The "Mahabharata" is the world's longest epic poem and one of Hinduism's most popular and important scriptures, along with the "Ramayan." The epic is a narrative of the Kurukshetra war but also contains much philosophical and devotional material. Contained within this massive epic are very important works, including the "Bhagavad Gita," the story of Damayanti, and a shortened version of the "Ramayana."

There are many forms of the epic and the oldest parts are thought to have been written about 400 BCE.

Here is a glossary of over 400 names from among the numerous characters found in the 100,000 verses and 18 chapters of the great epic poem as written by sage Vyasa.