The Kurukshetra War (Sanskrit: कुरुक्षेत्रयुद्ध), also referred to as the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. It forms the central narrative event of the epic and is set on the plain of Kurukshetra.
According to the tradition preserved in the epic, the war arose out of a dynastic struggle between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, for the throne of Hastinapura. The conflict is depicted as the culmination of long-standing disputes over succession, inheritance and kingship within the Kuru lineage.
The war also provides the setting for the Bhagavad Gita, the dialogue between the Pandava prince Arjuna and Krishna, his charioteer, delivered on the eve of the battle. The Gita is embedded within the Bhishma Parva of the Mahabharata and addresses themes of duty, righteousness and devotion as part of the broader Hindu textual tradition.
As a literary and religious episode, the Kurukshetra War occupies a significant place in Hindu epic literature and has informed later religious, philosophical and cultural reflection within the traditions associated with the Mahabharata.