Comedian Kunal Kamra has once again become the center of attention due to a controversial statement regarding the Mahabharata. The conflict arose because Kunal used the word 'mythology' instead of 'history' when referring to the Mahabharata. Following this, he began to be heavily trolled on social media.
On Wednesday, Kunal posted a long thread on X, attempting to explain the difference between history and mythology. At the end of his post, he ironically noted that trolls could continue to insult him.
Kunal explained that history records verifiable events, whereas mythology reflects the beliefs of people from a certain era—their fears, hopes, worldview, and concept of ideal life. He emphasized that sacred mythological texts are part of cultural beliefs, not historical facts.
According to Kunal, mythology gives meaning to abstract concepts such as love, duty, desire, and fate, while history documents a specific period, and mythology persists across different times and generations. He concluded his post with the phrase: 'You can insult me again now.'
This entire dispute originated from an episode of Gaurav Kapoor's show called 'Lie Hard.' In this episode, besides Kunal Kamra, Shubham Gaur, Jaspreet Singh, and Sunil Sharma, known as ROFL Gandhi, were present. According to the show's format, one participant had to make a statement, and the others had to guess whether it was true or false.
Sunil claimed that he could not take an exam because he helped an injured person after a road accident. He mentioned that the accident happened near Kurukshetra. Since his statement turned out to be false, he had to invent details to continue the story.
The mention of Kurukshetra led to the topic of geographical location. Sunil jokingly remarked that people from UP go to Kurukshetra during the battles described in the Mahabharata. To this, Gaurav Kapoor playfully asked whether it was the battle of Kurukshetra or the battle of Panipat.
At that moment, Kunal Kamra intervened and stated that history and mythology cannot be mixed because they are different. Shubham Gaur immediately objected, saying: 'What mythology! For me, this is history.' After this, Kunal asked Shubham when the Mahabharata took place, i.e., what year it was. Shubham laughed and tried to evade the answer, saying: 'Brother, don't spoil someone else's show.' Gaurav Kapoor continued the joke, replying: '1000 BC.'
After the episode went online on August 23rd, the clip featuring Kunal quickly spread across social media. His phrase about the Mahabharata being mythology, not history, became particularly debated.