What are some lesser known/interesting stories in Mahabharata?

 Kauravas were not 100 they were actually 101.

100 brothers and 1sister

The story goes like this:-

Queen Gandhari : once, sage vyasa came to visit gandhari in hastinapur. Indeed, gandhari took great care of the comforts of the saint and tried to ensure that he had pleasent stay in hastinapur. The saint pleased with gandhari, granted her a boon.

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Gandhari expressed her wish for a 100 sons who could as powerful as her husband. Vyasa, in turn granted her the boon and in due course of time, gandhari was pregnent. However,even though two years had passed, still the baby remained unborn.

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Then, one day, gandhari gave birth to a hard piece of lifeless flesh that was not a baby at all. Gandhari was devastated as she had expected a hundred sons according to the blessing of rishi vyas.

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.Gandhari was about to throw away the piece of flesh. Ved vyas appeared and told her that his blessings could not have been in vain. He asked gandhari to arrange for 100 jars to be filled with ghee.

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Before the process could start gandhari pressed her desire for having a daughter. Ved vyas agreed and then chopped the piece of flesh into 101 pieces and placed them in the jars, promising them that they would develop into the 100 sons and 1 daughter she desired.

What are some lesser known/interesting stories in Mahabharata?

 1.Identity of Vidur as we all know

• As we all know that Vidur was the prime minister of Hastinapur as well as the major advisor to the king Dhritarashtra.
• He was often called as the embodiment of Dharma and the Pandavas had been rescued by Vidur from the cunning plans of Duryodhan and Shakuni in many instances.

But who is Vidur???

• Many years ago a bunch of thieves took something valuable from their king’s palace while he was sleeping and kept them in Rishi Mandavya’s hermitage while he was in meditation.
• After a search operation all the stolen things were collected from Mandavya’s place and the king gave him the insane punishment of impalement.

[Yamamaraja and the sage Mandavya]

• After death he asked Yamaraj about the injustice done to him.
• Yamaraj replied that some insects were impaled by you during your childhood and so that was the cause behind your mode of death.
• Then Mandavya told Yama that his extent of punishment far exceeded his childish sin as an ignorant child.
• Then he cursed Yamaraj to burn in the mortal world in the personification of Dharma as a sudra and to be helpless during the war between Dharma & Adharma in front of you.
• And may be that was the reason why he was born to the maid of Ambalika by sage Vyasa and was appointed as a prime advisor to the king of Hastinapur.
• Eventually when the war was on the verge of commencement,he was helpless for being unable to stop the war because he had not the authority to take any decision regarding the war. At last he resigned from the position.

So we can see that life is all about cause and effects. “When there is a cause,you can’t avoid its effect and if there is an effect,there must be a cause behind it.”

2. When Yudhisthir entered heaven he found all the Kauravas there

Yes you have listened right. It sounds shocking ,right? Well,there is a story behind it. Let’s jump to that story without wasting any more time.

What is the story?

• When the Pandavas along with Draupadi started their journey to heaven one by one died on the way because of their sins except Dharmaraj Yudhisthir accompanied by a dog in the personification of Dharmaraj.
• When Yudhisthir entered heaven,he was shocked to find all the Kauravas there welcoming him. He even shocked more to get to know that his brothers along with Draupadi were in hell suffering their punishment for their respective sins in the mortal world.

Story behind it….

• Actually some generations ago ,king Kuru choose this land(kurukhetra: Land of Kuru) to settle there.
• He performed many yangyas and rituals there for embedding spirituality with the 8 virtues.
• By impressing with this Lord Vishnu gave him a boon that “ Any person dying here doing his/her duty will go to heaven irrespective of other factors”
• As Kshatriya the Kauravas died on that land doing their duty of fighting as warrior. So eventually all of them found themselves in the heaven after their death.

Well,this is the real story.

