Book of Indian Eras, with Tables for Calculating Indian Dates c9.3

c9.3

Regarding the origin of the Mahâ-Yuga I have already expressed my opinion that it was the invention of the astronomers founded on the precession of the equinoxes. It may be objected that the division into four Yugas and their duration are mentioned both in the Code of Manu* and in the Mahâbhârata. But what is the age of Manu’s Code? The references to female heretics who wear an unlawful dress, or a dress unauthorized by the Vedas [v, 89, 90], of “female anchorets,” or nuns [viii, 36, 37], and of “heretical books,” or books of a false religion [ii, 11, and xi, 66], point so clearly to Buddhism, that the Code in its present form must certainly be posterior to the spread of Buddhism under Asoka.