Note (September 2026): This guide has been corrected. Earlier versions said Bhishma vowed to rule Hastinapur (he renounced the throne), placed the three princesses in the Salva kingdom (they were from Kashi) and gave the budget in unsourced dollar figures.
Mahabharat (2013) is a Hindi mythological TV series produced by Swastik Productions and created by Siddharth Kumar Tewary. It aired on StarPlus from 16 September 2013 to 16 August 2014 and ran 267 episodes in one season, with Saurabh Raj Jain as Krishna, Shaheer Sheikh as Arjuna, Pooja Sharma as Draupadi, Aham Sharma as Karna and Arpit Ranka as Duryodhana.
Key Takeaways
- Mahabharat aired on StarPlus from 16 September 2013 to 16 August 2014 and ended with 267 episodes; it was first planned for 128.
- Star spent a reported ₹5.1 billion on the project and ₹410 million on marketing, and it is described as the first Indian TV show made on a budget of more than ₹100 crore.
- The main cast includes Saurabh Raj Jain (Krishna), Shaheer Sheikh (Arjuna), Pooja Sharma (Draupadi), Aham Sharma (Karna), Arpit Ranka (Duryodhana), Arav Chowdhary (Bhishma) and Praneet Bhat (Shakuni).
- The series re-aired on StarPlus from 30 March to 25 July 2020 during India’s COVID-19 lockdown and was a hit in Indonesia on antv in 2014.
- It is a different production from B. R. Chopra’s Mahabharat (1988-1990) on Doordarshan.
Based on the Sanskrit epic named Mahabharat, there was a television series with the same name that belonged to the genre of Indian mythology. It was aired on Star Plus from 16th September 2013 to 16th August, 2014.
Swastik Productions produced this television show and it starred Saurabh Raj Jain as Shri Krishna, Pooja Sharma as Draupadi, Shaheer Sheikh as Arjun, Arav Chowdhury as Bhisma, Aham Sharma as Karna and Arpit Ranka as Duryodhan.
Mahabharat (2013 StarPlus TV Series) Cast, Real Names, Details
Plot of Mahabharat
Regardless of your age, if you’re an Indian, it is expected that you have read the epics, Ramayan and Mahabharat. Here we’re going to discuss the plot or the storyline of the latter epic.
We are taken into the world of Hastinapur, a kingdom that was ruled by the entire Kuru clan where both the Pandava and Kaurava brothers fight against each other for grabbing the throne.
The Kauravas are the sons of Dhritrashtra and the Pandavas (the 5 sons) are the sons of Pandu. The eldest Pandava brother is named Yudishtir and he is the next-in-line to succeed his father to the throne.
The story starts off with the son of Ganga and Shantanu, Devavrata who is also a disciple of Parshuram. Eventually, Devavrata gets the name Bhisma due to the pledge that he takes to embrace celibacy.
He does this to make sure that his father’s wish to marry Satyavati is fulfilled. He vows lifelong celibacy and renounces his own claim to the Hastinapur throne, because Satyavati will marry Shantanu only if her children inherit it. Moved by this sacrifice, Shantanu grants Bhishma the boon of Ichchha Mrityu, death at will: he cannot die unless he chooses to.
Bhisma sacrifices his right to the throne and lets Satyavati rule the kingdom playing the role of Rajmaata post her husband’s death. Vichitravirya, her son has grown up to be an alcoholic and he was entirely dependent on Bhisma.
Therefore, he is unable to rule a kingdom due to his vices. On Satyavati’s command, Bhishma abducts the three princesses of the Kashi kingdom, Amba, Ambika and Ambalika, and brings them to Hastinapur as brides for Vichitravirya. Vichitravirya later marries Ambika and Ambalika.
Amba, however, already loves another man, Shalva, and refuses to marry Vichitravirya. When Shalva rejects her, she has nowhere left to turn and demands justice.
