The Mauryan Polity c5.s3.17

c5.s3.17

There is again another point which must be seriously considered. Is the information contained in the Indika an outcome of the first-hand knowledge? In other words, did Megasthenes personally visit, study, and note down his own observations? Were his impressions the consequence of a personal and intimate knowledge of men and things which he observed during his sojourn to this ancient land? It is not very difficult to answer these questions. How many times Megasthenes came to India and how long he stayed each time are still matters of dispute among scholars. Though there is a view that he visited India more than once¹ some scholars are of decided opinion that he must have visited the country only once and would not have stayed long enough to get into touch with the whole of the machinery of administration including social, political, and economic organisations of the land. Schwanbeck is of opinion that he visited India only on one occasion and that he did not see more of India than the parts including Kabul and the Punjab leading to Pāṭaliputra through the royal road. Schwanbeck adds that Megasthenes acknowledges that he knew of the lower part of the country traversed by the Ganges only from hearsay and report.² It is reasonable to presume that Megasthenes could not have had a first-hand knowledge of things excepting the administration of the Capital city where he must have stayed for some time as a state guest. The major portion of the *Indika* must have hence been drawn from mere hearsay and report. Even here he was confronted by a serious handicap which was his ignorance of the language or languages of India. Unacquainted with the languages and literature of the India which he visited Megasthenes could not have correctly portrayed the story of his India however reliable may be the source from which he had his report. We can attach importance and value to a work which is the result of vast travel, long stay, and a good acquaintance with the languages of the country. These three are hardly applicable in the case of Megasthenes. His travel seems to have been limited to a straight road leading to the Capital. As an ambassador we cannot expect him to stay for a long time. After he had delivered the message of his chief he should have left the place. Thirdly he was not familiar with the Indian languages. In these circumstances peculiar in themselves Jolly’s remarks can be taken as true: “His (Megasthenes) work, though earlier in date, is far inferior in intrinsic value to the Itineraries of the Chinese Pilgrims and to the great Arabian work of Alberuni on India.”¹