The 18 Parvas of the Mahabharata: Names in Order, Chapters and Story

In short

The 18 parvas of the Mahabharata are Adi, Sabha, Vana (Aranyaka), Virata, Udyoga, Bhishma, Drona, Karna, Shalya, Sauptika, Stri, Shanti, Anushasana, Ashvamedhika, Ashramavasika, Mausala, Mahaprasthanika and Svargarohana. The Mahabharata itself gives this list in the second chapter of the Adi Parva (the Parvasangraha), and calls the Harivamsha a separate ‘khila’ (appendix). The Bhagavad Gita is in the Bhishma Parva.

#	Name	Chapters (Parvasangraha)	Story
1	Adi Parva	218	How the story came to be told, the Kuru line, the birth and education of the Pandavas and Kauravas, the house of lac, the marriage with Draupadi and Indraprastha
2	Sabha Parva	72	The hall built by Maya, Yudhishthira’s rajasuya, the dice game, the humiliation of Draupadi and the terms of exile
3	Vana ParvaAranyaka Parva	269	The twelve years in the forest and tales heard from sages: Nala and Damayanti, Savitri and Satyavan, the story of Rama; the yaksha’s questions
4	Virata Parva	67	The thirteenth year in hiding at King Virata’s court, Kichaka slain, Arjuna stopping the cattle raid
5	Udyoga Parva	186	Preparing for war and trying for peace, Krishna’s mission to Hastinapura, Vidura’s counsel
6	Bhishma Parva	117	The first ten days of the war and Bhishma’s fall onto the bed of arrows; the Bhagavad Gita is in this parva
7	Drona Parva	170	The war under Drona, Abhimanyu in the circular formation, Jayadratha slain, the deaths of Ghatotkacha and Drona
8	Karna Parva	69	Karna in command, and his death in the duel with Arjuna
9	Shalya Parva	59	The last day of the war, Shalya in command, the mace duel of Bhima and Duryodhana
10	Sauptika Parva	18	Ashvatthama’s night attack on the sleeping Pandava camp
11	Stri Parva	27	The lament of the women of the fallen, Gandhari’s grief and her curse on Krishna
12	Shanti Parva	339	Yudhishthira crowned; Bhishma, from the bed of arrows, teaches the duties of kings, conduct in distress and the path to liberation; the largest parva
13	Anushasana Parva	146	Bhishma’s teaching continued: giving, dharma and conduct; Bhishma leaves his body
14	Ashvamedhika Parva	133	Yudhishthira’s ashvamedha and Arjuna’s journey following the horse; the Anugita
15	Ashramavasika Parva	42	Dhritarashtra, Gandhari and Kunti retire to the forest and die in a forest fire
16	Mausala Parva	8	The Yadavas destroy one another, Balarama and Krishna leave the world, Dvaraka is taken by the sea
17	Mahaprasthanika Parva	3	The Pandavas and Draupadi give up the kingdom and set out on their last journey towards the Himalaya
18	Svargarohana ParvaSvarga Parva	5	Yudhishthira’s last test and his entry into heaven

The Parvasangraha: the Mahabharata’s own list

The second chapter of the Adi Parva, the Parvasangraha, first lists 100 sub-parvas and then the 18 major parvas, each with its number of chapters and verses. The chapters in the table follow this count, which adds up to 1,948. By it the Shanti Parva is the largest (339 chapters, 14,525 verses) and the Mahaprasthanika the smallest (3 chapters, 120 verses). The chapters of today’s printed editions do not match this count.

Where the Bhagavad Gita is

The 18 chapters of the Bhagavad Gita are in the Bhishma Parva: chapters 23 to 40 in the Pune (Bhandarkar Institute) Critical Edition, and chapters 25 to 42 in the vulgate text.

The Harivamsha, the appendix

The Parvasangraha (1.2.69 and 1.2.233) calls the Harivamsha a ‘khila’, an appendix outside the eighteen parvas. It tells the life of Krishna and the story of the Yadava line that the eighteen parvas leave out.

Where the sources differ

The name of the third parva: Vana Parva in the vulgate, Aranyaka Parva in the Critical Edition and the Parvasangraha.
The Parvasangraha calls the last parva ‘Svarga Parva’; the common name is Svargarohana Parva.
Chapter counts change with the edition; the Parvasangraha’s figures match neither the Critical Edition nor the vulgate exactly.

Edited by the SanatanBodh editorial teamLast updated: 6 October 20263 sourcesDrafted with AI, checked against sources Report a mistake

Frequently asked questions

How many parvas does the Mahabharata have, and what are their names?

18 parvas; the Mahabharata itself counts eighteen in the Parvasangraha of the Adi Parva (1.2.233) and calls the Harivamsha a separate ‘khila’ (supplement). Names: Adi, Sabha, Vana (Aranyaka), Virata, Udyoga, Bhishma, Drona, Karna, Shalya, Sauptika, Stri, Shanti, Anushasana, Ashvamedhika, Ashramavasika, Mausala, Mahaprasthanika and Svargarohana.

Which parva of the Mahabharata holds the Bhagavad Gita?

The sixth, the Bhishma Parva: chapters 23-40 of the Critical Edition and 25-42 of the vulgate.

Which is the largest parva of the Mahabharata?

The Shanti Parva. According to the Parvasangraha it has 339 chapters and 14,525 verses.

What is the Harivamsha?

The khila (appendix) of the Mahabharata, which tells the story of Krishna and the Yadava line. The Parvasangraha counts it apart from the eighteen parvas.

How many chapters does the Mahabharata have?

Adding up the chapters the Parvasangraha gives for each parva makes 1,948. Printed editions have a different number.

Sources

Mahabharata, Adi Parva 1.2 (Parvasangraha), Bhandarkar Critical Edition (Sanskrit text, GRETIL)
Mahabharata, Bhishma Parva 6.23-40, Critical Edition (Sanskrit text, GRETIL)
Wikipedia article on the Mahabharata: table of the eighteen parvas and the Gita’s chapters in the vulgate

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