118 ORIGIN AND DECLINE OF THE 



sily rectified. There is exactly that Humber of years, 

 from the beginning ot the Cali-yuga to the Htjra : 

 bat that immense number of days are reckoned from 

 the creation to the Cali-yuga^ according to Bra mm a- 

 gupta's system. Mr. Davis, after reading this pas- 

 sage in my manuscript, kindly undertook to examine 

 it more particularly, and 1 beg leave to refer to his 

 learned note on the subject, in the appendix at the 

 end of the essay on Vicuama'ditya and Saliva- 



HANA.* 



Till that time, the extravagant numbers of the 

 Hindus were unknown to the Greeks and RomanSy 

 with whom they kept up a constant intercourse. 

 That the Hindus concealed the whole from them, is 

 inadmissible : for it is natural to suppose, that they 

 were equally vain with the rest of mankind. We are 

 well acquainted with tlie pretensions of the ^^i/p^i^/z^ 

 and Chaldeans to antiquity : and surely they did 

 not take the trouble of mventing fables to conceal 

 them. On the contrary, AlEOAsrHENES, a man of no 

 ordinal y abilities,-! who had spent the greatest part 

 of his life in India, in a public character, and was 

 well acquainted with the chronological systems of 

 the Egyptians^ Chaldeans and Jews, made particular 

 inquiries into their history, and declares, according 

 to Clemens of Ale.vandria, that the Hindus and 

 Jews were the only people, who had a true idea of 

 the creation of the world, and the beginning of 

 things : and we learn from him, that the history of 

 the Hindus did not go back above 5042 years, from 

 the invasion of India by Alexander. Manuscripts 

 differ; sonje have 5042, or 6042 : others have 5402 



♦ As. Re». V. 9. p. 242. 



t See Asiatic Researches, vol. 5. p. 290. 



