kespeare's plays are to be found in this epic also; what Shakespeare exhibits in many plays, Vyasa has brought together in one vast plot. If it were a design, what perplexes the casual observer is the complexity of the plot and the intricate web of genealogical relations among the players a complexity not warranted to create an exciting story.
The Mahabharata has been highly influential. It began as a Sanskrit work but did not remain exclusively that for long. Within a few centuries of its composition, the Mahabharata was translated into other Indian languages and was spread throughout the region. Stories were taken from the work and dramatized, made into folk songs, or incorporated into sermons or philosophy. The work was included in the philosophical writings of other religious, such as Jainism or Buddhism. Merchants carried the Mahabharata and the other great Indian epic, the Ramayana, far and wide during the early Christian era:
The profound moral message of the Mahabharata became identified with the power of the ruling
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