The Mahabharata is one of the most impressive creations of the Indi-an mind. The studies presented in this book are based on a dissertation which has been comprehensively revised and rewritten by the author in order to make the text accessible to a larger public. In the first part of the book the subject is the role of Krishna and his relationship with the Pandavas. Next follows an in-depth analysis of the dice game, whose legal, psychological and philosophical aspects are presented in detail and with great clarity. The second part contains biographical studies of a large number of yogis, saints and ascetics in the epic with an outline of their manifold characters and different practices, their individual realizations as well as human weaknesses. The book also contains many original Sanskrit quotations which are given along with the author's own English translations.