A History of Indian Literature v3.c35.s7.8

v3.c35.s7.8

The Indian historical writing was always just a branch of poetry. Chronicles, in which myths and history appear strongly amalgamated, or biographical and historical epics and novels or also poems written in praise of kings are mixed up with historical or semi-historical topics. The Indian historian pursues a course that is altogether different from the one followed by the Greek or the Roman. He will not go deep into the circumstances, set historical facts critically and explain them psychologically; he will entertain and instruct as a poet (kavi), above all teach morals, when he will explain with examples the influences of moral behaviour on the destiny of man¹. All the "Indian historical works", as sources of history, therefore, should be used only with extreme caution. The story told by a court-fool to a Tartar Khān mostly holds good in their case:—the Khān wanted his historian to write down a book on his life and works and wanted to name it as "Thousand and one Truth", to which the court-fool retorted by saying that the more correct title would be "Thousand and one Tales". This too is a fact that the Indian could not write history without beginning from its commencement. For the purpose of getting upto the history of their own age, the authors of the purāṇas begin with the origin of the world, the Buddhist monks with the first Buddha, who is believed to have lived billions of years ago, and the authors of recent historical epics, with the heroes of the Mahābhārata or with gods or demi-gods, from which earthly kings derive their origin. Consequently the admixture of tales and history, that is greater according as the author goes back to an earlier period and is less according as he approaches his own age. Thence it is very much possible that the historian, who knows nothing about the earliest time but to narrate myths and tales, may be entirely dependable for his own and immediately preceding ages.