£44 O.N* THE CHRONOLOGY 



zil in the time of Akbar. Indeed, I am fometimes 

 tempted to believe, from fome particular paflages in 

 Puranas, which are related in the true hiitorical 

 it vie, that the Hindus have deftroyed, or at leaft de- 

 fignedly coniigned to oblivion, all genuine records, as 

 militating again ft their favourite fyitem. In this man- 

 ner the Romans deftroyed the books of Numa, and 

 coniigned to oblivion the hiitorical books of the E- 

 trurians, and I fufpect alio thofe of the Turdk- 

 i ax: in Spain. 



The Varans are certainly a modern compilation 

 from valuable materials, which I am afraid no longer 

 exift : an aftronomical obfervation of the heliacal 

 rifing of Campus, mentioned in two of the Puranas, 

 puts this beyond doubt. It is declared there, that cer- 

 tain religious rites are to be performed on the 27 th of 

 Bhddra, when Canopus, difengaged from the rays of 

 the fun, becomes viiible. It riles now on the 18th of 

 the fame month. The 18th and 27th of Bhddra an- 

 fwer this year to the 2Qth of Auguft and 7th of Sep- 

 tembcr. I had not. leifure enough to confult the two 



rdnas above mentioned on this fubjedt. But as vio- 

 lent difputes have obtained among the learned Pandits, 

 fome infilling that thefe religious rites ought to be per- 

 formed on the. 27th of Bhddra^ as directed in the 

 Puranas, whilft others infill, it. mould be at the time 

 of the uJaya, or appearance of Canopus ; a great deal 

 of paper has been wafted on this fubjecl, and from 

 what has been written upon it, I have extracted the 

 above obfervations. As I am not much ufed to aftro- 

 nomical calculations, I leave to others better qualified 

 than I am to afcertain from thefe data the time iu 

 h thc x Purdjias were written. 



"VVe learn from Manetho, that the Egyptian chro- 

 nology enumerated fourteen dynqfties, the particulars 



ed as unworthy of notice. In the 

 fame logy prefents us with a 



fcries 



