Mahabharat is an Indian Hindi-language epic television series based on the ancient Sanskrit epic Mahabharata. The original airing consisted of a total of 94 episodes and were broadcast from 2 October 1988 to 24 June 1990 on Doordarshan. It was produced by B. R. Chopra and directed by his son, Ravi Chopra. The music was composed by Raj Kamal. The script was written by Pandit Narendra Sharma, based on the epic composed by Maharishi Veda Vyasa. The dialogues were penned by Rahi Masoom Raza. Costumes for the series were provided by Maganlal Dresswala. The serial claims to have used the Critical Edition of Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute as its basic source with Vishnu Sitaram Sukthankar and Shripad Krishna Belwalkar as its primary editor.
Each episode is 40–46 minutes long and begins with a title song that consisted of lyrical content and two verses from the Bhagavad Gita. The title song was sung and the verses rendered by singer Mahendra Kapoor. The title song is followed by a narration by Indian voice-artist Harish Bhimani as a personification of Time, detailing the current circumstances and highlighting the spiritual significance of the content of the episodes.
Mahabharat Katha, another part of the serial was aired on 1997 which covers all the untold stories about Karna's marriage with Padmavati, Arjuna's marriage with Chitrāngadā and Ulupi, and stories about Ghatotkacha, Barbarika, Vrishaketu, Babruvahana, conspiracies of Viprachitti, Ashwamedha Yajna, Dushala's story and aftermath of the Kurukshetra War, which are not covered in the original series.
Premise
The series covers the story of epic Mahabharata with Krishna, Pandavas, Kauravas being the main focus of the epic.
The show begins with Emperor Bharata giving more importance to 'Capacity' than to 'Birth'. It shows the birth of Bhishma and his oath, birth of Pandu, Dhritarashtra and Vidura and birth of Pandavas and Kauravas. The story then focuses on the childhood of Lord Krishna.
Elsewhere, Dronacharya teaches Pandavas and Kauravas warfare, and after completion asks them to defeat his enemy king Drupada as payment for services or Guru Dakshina. Pandavas do so and give half of Drupad's kingdom(Panchala) to Drona. Dhritarashtra makes Yudhishthira (the eldest son of Pandu) the crown prince of Hastinapur. Shakuni (the maternal uncle of the Kauravas) and Duryodhana the eldest of the Kauravas hatch a plan to burn Pandavas and Kunti alive, but they survive and go into hiding, letting the rumour spread that they died in the fire. Duryodhana is made crown prince of Hastinapur.
Meanwhile in Panchal, king Drupad performs a yajna from the sacred fire of which, his children Dhrishtadyumna and Draupadi are born. Arjuna the best fighter among the Pandavas wins the hand of Draupadi in her swayamvara. Later, Yudhishthira is made the king of Indraprastha and Pandavas conduct Rajsuya Yagna where Draupadi insults Duryodhana. Later Duryodhana has his revenge by first defeating Yudhisthira in a rigged game of dice, in which Yudhisthira stakes his kingdom, his brothers and Draupadi and loses all, Duryodhana tries to disrobe Draupadi in front of the whole court, but she is saved by lord Krishna, then the Pandavas along with Draupadi are sent to an exile of 12 years and 1 year of living in anonymity. After the period of exile is over Duryodhana argues that the Pandavas violated the condition of anonymity in their last year of exile, therefore they must spend another 12 years in exile followed by another year of exile in anonymity. This conflict begins to sow the seed for the Mahabharata War.
Arjuna and Subhadra's son Abhimanyu marries Uttara. Krishna tries to make peace between both parties. Indra in the disguise of a Brahmin took Karna's armor and earrings. Kunti's sorrow on the corpse of Karna reveals Karna's true identity of being the eldest Pandava.
Before Mahabharata War, Shri Krishna enlightens Arjuna about the "Bhagavad Gita" and shows his Virata Swaroopa to Arjuna. The latter shows the deaths of Bhishma, Drona, Karna, Abhimanyu, Shalya, Shakuni, Jayadrata, Ghatotkacha, 100 Kauravas, 5 sons of Draupadi and many other warriors in the war leading to the victory of Pandavas over Kauravas. Only 5 Pandavas, Satyaki, Yuyutsu, Krishna, Ashwatthama, Kritavarma and Kripacharya survive. Gandhari holds Krishna responsible for her sons' death and curses that his family will also get destroyed. The show ends with Yudhishthir's Rajyabhishek and Bhishma's death.
