Terms of Service

The service

Mahabharata Daily (and our Ramayana and Bhagavad Gita programs as they launch) are daily subscriptions run by The Hindu Story. Each sends one message a day, by email at launch. Delivery by text message is planned for later; when it launches, the SMS Terms apply to texts. By subscribing, you agree to these terms, the Privacy Policy and, if you choose texts, the SMS Terms.

You must be at least 18, or 13 with a parent's permission, and you must use your own email address (or, for texts, a US mobile number you own or are authorised to use).

Signing up

You sign up on the program page with your email address, your time zone and a morning (8am) or evening (7pm) delivery time. We then email you a confirmation link. Nothing else is sent until you click it, and your free week starts when you do.

Free week

Every subscription starts with seven free days. We do not ask for a card. On the last day of the free week your message includes a link to continue. If you do not pay, the daily messages stop within a few days, and we may send up to two short reminders over the following weeks. You can unsubscribe from those, like everything else, with one click.

Plans and payment

There is one plan: $3 a month, or $24 a year (which is $2 a month). Prices are in US dollars and include any applicable tax unless stated otherwise at checkout.

Payment is taken by Stripe. Yearly plans renew automatically every year and monthly plans renew automatically every month, at the then-current price, unless you cancel first. Gift Years bought before gifts moved to the family add-on do not renew.

Family add-on

On a paid monthly or yearly plan, you can add as many family members as you like, and pay for them as a gift. Each gets the same daily message on the same day, at the same time in their own time zone. Each costs $1 a month on a monthly plan or $12 a year on a yearly plan, added to your own bill. Family members cannot be added during the free week or to a Gift Year. Each person joins only after saying yes to an invite that names you.

Adding someone is not their consent. We send them one invite, by email (or by text once texting launches), that names who added them, and nothing else unless they say yes. Invites expire after 7 days. You are not charged for anyone who does not say yes. On a yearly plan, you pay a prorated share for the rest of your year when they accept; on a monthly plan, their charge starts with your next monthly bill.

A family member can unsubscribe at any time; we tell you, and their charge stops at your next renewal (yearly plans get a prorated credit). You can remove a family member from your account page. If you unsubscribe or your own plan ends, their messages end too.

Unsubscribing and cancelling

Every email has an unsubscribe link. One click stops all emails to that address straight away and stops your plan from renewing. Replying STOP to a text does the same for texts. You can also email help@example.com to cancel.

Unsubscribing or replying STOP does not by itself refund you. If you paid within the last 14 days and want your money back, ask for a refund as described below. Otherwise nothing more is charged, and the time you already paid for stays on your account: if you sign up again before it runs out, you pick up where you left off.

Refunds

You can have a full refund within 14 days of any payment, including renewals, for any reason. Email help@example.com (or, once texting launches, reply REFUND to any text) within 14 days of paying. A refund cancels the subscription. After 14 days, refunds are at our discretion; see the Refund Policy.

Content

The episodes, verses, reflections and pages are written and produced by The Hindu Story with the help of AI tools and checked before they are sent. Mahabharata Daily is based on the public-domain Ganguli translation of the Mahabharata. All of it is provided for personal reading. You may share the week-in-review page using its share link; please do not copy or republish the content in bulk.

We try hard to be accurate and respectful. We make no claim of religious authority, and nothing here is advice. If you find an error, tell us and we will fix it.

Your conduct

Please do not sign up or add anyone without their knowledge, do not use the service to harass, spam, or send anything unlawful to us, and do not try to interfere with or reverse-engineer the service. We may end a subscription that breaks these rules and will refund any unused paid time where the law requires.

Availability

We aim to send every day, but email providers, carriers, devices and the internet are imperfect, and messages sometimes land in a spam folder. A missed or late message is not a breach of these terms. If the service is down for an extended period we will extend your subscription or refund the lost time.

The service is in English only at launch. Texts, when they launch, will be available on US mobile numbers only, and message and data rates from your carrier may apply.

Changes and ending the service

We may change the content, the schedule or the price for future periods; we will tell you before any price change affects you. If we close the service, we will refund the unused part of any paid period.

Liability

The service is provided as is. To the extent allowed by law, The Hindu Story is not liable for indirect or consequential losses, and our total liability to you is limited to the amount you paid us in the past twelve months. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law.

Disputes

If something goes wrong, email help@example.com first; a person will reply within one business day and we will try to put it right. These terms are governed by the laws of the state in which The Hindu Story is registered ({{COMPANY_ADDRESS}}), without regard to conflict-of-law rules, and disputes will be heard in the courts of that state unless the law gives you the right to go elsewhere.

Contact

The Hindu Story, {{COMPANY_ADDRESS}}. Mailing address: Preview only: no real messages are sent. Email: help@example.com.