The fundamental philosophical and devotional epic stories Mahabharata and Ramayana originated in Sanskrit in which ancient country?
Mahabharata Mahabharata The Mahābhārata (, ; , "", ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the "Rāmāyaṇa". The title may be translated as "the great tale of the Bhārata dynasty". The "Mahābhārata" is an epic legendary narrative of the Kurukṣetra War and the fates of the Kaurava and the Pāṇḍava princes. It also contains philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four "goals of life" or "puruṣārtha" (12.161). Among the principal works and stories in the "Mahābhārata" are the "Bhagavad Gita", the story of Damayanti, an abbreviated version of the
Indian epic poetry Indian epic poetry Indian epic poetry is the epic poetry written in the Indian subcontinent, traditionally called Kavya (or "Kāvya"; Sanskrit: काव्य, IAST: "kāvyá"). The "Ramayana" and the "Mahabharata", which were originally composed in Sanskrit and later translated into many other Indian languages, and The Five Great Epics of Tamil Literature and Sangam literature are some of the oldest surviving epic poems ever written. The ancient Sanskrit epics the "Ramayana" and "Mahabharata" comprise together the Itihāsa ("History") or Mahākāvya ("Great Compositions"), a canon of Hindu scripture. Indeed, the epic form prevailed and verse remained until very recently the preferred form