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XXL 



REMARKS ON THE PRINCIPAL vERAS 



AND DATES OF THE ANCIENT 



HINDUS. 



BY MR. JOHX BENTLEY. 



THE confufion and darkuefs that pervade and 

 overfpread. the Hindu chronology, I am in- 

 clined to think, proceed from two different caufes : 

 the one, owing to the fancy of their Brahmens and 

 poets, in difguiiing and embellifhing their hiftory with 

 allegory and fiction ; the other, to the ignorance 

 of the modern Hindus^ who, not able to dilcern the 

 difference between the feveral seras and modes of dat- 

 ing, which were made ufe of by their ancient hiito- 

 rians, Brahmens, and poets, in recording paft events, 

 have blended the whole together, into one mafs of ab- 

 furdity and contradiction. 



At this day, it is not eafy to dilcover the meaning 

 of all the different modes of dating formerly in ufe. 

 It appears, however, from hiitorical facls, that they 

 were mofrly, if not all nominally the fame, but effen- 

 tially different in other relpecls : — they all went un- 

 der the appellation of yugs, divine ages, Manwan- 

 taras, &c. but the jags, divine ages, Manwantaras, 

 &:c. of the aitronomers were different in point of 

 duration from thole of the Brahmens and poets, and 

 thofe of the Brahmens and poets were, in like manner, 

 different from thofe of others : hence it becomes ab- 

 solutely neceffary that we know the difference be- 

 tween each, that is, the aftronomic,. the poetic, &c. 

 &c. from eacli other before wc can attempt to analyze 

 the Hindu chronology on true principles. It is from 

 this mode alone that we can dilcern truth though dif- 

 guifed by iiclion ; and, until the gordian knot, 

 made fait by the hand of modern times,, be untied, , 

 much will remain in obfeurity. 



U 2 The 