However, she asks Bhisma to marry her as he won her first. But due to the fact that Bhisma had already embraced celibacy, he refuses, thereby angering Amba. Amba asks Bhishma’s guru, Parashurama, to help her; their duel is halted by Lord Shiva. Determined to cause Bhishma’s downfall, Amba immolates herself, vowing to be reborn for revenge. She is reborn as Shikhandini, the daughter of King Drupada, and plays her part in Bhishma’s fall.
For Bhisma’s blind nephew, Dhritarashtra, he asks for Gandhari’s hand and this decision infuriates her brother Shakuni. Although Dhritarashtra is the elder brother, he is denied the throne because of his blindness, and his younger brother Pandu is crowned king instead.
At this instance, Shakuni felt cheated and he pledged to destroy the Kurus. Meanwhile he adds negativity in Duryodhana against the Pandavas and this leads to the Kurukshetra War. On the battlefield of Kurukshetra, Lord Krishna imparts the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna, his Pandava cousin.
The war claims Bhishma, Drona and Karna, and Bhima kills all the Kaurava sons of Dhritarashtra and Gandhari. Later on Yudhishtir becomes the king of Hastinapur and Draupadi becomes queen.
Earlier, as a princess of the Kunti kingdom, Kunti receives a boon from the sage Durvasa that lets her invoke any god and bear his child. She calls the Sun God and gives birth to a son named Karna. Since she was unmarried while she gave birth to a son, to avoid harassment, she sets afloat Karna on the Ganges.
Karna was later on raised by Adirath, a charioteer and Radha, his wife. Because he is thought to be of low birth, Karna is denied opportunities despite becoming an exceptional archer. Duryodhana accepts him and crowns him king of Anga, and Karna stays loyal to Duryodhana and remains Arjuna’s rival even after learning that he is the Pandavas’ elder half-brother.
Arjun wins Swayamvara of Draupadi and by mistake, Kunti gives the orders of Draupadi being shared by 5 Pandavas. Later, after the game of dice, Draupadi is humiliated in the Kuru court when Dushasana tries to disrobe her, the cheer haran episode that becomes one of the causes of the war.
Development and Production of the project
Star spent a reported ₹5.1 billion on the project and another ₹410 million on marketing, making it India’s most expensive TV series at the time. The sets at Umargam in Gujarat alone cost a reported ₹100 crore, with production costs of ₹13-15 lakh per day. The producer, Siddharth Kumar Tewary said that the disrobing sequence of Draupadi took a stretch of 20 days to shoot.
Mahabharat Cast, Real Names, Characters and Crew
| Real Name | Role Name |
|---|---|
| Saurabh Raj Jain | Shri Krishna / Lord Vishnu |
| Shaheer Sheikh | Arjuna |
| Pooja Sharma | Draupadi |
| Aham Sharma | Karna |
| Aarav Chowdhary | Bhishma |
| Praneet Bhat | Shakuni |
| Arpit Ranka | Duryodhana |
| Rohit Bhardwaj | Yudhisthira |
| Saurav Gurjar | Bhima |
| Thakur Anoop Singh | Dhritarashtra |
| Riya Deepsi | Gandhari |
| Shafaq Naaz | Kunti |
| Nirbhay Wadhwa | Dushasana |
| Vin Rana | Nakula |
| Lavanya Bhardwaj | Sahadeva |
| Naveen Jinger | Vidura |
| Nissar Khan | Drona |
| Sayantani Ghosh | Satyavati |
| Paras Arora | Abhimanyu |
| Ankit Mohan | Ashwatthama |
