Ancient Indian Historical Tradition c3.2

c3.2

Nothing herein has been the outcome of preconceived ideas, speculation, or haste. It began with a study of the epics and Purāṇas for geographical information about ancient India thirty years ago, during the translation of the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, in order to elucidate its geographical chapters. Geography included political divisions, and led to an examination of ancient kingdoms, and so on to their dynastic genealogies and traditions—subjects that were generally regarded as of little or no historical value, and were practically neglected. With no views about ancient Indian historical tradition, and a desire merely to see whether there was any substance in it, it was collected, compared, and studied, and inferences were drawn therefrom, revised continually with fresh material, and discarded freely if they proved untenable—which is simply the scientific process of collecting and testing facts copiously before forming any opinion or theory. At length some substance and order seemed to manifest themselves, and certain results gradually took shape; and some of these have been published in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society during the last fourteen years. These results developed with further study in