus is awfully s...

Episode 86 - To be (king), or not to be...

21 Dec 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 86 - It seems like Yuddistira always had a secret desire to give up the world and live like a sadhu.  But now he has a pretty good ...

Episode 85 - Remembering Karna

14 Dec 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 85 - We begin the Book of Peace, the Shanti Parva.  After boasting to his uncle about his special clairvoyant powers, Yuddistira is...

Episode 84 - The Book of the Women

07 Dec 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 84 - Vidur & Vyasa tell a few parables to help Dhrtarastra pull himself together.  When the king is finally pacified, he leads all t...

Episode 83 - Daksha's Sacrifice

29 Nov 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 83 - The brothers learn of the massacre of their sons & allies, and summon Draupadi to break the news.  As usual, all she wants is r...

Episode 82 - Blowback

22 Nov 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 82 - Well, it seems there is no end to the tit for tat revenge cycle that Duryodhana forced into motion so long ago.  Now that he has be...

Episode 81 - Downfall

14 Nov 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 81 - So this is it; the moment everyone has been waiting for.  Ever since Episode 7 when Duryodhana was born, he has finally received hi...

Episode 80 - Kurukshetra, Day 18: Shalya & the dissolution of the Kauravas

09 Nov 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 80 - This episode covers the final day of the great war.  If you were expecting things to go out with a bang, you'll be disappointed. &n...

Episode 79 - Kurukshetra, Day 17: Down with Dushasan/Killing Karna

01 Nov 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 79 - This is a big day in the war.  Bhisma fulfills one of his oaths by killing Dushasan and drinking his blood.  Now he will be gu...

Episode 78 - Kurukshetra, Day 17: A Counterfeit Curfuffle

25 Oct 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 78 - Karna begins the 17th day of the war by fighting each Pandava except Arjun.  He is actually defeated by both Yuddistira and Bhima, ...

Episode 77 - Kurukshetra, Day 16: Karna's in charge

18 Oct 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 77 - Drona is dead and a new commander is needed.  Ashwatthaman proposes that Karna be given the position and everyone else agrees. &nbs...

Episode 76 - Some thoughts on the story so far...

12 Oct 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 76 - I present my wild theories and hypotheses about the Mahabharata.  Among other things, we discuss its relationship to the Precession...

Episode 75 - Kurukshetra, Day 15: Ashwatthaman goes Ballistic!

04 Oct 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 75 - Earlier in day 15, Drona is killed by Dhrstadyumna.  The Kaurava army literally comes unraveled until Ashwatthaman hears ...

Episode 74 - Kurukshetra, Day 15: Drona

27 Sep 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 74 - Two significant deaths this episode-- first Gatotkacha basically gets sacrificed by Krishna so that Arjun need not face Karna's special ...

Episode 73 - Kurukshetra, Day 14: Killing Jayadratha

20 Sep 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 73 - We continue with the events of the 14th day of war.  You can relax because we find out that both Satyaki and Bhim made it to Arjun'...

Episode 72 - Kurukshetra, Day 14: Killing Alambusha

14 Sep 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 72 - We begin the 14th day of the war.  The morning starts with many dark omens, but no one is quite sure for which side they portend do...

Book Review: The Yugas by Joseph Selbie & David Steinmetz

12 Sep 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Although I spend a good deal of my free time working through the original text of the Mahabharata and producing the podcast, I also read quite a lot. ...

Episode 71 - Kurukshetra: A Dramatic Interlude

06 Sep 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 71 - Vyasa finishes his comforting storytelling, and then vanishes, leaving it up to Yuddistira to deal with breaking the news to Arjun that ...

Episode 70 - The death of Abhimanyu

31 Aug 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 70 - Drona has been in charge now for two days, and so far he has failed in his mission to capture Yuddistira.  This despite the fact th...

Episode 69 - Kurukshetra, Days 11 & 12: The Drona Parva

24 Aug 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 69 - Bhisma is out of commission, and his book is nearly over.  In one last scene, Karna comes to meet his fallen nemesis.  Bhisma ...

