question_answer

Who composed the original story of the text of Mahabharata? Describe the various stages through which the Mahabharata was completed between the 5th century BCE and 400 CE.

Answer:

The Mahabharata traditionally believed to be composed by sage Vyas, evolved with time and had undergone several modifications in every phase of historical development. Originating as poems recited by sutas who accompanied Kshatriya warriors to the battlefield, in the fifth century BCE, at a time when the Kurus and the Panchala chiefdoms who have been mentioned in the narrative were becoming kingdoms, the Brahmans gave shape to these oral verses a written form. Then again, between 200BCE and 200 CE, the worship of Vishnu was increasingly gaming ground.

With Krishna as one of the main protagonists in the narrative, didactic verses from the Manusmriti were added. Thereby the Mahabharata, originally comprising 10,000 verses, with the passage of time, evolved into a narrative of more than 100,000 verses.