The Mahabharata, One Night at a Time

hush.

The Mahabharata, told one night at a time. Slow bedtime retellings of the great epic, taken from its old English translations and read by the Night Reader over soft music. About half an hour a night; each night is complete in itself and ends calmly. The sources are listed in every episode's notes. Myths are told as myths. Relaxation, not medical advice. Narrated by Sanvi.

Episodes

  1. 1d ago

    The Bird and the Nectar

    The Mahabharata, told one night at a time. Night 6: a very large bird reaches the nectar of the gods through a wall of fire and a wheel that never stops turning, makes a bargain in the sky and lets a feather fall. Then an empty bed of grass, a snake who is given the whole earth to hold, and a council of snakes looking for a way out. About half an hour, told gently and in order. Each night is complete in itself and ends calmly. Chapters0:00 Opening0:48 Where we are2:57 Scene A: The wall of fire8:07 Scene B: The bargain in the sky13:22 Scene C: The empty grass18:47 Scene D: The council of snakes25:23 Settling29:00 GoodnightSourcesThe Mahabharata, Book 1 (Adi Parva), Sections XXXII to XL (with the first lines of Section XLI), K. M. Ganguli's English prose translation, 1883 to 1896. https://archive.org/details/mahabharata-book-1The same translation, Book 1, Sections I to III, XIII to XVI, XVII to XXVI and XXVII to XXXI, for the callbacks to Nights 1 to 5. https://archive.org/details/mahabharata-book-1A Prose English Translation of the Mahabharata, translated by M. N. Dutt, Adi Parva, 1895. https://archive.org/details/aproseenglishtr00duttgoogFor relaxation only, not medical advice. Narrated by an invented voice character.

    The Bird and the Nectar

  2. 2d ago

    The Price of a Mother's Freedom

    The Mahabharata, told one night at a time. Night 5: the snakes name the price of a mother's freedom, and a very large bird sets out to pay it. A holy man in a throat, two brothers who could not share, a branch a hundred leagues long, and what happens when you laugh at someone very small. About half an hour, told gently and in order. Each night is complete in itself and ends calmly. Chapters0:00 Opening0:42 Where we are2:15 Scene A: The price7:10 Scene B: The man in the throat12:50 Scene C: The branch of the golden tree18:38 Scene D: The smallest sages25:18 Settling28:07 GoodnightSourcesThe Mahabharata, Book 1 (Adi Parva), Sections XXVII to XXXII, K. M. Ganguli's English prose translation, 1883 to 1896. https://archive.org/details/mahabharata-book-1The same translation, Book 1, Sections XVI to XXVI, for the callbacks to the earlier nights. https://archive.org/details/mahabharata-book-1A Prose English Translation of the Mahabharata, translated by M. N. Dutt, Adi Parva, 1895. https://archive.org/details/aproseenglishtr00duttgoogFor relaxation only, not medical advice. Narrated by an invented voice character.

    The Price of a Mother's Freedom

  3. 2d ago

    The Churning of the Ocean

    The Mahabharata, told one night at a time. Night 4: the gods and their rivals churn the ocean for the nectar of life, and a moon, a white horse and a poison come up out of the sea. Then a bet between two sisters, a very large bird who is a little too bright, and rain on an island. About half an hour, told gently and in order. Each night is complete in itself and ends calmly. Chapters0:00 Opening0:44 Where we are2:20 Scene A: The mountain and the serpent rope7:23 Scene B: What came up out of the sea13:09 Scene C: The bet and the ocean18:08 Scene D: The bird who was too bright24:45 Settling27:44 GoodnightSourcesThe Mahabharata, Book 1 (Adi Parva), Sections XVII to XXVII, K. M. Ganguli's English prose translation, 1883 to 1896. https://archive.org/details/mahabharata-book-1The same translation, Book 1, Sections I to III and XVI, for the callbacks to earlier nights. https://archive.org/details/mahabharata-book-1A Prose English Translation of the Mahabharata, translated by M. N. Dutt, Adi Parva, 1895. https://archive.org/details/aproseenglishtr00duttgoogFor relaxation only, not medical advice. Narrated by an invented voice character.