3.Bheesma: The one and only legitimate heir to the Hastinapur throne

• Well,we all know the story of Mahabharat and its result. In the entire story, all of we are revolved around the Hastinapur throne.
• Sometimes it was Duryodhan and sometimes Yudhisthir. Moreover we fight against ourselves to give resaons for whosoever was eligible for the throne or not.
• I was also shocked and amazed when I got to know about the true fact.
• The fact is that Ganga putra Bheesma was the one and only legitimate heir for the throne of Hastinapur. Let’s rewind from the beginning.
• Bheesma was the 8th son of Hastinapur king Shantanu and Ganga. Then after sometime Shantanu was attracted by the charm and beauty of Satyavati and wanted to marry her.
• So here Bheesma’s vow came into picture to remain celibate for the entire life as Satyavati’s father put a condition before marriage that Satyavati and Shantanu’s son will be the prince of Hastinapur.
• But 2 of their sons Vichitravirya and Chitrangada died early in their life leaving Hastinapur throne empty.
• Here Sage Vyasa came into picture. Vyasa was begeted to Satyavati by Rishi Parasara before marrying to Shantanu.
• So Satyavati requested his son Vyasa to beget his daughter-in-laws.Then Dhritarashtra,Pandu and Vidur were begeted to Ambika,Ambalika and a maid respectively.[NOTE-This was a practice of that time called NIYOGA. Whenever there was a situation of no heir to the throne, because of death of the King, a very pious and pure tapasvi (sage / rishi), who doesn't hold or have even an iota of lust, used to make the queen conceive with one union.]
• Then their lineage continued from Dhritarashtra and Pandu in the form of Kauravas and Pandavas and they continued to fight among themselves for the throne.
• Also another fact is that Even Shantanu was not a Kuru. Bharata lineage was stopped when Bhoomanyu was adopted and made the king of Hastinapur. That was many generations before Shantanu. But considering the time of Mahabharat war,Bheesma was the only legal heir to the Hastinapur theone.

But the fact remains the same that none of them were legally eligible for the throne.

NOTE: All types of comments,suggestions or compliments to improve and modify the answer are welcome.

I will be adding more interesting stories of Mahabharat to my above answer,whenever I find something interesting as well as lesser known.

Thank you for reading.

Special thanks to Thyagarajan KR , Sandesh Balan , Pallavi Alai for their valuable comments for improvement of the answer.

SOURCE:Wikipedia and other internet sites.

What are some of the least read stories in the Mahabharata?

 Wonder how Gandhari gave birth to 100 children ?

Image source: Cover page of Devdutt Pattanaik’s Jaya.

Let’s delve into awesome journey of Indian mythology and intelligence of Indians.

So let's start …

Birth of Gandhari’s children

Gandhari was angry on learning that Kunti had become a mother before her. She had conceived much earlier but mysteriously her pregnancy continued for two years. She could wait no more and so she took a terrible decision: to force the child out of her womb.

Gandhari ordered her maids to get an iron bar. ‘Now strike me on my belly with it,’ she ordered.

The maids hesitated.

‘Do it,’ shouted Gandhari.

With great reluctance, the maids did as they were told, and struck the queen on her belly. ‘Again. Strike me again. Again and again,’ said Gandhari.

The maids kept striking her until Gandhari’s womb quivered and pushed out a ball of flesh, cold as iron.

‘Does it cry? Is it a boy or girl?’ asked Gandhari. When told what she had delivered, Gandhari wailed. Fate was indeed cruel.

She sent for the sage Vyasa.

‘You told me that I would be the mother of a hundred sons. Where are they?’ she asked.

Feeling sorry for Gandhari, Vyasa instructed Gandhari’s maid to break the ball of flesh into a hundred pieces and put them in jars full of ghee.

They would incubate over a year and transform into sons, he told Gandhari.

‘Can I have a daughter too?’ asked Gandhari, softly.

Vyasa smiled and told the maids to divide the ball of flesh into a hundred and one pieces.

Thus were born the hundred sons and the one daughter of Gandhari and Dhritarashtra. Collectively, the sons were called the Kauravas.

The first among them was Duryodhana.

When his pot was broken, on the day when Kunti gave birth to Bhima, the palace dogs wailed. ‘He will bring misfortune,’ advised Vidura to Dhritarashtra, ‘Let us get rid of him, brother.’

‘I don’t care,’ said Gandhari clinging firmly to the newborn. ‘No one will harm this son of mine. He is my firstborn, my favourite.’

Her second son was named Dusshasana.

The daughter was named Dusshala. She was married to Jayadhrata, king of Sindhu.

During his wife’s long pregnancy, Dhritarashtra had taken for his pleasure a maid. She bore him a son called Yuyutsu. Like Vidura, he was an extremely capable man, but was not qualified for sitting on the throne.

What are some unknown and interesting stories from Mahabharat?

 When Pandavas were spending their time in the forest, Ashwathama visited Dwaraka and stayed there for a while. One day, he visited Krishna when the latter was alone by the seashore. He urged Krishna to offer his Sudharshana Chakra in exchange for the Brahmashira weapon which he obtained from his father.

