The History of Indian Literature c7.4

c7.4

The literature of India passes generally for the most ancient literature of which we possess written records, and justly so.¹ But the reasons which have hitherto been thought sufficient to establish this fact are not the correct ones; and it is indeed a matter for wonder that people should have been so long contented with them. In the first place, Indian tradition itself has been adduced in support of this fact, and for a very long time this was considered sufficient. It is, I think, needless for me to waste words upon the futile nature of such evidence. In the next place, astronomical data have been appealed to, according to which the Vedas would date from about 1400 B.C. But these data are given in writings, which are evidently of very modern origin, and they might consequently be the result of calculations² instituted for the express purpose. Further, one of the Buddhist eras has been relied upon, according to which a reformer is supposed to have arisen in the sixth century b.c., in opposition to the Brahmanical hierarchy; but the authenticity of this particular era is still extremely questionable. Lastly, the period when Páṇini, the first systematic grammarian, flourished, has been referred to the fourth century b.c., and from this, as a starting-point, conclusions as to the period of literary development which preceded him have been deduced. But the arguments in favour of Páṇini's having lived at that time³ are altogether weak and hypothetical, and in no case can they furnish us with any sort of solid basis.