Dates And Dynasties in Earliest India

I am deeply indebted to Dr. F. R. Allchin of Cambridge University, the late Prof. R. H. Robinson of the University of Wisconsin, and especially to Prof. A. K. Narain of Benares Hindu University for their interest in the publication of this work.

In developing the work of F. E. Pargiter, I may claim a limited originality in working from a critical text of the relevant passages of the Purana, and herein the value of my labour lies. The advocates of Traditional history cannot claim to be heard with respect till that has been made; once it has been, it will be seen that the Purana makes good historical sense, consistent with the data of archaeology. I claim that my critical text is on the right lines, though future scholarship can he expected to improve in particulars.

I hope this work will be useful to historians who are not Sanskritists. For them I have given a translation of the Purana passages used, with tables of kings and synchronisms. I have arranged the indices by verse and paragraph numbers, so that the reasoning behind my statement or translation can be found. I have not appended a bibliography to this work since on the king lists, except for Pargiter and Kirfel, all work has been done without a critical text and without proper valuation of the different Puranas, it has therefore been basically vitiated.

In Parts II & III I intend to present the chronological evidence of the religious tradition, Vedic and Brahmanic. The present problems of early Indian chronology are so intractable that I feel new approaches are justified, and even necessary, and I trust that even this first part will show that they can be fruitful.

I would like to thank the Commonwealth Relations Office Library for the use of MSS, especially that referred to as a Vayu.

**Contents and Sample Pages**