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Indian epic poetry is the epic poetry written in the Indian subcontinent, traditionally called Kavya (or Kāvya; Sanskrit: काव्य, IAST: kāvyá). The Ramayana and the Mahabharata, which were originally composed in Sanskrit and later translated into many other Indian languages, and the Five Great Epics of Tamil literature and Sangam literature are some of the oldest surviving epic poems ever written.
| 1,00,000 couplets (2,00,000 lines) | महाभारतम् | Mahabharatam | The Great Bharatam | Sanskrit | Indian subcontinent | Vyasa | Sanskrit literature, Hinduism | ||
| 51,820 lines (60,000 including Nanak Prakash) | ਗੁਰਪ੍ਰਤਾਪ ਸੂਰਜ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ | Suraj Prakash (2025). 9781003298939, Routledge. ISBN 9781003298939 | The Sun-like eminence of the glory of the Guru | Braj Bhasha | Kaithal | Mahakavi Santokh Singh | Braj literature, Sikh literature | ||
| 24,000 couplets (48,000 lines) | रामायणम् | Ramayanam | Rama’s Journey or Rama's progress | Sanskrit | Indian subcontinent | Valmiki | Sanskrit literature, Hinduism | ||
| 39,000 lines | Khamba Thoibi Sheireng | Poem on Khamba and Thoibi | Meitei language (officially called "Manipuri") | Manipur Kingdom | Hijam Anganghal | Epic cycles of incarnations in Moirang, Meitei literature | |||
| 21,507 | ఆంధ్ర మహాభారతం | Andhra Mahabharatam | The Telugu Great Bharatam | Telugu language | Eastern Chalukyas | Kavitrayam | Telugu literature, Hinduism | ||
| 5,730 | சிலப்பதிகாரம் | Cilappatikaram | The Tale of an Anklet | Tamil language | Tamilakam | Ilango Adigal | Sangam literature | ||
| 4,861 | மணிமேகலை | Manimekalai | Jewelled Belt, Girdle of Gems | Tamil language | Tamilakam | Chithalai Chathanar | Sangam literature, Buddhism | ||
| 3,145 | சீவக சிந்தாமணி | Cīvaka Cintāmaṇi | Jivaka, the Fabulous Gem | Tamil language | Tamilakam | Tiruttakkatēvar | Sangam literature, Jainism |
Apart from Kamayani, Saketa (1932) by Maithili Sharan Gupt, Kurukshetra (1946), Rashmirathi (1952) and Urvashi (1961) by Ramdhari Singh 'Dinkar' have attained the status of epic poetry.
Likewise Lalita Ke Aansoo* Book:Lalita Ke Ansoo on worldcat by Krant M. L. Verma (1978) Hindustan (Hindi daily) New Delhi 12 January 1978 (ललिता के आँसू का विमोचन) narrates the tragic story about the death of Lal Bahadur Shastri through his wife Lalita Shastri.Panchjanya (newspaper) A literary review 24 February 1980
Shivakotiacharya was the first writer in prose style. His work Vaddaradhane is dated to 900 CE. Sri Ponna (939-966 CE) is also an important writer from the same period, with Shanti Purana as his magnum opus. Another major writer of the period is Ranna (949-? CE). His most famous works are the Jainism religious work Ajita Tirthankara Purana and the Gada Yuddha, a birds' eye view of the Mahabharata set in the last day of the battle of Kurukshetra and relating the story of the Mahabharata through a series of flashbacks. Structurally, the poetry in this period is in the Champu style, essentially poetry interspersed with lyrical prose.
The Siribhoovalaya is a unique work of multilingual Kannada literature written by Kumudendu Muni, a Jain monasticism. The work is unique in that it does not employ letters, but is composed entirely in Kannada numerals. The Saangathya metre of Kannada poetry is employed in the work. It uses numerals 1 through 64 and employs various patterns or bandhas in a frame of 729 (27×27) squares to represent letters in nearly 18 scripts and over 700 languages. Some of the patterns used include the Chakrabandha, Hamsabandha, Varapadmabandha, Sagarabandha, Sarasabandha, Kruanchabandha, Mayurabandha, Ramapadabandha, and Nakhabandha. As each of these patterns are identified and decoded, the contents can be read. The work is said to have around 600,000 verses, nearly six times as big as the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata.
