Ancient Indian Historical Tradition c15.17

c15.17

Fifthly, by a comparison of these with brahman genealogies. The brahmans, and the Puranic brahmans as much as other brahmans, had a natural and obvious incentive to preserve and, if necessary, to fabricate brahman genealogies. The brahmans have constituted a priestly power unique in history; they aggrandized themselves in every way and their pretensions have been notorious; yet, as pointed out (chapter XVI), they have produced no real brahman genealogy. If then they did not construct their own genealogies, it is absurd to suppose they fabricated elaborate kṣatriya genealogies; and the only reasonable conclusion is that these genealogies are ancient and genuine kṣatriya tradition which was incorporated in the Purana. The internal evidence corroborates this, for these genealogies in the earliest Puranas are, on the whole, manifestly kṣatriya literature, as, for instance, the stories of Triśaṅku and Sagara, so often alluded to, show.