Synopsis:
The Mahabharata (Sanskrit Mahābhārata महाभारत) is one of the two major
Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Rāmāyaṇa. The epic
is part of the Hindu itihāsa (or "history"), and forms an important part
of Hindu mythology.
It is of immense importance to culture in
the Indian subcontinent, and is a major text of Hinduism. Its discussion
of human goals (dharma or duty, artha or purpose, kāma, pleasure or
desire and moksha or liberation) takes place in a long-standing
tradition, attempting to explain the relationship of the individual to
society and the world (the nature of the 'Self') and the workings of
karma.
The title may be translated as "the great tale of the
Bhārata dynasty". According to the Mahabharata's own testimony it is
extended from a shorter version simply called Bhārata of 24,000 verses.
Traditionally,
the authorship of the Mahabharata is attributed to Vyasa. There have
been many attempts to unravel its historical growth and composition
layers. Its earliest layers probably date back to the late Vedic period
(ca. 8th c. BCE) and it probably reached its final form by the time the
Gupta period began (ca. 4th c. CE).
With about one hundred
thousand verses, long prose passages, and about 1.8 million words in
total, the Mahabharata is the longest epic poem in the world. It is
roughly ten times the length of the Iliad and Odyssey combined, roughly
five times longer than Dante's Divine Comedy, and about four times the
length of the Ramayana. Including the Harivaṃśa, the Mahabharata has a
total length of more than 90,000 verses.
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