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The 笔耻谤腻峁噄肠 tradition of historiography deserves our special attention. The 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 have their own history. There was originally a single text called 笔耻谤腻峁嘺 厂补峁僪颈迟腻 or 滨迟颈丑腻蝉补 厂补峁僪颈迟腻 whose authorship has been ascribed to the great sages 痴别诲补惫测腻蝉补, 28 in the line of 痴测腻蝉补蝉 who were known by different names. He inherited the tradition of preserving and compiling the 笔耻谤腻峁噄肠 data from his predecessors. It is categorically stated in the 笔耻谤腻峁噄肠 texts that after having classified the single Veda into four 厂补峁僪颈迟腻 , he first composed the 笔耻谤腻峁嘺 divided into 18 parts consisting of 腻办丑测腻苍补蝉, up腻办丑测腻苍补蝉, 驳腻迟丑腻蝉 , etc. and then a 颈迟颈丑腻蝉补 (history) named the 惭补丑腻产丑腻谤补迟补 (Bharata 厂补峁僪颈迟腻 ) incorporating in it some 笔耻谤腻峁噄肠 data in the 顿惫腻辫补谤补 age itself (Matsya 鈥�53/68-69; 3/3-4; 53/3-11; 痴颈峁ａ箛耻 鈥�3/3/2-21; 3/4/1-10; 3/6/15.鈥�). The said 18 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 contain among other things historical tradition of the 膧谤测补苍蝉 . A.K. Warder鈥檚 view that the original 笔耻谤腻峁嘺 was composed in the 8 century BC during the reign of Adhis墨mak峁涐梗峁嘺 of the Kali age (six in the succession from Abhimanyu) or may have existed in some form earlier, (An Introduction to Indian Historiography, PP. 17-18) appears to be confusing. In fact, the 笔耻谤腻峁嘺 was narrated and not composed during the reign of the said king. In reality, it was the 顿惫腻辫补谤补 age which marked the beginning of the tradition of historical writing in early India.

It is important to note that 惭补丑补谤峁�i 痴测腻蝉补 in his 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 and the 惭补丑腻产丑腻谤补迟补 also include some important historical subjects like dynastic genealogies of pre-叠丑腻谤补迟补 war period, contemporary events, etc. And it is perhaps on this ground that Um膩sankara Diksita has called him 颈迟颈丑腻蝉补kartt膩 (composer of historical work) and 鈥渁 great historian.鈥�

N.S. Rajaram also observes:

鈥淚n ancient times Veda 痴测腻蝉补 was considered a great historian. Tradition credits him with the authorship of the historical epic 惭补丑腻产丑腻谤补迟补 and also with the responsibility for preserving ancient records found in the 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 (鈥�Distortion of Indian. History from Harappa to Ayodhya鈥� by B.V. Raman; The astrological magazine, Vol. 87, No. 1, Bangalore, Jan. 1998, P. 75).

It is practically not possible to chronologically arrange his all works. Nor can he be placed in a chronological framework. He was not a mythical figure but a historical personage. In fact, these were 峁氠梗颈蝉 and 惭补丑补谤峁�is who built up the tradition of preserving the historical records of the post.

It was 痴别诲补惫测腻蝉补 who taught the first lesson of history to his pupils. There are some concrete evidences in the 笔耻谤腻峁噄肠 records to show that he taught the 颈迟颈丑腻蝉补. 笔耻谤腻峁嘺 to his famous disciple, Romahar峁�ana (called 厂奴迟补), who further taught it to his son Ugra艣arv膩, and six disciples at least five of whom were 产谤腻丑尘补峁嘺蝉 (V峁ａ箛, 3, 4, 8-10; 3, 6, 16-19; 叠丑腻驳 , I, 4, 22; XII, 7, 5-7; Vy ., 61, 55-58; Km , 1, 1, 2-7; 1, 50, 12-14; Bmd ., iv, 4, 67f; Pdm ., V, I, 2, 11-14). The 笔耻谤腻峁噄肠 产谤腻丑尘补峁嘺蝉 belonging to a class of 厂奴迟补 had developed historical sense. Their concept of history was fundamentally based on the precepts of said 痴测腻蝉补. In all probability, the work began by 痴测腻蝉补 might have been completed by 搁辞尘补丑补谤峁�a峁嘺 and his disciples. The tradition of studying, teaching and interpreting the 颈迟颈丑腻蝉补 and 笔耻谤腻峁嘺 set by 痴测腻蝉补 and followed by his disciples was handed down from generation to generation.^[1]