Episode 68 - Kurukshetra, Day 10: The Bed of Arrows

16 Aug 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 68 - I know it feels like this war is really dragging on; but I think that is precisely how Vyasa wanted us to feel by this point in the batt...

Episode 67 - Kurukshetra, Day 9

10 Aug 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 67 - On the previous day, Duryodhana was quickly losing faith with his uncle.  He began to suspect that Bhisma was throwing the con...

News: Episodes 1-4 have been re-issued!

03 Aug 2011

Contributed by Lukas

If you are following this blog, you have probably already listened to the first four or five episodes of this podcast. I recently listened to those ...

Episode 66 - Kurukshetra, Days 7 & 8

03 Aug 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 66 - The seventh and eighth days of the War.  Bhisma kills a few more Dhartarastras, king Virata loses another son, and we meet Arj...

Episode 65 - Kurukshetra, Days 5 & 6

27 Jul 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 65 - The fifth and sixth days of the great war.  Arjun wipes out an army of 25,000, and we find out Satyaki has 10 fully grown sons...

Episode 64 - Kurukshetra, Days 3 & 4

18 Jul 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 64 - The third and fourth days of the great war.  It seems like the tide may be turning somewhat, since both days of fighting were ...

Episode 63 - Kurukshetra, Day 2

29 Jun 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 63 - The second day of battle comes and goes.  If the first day went to the Kauravas, the 2nd day certainly belonged to the Pandava...

Episode 62 - Kurukshetra, Day 1: Concluded

22 Jun 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 62 - Let's admit it, we were all impatient for this war to get started.  Like the characters in the story, we concluded many episod...

Episode 61 - Kurukshetra, Day 1: War is Hell

15 Jun 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 61 - It is the morning of the first day of battle.  Already Krishna has revealed his great song to Arjuna, and now there are some final ...

Episode 60 - The Gita, part 2: The Godhead

06 Jun 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 60 - This concludes Krishna's dialog with Arjun about Dharma, Bhakti, Yoga, and the Gunas.  During the course of this, Arjun is granted ...

Episode 59 - The Gita, part 1: Arjun's Dejection

24 May 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 59 - We begin the famous holy book, the Bhagavad Gita.  The scene for this revelation is the midst of the fateful battlefield of Ku...

Episode 58 - The Bhisma Parva

17 May 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 58 - The Battle Books, but not the battle, begin here.  Since we are at the second most important beginning of the epic, aside from...

Episode 57 - Amba, part 2

11 May 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 57 - Bhisma finishes bringing us up-to-date on who Sikhandin is, who he used to be, and why Bhisma won't fight him. This also finishes the U...

Episode 56 - Amba, part 1

03 May 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 56 - Bhisma begins telling the story of Amba/Sikhandin-- the only person, barring the Pandavas, whom he will not fight in the coming battle. ...

Episode 55 - Cutting the Muster

27 Apr 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 55 - As if intending to seal his fate, Duryodhana warms up the Pandavas by sending over an odious gambler Uluka as a messenger to goad t...

Episode 54 - The March on Kurukshetra

26 Apr 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 54 - Krishna returns from his mission to Hastinpur with war on his mind.  Yuddistira, having spent the last 12-14 years undergoing ...

Episode 53 - The Temptation of Karna

19 Apr 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 53 - This episode is devoted to the classic scene of the Mahabharata in which Krishna reveals to Karna his true descent.  He never was t...

Episode 52 - Krishna reveals Himself

12 Apr 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 52 - The peace talks break down completely.  It starts well, when no one can come up with a rebuttal to Krishna's speech.  Narada a...

Episode 51 - Krishna comes to Town

04 Apr 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 51 - Sanjay's mission clearly did not accomplish much, so this time Krishna offers to go to Hastinapur as the Pandavas' chief negotiator. &nb...

Episode 50 - The Kauravas React

28 Mar 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 50 - Sanjay returns to Hastinapur with messages and intelligence from the Pandava camp.  The king's charioteer delivers this information...

News Update: I've found a solution to my Book 6 translation problem!

