438 Analysis of the Vishnu Purdna. [Oct. 



been adapted to some fixed periods, and to each other. That many in- 

 accuracies and some falsifications have crept into these genealogies 

 may be readily admitted ; but there is no good reason to dispute the 

 actual existence of the principal individuals commemorated, nor the 

 general course of their ancestry or descendants. That their memory 

 was preserved by some means anterior to the Purdnas is established 

 by the Vishnu Purdna. Reference is made in it repeatedly to form- 

 er traditions, and old verses are cited as illustrative of the history or 

 character of a number of the princes of whom mention is made. (Sec- 

 tions 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 19, &c.) 



The 11th and following chapters of this book, to the 15th, contain 

 a detailed account of the descendants of Yadu. A curious story is 

 interwoven into the portion that relates to Krishna, of his being 

 falsely accused of having stolen a marvellous gem, the possession of 

 which secured wealth and prosperity to its possessor, if virtuous. It 

 was given to Satrajit, the cotemporary, very inconsistently it must 

 be confessed, of Krishna, and his sixth ancestor, and a member of 

 the Ya'dava family. Apprehending Krishna's requiring the gem, 

 Satrajit gave it to his brother, who was killed in the forest by a lion. 

 Krishna hunting killed the lion and found the jewel ; he re- 

 turned it to Satrajit, who gave him in requital his daughter in 

 marriage: this led to further family dissensions, in which Krishna was 

 accused by his own brother of having under-handedly appropriat- 

 ed the gem to himself: he, at last, however, cleared himself in an 

 assembly of the Yddavas, and the jewel became the undisputed pro- 

 perty of his relative Akrura. In these transactions, the character of 

 Krishna, although heightened with marvels, is of a very earthly com- 

 plexion; and as to Balarama, it is said of him by Krishna, that he 

 is unfit to be master of the jewel, because he drinks wine, and is 

 addicted to sensual pleasures. With respect to the gem, its properties 

 of procuring plenty to the country of its possessor, and of bringing 

 down rain when needed, ally it to the marvellous stone, for the acqui- 

 sition of which, the Tartar tribes not unfrequently had recourse to 

 hostilities. 



In detailing the lists of MagacVha kings, the Vishnu Purdna states, 

 that from the birth of Parikshit to the coronation of Nanda, 1015 

 years elapsed. Nanda preceded Chandragupta 100 years, and 

 Chandragupta, as identified with Sandrokoptus, ascended the throne 

 315 B. C. Parikshit was the grandson of Arjuna, consequently the 

 war of the MahaVharat occurred 1430 years before the Christian era. 

 Wilford reduces this by 60 years, and places the conclusion of the 



