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They prepare both for battle with the Kurus and for peace talks, both of which come to naught. The Pandava princes seek to regain power, but want to do it peacefully. At court, the Pandava princes are exiled during a game of dice. The series progresses gradually, explaining how the character Maya Danava built the palace of Indraprastha. History and background of the Kuru princes is given. Mahabharat opens with a retelling of how it came to be recited by Sauti. Additional text in the form of a summary or moral lesson occurs at the end of each episode, as well as more sacred text which echoes the episode's plot. This technique is employed to bring any viewers up to speed and prepare them for the still unfolding drama. Each episode opens with a song whose lyrics are excerpted from sacred Hindi texts, as well as a recounting of previous events in the series. The full cast of characters includes gods, goddesses, and heroic men and women, and spans some one thousand years. It loosely follows the tale as spun by the author of the Mahabharat, another character named Maharishi Veda Vyasa. Chopra, the 94 episode format is narrated by the character of Time. With direction by Ravi Chopra and production by his father, B. Mahabharat is a Hindi series about the Kurukshetra War, an ancient struggle for the throne of Hastinapura between related branches of a powerful Indian-Aryan royal family, the Pandavas, and the more senior branch of the family, the Kauravas.
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