The Mahabharata

The Mahabharata, which rivals the Ramayana in popularity as a basis for folk art, is the story of a great rivalry between two related clans, the Pandavas and the Kuravas.

For many, its climax is the deadly battle on the plains of Kurukshetra, during which Lord Krishna, the charioteer of the Pandava hero, Arjuna, reveals the basis of duty (dharma) in India's best-known philosophic text, the "Bhagavad Gita".