According to the A.D. Pusalkar the 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 occupy an important position in the Indian literature 鈥渂oth sacred and secular鈥�, as they are the literature of the masses. As such they not only afford us a glimpse into the several spheres of art and life, but they are very fruitful for comparative studies in mythology, religion, philosophy, fables, legends etc. Over and above this they are important as aids to Vedic interpretation (颈迟颈丑腻蝉补pur膩峁嚹乥hy膩 veda samupav峁沨ayet | Mbh creed II 204) for the linguistic history of Sanskrit and for the study and understanding of ancient Indian culture and civilization. It is a happy sign that they are now accepted as one of the important sources of Indian history and culture, because in order to get an authentic picture of the growth and development one has to study critically and exhaustively very extensive source-literature.

The student of ancient Indian history and culture has at his disposal the written and unwritten sources i.e. (1) literary sources (2) archaeological finds inscriptions, coins, monuments and (3) foreign accounts for the reconstruction of the history and culture of Indian past (4) tribal legends. The literary sources are e.g. the Vedas , the Epics, the 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 , the Buddhist and Jain works etc.^[2]

According to Dr. Winternitz, the 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 are valuable to the historian and to the antiquarian as a source of political history on account of their genealogies, even though they can only be used with great caution and careful discrimination. They are of inestimable value from the point of view of the history of religion, and on this head alone deserve for more careful study than has hitherto been devoted to them. They afford us far greater insight into all aspects and phases of Hinduism its mythology, its idol-worship, its theism and pantheism, its love of God, its philosophy and superstitions, its festivals and ceremonies and its ethics than any other work. As a literary production, they are by no means a pleasing phenomenon. The careless language and poor versification in which grammar often suffers for the sake of metre, are just as characteristic of these works as the confused medley of contents and the boundless exaggerations.^[3]

It used to be the general opinion of western scholars that the 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 belonged to the latest productions of Sanskrit literature and came into existence during the last thousand years. However, this view is not accepted today. The poet 叠腻峁嘺 knew the 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 very well and he tells us that he attended a reading of the 痴腻测耻 笔耻谤腻峁嘺 in his native village. Kumarila Bhatta relies on the 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 as a source of law. 艢补苍办补谤补 and Ramanuja referred to the 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 as ancient and sacred texts. Alberuni was familiar with the 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 and he gives us a list of the eighteen 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 . He has also given quotations from certain 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 . According to Winternitz, the earlier 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 came into being to all intents and purposes as early as in the first century of the Christian era. There is a resemblance between the Buddhist Mahayana Texts of the first century of the Christian era and the 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 . There is a lot in common between the 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 and the Lalitavistara . The 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 are 18 in number but all the 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 are not equally important for historical purposes. As sources of History, we depend largely on the 痴颈峁ａ箛耻 笔耻谤腻峁嘺, 痴腻测耻 笔耻谤腻峁嘺, Matsya 笔耻谤腻峁嘺 , Brahma 笔耻谤腻峁嘺 and Bhavi峁�ya 笔耻谤腻峁嘺 . Every 笔耻谤腻峁嘺 deals with five topics, viz., Sarga , Pratisarga , 痴补峁兣沘 , Manvantara and 痴补峁兣浤乶耻肠丑补谤颈迟补 . It is the fifth topic which is useful for students of history. The 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 start with the rulers who trace their origin from the Sun and the Moon. They describe the various kings who ruled in the 惭补诲丑测补诲别艣补 . They fill in the gap from the end of the epic age to the rise of Buddha. They give the names of the Puru kings of 贬补蝉迟颈苍腻辫耻谤 and the 滨办峁�v腻办耻 king of 碍辞艣补濒补 . They give us details about the 艢颈艣耻苍腻驳补 kings and Nanda kings. V.A. Smith has shown that the 痴颈峁ａ箛耻 笔耻谤腻峁嘺 is very reliable as regards the Mauryan dynasty and the Matsya 笔耻谤腻峁嘺 is reliable as regards the 膧苍诲丑谤补 and 艢补颈艣耻苍腻驳补 dynasties. The 痴腻测耻 笔耻谤腻峁嘺 describes the rule of the Guptas as it was under Chandragupta I. At the end of the list of Kings, certain 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 give a series of dynasties of low and barbarian origin such as 膧产丑颈谤补蝉 , Gardabhas, 艢补办补蝉, Yavanas, Tusaras, 贬耻峁嘺蝉 , etc.

