Did Mahabharata really consist of 1,00,000 shlokas or it was expanded from 8,800 shlokas?
We have to Note the chronology of events, so that we can understand whether the original version of Mahabharata aka Jaya Samhita was expanded at a later date. Sage Vyasa composes the poem called Jaya Samhita, the story of Pandavas and Kauravas According to some scholars like (late) Shri Kota Venkatachalam, Mahabharata war occurred around in 3137 BCE, ie., nearly 5,137 years ago. Mahabharata was first recited at the site of sarpa yagna or snake-sacrifice by the sage Vaisampayana, a disciple of Vyasa, to the King Janamejaya , who was the great-grandson of the Pandava prince Arjuna. Arjuna → Abhimanyu → Parikshit —-> Janamejaya This event indicates that by the time King Janamejaya performed the sarpa yagna, Sage Vyasa’s version of Mahabharata was in existence, ie., around 3000 BCE, ie., 5000 years ago. Panini systemtised the then existing Vedic Sanskrit in around 700 BCE, ie., nearly 2,700 years ago. The present day version Mahabharata, with 1,00,000 slokas, was available in...