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By Ankit Gupta
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Updated on 22 Aug 2025, 11:09 IST
The Mahabharata is one of the greatest epics of India and the world. It was written by the sage Ved Vyasa in Sanskrit and is considered a treasure of knowledge, history, and values. The epic is not just a story of a war between two families but also a guide to life. It talks about duty, truth, justice, friendship, and devotion. The teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, which is a part of the Mahabharata, continue to inspire people even today.
The Mahabharata tells the story of the Pandavas and Kauravas, who were cousins. The epic describes their childhood, struggles, exile, and the great Kurukshetra war. Along with this, it also gives lessons on politics, leadership, sacrifice, and dharma (righteousness). The characters like Krishna, Arjuna, Bhishma, Karna, Draupadi, and Bhima are remembered for their courage, wisdom, and choices in life. Each of them has something important to teach us.
Learning GK questions on the Mahabharata is not only useful for students but also interesting for anyone who loves Indian culture and history. These questions are often asked in school exams, competitive tests, and quizzes. They help us understand our traditions better and connect with the moral values hidden in the stories.
GK questions can be about characters, battles, places, weapons, or teachings from the epic. For example, “Who was the eldest Pandava?” or “Who gave the Bhagavad Gita’s message to Arjuna?” Such questions make us recall the events of the Mahabharata in a fun way.
Q1. Who was the teacher (guru) of both Kauravas and Pandavas?
Answer: Dronacharya
Q2. How many Kaurava brothers were there in total?
Answer: 100
Q3. Who was the mother of the Pandavas?
Answer: Kunti (and Madri for Nakula & Sahadeva)
Q4. What was the capital of the Kauravas’ kingdom?
Answer: Hastinapur
Q5. Who was the first commander-in-chief of the Kaurava army?
Answer: Bhishma
Q6. Who was the author of the Mahabharata?
Answer: Ved Vyasa
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Q7. Which sage wrote down the Mahabharata as dictated by Vyasa?
Answer: Lord Ganesha
Q8. What was the original language of the Mahabharata?
Answer: Sanskrit
Q9. Approximately how many verses (shlokas) are in the Mahabharata?
Answer: About 100,000 shlokas
Q10. Which king was listening to the Mahabharata from Vyasa’s disciple Vaishampayana?
Answer: King Janamejaya
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Q11. Who was the eldest Pandava?
Answer: Yudhishthira
Q12. Who was the foster mother of Karna?
Answer: Radha
Q13. Which wife of the Pandavas was born from fire?
Answer: Draupadi
Q14. Who performed Karna’s last rites?
Answer: Lord Krishna
Q15. Who was the son of Bhima and Hidimba?
Answer: Ghatotkacha
Q16. Who was Dronacharya’s son?
Answer: Ashwatthama
Q17. Who was Dhritarashtra’s wife?
Answer: Gandhari
Q18. Who was Shakuni in relation to the Kauravas?
Answer: Their maternal uncle
Q19. Who was the biological mother of Karna?
Answer: Kunti
Q20. Who was Shantanu’s first wife?
Answer: Ganga
Q21. Who was Bhishma’s biological mother?
Answer: Goddess Ganga
Q22. Who was Pandu’s second wife and mother of Nakula & Sahadeva?
Answer: Madri
Q23. Who was the son of Sahadeva who fought in the war?
Answer: Shrutasena
Q24. Who was the wife of Abhimanyu?
Answer: Uttara (daughter of King Virata)
Q25. Who was Krishna’s sister married to Arjuna?
Answer: Subhadra
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Q26. On which day did Bhishma fall in battle?
Answer: 10th day
Q27. Who killed Duryodhana?
Answer: Bhima
Q28. Who killed Jayadratha?
Answer: Arjuna
Q29. Who was the last commander of the Kaurava army?
Answer: Ashwatthama
Q30. Who killed Karna?
Answer: Arjuna
Q31. Who killed Bhishma, indirectly, by piercing him with arrows?
Answer: Arjuna (on Shikhandi’s insistence)
Q32. Who killed Dronacharya?
