[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Literature, language and dating](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.literature) › [A History of Indian Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.literature.winternitz-1927) › v2.c19.s1.2 # A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s1.2 A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s1.2 - **Language:** English ### [v2.c19.s1.2](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.literature.winternitz-1927.v2.c19.s1.2) Vedic literature led us well-nigh into "prehistoric" times; and for the beginnings of epic poetry, too, we had to dispense with all certain dates. It is only with the Buddhist literature that we gradually emerge into the broad daylight of history, and we have seen that the darkness of the history of the Vedic and the epic literature is somewhat illuminated by this light. The approximate period of Buddha can be determined with some degree of probability, and that gives a starting-point, from which we can calculate the origin of a Buddhist literature. Gotama Buddha died probably a few years before or after 485 B. C.,2) and according to a tradition whose authenticity we are scarcely justified in questioning, he attained the age of 80 years. As a young man of 29 years he is said to have taken up the life of a wandering ascetic, and thus begun to seek the way of salvation. After severe internal struggles he began, as a mature man, to proclaim the doctrine he had discovered. The activity of the Buddha might, then, fall into the period of about 535-485 B. C.: the foundation and propagation of that Indian religion which was destined to become one of the three great religions of the world. The Ganges district in North-East India was the scene of his activity. Here—in the kingdoms of Magadha (Bihar) and Kosala (Oudh)—he wandered from place to place, preaching his doctrine and gathering ever more adherents about him. - [Previous: v2.c19.s1.1](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.literature.winternitz-1927.v2.c19.s1.1) - [Next: v2.c19.s1.3](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.literature.winternitz-1927.v2.c19.s1.3) - [Up: v2.c19.s1](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.literature.winternitz-1927.v2.c19.s1) --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.literature.winternitz-1927.v2.c19.s1.2](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.literature.winternitz-1927.v2.c19.s1.2) · Pramāṇa