Describe the Literary Sources of Ancient Indian History
THE CHRONOLOGY OF INDIAN LITERATURE
Although so much has been achieved in the matter of exploring Indian literature, still its actual history is dark and unexplored. Especially, the chronology of Indian literary history is shrouded in a frightening darkness and researches have yet to solve here most of the riddles. It would be indeed fine, convenient and especially for a handbook quite desirable if we could divide Indian literature into three or four periods defined clearly by dates and put the various literary products into one or the other of these periods. But even by about a few centuries, if not by one to two millennia. What can be ascertained with a certain degree of precision is mostly a sort of relative chronology. We can say often: This or that work, this or that literary form is older than some other; but about its real age we can only make presumptions.
There is the proof of language, which shows that the songs and hymns, prayers and magic formulas of the Vedas are indisputably the oldest that we have of Indian literature. Firstly, it is also certain that Buddhism was born in India by about 500 B.C. and that it presumes that the whole vedic literature as is found in its chief works has essentially come to a close so that it may be said: "Vedic literature is, except for its last few ramifications, largely pre-Buddhist, that means, it had come to a close before 500 B.C. Moreover the literatures of Buddhism and of Jainism are fortunately not so uncertain as the Brahminic literature. What the Buddhists and the Jains handed down to us regarding the origin or collection of their canonical works has proved to be considerably reliable. And the inscriptions on the ruins of temples and stupas of these religious sects give us hints to the History of their literature for which we must be thankful to them. But the most certain dates of Indian history are those which we get not from Indians themselves. Literary form. From the Greeks we know also that about 315 B.C. the Greek Megasthenes was sent by Selukos as Ambassador to the court of Chandragupta. Fragments of his description of India which has come down to us give us a picture of the state of India culture at that time and also enable us to draw conclusions regarding the dating of some Indian literary works. A grandson of Chandraguptaand to whom we owe the oldest datable Indian inscriptions that we have found till now. These inscriptions, written partly on rocks and partly on pillars are the oldest testimonials of Indian script that we possess for spreading the teaching of Buddha everywhere and pillar edicts warned them against the dangers of sin and preached love and tolerance. These unique edicts of King Aśoka are in themselves valuable literary monuments carved in stone and are also of great importance for the history of literature on account of their script and language as well as their references from the point of view of the history of religion.
After the Greeks it is to the Chinese that we owe the determination of some of the most important dates in the History of Indian literature. Since the 1st century A.D. we have reports of Buddhist Missionaries who go to China and translate Buddhist notes into Chinese, of Indian Ambassadors in China present day giving us a lot of instructive information on Indian antiquities and literary works. The chronological data of the Chinese are, as against those of Indians.