Itihasa
Topic: Society in Early India: Kinship, Varna-Jati, Women · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 3 "Kinship, Caste and Class - Early Societies"
Meaning
Itihasa literally means "thus it was". Early Sanskrit tradition used the word for the Mahabharata, and it is usually translated as "history". The label shows that the tradition saw the epic as an account of real past events. Historians, however, have found no other evidence to confirm the great war. Some think it may preserve a memory of a real conflict between kinsfolk.
Example
The Mahabharata calls itself itihasa, but its core is the story of a feud between the Kauravas and Pandavas of the Kuru lineage. Over time, many teaching sections were added, such as the Bhagavad Gita. So it is history in the eyes of tradition, not in the modern sense of checked facts.
Don't confuse with
- Purana: the Puranas were compiled from c. 200 CE onwards in simple Sanskrit. They tell myths, family lines of gods and kings, and religious stories. The word itihasa is tied especially to the Mahabharata, and also to the Ramayana.
Related concepts
- Composition of the Mahabharata
- Sutas
- Vyasa
- Narrative and didactic sections
- Bhagavad Gita
- Hastinapura
- Draupadi's marriage
- Mahashweta Devi
- Ramayana