History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v6.c82.654

v6.c82.654

¹⁰⁰¹ Vide Bombay University Journal vol. 17 pp 19-25 where Prof, K. B. Vyas puts forward the rather novel theory that the word *Kṛta* in the ancient Inscriptions refers to the Katha people and J of Indian History vol. 24 (for 1945) pp 105-109, where Prof D. N. Mookerjee mentions nine Inscriptions in the Kṛta or Mālava-gana era and contends that Kṛta is the era started by Kalkın who is supposed to have ushered in the Kṛta-yuga in the 5th century B C The author does not agree with both these views. Prof. Sen-Gupta in 'Ancient Indian Chronology' pp. 238 ff holds that the Kṛta era started in 63 B. C His grounds are that certain Mahābhārata and Paurānic passages set out in a prophetic vein the circumstances when Kṛta-yuga will start and he holds that those conditions were satisfied about 63 B C. and therefore the era was called Kṛta In the first place the passages refer to a future date. No one thought in ancient India that the start of the Kṛta age was near. Besides, one of the passages on which he relies is Mahābhārata, Vanaparva 190. 90-91 (of the Bombay edition) and 188 87 (of the critical BORI edition) and is differently read in the Śāradā Codex and several Kāśmīr Mss. viz. as यदा चन्द्रश्च सूर्यश्च तथा तिष्यबृहस्पती। एकरात्रे समेष्यन्ति प्रपत्स्यति तदा कृतम् ॥ and not एकराशौ as he reads Therefore this verse is hardly of use for chronological purposes Besides Vāyu 99 413 also reads ekarātre' (only one Ms. reads 'ekarāśau') Some Purānas like Visnu IV. 24. 102, (Continued from last page) Brahmāṇḍa III 74. 225 no doubt read एकरात्रौ. The three Matsya-purāṇa verses he quotes are not from the same chapter. The first verse simply says that Viṣṇu created Yavas on 3rd tithi of Vaiśākha bright half and that he started Kṛtayuga on that tithi. It is impossible to draw any definite date from this verse by itself. The other two verses are Matsya 65. 2-3. They describe a vrata and fast on 3rd tithi of the bright half of Vaiśākha, which yield inexhaustible fruits to the performer, equal to all good deeds If on that tithi when joined to Kṛttikā one does special worship, whatever is donated or offered in the fire and whatever mantras are recited become inexhaustible These two verses contain not a word about Kṛtayuga and the first says nothing about Kṛttikā It is, to say the least, a strange method to put together verses apart from their context and aver that a particular date has been established.