78 Progressive adjustment of ancient Hindu dates. 



temporaries Arjun, Krishna, and Jarasandha, within the twelfth or 

 thirteenth century before Christ. A most satisfactory confirmation of the 

 modified epochs of Nanda, Chandragupta, and Asoka has been since 

 derived from the chronological tables of the Buddhists in A va, published 

 in Crawpurd's Embassy, and again in those of the Ceylon princes, 

 made known by the Honorable G. Turnour : their near concurrence 

 with Greek history, in the only available point of comparison, reflects 

 back equal confidence upon the epoch assigned to the founder of their 

 religion, (B. C. 544,) in spite of the Chinese and Tibetan authorities, 

 most (though not all) of which place Buddha 500 years earlier. It was 

 this that misled Sir Wm. Jones in the epoch of Pradyota. 



There are some discrepancies in the Burmese tables difficult to be ex- 

 plained, such as the placing of Ajatasatru 80 years prior to Sisunaga, 

 and the occurrence of Chandragupta still 50 years too soon : but we 

 must refer those who would investigate this, and all other branches of 

 the intricate subject of Hindu and Bauddha chronology, to the learned 

 authors we have above mentioned, satisfying ourselves here with ex- 

 hibiting a comparative table of the gradual changes effected by the 

 progress of research in a few of the principal epochs. 



Names. Pawanic date. Jones. Wilford. Bentley. Wilson. Tod. Burmese list- 



B. C. B. C. B. C. B. C. B. C. B. C. B. C. 



Ikswaku an<n 2183102 ^ QQ0 2?QQ 152g _ 22QQ __ 



Buddha, J 



Rama, 86 ™H2o29 1360 { f ° ~ } 1100 



Yudhisthira, 3102 J [5/6 1430 J 



Sumitra and"! 2100 1029 700 119 915 — 600 



Pradyota, J 



Sisunaga, 1962 870 600 — 777 600 472 



Nanda, 1600 699 — — 415 — 404 



Chandragupta, 1502 600 350 — 315 320 392 



Asoka, 1470 640 — — 250 — 330 



Balin, 908 149 21 10 

 Chandrabija, 



the last of Ma- )■ B.C. 452 300 a. d. — 428 a. d. 546 a. 



gadha Raj£s, 



The aid of astronomy has been successfully called in to fix such 

 epochs as afforded the requisite data ; thus the situation of the equi- 

 noctial colure in the time of the astronomer Parasara, who flourished 

 under Yudhisthira, is fixed by Davis in 1391 B.C.; bySirWM. 

 Jones, Colebrooke, and Bentley, in 1180; which latter closely 

 accords with the epoch of the Cycle of Parasurdma, used in the Dakhan, 

 and apparently unknown to these authors, B. C. 1176. Bentley, on 

 another occasion, alters this date to 575 B. C. ! he also places Rama 

 in 950 B. C; but there is great uncertainty and incongruity in many 

 of his determinations of the dates of native princes and of books, 

 from the prejudices he exhibits, although he is entitled to every con- 



