Epics and Indian Canon

[J. Randall Groves]

Dear Indologists, I apologise in advance if I am becoming a nuisance
with my naive questions about things indological, but I have another
question that is a follow-up on my earlier question concerning
comparisons of Greek and Indian epics. Do the Indian epics function in
later Indian literary history like the Greek epics have functioned? I am
thinking of the canonical line of literature from Homer to Virgil (the
Aeneid) to Dante and so on. Is there a similar one that begins with the
Ramayana and Mahabarata? If so, what would be the canonical texts to
read after the R amayana and Mahabarata?Thanks in advance. Randy Groves,
Associate Prof.  of Humanities, Ferris State University.