    The Churning of the Ocean

  4. 3d ago

    The Fire That Was Cursed

    The Mahabharata, told one night at a time. Night 3: a river that began as tears, a fire that went out because someone told the truth, a girl found by a river, a snake who put down his staff, and a wandering sage who found his family hanging by a thread. About half an hour, told gently and in order. Each night is complete in itself and ends calmly. Chapters0:00 Opening0:41 Where we are2:00 Scene A: The river of tears8:07 Scene B: The fire that went out, and a girl found by a river13:22 Scene C: The half-life, and the snake who was a man19:11 Scene D: The ancestors in the pit26:19 Settling28:31 GoodnightSourcesThe Mahabharata, Book 1 (Adi Parva), Sections IV to XII (Pauloma Parva), K. M. Ganguli's English prose translation, 1883. https://archive.org/details/mahabharata-book-1The same translation, Book 1, Sections XIII to XVI (Astika Parva, opening). https://archive.org/details/mahabharata-book-1The same translation, Book 1, Section III (end), for the recap of Night 2. https://archive.org/details/mahabharata-book-1A Prose English Translation of the Mahabharata, translated by M. N. Dutt, Adi Parva, 1895. https://archive.org/details/aproseenglishtr00duttgoogFor relaxation only, not medical advice. Narrated by an invented voice character.

    The Fire That Was Cursed

  5. 4d ago

    The Earrings and the Serpent King

    The Mahabharata, told one night at a time. Night 2: a heavenly dog's curse on a king, three students and their teacher, a boy who lies in a broken water channel, a pair of earrings fetched from the world of the serpents, and a loom that weaves day and night. About half an hour, told gently and in order. Each night is complete in itself and ends calmly. Chapters0:00 Opening0:38 Where we are2:03 Scene A: The curse and the boy in the water7:50 Scene B: The student who was always hungry13:26 Scene C: Veda, and an errand for a queen's earrings19:22 Scene D: The serpent king and the loom of day and night25:53 Settling28:12 GoodnightSourcesThe Mahabharata, Book 1 (Adi Parva), Section III (Paushya Parva), K. M. Ganguli's English prose translation, 1883 to 1896. https://archive.org/details/mahabharata-book-1The same translation, Book 1, Section I (the frame at Naimisha), for the callbacks to Night 1. https://archive.org/details/mahabharata-book-1The same translation, Book 1, Sections IV and V (Pauloma Parva, opening), for tomorrow's line. https://archive.org/details/mahabharata-book-1A Prose English Translation of the Mahabharata, translated by M. N. Dutt, Adi Parva, 1895. https://archive.org/details/aproseenglishtr00duttgoogFor relaxation only, not medical advice. Narrated by an invented voice character.

    The Earrings and the Serpent King

  6. 5d ago

    The Story Before the Story

    The Mahabharata, told one night at a time. Night 1: the story before the story. A forest, a twelve-year fire, a storyteller who walks in from the road, how the great poem was made, a family of five brothers and their friend Krishna, and an old king who asks how it all ended. About half an hour, told gently and in order, for anyone new to the epic. Each night is complete in itself and ends calmly. Chapters0:00 Opening0:44 Where we are2:53 Scene A: The forest of Naimisha9:26 Scene B: How the poem was made15:39 Scene C: The tree and the family21:40 Scene D: The old king asks27:25 Settling29:58 GoodnightSourcesThe Mahabharata, Book 1 (Adi Parva), Section I, K. M. Ganguli's English prose translation, 1883 to 1896. https://archive.org/details/mahabharata-book-1The same translation, Book 1, Section II (Samantapanchaka, the akshauhini, the outline of the eighteen books). https://archive.org/details/mahabharata-book-1The same translation, Book 1, Section III (Paushya Parva), opening lines only. https://archive.org/details/mahabharata-book-1Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Mahabharata" (Wendy Doniger; page stamped last updated 8 September 2026). https://www.britannica.com/topic/MahabharataA Prose English Translation of the Mahabharata, translated by M. N. Dutt, Adi Parva, 1895. https://archive.org/details/aproseenglishtr00duttgoogFor relaxation only, not medical advice. Narrated by an invented voice character.

  • 6 Episodes

About

The Mahabharata, told one night at a time. Slow bedtime retellings of the great epic, taken from its old English translations and read by the Night Reader over soft music. About half an hour a night; each night is complete in itself and ends calmly. The sources are listed in every episode's notes. Myths are told as myths. Relaxation, not medical advice. Narrated by Sanvi.

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