The Early History of India, from 600 B.C. to the Muhammadan Conquest, including the Invasion of Alexander the Great c11.8

c11.8

As stated in the text, the traditional periods assigned to the Nanda dynasty of either 100 or 155 years for two generations cannot be accepted. The A-nanda mode of reckoning, used by the poet Chand, suggests 90 or 91 years as the true period. We thus get 342 (252 + 90) as the maximum admissible period for the Śaiśunāga and Nanda dynasties combined; and, reckoning backwards from the fixed point, 322 B. C., the year 664 B. C. is found to be *the earliest possible date for Śiśunāga, the first king*. But of course the true date may be, and probably is, somewhat later, because it is extremely unlikely that twelve reigns (ten Śaiśunāga and two Nanda) should have attained an average of 25·16 years.