23 Mar 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Good news:  There will not be an interruption in the publications due to the end of the Van Buitenen translation. I've mentioned before that the...

Episode 49 - Peace talks begin

21 Mar 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 49 - Now that both sides are armed to the teeth and infested with vast armies, they are ready to talk peace terms.  The Pandavas st...

Episode 48 - War by other means

14 Mar 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 48 - The Pandavas have come out of hiding and are demanding their lands back from the Kauravas.  Duryodhana has already indicated that h...

Episode 47 - The Wedding

07 Mar 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 47 - The brothers formally come out of hiding, and thick-headed Virata finally realizes he has been sheltering the famous Pandavas.  To ...

Episode 46 - The Cattle Raid

28 Feb 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 46 - News of Kicaka's death reaches the neighboring kingdoms, and precipitates an attack from the Trigartas and the Kauravas.  Virata se...

Episode 45 - The Book of Virata

21 Feb 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 45 - The Pandavas send away their hangers-on, and enter hiding at the kingdom of the Matsyas, in the service of King Virata.  Thing...

Episode 44 - Karna cuts a deal

14 Feb 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 44 - We finish off the Book of the Forest with a couple of the more famous vignettes from the epic.  The first is the classic tale in wh...

Episode 43 - Savitri and Rama

07 Feb 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 43 - Despite the offensive raid on their camp by Jayadratha, old Markandeya is still hanging out with the Pandavas.  Yuddistira, feeling...

Episode 42 - Kidnapped!

31 Jan 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 42 - Vyasa stops by the Pandava camp and tells the story of Mudgala, who turns down the opportunity to go bodily to heaven because it wa...

Episode 41 - The Golden Plough

24 Jan 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 41 - This one covers Duryodhana reaction to the humiliation of being captured by the Gandharvas and then released by the valor of his ha...

Episode 40 - The Cattle Expedition

17 Jan 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 40 - This one starts with some girl talk.  Draupadi and Satyabhama get bored of Markandeya's endless mythologies, and sneak off for a mo...

Episode 39 - The Markandeya Sessions Pt. 3

10 Jan 2011

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 39 - Two more stories from the Sage Markandeya.  The first is a rousing fight story, where the king of Ayodhya gets super powers from th...

Episode 38 - The Markandeya Sessions Pt. 2

27 Dec 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 38 - The Sage Markandeya continues with his storytelling.  He begins with his own version of the Four Ages or Yugas.  One interesti...

Episode 37 - The Markandeya Sessions Pt. 1

20 Dec 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 37 - While Krishna is still hanging out at the camp, the sages Narada and Markandeya show up.  After some prodding, Markandeya finally o...

Episode 36 - Bhima and the Snake

13 Dec 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 36 - The Pandavas journey south, out of the Himalayas and back to the plains.  Along the way, Bhima goes hunting and finds himself ...

Episode 35 - Welcome back, Arjun

06 Dec 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 35 - It's deja-vu all over again, as the Pandavas move from the hermitage of Nar-Narayan to another one on the slopes of Mt Kailash, named fo...

Episode 34 - Monkey's Uncle

29 Nov 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 34 - The Pandavas resume center stage as the main characters of this episode.  They continue their trek through the mountains until the ...

Episode 33 - The Hawk and the Dove

22 Nov 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 33 These are the last three stories of the long series of tales in the Book of the Forest.  The Pandavas are finishing up their pilgrim...

Episode 32 - Sukanya and Cyavana

15 Nov 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 32 - Two more stories from the Book of the Forest.  The first involves another Bhrgu Brahmin with a Kshatriya wife.  The secon...

Episode 31 - Rshyashrnga

08 Nov 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 31 - The Pandavas continue their pilgrimage to all the holy sites of India.  With Lomasha as their guide & storyteller, they he...

Episode 30 - Agastya

01 Nov 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 30 - The four Pandavas who were left in the forest set off on a tour of the sacred sites of Ancient India, with the Sage Lomasha as...

Episode 29 - Damayanti & Nala, part 2

25 Oct 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 29 - We finish the story of Nala.  Brhadashva suggested that this story would cheer up the Pandavas, since there was indeed a king ...