Cast Main
Nitish Bharadwaj as Krishna, eighth avatar of Vishnu, Devaki-Vasudev's eighth son, foster son of Nand and Yashoda, Balrama and Subhadra's brother, Pandavas' and Karna's cousin. Kewal Shah as adolescent Krishna Pankaj Dheer as Karna, son of Kunti and Surya Dev, Adhiratha-Radha's foster son, King of Anga, Pandavas' Eldest Brother. Harendra Paintal as young Karna Mukesh Khanna as Bhishma, Shantanu-Ganga's eighth son, eighth Vasu, Satyavati's step-son, elder half-brother of Chitrangada and Vichitravirya, paternal uncle of Dhritrashtra, Pandu, and Vidur, paternal granduncle of the Kauravas and the Pandavas Krish Malik as adolescent Bhishma Gajendra Chauhan as Yudhishthira, first Pandava, son of Kunti and Yama, second eldest son of Kuru Clan, King of Indraprastha and later Hastinapura, husband of Draupadi, father of Prativindhya, Kauravas' Elder Cousin Sonu as young Yudhishthira Praveen Kumar as Bhima, second Pandava, son of Kunti and Vayu, Yuvraj (crown prince) of Indraprastha and later Hastinapura, husband of Draupadi and Hidimbi, father of Ghatotkacha, Sutasoma, Duryodhana's Younger Cousin Mallik as young Bhima Firoz Khan as Arjuna, third Pandava, son of Kunti and Indra, husband of Draupadi, Ulupi, Chitrāngadā and Subhadra, brother-in-law of Balaram and Krishna, father of Abhimanyu, Babruvahana, Iravan and Shrutakarma, Duryodhan's Younger cousin Ankur Javeri as young Arjuna Roopa Ganguly as Draupadi, wife of the Pandavas, also called Panchali and Yagyaseni, younger daughter of Drupada, Princess of Panchala, sister of Dhrishtadhyumna and Shikhandi, mother of Upapandavas Puneet Issar as Duryodhana, eldest son of Gandhari and Dhritarashtra, elder brother of 99 Kauravas, husband of Bhanumati, Yudhishthira's younger cousin, Elder Cousin of other 4 Pandavas, Lakshmanaa's Father, Crown prince of Hastinapura, Karna's best friend Amit Shukla as young Duryodhana Sameer Chitre as Nakula, fourth Pandava, son of Madri and Ashwini Kumara, husband of Draupadi, father of Shatanika Sanjeev Chitre as Sahadeva, fifth Pandav, son of Madri and Ashwini Kumara, husband of Draupadi and father of Shrutasena Vinod Kapoor as Dushasana, second son of Gandhari and Dhritarashtra, Duryodhan's younger brother Kaushal Shah as young Dushasana Gufi Paintal as Shakuni, Gandhari's brother, later King of Gandhara, maternal uncle of Duryodhana and his 99 brothers Girija Shankar as Dhritrashtra, Vichitravirya's son from Ambika (eldest), later king of Hastinapura, father of Kauravas Renuka Israni as Gandhari, wife of Dhritrashtra, Queen of Hastinapura, mother of Kauravas, princess of Gandhara, sister of Shakuni Nazneen as Kunti, Pandu's first wife, mother of Karna, Yudhisthira, Bhim and Arjuna, daughter of Shurasena, Vasudeva's sister, Yadava princess, foster daughter of Kunti-Bhoja Virendra Razdan as Vidura, the prime minister of Hastinapur, son of Ambika's head maid Parishrami, fathered by Vyasa, half-brother to the kings Dhritarashtra and Pandu of Hastinapura, uncle of Pandavas and Kauravas Surendra Pal as Drona, Kauravas and Pandavas' guru, Ashwatthama's father Dharmesh Tiwari as Kripa, family teacher, brother of Kripi, Ashwatthama's maternal uncle Pradeep Rawat as Ashwatthama, son of Dronacharya Ayush Shah as young Ashwatthama
