The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c22.5

v1.c22.5

Thus the oldest references which may indicate epic poetry point rather to the story of the Bharatas than to the story of Rāma. These references, however, in any event are not nearly old enough to warrant the assumption of immense antiquity made by the native tradition. The language of both epics is not Vedic but a popular form of Sanskrit, which was developed by the bards and became the recognised language of narrative poetry; and their metre is the final reproduction of Vedic metres in modern form. Both language and verse are not widely different from those of the latest Sūtras. We may reasonably conclude, then, that the latest Sūtras and the epics belong to the same period, and that they represent two contemporary styles of literature, the former priestly and the latter secular.