This Mahabharata quiz for kids has 32 questions with answers about the Pandavas, the Kauravas, Krishna and the Bhagavad Gita, sorted into easy, medium and hard rounds. It works well for school assemblies, Gita Jayanti in December 2026, holiday reading clubs and family quiz nights.
The questions are written for children, so they focus on the characters, the lessons and the shape of the story rather than battle details. They do not repeat our Ramayana quiz for kids, so you can play both epics in one quiz series.
Mahabharata quiz for kids at a glance
Pick the rounds that suit your group. Younger children can stop after the easy round. Older classes can play all 32 questions in about 35 minutes.
| Round | Questions | Best for | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 1 to 10 | Ages 5 to 7 (KG to Class 2) | The two families and main heroes |
| Medium | 11 to 21 | Ages 8 to 10 (Classes 3 to 5) | Teachers, vows, exile and famous tests |
| Hard | 22 to 32 | Ages 11 and up (Classes 6 to 8) | Kurukshetra, the Bhagavad Gita and the text |
The Mahabharata story in brief
Read this summary aloud before the Mahabharata quiz. It is a long Sanskrit epic poem, traditionally credited to the sage Ved Vyasa. It is told in 18 books called parvas.
Two families. In the kingdom of Hastinapur, two brothers had very different sons. King Pandu’s five sons were the Pandavas: Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. His blind elder brother, Dhritarashtra, had a hundred sons, the Kauravas, led by Duryodhana. The cousins grew up together and learnt archery and other skills from their teacher Drona, but Duryodhana was jealous of the Pandavas from the start.
The game of dice. The Pandavas built their own city, Indraprastha. Duryodhana and his uncle Shakuni invited Yudhishthira to a game of dice, and Shakuni won everything from him by trickery. The Pandavas and their wife Draupadi were sent away for 12 years in the forest, followed by one year in which they had to live in disguise without being found.
Kurukshetra. When the Pandavas came back, Duryodhana refused to return their kingdom, not even five villages. Krishna tried to make peace, but failed. The two sides met on the field of Kurukshetra, and the war lasted 18 days. The Pandavas won, and Yudhishthira became king.
The Bhagavad Gita. Just before the war began, Arjuna felt deep sorrow at the idea of fighting his own family and teachers. Krishna, who was his charioteer, spoke to him about duty, courage and doing the right thing without worrying about reward. That conversation is the Bhagavad Gita, one of the most widely read texts of Hinduism.
Mahabharata characters at a glance
| Character | Who they are |
|---|---|
| Yudhishthira | Eldest Pandava, known for always telling the truth |
| Bhima | Second Pandava, the strongest, who fights with a mace |
| Arjuna | Third Pandava, the great archer |
| Nakula and Sahadeva | The twin Pandavas, sons of Madri |
| Kunti | Mother of Yudhishthira, Bhima and Arjuna |
| Draupadi | Wife of the Pandavas, daughter of King Drupada |
| Krishna | Arjuna’s friend and charioteer, believed to be an avatar of Vishnu |
| Duryodhana | Eldest of the hundred Kaurava brothers |
| Dhritarashtra and Gandhari | The blind king and queen, parents of the Kauravas |
| Bhishma | Great-uncle of both sides, famous for his vow |
| Drona | Teacher of the princes |
| Karna | Brave archer who fought for the Kauravas |
| Shakuni | Duryodhana’s uncle, a clever dice player |
Easy Mahabharata quiz for kids (ages 5 to 7)
These ten questions cover the names children hear first. Accept close spellings, such as Bhim or Bhima, Arjun or Arjuna.
- What were the five brothers of the Mahabharata called?
Answer: The Pandavas - How many Kaurava brothers were there?
Answer: One hundred - Who was the eldest of the Kaurava brothers?
Answer: Duryodhana - Who drove Arjuna’s chariot in the great war?
Answer: Krishna - Can you name all five Pandavas?
Answer: Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva - What was the name of the mother of Yudhishthira, Bhima and Arjuna?
Answer: Kunti - Which Pandava was the strongest and also famous for his big appetite?
Answer: Bhima - Who was the queen of the Pandavas?
Answer: Draupadi - Which game did Yudhishthira lose to the Kauravas?
Answer: A game of dice - Which god with an elephant head is believed to have written the Mahabharata down as Vyasa spoke it?
Answer: Lord Ganesha
Medium Mahabharata quiz questions and answers (ages 8 to 10)
The medium round follows the story from the princes’ school days to the years of exile. It suits Classes 3 to 5.
- Which sage is traditionally named as the author of the Mahabharata?
Answer: Ved Vyasa (Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa) - What was the name of the blind king who was the father of the Kauravas?
Answer: Dhritarashtra - Which queen tied a cloth over her eyes because her husband could not see?
Answer: Gandhari - Who made a vow never to marry or become king, so that his father could be happy?
Answer: Bhishma (his birth name was Devavrata) - Which teacher taught archery to both the Pandavas and the Kauravas?
Answer: Dronacharya (Drona) - When Drona tested his pupils with a wooden bird, what did Arjuna say he could see?
Answer: Only the bird’s eye - Which young archer learnt by himself and gave his thumb to Drona as a teacher’s fee?
Answer: Eklavya (Ekalavya) - Karna was brought up by a charioteer’s family. Who was his real mother?
Answer: Kunti (his father was the sun god Surya) - What was the name of Arjuna’s famous bow?
Answer: Gandiva - Shakuni, the dice player, came from which kingdom?
Answer: Gandhara - For how many years did the Pandavas live in the forest before their year in disguise?
