Parva means a node of sugar cane.
The works in Samskritham are divided into parts of different nomenclature. Normal poetry books are divided into Sarga's. Dramas are divided into Anka's (Acts).
The epic Raamaayanawas divided into 7 Kaanda's. Kaanda means the stem of a tree. These Kaanda's were again sub-divided into sarga's of some shlokas each.
the number of shlokas in a Sarga is not fixed.It may be as small as 10 or as large as 150.
Some Puraanas were divided into books called Skandhas meaning the same as Kaanda i.e.stem of a tree. Some other books in the literature were divided into division scalled Lambakam, Tharangam,Ullaasam,Prakaranam,Sthabakam,Avadaatham,Patalam etc, the primary sense of the words being roughly "chapter" or "section', though these words have a separate literal meaning .
Likewise, The Mahaabhaaratham too was divided into parts called
parvas. Each main parva was sub-divided into smaller sub-parvas which in turn were further divided into
adhyaayas containing some shlokas each,
varying between 10 to 150, the number being the choice of the poet.
The 18 main parvas comprised 100 sub-parvas in all.
The 18 main parvas with the number of their sub parvas,chapters and
shlokas is given below,
as is given in the index chapter in the beginning of the epic itself.
But, It should be remembered that the number is considered according to one particular tradition. Different traditions give different number of Adhyaayas and sub-parvas. It is highly difficult to decide which is correct. Yet, to learn about the epic, it does not stand in the way.
Details of parvas and their shlokas
.
parva | sub-parva's | adhyaaya's | shlokas |
---|---|---|---|
Aadi | 18 | 218 | 9 984 |
Sabhaa | 9 | 72 | 4 311 |
Aaaranya | 16 | 269 | 13 664 |
Viraata | 4 | 67 | 3 500 |
Udyoga | 11 | 186 | 6 998 |
Bheeshma | 5 | 118 | 5 884 |
Drona | 8 | 170 | 10 919 |
Karna | 1 | 69 | 4 900 |
Shalya | 4 | 59 | 3 220 |
Soupthika | 3 | 18 | 2 870 |
Sthree | 5 | 20 | 1 775 |
Shaanthi | 4 | 339 | 14 525 |
Aanushaasanika | 2 | 155 | 12 000 |
Asvamedha | 4 | 133 | 4 420 |
Aashramavaasa | 3 | 42 | 1 106 |
Mousala | 1 | 8 | 300 |
Mahaaprasthaanika | 1 | 3 | 120 |
Svargaarohana | 1 | 5 | 200 |
Note that the count of Adhyaayas starts at the beginning of the main parva only, but not from the beginning of each sub parva. That is to say for examlple, if a sub-purva ends with chapter 37, the next sub-parva runs from chapter 38 in that main parva.
Also, an appendix ( called khila-parva) named Harivamsham, of about 25,000 shlokas is also treated as a part of this epic.
The names of the parva's indicate the story they contain.
For example, Aadi parva contains the stories of the earlier kings and incarnations of past times and the earlier part of the main story. Sabhaa parva