Ancient Indian Historical Tradition c6.58

c6.58

With such grave defects the presumption virtually disappears, and two instances may be cited in which the brahmanical books are wrong, both taken from that story, which affords special opportunities for testing brahmanical accuracy. It says that the sacrifice of Śunaḥśepa was a rājasūya, and the first Viśvāmitra is there styled Bharata-ṛṣabha. Now the sacrifice was not a rājasūya, because Hariścandra had been reigning then some twenty-five years, the real rājasūya took place early in his reign, and the sacrifice of Śunaḥśepa was merely the belated fulfilment of a special vow. The appellation *Bharata-ṛṣabha*, ‘leader of the Bharatas,’ was impossible, because the Bharatas were Viśvāmitra’s descendants and had not come into existence then, as will be shown in chapter IX.¹ Statements in Vedic literature therefore, though ancient, may be incorrect, and, if wrong originally, no amount of careful preservation can make them true. Besides, priestly tampering must not be forgotten, as shown above with regard to Vyāsa.