O foremost one of Yadu's race, in exchange for that celestial weapon, give me thy discus which is capable of slaying all foes in battle

[1]

Krishna said gods, danavas, gandharvas, birds and men assembled together, are not equal to even a hundredth part of his energy. Krishna said to Ashwathama that he can take any weapons from him without giving any other weapon in exchange.

Gods, danavas, gandharvas, men, birds and snakes, assembled together, are not equal to even a hundredth part of my energy. I have this bow, this dart, this discus, and this mace. I will give thee whichever amongst these thou desirest to have from me.

[2]

Ashwathama said he wants the disc and Krishna told him to take it. Ashwatthama suddenly rose and tried to seize the discus with his left hand. He failed to even move the weapon. He then attempted to seize it with his right hand. He made every kind of effort and tried every means to grasp it. But though he used all his strength, he was incapable of raising it or moving it. Exhausted he withdrew from it.

Thus addressed, he rose suddenly and seized the discus with his left hand. He failed, however, to even move the weapon from the spot on which it lay. He then made preparations for seizing it with his right hand. Having seized it then very firmly and having put forth all his strength, he still failed to either wield or move it. At this, Drona's son became filled with sorrow.

[3]

Krishna told Ashwatthama than even his best friend Arjuna never spoke these words to him. Krishna said that he performed rigorous penance on Himalayas with Rukmimi to obtain a son named Pradyumna, who is as energetic as Sanatkumara. Even he never asked him his divine discus. His elder brother Balarama or his son Samba also never said such words. So Krishna asked Ashwathama for the purpose of obtaining the Sudharshana Chakra.

Rama of great might never said such words to me! Neither Gada nor Samba has ever asked that of me which thou hast asked! No one among the other great car-warriors of the Vrishni and the Andhaka race residing in Dvaraka has ever asked this of me which thou hast asked! Thou art the son of the preceptor of the Bharatas, thou art held in high respect by all the Yadavas. Let me ask thee, O foremost of car-warriors, with whom wouldst thou fight using this weapon?

[4]

Ashwatthama replied that he wants his discus to fight with Krishna himself and become invincible after obtaining it. Having failed, he realized that only Krishna is capable of wielding the Sudharshana Chakra. Ashwatthama then took many horses, wealth and diverse kinds of gems and left Dwaraka.

Thus addressed by me, Drona's son replied, saying, "After offering worship to thee, O Krishna, it was my intention to fight thee, O thou of unfading glory! It was for this, O Krishna that I solicited thee for thy discus which is adored by gods and danavas. If I had got it I would then become invincible in the world. Having failed, O Keshava, in obtaining my almost unattainable wish, I am about to leave thee, O Govinda! Address me in fair words now. This terrible weapon is held by thee that art the foremost of all terrible persons. Unrivalled art thou for this weapon! There is none else in this world capable of possessing it."

Having said these words unto me, the son of Drona, taking many couples of steeds and much wealth and diverse kinds of gems, left Dvaraka.

[5]

Ref: The Mahabharata Book 10: Sauptika Parva Section 12

Image courtesy: Pinterest

Footnotes

[1] 

Sauptika Parva: Section 12

[2] 

Sauptika Parva: Section 12

[3] 

Sauptika Parva: Section 12

[4] 

Sauptika Parva: Section 12

[5] 

Sauptika Parva: Section 12

What are some lesser known stories about Karna?

 on 16th day war, Karna had an edge over Arjuna, after Dushasan's killing. We know that Karna overpowered Arjuna on 17th day of Kurukshetra war. He promised Duryodhan that he will finish Arjuna. He informed his mother too that he will kill only Arjuna. Karna has multiple weapons and mighty Vijaya bow in his hand. Even he got couple of chances to kill Arjuna. But Karna didn't do so. What prevented him?

There is a story that happened during 16th day post the war. Karna had a dream in which he envisioned his guru and asked him to take back the curse he had placed years back. However, Guru rejected his request due to following reasons. In order to protect Arjuna and Dharma, Krishna sought the help of his previous avatar. The avatar Parasurama explained to Karna that if he killed Arjuna, Duryodhana and chaos would ensue. Parashurama asked Karna to accept death and asked him to die at the hands of Arjuna, so that the world might live in peace.

