Introduction

Itihasa is a quiet reader for the great Sanskrit epics. Each verse is shown in Devanagari, with a transliteration and, for selected verses, a word-by-word gloss and an English meaning.

Mahābhāratam · महाभारतम्

Traditionally ascribed to the sage Vyasa, the Mahabharata is the longest epic in Sanskrit literature. Its eighteen parvas (books) follow the rivalry of the Pandavas and the Kauravas and gather a vast range of teaching on duty, statecraft and liberation.

Rāmāyaṇam · रामायणम्

Ascribed to Valmiki and honoured as the first poem (ādi-kāvya), the Ramayana tells the story of Rama in seven kāṇḍas. Each kanda is divided into sargas (cantos), and each sarga into ślokas (verses).

Bhagavad Gītā · श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता

A dialogue in eighteen chapters set within the Bhishma Parva of the Mahabharata, in which Krishna counsels Arjuna on the field of Kurukshetra. This edition has all eighteen chapters in Sanskrit.

How to read here

• Open Read to browse the books. Books marked “text available” have verses in this edition.
• Use the toolbar on a chapter page to show or hide Devanagari, transliteration, word meanings and meanings, and to change the text size. Your choices are remembered in this browser.
• Every verse has its own link. Use “Copy link” in the verse header to share it.
• On a chapter page, the left and right arrow keys move to the previous and next chapter.
• Select ślokas gathers the verses that have word meanings.
• Every verse can show Sanskrit, transliteration, word meanings, English, Hindi and Hinglish. Each layer has its own switch. Where a layer has not been added for a verse, the page says so instead of guessing.
• The right-hand column beside each verse holds images. Use “+ Add image” to add a picture, map or manuscript page with a title, caption, explanation, category, source and licence. Every image must be labelled as a traditional depiction, educational illustration, AI-generated reconstruction, primary source or documented archaeological evidence.
• The student guide above each chapter has a plain-language story, a timeline, character cards, an evidence panel that separates facts from interpretation and tradition, and a gallery of images in that chapter.
• Keyboard: j and k move between verses; the left and right arrows move between chapters.