Ancient Indian Historical Tradition c11.2

c11.2

THE genealogies of the ancient dynasties are the chief data of an historical kind, and the investigation of traditional history must begin with them. They are given more or less fully by all the Puranas, except the late Varāha, Vāmana, Skanda, Nāradīya and Brahmavaivarta, and the Bhaviṣya which does not deal with the ancient past. Some are found in the Mahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa. All the accounts are in verse in the śloka metre, except some parts in the Mahābhārata and most of the Viṣṇu. The most important Puranas as regards genealogies are the Vāyu and Brahmāṇḍa, the Brahma and Harivaṃśa, the Matsya (with book V of the Padma) and the Viṣṇu.