The Mahabharata Dance, performed in Ubud's palace temple, is inspired by the great Hindu epic poem The Mahabharata. The Indian tale depicts a great battle between the Kaurava brothers and their cousins, the Pandavas, and is believed to have occurred in the 12-13th century B.C. The battle is the famous setting of Krishna's teachings to Arjuna that would later become the Bhagavad Gita, meaning "Song of God, one of the greatest and most sacred books ever recorded. Like many of the Balinese performances, the Mahabharata dance depicts a battle between good and evil. In the original epic, Arjuna must fight this battle against his own family, but Arjuna has Krishna as his charioteer - and Krishna is the highest God in Hinduism. Krishna is the "radiance of the sun" and when Arjuna surrenders to Krishna, he finds the strength to fight and win the battle - for dharma. Ubud has many streets and statues in memory of Arjuna, including Jln. Arjuna (just off Monkey Forest Road) and many traditional Balinese paintings represent this epic battle. The Balinese dance fuses together elements of the great Hindu epic with their own religious symbolism, traditions, rituals and beliefs. 

Find the next performance in the UbudVibe.com Events Calendar!