246 
[No. 3, 
On the Supposed Identity of the Greelcs with the Ydvanas of the Sanskrit 
* Writers—By Ra'jendrala'la Mitra. 
Were the Greeks the people who were invariably indicated by the 
term Yavana in the writings of Sanskrit authors ? This is a question which has 
presented itself in some form or other to almost every European orientalist 
in the course of his researches; and a good deal has already been written 
on the subject. Colebrooke, Prinsep, Wilson, Schlegel, Lassen, Weber, 
Max Muller, and others have contributed, each from his own standpoint, 
his quota for a satisfactory solution of the question. There prevails, never¬ 
theless, a variety of opinions about it, and the necessity exists for a recon¬ 
sideration of the case. The leaning at present is in favour of those who 
believe the word Yavana to be identical with Ionia, and to mean the Greeks. 
The arguments on which this identification rests, are: 
IsL Similarity of sound of the Greek Ionia with the Persian Yunan, 
the Hebrew Javan, and the Sanskrit Yavana. 
2nd. The use of the word Jona , the Pali form of the Sanskrit Yavana, 
to indicate an Ionian Prince. 
3rd. References made in Sanskrit astronomical works to foreign trea¬ 
tises on astronomy, which, it is presumed, must have been Greek. 
4 th. The intercourse of the Indians with the Greek successors of 
Alexander in North-Western India. 
None of these arguments, however, is of a character to suggest the 
inference proposed, much less to establish it as a positive historical 
fact. They all take for granted false majors, and consequently lead 
to erroneous conclusions. What is required to be proved is, not that 
the Sanskrit word Yavana has been used to indicate the people of 
Greece, but that it means the Greek race only, and no other. This 
has not yet been done; the arguments above set forth taken in their 
broadest sense do not establish this ; and, with one exception, no European 
orientalist has asserted it. The exception refers to Dr. H. Kern, formerly 
a professor of Queen’s College, Benares, who, in the Preface to his edition 
of the Brihat Sanhita, states : “ That the Yavanas originally denoted the 
Greeks and only the Greeks will appear from the sequel. To assert 
that Yavanas (in ancient times) may denote any kind of people under the 
sun is so wonderful an assertion, that one ought to have some reasons given 
why the Hindus should give the name of Ionians to nations who were no 
Ionians, nor had anything in common with Ionians. It is not so strange 
that after the conquests of the Islam, Muhammadans were called Yavanas. 
The Yavanas were the foremost, the most dreaded of the Mlechas, 
(P Mlechchlias) so that Yavana and Mlecha became synonymous. When the 
