Mahabharat was not written as a modern-day novel by a single author for an intended specific audience. The stories were passed orally for several generations before the advent of appropriate writing systems and written over a period of time. While the stories appear to be for the comsumption of the general masses, there is enough space for interpretation in several layers. So, even though the war in the epic most likely refers to some great war in history, the purpose of the epic, as envisaged by the authors, appears to have very little to do with reporting history alone. Consequently, its significance lies in its vastness in terms of the presentation of plots and philosophical insights, and the enormity of its influence on popular imagination rather than its historicity (which has remained debatable).