Ancient Indian Historical Tradition c8.104

c8.104

These lists have been set out, in order that there should be no lack of names of notable kings for comparison. They show that the really famous kings occur repeatedly and were well established in tradition; and that there were many others less celebrated but yet well known. It is very remarkable, as pointed out before (p. 7), how widely these kings differ from those extolled in the Rigveda and Vedic literature, even when the lists are brahmanical. Rigvedic kings are practically non-existent here, and eulogies of kings in all that literature hardly count in the compilation of these lists. This fact shows how entirely apart from general popular thought stood Vedic literature in this matter. The popular scale of values was totally different from that of Vedic brahmans. Hence it is clear how little Vedic brahmans were in touch with public life and interests,¹ and of what small importance Vedic literature is as regards historical matters.