Consider the following statements about the epic Mahabharata. Identify the correct statements.

A. Contents of the text can be classified into narrative and didactic.
B. The narrative section contain stories.
C. The didactic section contain social norms.
D. The narrative section was added later.
E. The text 'Mahabharata' is described as an 'itihasa' within early Sanskrit tradition.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

A, B, C, E only

The correct answer is Option (4) → A, B, C, E only

The following are the correct statements:

A. Contents of the text can be classified into narrative and didactic.
B. The narrative section contain stories.
C. The didactic section contain social norms.
E. The text 'Mahabharata' is described as an 'itihasa' within early Sanskrit tradition.

Statement D- The narrative section was added later is incorrect as according to the historians didactic portions were probably added later.

Explanatory text from NCERT:

The version of the Mahabharata we have been considering is in Sanskrit (although there are versions in other languages as well). However, the Sanskrit used in the Mahabharata is far simpler than that of the Vedas, or of the prashastis. As such, it was probably widely understood. Historians usually classify the contents of the present text under two broad heads – sections that contain stories, designated as the narrative, and sections that contain prescriptions about social norms, designated as didactic. This division is by no means watertight – the didactic sections include stories, and the narrative often contains a social message. However, generally historians agree that the Mahabharata was meant to be a dramatic, moving story, and that the didactic portions were probably added later.

Interestingly, the text is described as an itihasa within early Sanskrit tradition. The literal meaning of the term is “thus it was”, which is why it is generally translated as “history”. Was there a real war that was remembered in the epic? We are not sure. Some historians think that the memory of an actual conflict amongst kinfolk was preserved in the narrative; others point out that there is no other corroborative evidence of the battle.