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Ancient India

Mahabharata

Mahabharata
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 5 to 7
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   6.13

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    BHEESH-ma, DROE-na, Mahabharata, PAAN-doo, persuasion, set-up, wager, curse, valid, altogether, behalf, tragedy, thirteenth, flat-out, undiscovered, devious
     content words:    When Draupadi

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Mahabharata
By Vickie Chao 		  
1     Mahabharata (pronounced "ma-haa-BHAAR-a-ta") is the world's longest poem. Altogether, it has 18 sections and 220,000 lines! This great piece of work is from India. It tells the story of a royal family's struggle over power. The story goes like this:
 
2     A long, long time ago, there was a kingdom in India called Bharata ("BHAR-a-ta"). The king of Bharata had two sons, Dhritarashtra ("dhri-ta-RAASH-tra") and Pandu ("PAAN-doo"). Dhritarashtra was the eldest of the two. He was supposed to be the next king. But because he was blind, he gave up his right to the throne. He let his brother be the next king.
 
3     Dhritarashtra was married to Gandhari ("gaan-DHAAR-ee"). The couple had one hundred sons in all! Collectively, their offspring were called the Kauravas.
 
4     Pandu had two wives, Kunti and Madri. Kunti bore him three sons, and Madri two. Together, the five sons were called the Pandavas.

Paragraphs 5 to 14:
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