Across centuries of composition, the Mahabharata grows into the largest epic of the ancient world, the war of the Bharata cousins carrying law, kingship, devotion, and doubt inside one vast story; Krishna's counsel and Shiva's appearances stand within it side by side.
Tagged: Hindu Shaivism Smarta Tradition Vaishnavism
The Event
- Date
- c. 400 BCE–200 CE (approximate)
- Era
- Classical; Standard periodization of Hindu history
- Location
- Northern India; today Northern India
- Traditions
- Hinduism
- Streams
- Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Smarta Tradition
- Key figures
- Vyasa (attributed)
- Key texts
- Mahabharata
Primary Sources
- Mahabharata (critical edition, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute)
Secondary Sources
- Doniger, The Hindus: An Alternative History (Penguin, 2009)
- Flood, An Introduction to Hinduism (Cambridge, 1996)
Provenance: HIST-0304; confidence 0.85; accessed 2026-10-27.
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