Describe briefly how do the historians usually classify the contents of Mahabharata? Why is the text described as an itihas?
The version of the Mahabharata we have been considering is in Sanskrit (although there are versions in other languages as well).
(i) However, the Sanskrit used in the Mahabharata is far simpler than that of the Vedas, or of the prashastis. As such, it was probably widely understood.
(ii) Historians usually classify the contents of the present text under two broad heads – sections that contain stories, designated as the narrative. The sections that contain prescriptions about social norms, designated as didactic.
(iii) This division is by no means watertight – the didactic sections include stories, and the narrative often contains a social message.
(iv) However, generally historians agree that the Mahabharata was meant to be a dramatic, moving story, and that the didactic portions were probably added later.
(v) The text is described as an itihasa within early Sanskrit tradition. The literal meaning of the term is “thus it was”, which is why it is generally translated as “history”.
