Mahabharata

by

Vyasa

A boon is a special gift from a god, usually to a mortal, similar to a wish or a miracle. Many figures in the Mahabharata receive boons that affect the plot, like Bhishma’s boon that allows him to choose the date of his own death, prolonging it for months after he falls in battle.
Get the entire Mahabharata LitChart as a printable PDF.
Mahabharata PDF

Boon Term Timeline in Mahabharata

The timeline below shows where the term Boon appears in Mahabharata. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1. Beginnings
Pursuing Enlightenment Theme Icon
Grief, Loss, and Mourning Theme Icon
Stories and Storytelling Theme Icon
...comes to Janamejaya, he praises the sacrifice of snakes, and so Janamejaya offers him a boon. But then Astika takes his boon right before the sacrifice of Takshka—he says for his... (full context)
Dharma Theme Icon
Stories and Storytelling Theme Icon
...(nymphs), and seers shower Devavrata with flowers and proclaim that he is Bhishma. As a boon for his son, Śamtanu gives Bhishma the ability to choose the hour of his own... (full context)
Dharma Theme Icon
...Dhritarashtra and Gandhari have 100 sons, a feat that is only possible due to a boon Gandhari receives from Vyasa. Among these many sons is the future king Duryodhana. There’s also... (full context)
Heroism and Warfare Theme Icon
...sparing his opponent’s life. In return, Citraratha gives up his titles and grants Arjuna the boon to see everything everywhere. (full context)
Dharma Theme Icon
Stories and Storytelling Theme Icon
...death than any other option). Eventually, when the fire recedes, Indra offers Arjuna and Krishna boons. Arjuna asks for celestial weapons, while Krishna requests Indra’s friendship. (full context)
Chapter 2. The Hall
Dharma Theme Icon
Stories and Storytelling Theme Icon
...and arms disappear when he sits on Krishna’s lap. His parents beg Krishna for a boon, hoping Krishna will forgive their son’s sins, and he agrees. (full context)
Dharma Theme Icon
Pursuing Enlightenment Theme Icon
Dhritarashtra, who has sympathy for the Pandavas, offers Draupadi a boon. She asks to rescue Yudhishthira from slavery. He gives her a second boon, and she... (full context)
Chapter 3. The Forest
Dharma Theme Icon
Heroism and Warfare Theme Icon
Stories and Storytelling Theme Icon
...He hears a story about how Rama Jamadagnya accidentally decapitated his mother but how a boon from his father allowed him to revive her. Later, King Kartavirya attacked Rama Jamadagnya’s hermitage,... (full context)
Dharma Theme Icon
...named Savitri. A king showed great loyalty to her, so she rewarded him with a boon. He asks for offspring with the highest dharma. She agrees, and when the king gives... (full context)
Dharma Theme Icon
Grief, Loss, and Mourning Theme Icon
Stories and Storytelling Theme Icon
Moved by Savitri’s words, Yama offers her several boons, with the stipulation that she can’t ask for the resurrection of Satyavat. She asks for... (full context)
Dharma Theme Icon
Pursuing Enlightenment Theme Icon
Heroism and Warfare Theme Icon
...the Sun. Indra seems to have expected this, and he says he’ll give Karna a boon in exchange for the earrings. He offers Karna a celestial weapon: a Spear that can... (full context)
Dharma Theme Icon
Grief, Loss, and Mourning Theme Icon
...Pandavas and then reveals that it is Dharma, Yudhishthira’s biological father. Dharma gives Yudhishthira three boons: he gets the firesticks back for the Brahmin, the Pandavas will remain unrecognizable in their... (full context)
Chapter 4. Virata
Dharma Theme Icon
Pursuing Enlightenment Theme Icon
Stories and Storytelling Theme Icon
...live unrecognized in the city of Virata for so long. Vaiśampayana answers. After receiving their boons from Dharma, the Pandavas debate where to spend their 13th year of exile. Yudhishthira proposes... (full context)
Chapter 5. Perseverance
Dharma Theme Icon
Heroism and Warfare Theme Icon
...with this outcome, wanting Bhishma dead, and so one day when Śiva offers her a boon, she asks to be reborn as a warrior who defeats Bhishma. To hasten this rebirth,... (full context)
Chapter 6. Bhishma
Dharma Theme Icon
Heroism and Warfare Theme Icon
...says he doesn’t know of how any man can beat him, since he has a boon that he can choose the time of his death and that time hasn’t arrived yet.... (full context)
Chapter 7. Drona
Heroism and Warfare Theme Icon
Grief, Loss, and Mourning Theme Icon
...his father’s death, Aśvatthaman wants to use the celestial weapon that Drona received as a boon from Narayana (a form of Vishnu). He uses the weapon, and a mighty storm gathers.... (full context)
Chapter 14. The Horse Sacrifice
Dharma Theme Icon
Pursuing Enlightenment Theme Icon
Stories and Storytelling Theme Icon
...by Satyaki. They meet a seer named Uttanka in the desert. Krishna offers Uttanka a boon and then leaves. Since it’s dry in the desert, Uttanka decides to use his boon... (full context)