The Sanskrit Epics fall into two main classes, the one comprising old stories and legends known as Itihasa and Purina and the other comprising poems known as Kavyam or ornate epics. The Mahabharata has exercised a great influence on the later Puranas and the Ramayana has served as a model for later court epics of the post-Purana age.
The Ramayana is a great epic of mankind. It is also known as Adi-kävya (first epic), written by the Adi-kavi (first poet) Valmiki. This famous Indian epic deals with social, moral, political, spiritual, and philosophical aspects of human life, besides principally narrating the story of Räma. The Ramayana is a highly popular epic that has become the property of the Indian people and it is not an exaggeration if it is said that it has influenced more than any other poem the thought and poetry of a nation for thousands of years.
The Mahabharata itself claims that Maharshi Veda Vyasa composed the work as a great Dharmasastra, as Arthasastra, Moksasastra, and also Kamasastra. In the last parvan, it claims that whatever is said in it would be found elsewhere and what is not contained it would not be found anywhere else i. e. it claims to be encyclopedic work and hence there was a great incentive for later scholars to add to it fresh matter.
The Puranas are known as the fifth Veda in Indian culture. Puranas aim to acquaint the general mass with the teachings and philosophy of the Veda which are to be adopted as the principle and thus achieve the goal of life. As Vedavyasa says: "itihasa purānābhyam vedam samupabṛmihayet." Various Puranas provide us with valuable information about the social religious and cultural life of ancient and medieval India.
Hence, this book would be immensely useful to the students as well as researchers to know and understand Indian Culture & History in a positive direction.