| Vivana Singh | Ganga |
| Sudesh Berry | Drupada |
| Veebha Anand | Subhadra |
| Richa Mukherjee | Uttara |
| Sameer Dharmadhikari | Shantanu |
| Puneet Issar | Parshurama |
| Arun Singh Rana | Pandu |
| Pallavi Subhash | Rukmini |
| Vaishnavi Dhanraj | Hidimba |
| Aryamann Seth | Vichitravirya |
| Aparna Dixit | Ambika |
| Mansi Sharma | Ambalika |
| Shikha Singh | Shikhandini |
| Karan Suchak | Dhrishtadyumna |
| Ali Hassan | Takshak and Jayadratha |
| Ratan Rajput | Amba |
| Ketan Karande | Ghatotkacha |
| Tarun Khanna | Balrama |
| Nikhil Arya / Sachin Verma | Indra |
| Sandeep Rajora | Surya |
| Atul Mishra | Ved Vyas |
| Garima Jain | Dushala |
| Sandeep Arora | Vikarna |
| Kaushik Chakravorty | Shalya |
| Hemant Choudhary | Kripa |
| Ajay Mishra | Sanjaya |
| Tinu Verma | Jarasandha |
| Joy Mathur | Shishupala |
| Nazea Hasan Sayed | Vrushali |
| Raj Premi | Kalayavan |
| Rumi Khan | Kichaka |
| Akhilendra Mishra | Kansa |
| Deepak Jethi | Virata |
| Preeti Puri | Devaki |
| Vandana Singh | Yashoda |
| Kunwar Vikram Soni | Young Shri Krishna |
| Ketki Kadam | Young Radha |
| Alam Khan | Young Duryodhana |
| Vidyut Xavier | Young Karna |
| Ashnoor Kaur | Young Dushala |
| Rohit Shetty | Young Yudhishthira |
| Devesh Ahuja | Young Nakula |
| Rudraksh Jaiswal | Young Sahadeva |
| Pravisht Mishra | Uttar |
| Chandani Sharma | Kripi |
| Rio Kapadia | Subala |
| Shweta Gautam | Sudharma |
| Ananya Agarwal | Malini |
| Anju Jadhav | Sukhada |
| Jayantika Sengupta | Arshi |
| Kanishka Soni | Parashvi |
| Mohit Raina / Amit Mehra | Lord Shiva |
| Kunal Bhatia | Agni |
- Channel: StarPlus
- Genre: Historical
- Created by: Siddharth Kumar Tewary
- Based on: Mahabharat by Vyasa
- Written by: Sharmin Joseph, Radhika Anand, Anand Vardhan, Mihir Bhuta, Siddharth Kumar Tewary.
- Directed by: Siddharth Anand Kumar, Amarprith G, Mukesh Kumar Singh, Kamal Monga, Loknath Pandey.
- Creative director: Amol surve.
- Starring: Saurabh Raj Jain, Shaheer Sheikh, Pooja Sharma, Aham Sharma, Aarav Chowdhary, Arpit Ranka, Praneet Bhat.
- Narrated by: Saurabh Raj Jain
- Composers: Ajay-Atul (theme music); composers Jitesh Panchal, Lenin Nandi and Sushant Pawar; Ismail Darbar was also involved in the music.
- Country of origin: India.
- Original language: Hindi.
- No. of seasons: 1
- No. of episodes: 267
- Producers: Siddharth Kumar Tewary, Gayatri Gil Tewary, Rahul Kumar Tewary.
- Production location: Umbergaon, Gujarat.
- Editor: Paresh Shah.
- Camera setup: Multi camera
- Production company: Swastik Productions
- Distributor: Star India
- Original network: StarPlus
- Picture format: 576i, 1080i (HDTV).
- Original release: 16 September 2013 – 16 August 2014.
- Related shows: Mahabharat (1988).
Impact of this TV series and how the audience received it
Critics opinion
Nishi Tiwari, while writing for Rediff said that if the story keeps up the quality of writing and employs actors who play the characters perfectly, there can definitely be one more winning TV series among us.
DNA praised the costumes, the scenery, Krishna’s flute theme by Raj Mohan Sinha and most of the CGI special effects, but said the serial’s pace was too fast. Hindustan Times was more critical, calling the treatment exaggerated and the background music too loud.