Episode 28 - Damayanti & Nala, part 1

17 Oct 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 28 - While Arjun remains in heaven, relaxing with his father Indra, news reaches the Kaurava court of Arjun's exploits.  Dhrtarastr...

Episode 27 - Arjun goes to Heaven

10 Oct 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 27 - We follow Arjun's journey into the Himalayas and beyond.  This episode includes Arjun's famous battle with the Mountain Man. &...

Episode 26 - Debating Dharma

04 Oct 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 26 - We begin this episode with the tale of Krishna's adventures when he might otherwise have helped his friends in their distress.&nbsp...

Episode 25 - Draupadi's Lament; Krishna's Excuses

26 Sep 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 25 - The continuing adventures of the Pandavas in the forest.  The story picks up with Maitreya's curse and angry departure from th...

Episode 24 - Into the Forest, part 2

18 Sep 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 24 - The Pandavas are now settled into their forest encampment and receive a surprise visitor.  The Kauravas plot to kill the Pandavas w...

Episode 23 - Into the Forest, part 1

12 Sep 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 23 -This episode covers the Pandava's departure for the forest and the initial fears of theKauravas as they considered what they had don...

Episode 22 - The Second Dice Game

04 Aug 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 22 - At the end of the First Dice Game, it really seemed like King Dhritarastra had put everything back the way it was.  He restored the...

Episode 21 - The First Dice Game

20 Jun 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 21 - This is a big one; this episode covers the tangled details of the incident that sets off the rest of the story.  At the heart ...

Episode 20 - King of the World

02 Jun 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 20 - The Pandavas range the Four Directions and conquer the world, bringing home mountains of treasure.  Soon after, the Rajasuya S...

Episode 19 - Killing Jarasandh

25 May 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 19 - This episode, Yuddistira gets it into his head that he should be King of the World! As he has been inclined to do since becomi...

Episode 18 - Arjun Slept Here

02 May 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 18 - This is a longer, pithy episode, covering the way the brothers decided to prevent future conflicts over their shared wife, and Arju...

Episode 17 - Cut the Baby in Half

24 Apr 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 17 - With this episode, we finally get back to the main characters and the main storyline.  The news of the Pandava's emergence fro...

Episode 16 - Don't Mess with Balaram

11 Apr 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 16 - This is the final installment of the "Krishna Episodes", where I've covered Krishna's back story up to and beyond the point when th...

Episode 15 - Kamsa Goes Down

28 Mar 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 15 - This episode is about Krishna's spectacular entry into international politics.  Having established his manhood by cuckolding t...

Episode 14 - Krishna and the Gopis

19 Mar 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 14 - Things get hot and heavy this episode, when Krishna plays a tune on his magic flute and all the girls come running.  The ...

Episode 13 - Top God

16 Mar 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 13 - The further adventures of young Krishna.  This time we cover his youth and teenage years.  He kills a bunch of demons, im...

Episode 12 - Krishna at Play

09 Mar 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 12 - We finally get started with Krishna.  His mother and father were both of the house of Yadu in Mathura-- Krishna's mother Devaki was...

Episode 11 - The Loves of King Yayati

05 Mar 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 11 - This episode is the first in  a series that will break away from the Mahabharata and use the Bhagavata Purana as the primary s...

Episode 10 - Five Men and One Woman

24 Feb 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 10 - This is a long one - over 30 minutes, but I'm pretty happy with how it came out.  You might have noticed that I'm still experi...

Episode 9 - Burning down the House

20 Feb 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 9 - This episode begins with Drona's revenge against King Drupada for reneging on a promise to share his wealth with his former sch...

Episode 8 - Princes in Training

18 Feb 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 8 - This is the last episode that covers Book 7 of the Mahabharata, called "The Origins".  Almost all of the story I have covered s...

Episode 7 - The Heroes and the Villains are born

16 Feb 2010

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 7 - This episode covers the marriage of the three princes Dhritarastra, Pandu and Vidura.  Here's the map I promised of India durin...