Answer: Dhrishtadyumna
Q33. Who killed Shakuni in the war?
Answer: Sahadeva
Q34. Who killed Shalya, the last commander before Ashwatthama?
Answer: Yudhishthira
Q35. Who was the only Kaurava brother to survive the war besides Duryodhana (before his death)?
Answer: Yuyutsu
Q36. Who killed Dusshasana?
Answer: Bhima
Q37. Which warrior used Narayanastra against the Pandavas?
Answer: Ashwatthama
Q38. Who killed Bhurisravas?
Answer: Satyaki
Q39. Who killed Dushkarma (another Kaurava commander)?
Answer: Abhimanyu
Q40. Which warrior pierced the Chakravyuha formation successfully?
Answer: Abhimanyu
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Q41. In which Parva is the Bhagavad Gita found?
Answer: Bhishma Parva
Q42. How many chapters are in the Bhagavad Gita?
Answer: 18 chapters
Q43. How many verses are there in the Bhagavad Gita?
Answer: 700 shlokas
Q44. What is the core message of Gita?
Answer: Perform duty without attachment (Nishkama Karma).
Q45. Who advised Yudhishthira on ethics and morality after the war?
Answer: Bhishma, lying on the bed of arrows
Q46. Who was granted immortality (Chiranjivi) after the war?
Answer: Ashwatthama
Q47. What is the lesson from Draupadi’s humiliation in the dice hall?
Answer: Evil grows when dharma is silent; courage is needed to resist injustice.
Q48. Who narrated the Mahabharata to King Janamejaya?
Answer: Sage Vaishampayana
Q49. What moral dilemma did Arjuna face before the war?
Answer: He did not want to fight against his relatives and teachers.
Q50. Which section of Mahabharata discusses Rajdharma (duties of a king)?
Answer: Shanti Parva
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Q51. What was the name of the gambling game Yudhishthira lost?
Answer: Dyutakrida (Game of Dice)
Q52. How many years of exile were Pandavas sentenced to after the dice game?
Answer: 13 years (12 + 1 incognito)
Q53. Which Pandava disguised as Brihannala?
Answer: Arjuna
Q54. Who was the king that sheltered Pandavas during incognito exile?
Answer: King Virata
Q55. Which Pandava killed Jarasandha along with Krishna and Bhima?
Answer: Bhima
Q56. Which demon did Bhima kill in the forest during exile?
Answer: Bakasura
Q57. What was the name of the conch of Arjuna?
Answer: Devadatta
Q58. What was the name of the conch of Krishna?
Answer: Panchajanya
Q59. Who cursed Krishna that his clan (Yadavas) would be destroyed?
Answer: Gandhari
Q60. Who cursed Ashwatthama to wander the earth with unhealed wounds?
Answer: Lord Krishna
Q61. Who was the king who conducted the serpent sacrifice where Mahabharata was recited?
Answer: Janamejaya
Q62. Who was Vidura in relation to Pandavas?
Answer: Their uncle and wise minister
Q63. Which river did Bhishma’s mother personify?
Answer: Ganga
Q64. Who tried to disrobe Draupadi in the Kaurava court?
Answer: Dusshasana
Q65. Who saved Draupadi from being disrobed?
Answer: Lord Krishna (by providing endless cloth)
Q66. What was Karna’s divine armor and earrings called?
Answer: Kavacha and Kundala
Q67. Who asked Karna for his armor and earrings?
Answer: Indra (disguised as a Brahmin)
Q68. Which sage cursed Karna that his chariot wheel would sink at a crucial moment?
Answer: Sage Parashurama
Q69. Who was the son of Dushala (the only Kaurava sister)?
Answer: Lakshmana
Q70. Who was the only Pandava who entered heaven with his mortal body?
