What can we gather from ancient literature as to the reality of the epoch to which it belongs ? This question poses itself with acuity in the case of many ancient Indian texts - which often present the prescribed as factual - and even more so in the case of a composition like the Mahābhārata (MBh), where the supernatural and mythical freely mingle with the mundane. The Epics often present us with an ideal picture of the ascetics who live in the hostile environment of the Indian jungle, subsisting on meagre forest fare. Is it actually possible to live on such a diet - provided one is bent on surviving and not on releasing one's body ?