<P> Traditionally , the authorship of the Mahābhārata is attributed to Vyāsa . There have been many attempts to unravel its historical growth and compositional layers . The oldest preserved parts of the text are thought to be not much older than around 400 BCE , though the origins of the epic probably fall between the 8th and 9th centuries BCE . The text probably reached its final form by the early Gupta period ( c. 4th century CE ) . The title may be translated as `` the great tale of the Bhārata dynasty '' . According to the Mahābhārata itself , the tale is extended from a shorter version of 24,000 verses called simply Bhārata . </P>
<P> Traditionally , the authorship of the Mahābhārata is attributed to Vyāsa . There have been many attempts to unravel its historical growth and compositional layers . The oldest preserved parts of the text are thought to be not much older than around 400 BCE , though the origins of the epic probably fall between the 8th and 9th centuries BCE . The text probably reached its final form by the early Gupta period ( c. 4th century CE ) . The title may be translated as `` the great tale of the Bhārata dynasty '' . According to the Mahābhārata itself , the tale is extended from a shorter version of 24,000 verses called simply Bhārata . </P>
who composed the original story of mahabharata in oral form
who composed the original story of mahabharata in oral form
Vyāsa
Vyāsa