Mausala Parva

Mausala Parva (Sanskrit: मौसल पर्व), or the "Book of Clubs", is the sixteenth of eighteen books of the Indian Epic Mahabharata. It has 9 chapters. It is one of three shortest books in the Mahabharata.

Mausala Parva describes the demise of Krishna in the 36th year after the Kurukshetra war had ended, the submersion of Dwaraka under sea, death of Balarama by drowning in the sea, Vasudeva's death, and an internecine fight among the race of Yadavas that kills them all. The story of complete extermination of the Yadavas becomes the reason why Yudhishthira and all the Pandava brothers renounce their kingdom and begin their walk towards heaven, events recited in the last two books of the Mahabharata.

Mausala Parva is significant for serving as a basis of archaeological studies for the Mahabharata, as well as being one of the eight Parvas found in Hindu culture of Java and Bali, Indonesia.

Mausala Parva (book) has 9 adhyayas (sections, chapters) and has no secondary sub-parvas (sub-books or little books). Of the 80,000 verses in the critical edition of the Mahabharata - Mausala parva represents about 0.25% of all verses of the Epic. This makes it one of the smallest books of the Epic.

In days after the 18-day Kurukshetra war, Lord Krishna meets Gandhari, a meeting described in Stri Parva. In anger and grief over the death of her sons and the Kaurava soldiers, Gandhari curses Krishna with the death of all Yadavas in a manner similar to the death of her sons. She blames Krishna for his inaction and believes that he could have prevented the war and the slaughter of hundreds of millions people who died in the war. Krishna accepts the curse, explains how he had tried many times to mediate peace, how Duryodhana refused. He also explained how Duryodhana and the Kauravas had tried many times to kill the Pandavas.

The chapter begins with the announcement at the court of Pandavas that all Yadavas men were exterminated in an internecine war fought with clubs made of eraká grass. Yudhishthira asks for details. Mausala parva then recites the details.

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