What kind of viewership did Mahabharat receive?
Its premiere drew approximately 8.4 million impressions (8.445 TVTs) and a 4.09 TVR. The show became the highest-rated weekday epic show on Indian television in three years, and it ended 2013 as the tenth most-watched Hindi general entertainment show of the year.
On the 1st of December, 2013, the ratings of viewership reached 9801 TVTs. The game of dice leading to Draupadi’s cheer haran took Mahabharat to its peak viewership (10 TVMs) and helped StarPlus record one of its highest GTVM figures.
How did the other countries receive Mahabharat TV series?
In Indonesia, the series was dubbed and broadcast on antv under the title Mahabharata and became very popular during 2014 (the exact March 2014 start date given here earlier could not be confirmed). It was re-run on MNCTV in 2017 and on ANTV again in 2024. Not only that, but the cast and crew were also invited for a fan meeting tour at Bali and Jakarta.
The show received huge applaud in Indonesia and they were invited for several special events post the show being aired on TV.
During India’s COVID-19 lockdown, StarPlus re-aired Mahabharat from 30 March 2020 to 25 July 2020, and it again ranked among the top five Hindi entertainment shows. For viewers who want to revisit the epic today, the streaming options are covered below.
You may like.
Mahabharat (2013) Quick Facts
| Detail | Mahabharat (2013) |
|---|---|
| Channel | StarPlus |
| First episode | 16 September 2013 |
| Last episode | 16 August 2014 (a one-hour finale) |
| Episodes | 267 in one season (first planned for 128) |
| Episode length | 22 minutes; 45 minutes for the introductory episode |
| Creator | Siddharth Kumar Tewary |
| Production company | Swastik Productions |
| Chief consultant | Author Devdutt Pattanaik |
| Main set | A 10-acre set at Umargam, Valsad district, Gujarat, designed by art director Omung Kumar |
| Reported budget | ₹5.1 billion, plus ₹410 million on marketing |
| Lockdown re-run | StarPlus, 30 March to 25 July 2020 |
How Was Mahabharat (2013) Made?
Mahabharat (2013) took about four years of research and planning, according to creator Siddharth Kumar Tewary. More than 400 people worked on the production, 200 of them on graphics, and author Devdutt Pattanaik served as chief consultant. Writer Salim Khan and action director Ram Shetty were also involved.
Most of the series was shot on the Umargam set in Gujarat, with location shoots in Jaisalmer, Amber Palace in Jaipur, Kashmir, Ahmedabad, Jabalpur, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Costume designer Nidhi Yasha and consultant Bhanu Athaiya studied about 450 books on period textiles, costume and jewelry to create the look of the show.
The actors went through roughly a year of workshops and training, with actor Rajit Kapur running the acting workshops. Tewary personally directed the cheer haran sequence, which took 20 days to shoot, and the final fight between Bhima and Duryodhana took three days.
More Cast Members and Name Spellings
Several roles are missing from the cast table above. Suhani Dhanki played Madri, Pandu’s second wife and the mother of Nakula and Sahadeva. Soumya Singh played young Arjuna and Miraj Joshi played young Bhima.
Some actors now use different spellings of their names. Saurabh Raj Jain is credited today as Sourabh Raaj Jain, and Pooja Sharma as Pooja B Sharma. Wikipedia’s cast list spells the child actors Devish Ahuja (young Nakula) and Rudhraksh Jaiswal (young Sahadeva). Two credits in the table above, Rohit Shetty as young Yudhishthira and Ali Hassan as Takshak, do not appear in Wikipedia’s current cast list, so treat them as unconfirmed; that list credits Ali Hassan as Jayadratha.
Which Awards Did Mahabharat (2013) Win?