The 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 can be used for the purpose of building up the history of ancient Indian geography. In them, we come across the names of very many cities which existed in their times. The distances between the various cities mentioned in the 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 can also be determined approximately from the information contained in the 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 . It is sometimes stated that a particular person started from a particular place in the morning and reached another place in the evening. From such a description, it must not be difficult to ascertain the approximate distance between the two places. The 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 help us to know in many cases the old names of the cities, rivers and mountain. Mr. Dey of Calcutta has done a lot of work in this connection. More patient research can yield further results. It cannot be denied that the knowledge of ancient Indian geography can help us to appreciate better the history of ancient India.

According to N. Mukhopadhyaya,

鈥淭丑别 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 from an important portion of the religious literature of the Hindus, and together with the 顿丑补谤尘补艣腻蝉迟谤补蝉 and Tantras, govern their conduct and regulate their religious observances at the present day. The Vedas are studied by the antiquarian, the 鲍辫补苍颈峁�a诲蝉 by the philosopher; but every orthodox Hindu must have some knowledge of the 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 , directly or vicariously, to shape his conduct and to perform the duties essential to the worldly and spiritual 飞别濒蹿补谤别.鈥�^[4]

According to S. N. Pradhan,

鈥淭丑别 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 profess to give us the ancient history of India. In so doing they begin from the earliest 峁欢惫别诲颈肠 period describing genealogies of kings who established kingdoms and principalities and thus parceled out and ruled ancient India. Occasionally, the feats and achievements of kings and sages are related, battles mentioned and described, noticeable incidents and happenings recorded and very valuable synchronisms noted donw.鈥�^[5]

This has been a tendency among the modern scholars to belittle the value of the information found in the 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 . It has been suggested that the genealogies of the 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 were invented by some fertile brains at the instance of the reigning kings. However, there is nothing to support such a view. The Pauranikas profess to tell the truth and they had nothing to gain from the public in general. It would have been very difficult to compile the dynastic lists from pure imagination. The 厂奴迟补s were interested in the work of preserving the texts of the 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 and thus the puranic literature must have been faithfully preserved and transmitted. It seems that ancient royal genealogies were carefully studied, analyzed and preserved by their custodians. While studying the 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 , we should neither be prejudiced nor credulous about the truth of the facts mentioned in them. We should always follow the middle path and accept only that which seems to be reasonable.

According to V.A. Smith,

鈥淭丑别 historian of the remote part of any nation must be content to rely upon tradition as embodied in literature and to acknowledge that the results of his researchers, when based upon traditionally materials are inferior to those obtainable for periods of which the facts are attested by contemporary evidence.鈥�^[6]

A lot of research has been done on the 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 . In addition to a large number of articles written on the subject. The works of F.E. Pargiter are important. Those works are Ancient Indian Historical Tradition and The Dynasties of Kali age. It cannot be denied that there are certain serious shortcomings in the 笔耻腻峁嘺蝉 . History is mixed up with fables and folklore. The legends in the 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 are religious and not historical. Some of the things given in the 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 are based on hearsay and are not corroborated from other reliable sources. At some places, the various 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 give conflicting accounts.

Altekar points out that in the dynastic lists, the 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 themselves do not say that each successor in the list was a son or a relative of his predecessor. In many cases, they only say that so and so came after so and so, without indicating any relationship between them. It is certain that in many cases the successor only belonged to the tribe of the predecessor and not to his family.

