The Kurukshetra War (Sanskrit: कुरुक्षेत्र युद्ध) is a war described in the Indian epic Mahabharata as a conflict that arose from a dynastic succession struggle between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and Pandavas, for the throne of Hastinapura in an Indian kingdom called Kuru. It involved a number of ancient kingdoms participating as allies of the rival groups.