Bhagavad-gītā originally appears as an episode in the Mahābhārata, the epic Sanskrit history of the ancient world. The Mahābhārata tells of events leading up to the present Age of Kali. It was at the beginning of this age, some fifty centuries ago, that Lord Kṛṣṇa spoke Bhagavad-gītā to His friend and devotee Arjuna.

Shri Ramcharitmanas (Śrī Rāmacaritamānasa), is an epic poem in Awadhi language, composed by the 16th-century Indian bhakti poet Tulsidas (c. 1532–1623). The word Ramcharitmanas literally means Lake of the deeds of Rama.