In his history of Sanskrit literature A. B. Keith has observed thus:

鈥淭丑别 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 , as we have them, contain vast masses of other matter, religious and social, some traces of the activity of court poets who made genealogies, but the value of these notices is of the most limited descriptions; the lists of names and dates alone which is what they normally contribute are regularly, when compared with our more reliable evidence, hopelessly inaccurate showing that at the time when they came into being the interest of genealogists was rather edification by constructing pleasing ancestries than accurate record of facts. It may indeed be doubted whether with the most critical care anything could be retrieved of substantial value additional to other sources of information; hitherto they have been treated only without critical judgment or acumen.鈥�

However, A. B. Keith鈥檚 view is obviously prejudiced. He ignores altogether the great value of the information which has already been collated by the efforts of the scholars. He seems to suffer from the old prejudice against the 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 dating from the time of Lord Macaulay. It is high time that the scholars give up their prejudices and give the 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 a due place as a source of ancient Indian history^[7].

The word 鈥�笔耻谤腻峁嘺 鈥� means 鈥榦ld鈥�. The main object of the compilation of the 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 is to preserve old traditions which come down from remote antiquity. They are derived from the same religious system as the 搁腻尘腻测补峁嘺 and the 惭补丑腻产丑腻谤补迟补 and present peculiarities which point to their belonging to a later period, and to an important modification in the progress of opinion. They are popular sectarian compilations of different periods, of mythology, philosophy, history, geography and the sacred law, intended, as they are now used, for the purpose of religious instruction. A 笔耻谤腻峁嘺 according to an early definition, (鈥�笔耻谤腻峁嘺峁� 笔补帽肠补濒补办峁�a峁嘺尘鈥�础尘补谤补办辞峁�a ) best exemplified by the 痴颈峁ａ箛耻 笔耻谤腻峁� , should treat of five subjects, namely, primary creation, secondary creation, genealogies of gods and patriarchs, regions of various Manus and the history of ancient dynasties.

The definition of a 笔耻谤腻峁嘺 as found in the 痴颈峁ａ箛耻, Matsya, 痴腻测耻 and other 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 is as follows:

sarga艣ca pratisarga艣ca va峁兣沷manvantar膩nica
sarve峁�vetasu kathyante va峁兣浤乶ucaritam ca yat^[8]

This definition, however, is totally inapplicable to some of the 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 , while it applies only partially to others. The 痴颈峁ａ箛耻 笔耻谤腻峁嘺 mentions its scope and source in the following words (痴颈峁ａ箛耻 笔耻谤腻峁嘺 III, 6).

Accomplished in the purport of the 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 , 痴测腻蝉补 compiled a 笔补耻谤腻峁噄办补 厂补峁僪颈迟腻 , consisting of historical and legendary traditions, prayers and hymns and sacred chronology. He had a distinguished disciple, called 厂奴迟补 搁辞尘补丑补谤峁�a峁嘺 and to him the great Muni communicated the 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 . 厂奴迟补 had six scholars: Sumati, Agnivarcas, 惭颈迟谤腻测耻, Sansap膩yana, Akritavra峁嘺 (called 碍补艣测补辫补) and 厂腻惫补谤峁噄. The last three composed three fundamental 厂补峁僪颈迟腻s , and Romahar峁�ana himself compiled a fourth called 搁辞尘补丑腻谤蝉补峁噄办补 . The substance of these four 厂补尘丑颈迟腻蝉 is embodied in this (痴颈峁ａ箛耻) 笔耻谤腻峁嘺.

笔耻谤腻峁嘺 is a collection, of various types of knowledge and information. Among the subject history is that topic which is found in abundance in the 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 . We can analyze the history described in 笔耻谤腻峁嘺蝉 by dividing them into three categories鈥�(I) Geographical history (II) Cultural history (III) Human history.

Footnotes and references:

[back to top]

[1]:

Ancient Indian Historiography by G.P. Sing P.-27, 28.

[2]:

笔耻谤腻峁嘺鈥揈ncyclopedia

[3]:

Ancient India by V.D. Mahajan鈥揚. 14鈥�16

[4]:

Ancient India by V.D. Mahajan鈥揚. 15

[5]:

Ancient India by V.D. Mahajan鈥揚. 15

[6]:

Ancient India by V.D. Mahajan鈥揚. 15 -16

[7]:

Ancient India by V.D. Mahajan.

[8]:

痴颈峁ａ箛耻 笔耻谤腻峁嘺鈥揑II/6/25