Mahabharat (2013) won Best Historical/Mythological Serial and Best Visual Effects at the Indian Television Academy Awards, and Best Mythological Series and Best Ensemble Cast at the 2014 Star Guild Awards. At the 2014 Indian Telly Awards it won the following:
| Indian Telly Award (2014) | Winner |
|---|---|
| Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Aham Sharma (Karna) |
| Best Actor in a Negative Role | Praneet Bhat (Shakuni) |
| Best Costumes for a TV Program | Bhanu Athaiya |
| Best Makeup Artist | G. A. Jamesh |
| Best Stylist | Shweta Korde |
| Best Ensemble | Siddharth Kumar Tewary |
Saurabh Raj Jain, Shaheer Sheikh, Pooja Sharma, Arav Chowdhary, Rohit Bhardwaj, Shafaq Naaz and Arpit Ranka were nominated in acting categories at the same ceremony.
Why Was Mahabharat Warned in Indonesia?
Indonesia’s broadcasting regulator, the Komisi Penyiaran Indonesia (KPI), sent antv a warning letter dated 6 November 2014 over the episode broadcast on 1 November 2014 at 20:25 WIB. The KPI said the episode breached its rules on protecting children and teenagers and on violent scenes, and asked antv to change the violent content or move the show to adult hours after 22:00.
Mahabharat 2013 vs. Mahabharat 1988
The StarPlus series is often confused with the earlier Doordarshan classic. See our full guide to B. R. Chopra’s Mahabharat (1988) cast and story for the older show.
| Detail | Mahabharat (2013) | Mahabharat (1988) |
|---|---|---|
| Channel | StarPlus | Doordarshan (DD National) |
| Original run | 16 September 2013 to 16 August 2014 | 2 October 1988 to 24 June 1990 |
| Episodes | 267 | 94 |
| Producer | Swastik Productions (Siddharth Kumar Tewary) | B. R. Chopra, directed by Ravi Chopra |
Where Can You Watch Mahabharat (2013) Today?
Mahabharat (2013) was made available to stream on Disney+ Hotstar, which the show’s official page pointed to. On 14 February 2025, Disney+ Hotstar and JioCinema in India merged into JioHotstar, so viewers in India should look for the series there. Catalogs change and differ by country, so check the JioHotstar app for current availability as of September 2026.
If you enjoy mythological television, the site also covers the cast and details of Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan, the Hanuman Chalisa’s meaning and history, and key life lessons from the Bhagavad Gita, the teaching Krishna gives Arjuna in the series.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Mahabharat (2013) have?
Mahabharat (2013) has 267 episodes in a single season. It was originally planned for 128 episodes, but its popularity led the makers to extend it, and it ended on 16 August 2014 with a one-hour special.
Who played Krishna in Mahabharat (2013)?
Saurabh Raj Jain, now credited as Sourabh Raaj Jain, played Krishna in the StarPlus Mahabharat and also narrated the series. Kunwar Vikram Soni played the adolescent Krishna.
When did Mahabharat (2013) air on StarPlus?
Mahabharat aired on StarPlus from 16 September 2013 to 16 August 2014. StarPlus re-aired it from 30 March 2020 to 25 July 2020 during India’s COVID-19 lockdown.
Who played Karna in Mahabharat (2013)?
Aham Sharma played Karna, and the role won him Best Actor in a Supporting Role at the 2014 Indian Telly Awards. Vidyut Xavier played the adolescent Karna.
How much did Mahabharat (2013) cost to make?
Star reportedly spent ₹5.1 billion on Mahabharat and a further ₹410 million on marketing. It is described as the first Indian television show made on a budget of more than ₹100 crore; the Umargam sets alone reportedly cost ₹100 crore.
Is Mahabharat (2013) the same as B. R. Chopra’s Mahabharat?
No. B. R. Chopra’s Mahabharat is a separate 94-episode series that aired on Doordarshan from 2 October 1988 to 24 June 1990. The 2013 version is a new adaptation by Swastik Productions for StarPlus.
