Scholarly estimates for the earliest stage of the text range from the 7th to 5th century BCE, and later stages extend up to the 3rd century CE, although the original date of composition is unknown. It is one of the largest ancient epics in world literature and consists of nearly 24,000 verses (mostly set in the Shloka/Anuṣṭubh metre), divided into seven (chapters). It belongs to the genre of Itihasa, narratives of past events (), interspersed with teachings on the goals of human life.
Scholarly estimates for the earliest stage of the text range from the 7th to 5th century BCE, and later stages extend up to the 3rd century CE, although the original date of composition is unknown. It is one of the largest ancient epics in world literature and consists of nearly 24000 verses (mostly set in the Shloka/Anuṣṭubh metre), divided into seven (chapters). It belongs to the genre of Itihasa, narratives of past even,ts (), interspersed with teachings on the goals of human life.