Mahabharat is an Indian mythological television series that aired on Star Plus from 16 September 2013 to 16 August 2014. Produced by Swastik Productions under the banner of Siddharth Kumar Tewary, the show is a televised adaptation of the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata, attributed to the sage Vyasa. It ran for 267 episodes and emerged as one of the highest-rated mythological serials on Indian television, reviving widespread interest in the genre after the iconic 1988 B. R. Chopra adaptation on Doordarshan.
| Title | Mahabharat |
|---|---|
| Genre | Mythological, drama |
| Based on | Mahabharata by Vyasa |
| Original network | Star Plus |
| Original run | 16 September 2013 – 16 August 2014 |
| Number of episodes | 267 |
| Producer | Siddharth Kumar Tewary |
| Production company | Swastik Productions |
| Directors | Siddharth Kumar Tewary, Loknath Pandey, Kamal Monga, Mukesh Singh |
| Language | Hindi (also dubbed in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Marathi, Indonesian, Sinhala and others) |
| Original runtime | Approximately 22 minutes per episode |
The series was conceived as a contemporary, large-scale retelling of the epic, drawing from the Vyasa Mahabharata as well as regional and folk traditions. Star Plus and Swastik Productions positioned the show as a high-budget production with elaborate sets, computer-generated imagery, choreographed war sequences, and prosthetic-heavy character design. Pre-production reportedly involved consultation with scriptwriters and scholars, and the writing team included Salim Khan, Bhavani Iyer and others credited at various points during the show's run.
The narrative follows the Kuru dynasty across generations, beginning with the lineage of Shantanu, Bhishma's vow of celibacy, the births of Pandu and Dhritarashtra, and the rise of the Pandavas and Kauravas. Major arcs include the game of dice at Hastinapur, the Pandavas' thirteen-year exile and incognito period at Virata's court, Krishna's diplomatic mission, and the eighteen-day Kurukshetra War. The series concludes with the post-war establishment of Yudhishthira's reign, the Mausala Parva, and the Pandavas' final journey (Mahaprasthanika).
Filming was undertaken at Umergaon in Gujarat, where Swastik Productions has its long-standing studio facilities. The set construction included expansive recreations of Hastinapur, Indraprastha and the Kurukshetra battlefield. Costumes, jewellery and weaponry were designed in a stylised manner intended to differentiate the production from earlier televised versions. The musical score and title track were composed by Ajay–Atul, with the title song "Mahabharat" performed in a choral style; background score work was contributed by Sanchit Balhara among others.
The series premiered in the 8:30 pm prime-time slot on Star Plus and consistently figured among the top-rated Hindi general entertainment programmes during its run. It was telecast in multiple Indian languages on the Star network's regional channels, and was later distributed internationally, including airings in Indonesia on ANTV, where it became a notable success, and in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand and several other countries. Reruns have been telecast on Star Plus and Star Bharat, and the show was made available digitally on Disney+ Hotstar.
The 2013 production is widely credited with reinvigorating the mythological genre on Indian television in the 2010s, paving the way for subsequent epics on Star Plus and other networks. It launched or expanded the careers of several actors, notably Shaheer Sheikh, Saurabh Raj Jain and Pooja Sharma, who went on to lead other prominent television shows. The series received multiple Indian Telly Awards and Star Parivaar Awards in categories such as Best Actor and Best Drama Series.