Ancient Indian Historical Tradition c6.6

c6.6

Our knowledge of the most ancient times in India rests mainly on tradition. We know from the evidence of language that the Aryans entered India very early, and established themselves ultimately throughout North India and in the north-west of the Dekhan, so that the history of those times is bound up closely with the Aryan conquest. The Purāṇas, the Mahābhārata and in a minor degree the Rāmāyaṇa profess to give accounts from tradition about the earliest occurrences. The Vedas, the Brāhmaṇas and other brahmanic literature supply information also. The oldest of these, the Ṛigveda, contains historical allusions, of which some record contemporary persons and events, but more refer to bygone times and persons and are obviously based on tradition. Almost all the information therefore comes from tradition.