A History of Indian Literature v1.c9.s2.18

v1.c9.s2.18

Therefore the Indians themselves regard the Mahābhārata, though always as an epic, as a work of poetic art (kāvya), but also at the same time as a manual (Sāstra) of morality, law and philosophy, supported by the oldest tradition (smṛti) and hence furnished with incontestible authority; and since more than 1,500 years it has served the Indians as much for entertainment as for instruction and edification.