The Prabhulingaleele, Basava purana, Channabasavapurana and Basavarajavijaya are a few of the Lingayat epics.
The sagas of the seven epic cycles of incarnations of the two divine lovers were originated from the shoreline Moirang around the Loktak lake in Manipur. Their stories were composed in both prose and poetry, among which the ballad versions were usually sung by the minstrels, playing Pena (musical instrument) since ancient times.
The Khamba Thoibi Sheireng (based on the story of Khamba and Thoibi) is regarded as the greatest of all the Meitei epics. It is regarded as the national epic of the Manipuris. It consists of approximately 39,000 verses. The epic poetry has fifteen chapters () and ninety two sections (). It is based on the legendary love story of Khuman Khamba, an orphan man, and Khamba Thoibi, the then princess of Moirang. Though the legend existed in the immortal songs of the Meitei balladeers, it was composed in a proper poetic version by Hijam Anganghal in 1940.
The Numit Kappa, literally meaning "Shooting at the Sun" in Meitei language, is a 1st-century BC Meitei epic, based on the story of a hero named Khwai Nungjeng Piba, who shoots one of the two shining in the sky, to create the night.
The Ougri is the collection of musical epic poetries, associated with religious themes, originated during the reign of King Nongda Lairen Pakhangba in 33 AD. Other epics include Shingel Indu by Hijam Anganghal, Khongjom Tirtha by Nilabir Sharma, Chingoi Baruni by Gokul Shastri, Kansa Vadha by A. Dorendrajit, and Vasudeva Mahakavya by Chingangbam Kalachand. However, the Sanskrit epics such as the Mahabharata and the Ramayana were also translated into Meitei language in the medieval times. Other translated epic works include the Meghnad Badh Kavya, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Ashtakam.
The language of these texts, termed Epic Sanskrit, constitutes the earliest phase of Classical Sanskrit, following the latest stage of Vedic Sanskrit found in the Shrauta Sutras. The Suparṇākhyāna, a late Vedic poem considered to be among the "earliest traces of epic poetry in India," is an older, shorter precursor to the expanded legend of Garuda that is included within the Mahābhārata.
The Buddhist kavi Aśvaghoṣa wrote two epics and one drama. He lived in the 1st-2nd century. He wrote a biography of the Buddha, titled Buddhacarita. His second epic is called Saundarananda and tells the story of the conversion of Nanda, the younger brother of the Buddha. The play he wrote is called Śariputraprakaraṇa, but of this play only a few fragments remained.
The famous poet and playwright Kālidāsa also wrote two epics: Raghuvamsha ( The Dynasty of Raghu) and Kumarasambhava ( The Birth of Kumar Kartikeya). Other classical Sanskrit epics are the Slaying of Śiśupāla Śiśupālavadha of Māgha, Arjuna and the Mountain Man Kirātārjunīya of Bhāravi, the Adventures of the Prince of Nishadha Naiṣadhacarita of Śrīharṣa and Bhaṭṭi's Poem Bhaṭṭikāvya of Bhaṭṭi.
Later, during the Chola period, Kamban (12th century) wrote what is considered one of the greatest Tamil epics — the Kambaramayanam of Kamban, based on the Valmiki Ramayana. The Thiruthondat Puranam (or Periya Puranam) of Chekkizhar is the great Tamil epic of the Shaiva Bhakti saints and is part of the religious scripture of Tamil Nadu's majority Shaivites.
The first known Telugu epic was the Andhra Mahabharatam written by the Kavitrayam (11th-14th centuries)
Other main Telugu epics are the Ranganatha Ramayanamu, Basava Purana, and the Amuktamalyada
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