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 any such attempt is bound to fail in the present state of affairs and any mention of hypothetical dates would be only an eyewash which would do more harm than good. It is much better to be clear about this, that regarding the oldest period of Indian literary history, we cannot give any specific data and regarding the later periods we can give only every few particulars. Years ago the famous American Sanskrit research scholar W.D. Whitney1 said the following sentence which has been often quoted since then: "All the data given in Indian literary history are like skittles set up for being knocked down”. And this is the case to a large extent even today. Even today the most significant researchers differ about the age of the most important Indian literary works not by about a few years or decades, 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. Language is still the safest differentiating feature for this relative chronology. Peculiarities of style are less reliable, for it has often happened in India that later works have imitated the style of earlier works in order to create an impression of antiquity. Moreover considerable harm is done to relative chronology also by the fact that many works of Indian literature especially those that were most popular with the masses, hence of special interest to us have undergone several revisions and have come down to us in several modified forms. If, for example, we find that in a work whose date has been approximately fixed, Rāmāyaṇa or Mahābhārata is quoted, then the question arises as to whether this quotation refers to the epics as we have them now or to some earlier versions of the same. The uncertainty is all the greater, because in the case of a large majority of the works of the ancient literature the names of the authors are almost unknown to us. They are handed down to us as works of families, schools or monasteries or the author is supposed to be a legendary seer of ancient times. And if we at last come to a period when we deal with works of quite specific individual authors, then we find that as a rule only the family names are mentioned. And it is as vague as when we find in German the names of Meier, Schultze or Mūller when they do not appear with Christian names. If for example a work appears under the name of Kālidāsa, or if the name Kālidāsa is mentioned somewhere, then it is not clear whether thereby the great poet of the same name is meant - it can be another Kālidāsa as well.
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. Thus the attack of Alexander the Great on India in the year 326 B.C.2 is a certain date which is important for the history of Indian literature also, especially when it is a question of deciding whether Greek influence is to be presumed in any literary work or literary form. From the Greeks we know also that about 315 B.C. Chandragupta, the ‘Sandrakottos' of Greek writers, led successfully the rebellion of Alexander's Prefects, seized the throne and became the founder of the Mauryan dynasty in Pāṭaliputra (Patibothra of the Greeks, today's Patna). At about the same time or a few years later it was that the Greek Megasthenes was sent by Selukos as Ambassador to the court of Chandragupta. Fragments of his description of India which have 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 Chandragupta is the famous King Aśoka, who was crowned about 259 (or 269)1B.C. and 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. They show us this mighty king as a patron and protector of Buddhism, who used his power extending from extreme North to extreme South for spreading the teaching of Buddha everywhere and who in his rock and pillar edicts did not narrate about his victories and famous deeds as other rulers have done, but called upon the people to become virtuous, 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. In the year 178 B.C.2 - 137 B.C.2 years after Candragupta's coronation the last descendant of the Maurya dynasty was overthrown by a king called Puṣyamitra. The mention of this Puṣyamitra - for example in a drama of Kālidāsa -is an important clue for fixing the date of several works of Indian literature. The same is true of the Graeco-Bactrian king Menander who ruled about 144 B.C.2. He appears under the name of Milinda in the famous Buddhistic work Milindapańha.
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 and of Chinese pilgrims who come to India visiting the places holy for Buddhism. Works of Indian literature are translated into Chinese and the Chinese gave us exact dates, when these translations were made. It is in particular three Chinese pilgrims- Fa-hian who came to India in 399, HiuenTsiang who travelled at length in India from 630 to 645 and I-tsing who lived in India from 671 to 695 - whose travel reports have been preserved to the 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