Answer: 12 years (then 1 year in disguise, 13 in all)
Hard round: Kurukshetra and the Bhagavad Gita (ages 11 and up)
The hard round of this Mahabharata quiz for kids covers the year in disguise, the war and the Gita. It suits Classes 6 to 8 and adult teams.
- In which king’s court did the Pandavas spend their year in disguise?
Answer: King Virata of Matsya - During that year, Arjuna lived as Brihannala. What did he teach?
Answer: Music and dance, to Princess Uttara - Which young son of Arjuna and Subhadra bravely entered the chakravyuha, a circle-shaped army formation?
Answer: Abhimanyu - Kurukshetra, where the great war was fought, is in which present-day state?
Answer: Haryana - How many days did the Kurukshetra war last?
Answer: 18 days - How many chapters does the Bhagavad Gita have?
Answer: 18 chapters (about 700 verses) - The Gita is part of which book (parva) of the Mahabharata?
Answer: The Bhishma Parva - Who was given special sight to describe the war to the blind king Dhritarashtra?
Answer: Sanjaya - Which Pandava answered the riddles of a yaksha at a lake and brought his brothers back to life?
Answer: Yudhishthira - What is the name of Bhima’s brave son, whose mother was Hidimbi?
Answer: Ghatotkacha - Which animal followed Yudhishthira all the way on his last journey to heaven?
Answer: A dog, who was the god Dharma in disguise
Keeping the Mahabharata age-appropriate
The Mahabharata includes a long war, and children will ask about it. A few simple habits keep a Mahabharata quiz for kids friendly for every age.
- Focus on choices, not fighting. Ask why a character acted as they did. Was Eklavya treated fairly? Why did Bhishma keep his vow?
- Use the Gita’s main idea. For children, it can be put simply: do your duty well and honestly, and do not worry only about the reward.
- Talk about the cost of jealousy and cheating. Duryodhana’s jealousy and Shakuni’s trick with the dice lead to great sorrow for everyone.
- Say “according to the Mahabharata”. Many families hold the epic sacred, and versions differ between regions, TV series and children’s books.
Lessons to discuss after the quiz
| Character | Story moment | Question to discuss |
|---|---|---|
| Arjuna | Sees only the bird’s eye | How does focus help you in class or sport? |
| Yudhishthira | Answers the yaksha honestly | Why is honesty hard sometimes? |
| Karna | Known for giving to anyone who asked | Can a good person be on the wrong side? |
| Eklavya | Learns archery on his own | Was the teacher fair to him? |
How to run this Mahabharata quiz for kids in class or at a party
This plan for the Mahabharata quiz fits a 35 to 40 minute lesson or a family evening.
- Tell the story (5 minutes). Read the summary above, one paragraph at a time.
- Make five teams. Name each one after a Pandava. At home, two players can be the Pandavas and the Kauravas.
- Play the easy round aloud (7 minutes). Teams write their answers and hold them up together.
- Play the medium and hard rounds (15 minutes). Read each question twice and allow 30 seconds. For younger classes, give three choices.
- Bonus points. Give one extra point if a team can link an answer to a lesson from the table above.
- Finish with a talk (5 minutes). Ask each team which character they would like to meet, and why.
For a writing task, ask older children to retell the bird’s eye test from Arjuna’s point of view on story paper, or to plan a short comic on a storyboard template.
Printable mahabharata quiz for kids (free PDF)
Print this mahabharata quiz for kids as a quiz sheet: every question from the rounds above with a line to write the answer, and a separate answer key for the quizmaster. The mahabharata quiz for kids PDF has 4 pages and prints on US Letter or A4.
Print at 100% (actual size). Every page is black and white line art, so it copies cleanly on a school printer.
Related guides and printables
- Ramayana quiz for kids
- Hanuman quiz with answers
- Dussehra quiz for kids, 25 questions
- Quiz questions for kids
- General knowledge quiz for kids
- Reading comprehension worksheets
Sources
- Encyclopædia Britannica: “Mahabharata” (authorship by Vyasa, 18 parvas, about 100,000 couplets)
- Encyclopædia Britannica: “Bhagavadgita” (part of the Bhishma Parva, 18 chapters, about 700 verses)
- Encyclopædia Britannica: “Kurukshetra” (town and battlefield in Haryana)
- Drik Panchang: Gita Jayanti 2026 date (Sunday 20 December, New Delhi)
Further reading: Mahabharata (Wikipedia) and Bhagavad Gita (Wikipedia).
Frequently asked questions
6 quick answers
What are some easy Mahabharata questions for kids?
Try: How many Kaurava brothers were there? (One hundred). Who drove Arjuna’s chariot? (Krishna). Which game did Yudhishthira lose? (Dice). Who was the strongest Pandava? (Bhima).
Who wrote the Mahabharata?
It is traditionally credited to the sage Ved Vyasa, who also appears in the story. According to a well-known tradition, Lord Ganesha wrote it down as Vyasa recited it.
How many parvas are in the Mahabharata?
The Mahabharata has 18 main parvas (books). The war also lasted 18 days, and the Bhagavad Gita has 18 chapters, a pattern many quiz masters like to ask about.
Is the Mahabharata suitable for young children?
Yes, when it is told simply. Focus on the characters, their choices and lessons such as honesty and fairness, and keep war details brief. The easy round above avoids the war entirely.
What is the Bhagavad Gita in simple words?
It is the conversation between Krishna and Arjuna just before the war at Kurukshetra. Krishna tells Arjuna to do his duty with courage and without worrying about reward.
When is Gita Jayanti in 2026?
Gita Jayanti, which marks the day the Gita is believed to have been spoken, falls on Mokshada Ekadashi in the month of Margashirsha. In 2026 it is on Sunday 20 December, according to Drik Panchang. Check a local calendar, as dates can differ by a day.
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