OF THE HINDUS. C-J J 



is natural to fuppofe, that the Hindus were equ; 

 vain : they are fo now ; and there is hardly a Hi . 

 who is not perfuaded of, and who will not rcafon 

 upon, the fuppofed antiquity of his nation. Me- 

 gastiienes who was acquainted with the antiquil 

 of the Egyptians, Chaldeans, and Jews, whilri in India, 

 made enquires into the hiftory of the Hindus, and 

 their antiquity : and it is natural to fuppofe that they 

 would boaft of it as well as the Egyptians or Chaldean , 

 and as much then as they do now. Surely they did 

 not invent fables to conceal them from the multitude, 

 for whom on the contrary thefe fables were framed. 



At all events, long before the ninth century the 

 chronological fyftem of the Hindus was as complete, 

 or rather, perfectly the fame as it is now ; for Al- 

 bumazar, who was contemporary with the famous 

 Almamun, and lived at his court at Balac or Balkh, 

 had made the Hindu antiquities his particular ffcucly. 

 He was alfo a famous aftronomer and aftrologer, and 

 had made enquiries refpe cling the conjunctions of the 

 planets, the time of the creation of the world, and 

 its duration, for aitrological purpofes ; and he fays, 

 that the Hindus reckoned from the Flood to the He- 

 jira 720,634,442,715 days, or 3725 years*. Here 

 is a miltake, which probably originates with the tran- 

 fcriber or translator, but it may be eafily rectified. 

 The firft number, though fomewhat corrupted, is ob- 

 viouily meant for the number of days from the crea- 

 tion to the Hejira ; and the 3725 years are reckoned 

 from the beginning of the Cali-yug to the Hi 

 It was then the opinion of Albumazar, about the 

 middle of the ninth century, that the aM'a of the Ca- 

 li-yug coincided with that of the Flood. He had, per- 

 haps, data which no longer exifr, as well as Abul-Fa- 



* See Baillys Aftron. Anc. p. 30. and Mr. Davis s Eflay in the 

 Second volume of the Afiatick Researches., p. 2/4. 



ZIL 



