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 Classical Sanskrit of Panini in Devanagari script.
• Hence, no one with authority can say as to which script Sage Vyasa used to compose his version of Mahabharata and in how many slokas, except depending upon the indications available in the present day version of Mahabharata.
• The time gap between the Mahabharata version of Sage Vyasa, composed around 3137 BCE and present day version Mahabharata written in the Classical Sanskrit of Panini, after 700 BCE is around 2,300 years.
• So many interpolations, additions might have crept in the Mahabharata of Sage Vyasa’s version, during this 2,300 years time gap and thus we have now an expanded version of Mahabharata, written in the Classical Sanskrit of Panini, after 700 BCE.
• It was stated in the present day version of Mahabharata

Sauti said.

I am (continued Sauti) acquainted with eight thousand and eight hundred verses, and so is Suka, and perhaps Sanjaya. From the mysteriousness of their meaning, O Muni, no one is able, to this day, to penetrate those closely knit difficult slokas. Even the omniscient Ganesa took a moment to consider; while Vyasa, however, continued to compose other verses in great abundance.

• Some interpret the above para as Sauti learnt 8800 verses but Vyasa continued to compose more verses
• However, we have to remember that the episode of Ganesha writing down the Mahabharata, while Sage Vyasa was dictating, was considered as interpolation by scholars.

Hence, in my opinion, the original version of Mahabharata, as composed by Sage Vyasa might have contained 8,800 slokas only.