The term, `epic` is used mostly to describe a long, narrative poem relating heroic deeds. In literary usage, the term encompasses both oral and written work. Primary examples would be Homer`s Iliad and Odyssey. An epic may be about subjects as myriad as heroic legends, myths, beast fables, philosophical theories etc. Because poetry came before prose, and because underlying all written forms is some oral strain, the epic too was born out of an oral tradition. Epic poetry has been used the world over, in different ages and countries to transmit from one generation to the other, the tales of the glorious deeds of their national heroes. "Epic" in a way becomes synonymous with heroic oral poetry. One of the main functions of such poetry is to stir the spirit of the warriors by recollecting past glory and supplying them with models of ideal heroic behavior. And since the poetry aimed more to educate than to record actual facts, more often than not, the protagonists are exaggerated and idealized, transformed into ideal characters. Their acts conform to mythological patterns. Over the world, it has been seen that epics bear certain similar qualities. Heroes are born of their illegitimate mother`s union with a divine force (eg. Kunti), they are brought up in humble surroundings, they have marvelous potential and die young (eg. Karna). It has been seen that most Indo-European epics have as their central themes, religion and kingship, physical strength, fecundity, health, riches, beauty etc.

The first traces of epic poetry in India are probably to be found in Vedic Sanskrit literature, in the hymns of the Rig Veda. The recital of narrative poems was an integral part of the religious ceremonies at festivals. It was common practice to have stories of gods and heroes related. "Songs in praise of men" (gatha narasamsi ) are the precursors of the heroic epic in India as they talk about the glorious deeds of kings and their warriors. These songs in praise of men, in time, gathered allusions, and developed into epic poems of considerable variety and length and into cycles of epic songs with one protagonist or one great event. The most famous examples of Indian epic poetry are of course the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. To the famous poet and playwright Kalidasa is attributed two epics: Raghuvamsha and Kumarasambhava. It is not conceivable that the Ramayana and the Mahabharata could be the only epic poems to have been survived in today`s times, but others must have been lost to the sands of time. According to Winternitz, epic poetry seems to have been cultivated more in regions of India where the worship of Vishnu as the highest deity prevailed. The authors, reciters, preservers of this ancient poetry were the bards, or the sutras who lived at the courts of the kings and sang or recited these song cycles at feasts. The sutra of the Mahabharata is Sanjaya who describes to the blind King Dhritarashtra the events taking place on Kurukshetra, Epic poetry must have originated in the circle of such bards (Homer is the most famous such bard in the western world). It is important to understand that what we conceive of, as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata today, are not unified poems or compilations. They are accumulations of a variety of poems, which through centuries have undergone a series of alterations and interpolation and additions. The Mahabharata, especially, is a mesh of beast fables, mythological narratives, and didactic tales and including among other things, the Bhagvada Gita.

Mahabharata i.e. the great narrative of the Bharatas is a true living epic. Its events and characters speak to us even in the twenty first century. `Maha` means great in Hindi and `Bharat` is a common name for India. It is a multi-textured, multi-hued, enormously influential epic, which attracts attention even today a case in point being the popularity of the television series and Peter Brook`s adaptation of the epic. The Rigveda talks of the Bharatas as a warlike tribe and the Mahabharata is said to start with Bharata , son of Sakuntala and Duhsanta. Among the descendants of Bharata, a ruler named Kuru was important and his descendants t were called the Kauravas. The name Kuru thus came to be synonymous with the tribe of the Bharatas and their land is Kurushetra or Kuru-land. A family feud in the royal house of the Kauravas, leads to a massive battles, the famed battle of Kurukshetra, which endangers the longevity of the Kaurava royal house and with it, the clan of the Bharatas. Just like the Iliad, here too, the tragedy of a terrible war forms the crux of the epic poem. The Pandavas i.e. sons of Pandu suffer from the enmity of Duryodhana and his 99 brothers who are perhaps incarnations of the demons of Kali. Even in the Ramayan, Ravana and his clan can be interpreted as demons.The whole story is a transposition at the heroic level, of an Indo-European myth between the gods and the demons since the beginning of the world. It results in a bloody, eschatological battle in which the gods and devils exterminate each other. The destruction of the former order prepares for a newer and better world. And as is the case with most forms of oral poetry, across generations fragments from other tales got added to the actual story of the battle which is considered to have been an actual historical event that may have taken place somewhere in the upper Ganges and Jamuna. The Mahabharata is not merely the heroic poem of the Bharatas but representative of the entire of bard poetry. Some of the poems, which are included in the Mahabharata, are epics by themselves and form therefore, epics within epics.

The Ramayana as compared to Mahabharata, is shorter and more unified. The authorship is attributed to Valmiki and he is known as adikavi, the author of ornate poetry. In ornate poetry, greater importance is attached to the alamkara i.e. embellishments rather than the form. Ramayana is a popular epic to this day. Old and young, all are familiar with the story of Rama and Sita and Hanuman. Popular sayings and proverbs bear witness to the nation`s familiarity with Ramayana. Rama, the hero of the Ramayana, was probably later made into an incarnation of the god Vishnu. In fact even Hanuman, the monkey king is worshipped all over India and whether this is because of the popularity of the Ramayana or whether the Ramayana came about as a result of the popularity of the monkey god is a debatable question.

Kannada epic poetry mainly consists of Jain religious literature. The most famous poet of Kannada epic poetry is Adikavi Pampa (902-975 CE) whose Vikramarjuna Vijaya ,an adaptation of the celebrated Mahabharata, is hailed even today .Like Valmiki, he has been called adikavi. It is only in Kannada that we have a Ramayana and a Mahabharata based on the Jaina tradition in addition to those based on Brahmanical tradition. 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. The post-sangam period (2nd century-6th century) saw many great Tamil epics being written, including Cilappatikaram, Manimegalai, Jeevaga-chintamani, Valayapati and Kundalakesi. Later, during the Chola period, Kamban (12th century) wrote what is considered one of the greatest Tamil epics - the Kamba ramayanam of Kamban, based on the Ramayana.

The religious-philosophical Hindi poem Ramcharitamanas by the poet Tulsi Das, based on the Ramayana was the first epic poem in Hindi. Generations of Hindus in all parts of India have made the acquaintance of the legend of Rama from such translations. In modern Hindi literature, Kamayani by Jaishankar Prasad has attained the status of an epic. The narrative of Kamayani is based on a popular mythological story, first mentioned in Satapatha Brahmana. In Bengal, Michael Madhusudan Dutt`s Meghnadbodh Kavya is considered to be an epic status even though it has for its subject, a fragment of the Ramayana. However the breadth of its vision and its many digressions and allusions have led to it being termed as an "epic". In Bengal too, Hemchandra Sen`s Britra Sanghar and Nabinchandra Sen`s Palashir Judho (in three parts) are examples of epic poetry.