Karna protested to this idea but Parasurama asked this as his Guru Dakshina. Previously, Karna never had a chance to pay his Guru Dakshina; Parasurama never asked for it either. Severely, Parasurama reminds Karna that whatever he became or attained in his life is due to the knowledge he gained from his guru. Karna accepted his guru's words and promised he would never kill Arjuna. Pleased by this offering, the grateful Parashurama blessed Karna with immortal glory and everlasting fame after his death. Thus, Karna never took the kill shot on Arjuna, even though he often had the opportunity to do so.

When Karna's car got stuck in mud, Karna got down from his chariot to free the wheel and he asked Arjuna to wait. Because the Kshatriya dharma says so. But Krishna asks Arjuna to shoot. He reminds of Karna's sin acts when he supported Duryodhan. Arjuna became more furious to kill Karna even when he is unarmed. In this critical situation, Karna didn't give up, he took his bow and fought with arjuna from the ground. Karna defended himself and invoked Rudraastra, hitting Arjuna on his chest. Swooning, Arjuna lost his grip on his Gandiva, which fell down from his hand for the first time. In this situation Karna didn't try to kill Arjuna as per the promise he made to his Guru, but wanted to prove his skills and ability since his meeting with Arjuna from the tournament. Following the rules of engagement of war, Karna did not try to kill the unconscious Arjuna but instead tried to utilize the time in extracting the wheels of his chariot. Arjuna recovered and using the Anjalika weapon, decapitated the weaponless Karna, who was still trying to lift the sunken chariot wheel.

What are some of the least read stories in the Mahabharata?

 Sahadeva knew how to stop the war

When asked by Krishna about how they can prevent the war

Sahadeva replied by going in their weapons room and bringing Bheem’s mace ,Arjuna's gandiva ,his and Nakula's swords and other weapons and replied “ To stop the war we must do these 3 things

First we must destroy Bheems and Arjuna's mace and gandiva as the Pandava forces are depended on them for their victory

Second ,we must send the pandavas and kauravas to the dungeon and make Karna the emperor

Third ,we must send send all the elders like gandari , kunti , dridrastra , vidura , guru drona and krip , bhimsa and vidura to the jungle so that they don't intervene for the second point .

But Sahadeva s suggestions were neglected as Arjuna and Bheem had to take revenge

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Post war after Yudhistir knew the that Karna was his elder brother

Then he ruled on behalf of Karna for 36 years and daily just like Karna did he also donated 15 kilos of gold to the regular public

Karna's youngest son Vrishaketu was the last of Karnas legacy . He was also the last person on the Earth to know the secret of divine weapons . He was trained and given these celestial weapons by lord Krishna and Arjuna .But he was told by the Lord to not to tell it to anyone in the Kaliyuga .

He was later killed by Babruvana the son of Arjuna from Chitraganda during the ashvameda or horse sacrifice

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The insect which bit Karna was THE lord indra himself . He came there so that the Karna would not disturb his teachers sleep but the blood from his body would and enrage Parshuram to give karna a curse for not telling him , his original caste

image source :google

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Bhisma said that he either do one of the following things in Mahabharata

1 He would kill Arjuna

2 He would make Lord krishna Take weapons .

And he was so fierce that he would have killed Arjuna , but Lord Krishna remembered what Bhisma said and Took his Advantage , He broke his own vow and took up a broken chariot wheel to kill Bhisma , to save his helpless Devotee Arjuna .

But was stopped by Arjuna .

Image source : Google

Krshna with the chariot wheel , going towards Bhisma

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Ever wondered Why Lord Krishna , The epitome of rightousness , The reincarnation of Lord Vishnu Himself . Would do a wrong thing of killing Karna when he was Weaponless and He also prompted Arjun to kill Karna from the back .

Well the Answer to this thing goes way back

PAST : When Lord Vishnu told lord Indra that he would incarnate as Krishna and Lord Indra has to give a child to Kunti i.e. Arjuna

Then Lord Indra said that when in treta yuga when Indra had a child i.e. Vali , He was killed in the back by Lord Ram i.e. the incarnate of Lord Vishnu . And he supported Sugreev lord surya’s child . Then Indra said that , Lord vishnu as Krshna must support Arjuna and kill Sun god ‘ child that is Karna in the back .

And thats why Lord Krishna prompted Arjuna to kill Karna in the back to maintain cosmic balance and also to make Indra’s wish true.

another factor would be that Krishna and Arjuna are reincarnations of Nara and narayana, two twins who fought and defeated a demon who was the previous avatar of karna.

the demon had 100 armours that would kill the person who destroyed it. Nara and narayana could revive each other and took turns destroying the armour 99 times. After which the demon went running back to surya.

karna was born with that last armour as his kavach.

image source :google