Describe the Literary Sources of Ancient Indian History THE CHRONOLOGY OF INDIAN LITERATURE แม้ว่ามากได้รับความเกี่ยวกับสำรวจวรรณกรรมอินเดีย ยังประวัติจริงได้เข้ม และ unexplored ลำดับประวัติวรรณคดีอินเดียเป็นป่าไม้ในที่มืดน่ากลัวโดยเฉพาะ และงานวิจัยยังไม่ได้แก้ที่นี่ที่สุดของปริศนานี้ มันจะดีแน่นอน สะดวก และโดยเฉพาะอย่างยิ่งสำหรับคู่มือที่ค่อนข้างต้อง ถ้าเราสามารถแบ่ง วรรณคดีอินเดียเป็นสาม หรือสี่รอบระยะเวลากำหนดไว้ชัดเจนตามที่ต้องวางผลิตภัณฑ์วรรณคดีต่าง ๆ ในหนึ่งหรืออื่น ๆ ของรอบระยะเวลาเหล่านี้ แต่ความพยายามดังกล่าวถูกผูกไว้จะล้มเหลวในสถานะปัจจุบันของกิจการ และพูดถึงทุกวันสมมุติจะ eyewash ที่จะทำอันตรายมากกว่าดีกว่านี้มี ดีจะมีความชัดเจนเกี่ยวกับเรื่องนี้ ที่เกี่ยวกับรอบระยะเวลาที่เก่าแก่ที่สุดของประวัติศาสตร์วรรณคดีอินเดีย เราไม่สามารถให้ข้อมูลเฉพาะ และเกี่ยวกับรอบระยะเวลาภายหลังเราสามารถให้เท่านั้นทุกอย่างไม่ได้ ปีที่ผ่านมามีชื่อเสียงชาวอเมริกันสันสกฤตวิจัยนักวิชาการ W.D. Whitney1 กล่าวว่า ประโยคต่อไปนี้ซึ่งมีการเสนอราคาบ่อยตั้งแต่นั้น: "ข้อมูลทั้งหมดที่ระบุในประวัติวรรณคดีอินเดียเป็นเช่นโบว์ลิ่งดีเจ็ดหนตั้งค่าสำหรับการลง" และนี่คือกรณีที่เป็นขอบเขตขนาดใหญ่ทุกวันนี้ วันนี้แม้แต่นักวิจัยที่สำคัญแตกต่างกันเกี่ยวกับอายุของอินเดียที่สำคัญที่สุดที่วรรณกรรมที่ทำงานโดยไม่เกี่ยวกับกี่ปีหรือทศวรรษที่ผ่านมา แต่แม้โดย เกี่ยวกับกี่ศตวรรษ ถ้า ไม่ โดยนับหนึ่งถึงสองพันปี อะไรสามารถ ascertained กับระดับของความแม่นยำคือ การเรียงลำดับญาติเป็นส่วนใหญ่ เราสามารถพูดบ่อย: นี้ หรือที่ทำงาน นี้ หรือฟอร์มวรรณกรรมนั้นเป็นรุ่นเก่ากว่าบางอื่น ๆ แต่เกี่ยวกับอายุจริง เราสามารถทำ presumptions ภาษายังคงเป็นคุณลักษณะ differentiating ปลอดภัยที่สุดสำหรับลำดับญาตินี้ ข้องของมีน้อยความน่าเชื่อถือ สำหรับมันมักจะเกิดขึ้นในอินเดียที่ทำงานหลังได้เลียนแบบลักษณะของงานก่อนหน้านี้เพื่อสร้างภาพของ นอกจากนี้ อันตรายมากแล้วการลำดับญาติยังความจริงที่ว่า หลายงานวรรณกรรมอินเดียโดยเฉพาะอย่างยิ่งผู้ที่ได้รับความนิยมมากที่สุดกับฝูง ดังนั้นความสนใจเป็นพิเศษเรามีระดับการปรับปรุงหลาย และมาลงกับเราในหลายรูปแบบที่ปรับเปลี่ยน หาก เช่น เราพบว่า ในการทำงานซึ่งมีวันได้รับคงประมาณ Rāmāyaṇa หรือ Mahābhārata เป็นเสนอราคา แล้วคำถามกันต่อว่าใบเสนอราคานี้หมายถึงการ epics เท่าที่เรามีตอนนี้ หรือรุ่นก่อนหน้าบางรุ่นเดียวกัน ความไม่แน่นอนที่มีทั้งหมดยิ่ง เพราะในกรณีของใหญ่ของงานวรรณกรรมโบราณ ชื่อของผู้เขียนแทบไม่รู้จักเรา พวกเขาจะทอดให้เป็นงานของครอบครัว โรงเรียน หรืออาราม หรือผู้เขียนควรจะเป็นผู้ทำนายตำนานของโบราณ และถ้าในที่สุดมาถึงระยะที่เมื่อเราจัดการกับงานของผู้เขียนแต่ละที่ค่อนข้างเฉพาะ แล้วเราพบว่า เป็นกฎ เฉพาะชื่อครอบครัวกล่าวถึง และเป็นที่คลุมเครือเป็นเมื่อเราพบในเยอรมันชื่อมุนเช่น Schultze หรือ Mūller เมื่อไม่ปรากฏ มีชื่อคริสเตียน ตัวอย่าง งานปรากฏภายใต้ชื่อของกาลิทาส หรือกล่าวชื่อกาลิทาสอยู่ แล้วได้ไม่ชัดเจนว่าจึงตั้งใจกวีดีชื่อเดียวกัน - สามารถกาลิทาสอีกด้วย 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. Thus the attack of Alexander the Great on India in the year 326 B.C.2 is a certain date which is important for the history of Indian literature also, especially when it is a question of deciding whether Greek influence is to be presumed in any literary work or literary form. From the Greeks we know also that about 315 B.C. Chandragupta, the ‘Sandrakottos' of Greek writers, led successfully the rebellion of Alexander's Prefects, seized the throne and became the founder of the Mauryan dynasty in Pāṭaliputra (Patibothra of the Greeks, today's Patna). At about the same time or a few years later it was that the Greek Megasthenes was sent by Selukos as Ambassador to the court of Chandragupta. Fragments of his description of India which have 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 Chandragupta is the famous King Aśoka, who was crowned about 259 (or 269)1B.C. and 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. They show us this mighty king as a patron and protector of Buddhism, who used his power extending from extreme North to extreme South for spreading the teaching of Buddha everywhere and who in his rock and pillar edicts did not narrate about his victories and famous deeds as other rulers have done, but called upon the people to become virtuous, 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. In the year 178 B.C.2 - 137 B.C.2 years after Candragupta's coronation the last descendant of the Maurya dynasty was overthrown by a king called Puṣyamitra. The mention of this Puṣyamitra - for example in a drama of Kālidāsa -is an important clue for fixing the date of several works of Indian literature. The same is true of the Graeco-Bactrian king Menander who ruled about 144 B.C.2. He appears under the name of Milinda in the famous Buddhistic work Milindapańha. 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 and of Chinese pilgrims who come to India visiting the places holy for Buddhism. Works of Indian literature are translated into Chinese and the Chinese gave us exact dates, when these translations were made. It is in particular three Chinese pilgrims- Fa-hian who came to India in 399, HiuenTsiang who travelled at length in India from 630 to 645 and I-tsing who lived in India from 671 to 695 - whose travel reports have been preserved to the 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
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