Answer: Yudhishthira
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Q1. Who was the blind king of Hastinapur during the Mahabharata?
a) Pandu
b) Dhritarashtra
c) Shantanu
d) Bhishma
Answer: b) Dhritarashtra
Q2. Who was the mother of Duryodhana?
a) Kunti
b) Madri
c) Gandhari
d) Radha
Answer: c) Gandhari
Q3. Who was the grandfather of both Kauravas and Pandavas?
a) Bhishma
b) Shantanu
c) Vyasa
d) Vidura
Answer: b) Shantanu
Q4. What was the name of the son born to Draupadi and Arjuna?
a) Abhimanyu
b) Shrutakirti
c) Shrutakarma
d) Shrutashrava
Answer: c) Shrutakarma
Q5. Which sage cursed Karna that his chariot wheel would sink at a crucial moment?
a) Durvasa
b) Vyasa
c) Parashurama
d) Vishwamitra
Answer: c) Parashurama
Q6. Who was the king of Panchala and father of Draupadi?
a) Drupada
b) Virata
c) Shalya
d) Shishupala
Answer: a) Drupada
Q7. Who was the eldest son of Dhritarashtra and Gandhari?
a) Dushasana
b) Vikarna
c) Duryodhana
d) Yuyutsu
Answer: c) Duryodhana
Q8. Who killed Ghatotkacha in the Kurukshetra war?
a) Duryodhana
b) Ashwatthama
c) Karna
d) Shakuni
Answer: c) Karna
Q9. Who was the divine father of Bhima?
a) Yama
b) Vayu
c) Indra
d) Agni
Answer: b) Vayu
Q10. Who advised Duryodhana to capture Krishna when he came as a peace messenger?
a) Karna
b) Shakuni
c) Dushasana
d) Bhishma
Answer: b) Shakuni
Q11. Which Kaurava was known for being just and fair, and even criticized Duryodhana?
a) Vikarna
b) Dushasana
c) Chitrasena
d) Durmukha
Answer: a) Vikarna
Q12. What was the name of the bow of Karna?
a) Sharanga
b) Gandiva
c) Vijaya
d) Pinaka
Answer: c) Vijaya
Q13. Who killed Bhagadatta, the king of Pragjyotisha, in the war?
a) Arjuna
b) Bhima
c) Yudhishthira
d) Abhimanyu
Answer: a) Arjuna
Q14. Who was Vidura’s father?
a) Vyasa
b) Shantanu
c) Parashar
d) Vichitravirya
Answer: a) Vyasa
Q15. Who was the chief architect who built the palace of illusions (Maya Sabha) for the Pandavas?
a) Vishwakarma
b) Maya Danava
c) Shilpi
d) Tvashta
Answer: b) Maya Danava
Q16. Which Pandava was an excellent astrologer?
a) Yudhishthira
b) Arjuna
c) Nakula
d) Sahadeva
Answer: d) Sahadeva
Q17. Who killed King Virata’s commander Kichaka when he insulted Draupadi?
a) Bhima
b) Arjuna
c) Nakula
d) Sahadeva
Answer: a) Bhima
Q18. Who was the son of Dushasana who fought in the war?
a) Lakshmana Kumara
b) Vikarna
c) Chitrasena
d) Ugrasena
Answer: a) Lakshmana Kumara
Q19. Who was the chief priest of the Pandavas who conducted Yudhishthira’s Rajasuya Yagna?
a) Dhaumya
b) Kripacharya
c) Vyasa
d) Vashishtha
Answer: a) Dhaumya
Q20. Which weapon did Arjuna receive from Lord Shiva after penance?
a) Vajra
b) Brahmastra
c) Pashupatastra
d) Narayanastra
Answer: c) Pashupatastra
The Mahabharata was written by Sage Vyasa, also known as Ved Vyasa, who is credited with composing this epic that is one of the longest and most revered texts in Hindu mythology.
The central theme of the Mahabharata revolves around dharma (duty and righteousness), illustrating the importance of fulfilling one's responsibilities and moral obligations.
The main characters include the Pandavas (Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva), their wife Draupadi, the Kauravas led by Duryodhana, and significant figures like Krishna, Bhishma, and Drona.
The Mahabharata details the Kurukshetra War, a massive battle between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, which serves as the climax of the epic and explores themes of duty, righteousness, and justice.