Ancient Indian Historical Tradition c21.50

c21.50

In considering notices of rishis, it is very necessary to remember the cautions explained in chapter XII. It will be convenient here to give a table showing the chronological position of the ancient rishis, as they are ascertained in the preceding and following chapters, and it is arranged according to the scale in the table of royal genealogies in chapter XII, that is, the numbers correspond in both tables, and the two read together show what kings and rishis were contemporaries. This table will elucidate the discussions in the following chapters. The Matsya (195 to 202) gives copious lists of rishis and gotras in the brahman families, and it will be found that gotras of the same name sometimes existed in two families.¹ This renders it at times hardly certain to which family a rishi mentioned by his gotra name should be assigned, yet generally one gotra was far more distinguished than the other, so that it is reasonable to place such a rishi in the family in which the gotra was distinguished. Where a rishi is mentioned only by his gotra name without any personal name, the former is placed within inverted commas; and where a rishi can be assigned only tentatively to a particular position, his name is marked thus (?). Rishis and teachers after the Bhārata battle are dealt with in chapter XXVII.