Recurring Harish Bhimani as Time (Samaya), Narrator Sagar Salunke as Balarama, Krishna's elder brother Chetan Hansraj as adolescent Balarama Aloka Mukherjee as Subhadra, Arjuna's fourth wife, Abhimanyu's mother, Vasudev's and Rohini's daughter, Krishna-Balaram's younger sister, Yadava princess Raj Babbar as Bharata, paternal ancestor of the Kauravas and Pandavas, son of King Dushyanta and Shakuntala Rishabh Shukla as Shantanu, descendant of King Bharata, husband of Ganga and Satyavati, father of Bhishma, Chitrangada and Vichitravirya, paternal grandfather of Dhritarashtra and Pandu, paternal great-grandfather of the Kauravas and the Pandavas Kiran Juneja as Ganga, Shantanu's first wife, Bhishma's mother, the holy river of Hindus Debashree Roy as Satyavati, King Shantanu's second wife; Vyasa, Chitrangada, and Vichitravirya's mother, Bhishma's step-mother, paternal grandmother of Dhritarashtra, Pandu, and Vidur, paternal great-grandmother of the Kauravas and the Pandavas Rajesh Vivek as Vyasa, son of Parashara and Satyavati, father of Dhritarashtra, Pandu and Vidura, partial incarnation of Vishnu, author of Mahabharata Sudesh Berry as Vichitravirya, Shantanu-Satyavati's second son after Chitrangada, Bhisma's step brother, husband of Ambika and Ambalika, father of Dhritarashtra and Pandu, paternal grandfather of the Kauravas and the Pandavas Jahnavi as Amba (Shikhandini), the first princess of Kashi, Shikhandi (reincarnated by Yaksha) Meena Chakrabarty as Ambika, second princess of Kashi, Vichitravirya's first queen, mother of Dhritarashtra, paternal grandmother of the Kauravas Menaka Babbar as Ambalika, third princess of Kashi, Vichitravirya's second queen, mother of Pandu, paternal grandmother of the Pandavas Paintal as Sudama / Shikhandi Tarakesh Chauhan as Pandu, Vichitravirya's son from Ambalika (the youngest wife), King of Hastinapur, husband of Kunti and Madri, father of Pandavas Roma Manek as Madri, Pandu's second wife, Madra princess, mother of Nakula and Sahadeva Asha Singh as Kripi, sister of Kripacharya, wife of Dronacharya and mother of Ashwathama Kamlesh Maan as Devi Sulabha, Vidura's wife Lalit Mohan Tiwari as Sanjaya, Dhritarashtra's advisor and also his charioteer Kapil Kumar as Shalya, Madri's elder brother, King of Madra Shahla Khan as Hidimbi, Hidimb's sister, Bheem's wife, Kunti's daughter-in-law and Ghatotkacha's mother Razak Khan as Ghatotkacha, son of Bhima and Hidimbi Mayur Verma (Master Mayur) as Abhimanyu, son of Arjun and Subhadra, husband of Uttara, father of Parikshit Varsha Usgaonkar as Uttara, Abhimanyu's wife, Matsya princess, mother of Parikshit Dinesh Anand as Vikarna, son of Gandhari and Dhritarashtra, Duyodhan's younger brother Paramjeet Chima as Dashraj, Satyavati's father Om Katare as Adhiratha, charioteer, Karna's foster father Saroj Sharma as Radha, Adhiratha's wife, Karna's foster mother Ramlal Gupta as Ugrasena, King of Mathura, Surasena, father of Kansa and Devaki Goga Kapoor as Kansa, son of Ugrasena, elder brother of Devaki, maternal uncle of Krishna and Balarama Vishnu Sharma as Vasudev, son of Shurasena, brother of Kunti, prince of Vrishni tribe, father of Balarama, Krishna, and Subhadra, maternal uncle of the Pandavas Kshama Raj as Rohini, Vasudeva's elder wife, mother of Balarama Sheela Sharma as Devaki, Vasudeva's younger wife, younger sister of Kansa, daughter of Ugrasena, mother of Krishna and Subhadra Rasik Dave as Nanda, chief of Gokul, foster father of Krishna Manju Vyas as Yashoda, Nand's wife, foster mother of Krishna Channa Ruparel as Rukmini, Krishna's chief wife Parijat as Maharani Radha, Krishna's consort Sumeet Raghavan as adolescent Sudama Ajay Sinha as Akroor, Chief of the Vrishni Bashir Khan as Satyaki Ashok Banthia as Kritavarma Pradeep Sharma as Panchalaraj Drupada, Draupadi's father, King of Panchala and Rishi Durvasa Arun Bakshi as Dhrishtadyumna, Draupadi's elder brother, Prince of Panchala Kanwarjit Paintal as Shikhandi, Drupad's elder son and also as adult Sudama Ashok Sharma as Virata, King of Matsya Chandni Sharma as Sudeshna, Queen of Matsya Sameer Rajda as Uttar, crown prince of Matsya