It is written in several places in the Mahabharata that it is an "itihas" which exclusively means, "Thus occurred". The Aryan people to categorize "ancient" and "recent" events specifically coined the words "Puraana" and "Itihas". Both the words denote history that has occurred at different times. It is mentioned in the Mahabharata (Adi parva, Adhyaya 62) that the annals of the Bharata-Dynasty are recorded in the work. It has been clearly stated in the Adi parva, Bhishmaparva etc. that this is "itihas". If the intentions of the writer were to write a poem or a work of fiction, he would have stated it to be a "mahakavya" or "katha".