The Mahabharata is the longest poem ever written in the world with 200,000 individual verses in 18 Chapters.
Bhagavad Gita appears in the middle of Mahabharata. It is ten times lengthier than Iliad and Odyssey Combined. Mahabharata is actually tremendously vast volume, and no human would be capable of writing that.
Sage Narada insisted that Rishi Veda Vyasa who has written many wonderful books should also write Mahabharat epic to help common man to understand subtle truths of the universe. So, Rishi Veda Vyasa sought the help of Lord Ganesha to write down what he was saying. “The instant you stop reciting, I will cease writing forever,” declared Lord Ganesha. Okay, I’ll agree to your requirements as long as you fully comprehend all I say before you write, remarked Rishi Veda Vyasa. They both concurred and penned the famous epic Mahabharata.
The five Pandavas and one hundred Kauravas were all descended from Ved Vyasa. The sons of Vichitravirya in the Kuru clan were their dads, Dhritarashtra and Pandu. Ved Vyasa is supposed to have lived a long life, outliving both his children and grandchildren.
Once when Ved Vyasa was praying and meditating in the Himalays, he had a vision of Lord Brahma, the creator of the world. Lord Brahma advised Ved Vyasa to write the Mahabharata, as he had seen it happen in front of his eyes and he was in fact the best person to write down this epic.
Ganesha presented this demand to Ved Vyasa in order to force him to write the epic at a breakneck pace. Ved Vyasa was invited to begin reciting the epic for him, and Ganesha began writing right away. Ved Vyasa had to continue telling the story as long as possible, or Ganesha would take the books and leave.
Ganesha was reputed to write extremely quickly and was ambidextrous, which allowed him to write with both hands! Sensing this, Ved Vyasa became troubled and questioned whether he would be able to keep up with Ganesha’s pace. He had a fantastic plan to combat this and told Ganesha about it.
