Which of the following statements about the Mahabharata is true?

Some stories within the Mahabharata may have existed prior to its composition.

The correct answer is Option 4 - Some stories within the Mahabharata may have existed prior to its composition.

Incorrect Options with correction:

OPTION 1 - Mahabharata is a colossal epic running in its present form into over 100,000 verses with depictions of a wide range of social categories, not just kshatriyas.

OPTION 2- The text ALSO CONTAINS sections laying down norms of behaviour for various social groups.

OPTION 3- The epic was composed over a period of about 1,000 years not 500 years.

In focusing on the Mahabharata, a colossal epic running in its present form into over 100,000 verses with depictions of a wide range of social categories and situations, we draw on one of the richest texts of the subcontinent. It was composed over a period of about 1,000 years (c. 500 BCE onwards), and some of the stories it contains may have been in circulation even earlier (OPTION 4). The central story is about two sets of warring cousins. The text also contains sections laying down norms of behaviour for various social groups. Occasionally (though not always), the principal characters seem to follow these norms.