Itihasa and Purana: what are they?
Itihasa means 'so indeed it was'. The two itihasas, or epics, are the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. An epic is a very long poem about heroes, families and great events.
Purana means 'old'. The Puranas are collections of old stories about creation, gods, sages and kings.
Both are part of smriti ('remembered' texts), unlike the Vedas, which are called shruti ('heard'). They were composed and expanded over many centuries, roughly from the middle of the first millennium BCE to the first millennium CE; scholars still discuss exact dates.
Most verses are in the anushtubh metre (the shloka): four quarters of eight syllables each.
The Ramayana
Credited to Valmiki, called the adi-kavi (first poet), and the work is called the adi-kavya (first poem). About 24 000 verses in 7 kandas:
- Bala: birth and youth of Rama and his brothers; marriage with Sita.
- Ayodhya: Rama accepts 14 years of exile to keep his father's promise.
- Aranya: forest life; Sita is carried away by Ravana.
- Kishkindha: friendship with Sugriva and Hanuman.
- Sundara: Hanuman crosses the sea and finds Sita.
- Yuddha: the war in Lanka; Rama returns.
- Uttara: later events and the story of Lava and Kusha.
Main values: truth, keeping promises, duty to family and people, loyalty and courage.
The Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita
Credited to Vyasa (Krishna Dvaipayana). About 100 000 verses in 18 parvas, with the Harivamsha as an appendix. It is often called the longest poem in the world.
The story: the Kauravas (100 sons of Dhritarashtra) and the Pandavas (five sons of Pandu) quarrel over the kingdom of Hastinapura; a game of dice leads to exile, then to the 18-day war at Kurukshetra.
The Bhagavad Gita (700 verses, 18 chapters) is in the Bhishma Parva. Before the battle, Krishna teaches Arjuna to do his duty without selfish attachment to results (nishkama karma).
The epic is famous for hard moral questions: the work says that dharma is subtle, and its characters are neither fully good nor fully bad.
The Puranas
There are 18 Mahapuranas (major Puranas), for example Vishnu, Bhagavata, Shiva, Markandeya, Matsya, Vayu, Agni, Padma, Skanda, Garuda, Brahmanda and Bhavishya, and many Upapuranas (minor Puranas). Tradition links them to Vyasa.
The five marks (pancha-lakshana)
- Sarga: creation of the world.
- Pratisarga: dissolution and re-creation.
- Vamsha: family lines of gods and sages.
- Manvantara: the ages ruled by different Manus.
- Vamshanucharita: stories of royal dynasties.
Puranas also describe festivals, pilgrim places, geography of a mythic world, and devotion (bhakti). They are useful sources for later history and culture, read carefully.
How the stories travelled and why they matter
- Oral tradition: bards (sutas) recited them; families and temples kept them alive.
- Manuscripts: copied by hand on palm leaf and paper, so versions differ (scholars compare them in 'critical editions').
- Retellings: Kamban's Ramavataram (Tamil), Tulsidas's Ramcharitmanas (Awadhi), Krittivasi Ramayan (Bengali), Pampa's Kannada Bharata, and many more; versions in Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia and elsewhere.
- Arts: Kathakali, Yakshagana, Ramlila, shadow puppets, temple sculpture and painting.
They matter for learning Sanskrit, understanding values and arguments about dharma, and for literature and art all over Asia.
Try it: the 3D and at home
In the last 3D step pick each text and compare the bars. At home: ask an elder to tell one story they know (for example Hanuman's leap or the Gita on the battlefield). Find which kanda or parva it belongs to and write one value it teaches.
Key formulas and definitions
- Itihasa ('so it happened') = the two epics; Purana ('old') = old tales.
- Ramayana: Valmiki, 7 kandas, about 24 000 verses.
- Mahabharata: Vyasa, 18 parvas + Harivamsha, about 100 000 verses.
- Bhagavad Gita: 700 verses, 18 chapters, in the Bhishma Parva.
- Puranas: 18 Mahapuranas + Upapuranas; 5 marks: sarga, pratisarga, vamsha, manvantara, vamshanucharita.
- Shloka (anushtubh): 4 quarters × 8 syllables = 32 syllables.
Worked examples
1. In which kanda does Hanuman find Sita, and why is it called 'Sundara'?
In the Sundara Kanda (the fifth). 'Sundara' means beautiful; a common explanation is that it tells the most beautiful, hopeful part of the story, and Hanuman was also called Sundara.
2. A shloka has four quarters of eight syllables. How many syllables are in 24 000 shlokas?
One shloka = 4 × 8 = 32 syllables. 24 000 × 32 = 768 000 syllables.
3. A text describes how the world was made, the line of the Sun dynasty kings and the ages of Manus. Is it more likely an epic or a Purana? Why?
A Purana: creation (sarga), dynasties (vamshanucharita) and manvantara are three of the five marks of a Purana.
Common mistakes
- Saying the Bhagavad Gita is a separate book from the Mahabharata. It is part of the Bhishma Parva.
- Mixing up the counts: Ramayana has 7 kandas, Mahabharata 18 parvas.
- Thinking there is only one version of each epic. There are many manuscript versions and retellings.
- Calling the Puranas Vedas. The Vedas are shruti; the epics and Puranas are smriti.