The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c24.13

v1.c24.13

The attitude of modern scholarship towards these documents has varied at different times. In the early days of the study of Sanskrit in Europe they were accepted as historical. But it was soon evident that no satisfactory system of Indian chronology could be established by their aid alone; and for a long time scholars seem to have agreed to ignore their evidence unless when supported from other sources. After having been unduly appraised, the Purāṇas were unduly neglected. In recent years a reaction has set in, and there is a growing belief that these works are worthy of more serious attention than they have hitherto received. It has been shown that the historical information which they convey is not so untrustworthy as was formerly supposed. Dr Vincent Smith, for example, was able in 1902 (*Z.D.M.G.*, pp. 654, 658 ff.) to prove that both the dynastic list of the Andhra kings and the duration of the different reigns as stated in the Matsya Purāṇa are substantially correct.