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Antiquity and Continuity ... (Last Part, 6/6)
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Antiquity and Continuity of Indian History
(From Swayambhuva Manu to Gupta Dynasty)
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Index
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17. Chronology
18. Summary
19. Bibliography
17. Chronology
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Here under is provided a chronological table of events from the
beginning of this "Kalpa" right upto the rule of the Gupta dynasty,
i.e., when Greek Alexander invaded the western borders of India.
The Vedic culture continues to flourish in India, the cradle of
human civilization, even today. However, only the events before the
advent of Common Era are listed in the following table. It is noted
that dates prior to the Mahabharat (3138 B.C.) are approximate,
until further investigation puts forth any convincing evidence.
Event/Person/Text Datelines
Swayambhuva Manu 29,000 B.C.
Veda (early stages) 23,720 B.C.
Samhita (Taitiriya) 22,000 B.C.
Manu Chakshushu 17,500 B.C.
King Pruthu 16,050 B.C.
Manu Vaivasvata 14,000 B.C.
Indra-Skanda dialogue (Mahabharat) 13,000 B.C.
Glaciation period 8,000 B.C.
Dasharadnya War 7,000 B.C.
Ramayan 5,500 B.C.
Orion period 4,000 B.C.
Greeks separate 4,000 B.C.
Rajatarangini begins 3,450 B.C.
Gonanda-I of Kashmir 3,238 B.C.
Mahabharat 3,138 B.C.
Veda (last stages) 3,100 B.C.
Saptarsi era begins 3,076 B.C.
Saraswati-Sindhu Culture 3,000 B.C.
Buddha born 1,887 B.C.
Buddha Nirvana 1,807 B.C.
Mahaveer Jain born 1,862 B.C.
Chandragupta Maurya 1,534 B.C.
Ashoka Maurya 1,482 B.C.
Ashoka Gonanda 1,448 B.C.
Kanishka 1,294 B.C.
Kumarila Bhatta 557 B.C.
Vruddha Garga 550 B.C.
Aadi Shankaracharya born 509 B.C.
Harsha Vikramaditya 457 B.C.
Shatkarani Gautamiputra 433 B.C.
Chandragupta Gupta 327 B.C.
Shakari Vikramaditya 57 B.C.
Shalivahan 78 A.D.
Huen-Tsang 625 A.D.
Kalhana (Kashmiri historian) 1,148 A.D.
The continuity of Vedic culture from the distant past until today
is preserved in the Rgved. This world's most ancient text records
the happenings of many peoples; sincerely and faithfully preserved
by the ancient Hindus and passed on to their subsequent
generations. The Puranas also hold many geographical and historical
annals of great kings and heroes who assisted in ushering
principles of truth and righteousness around the globe. It is only
the Hindus who have preserved authentically the records of the
bygone era, a matter that they have a right to be proud about.
It is hoped that the above exercise is sufficiently convincing to
indicate the necessity to study, understand and decipher the
language and expression in the ancient texts which may further
deliver the secrets and accomplishments of the bygone
civilizations. The mystery of the common traits in the cultures and
literatures of the world may also be solved by recognizing the
genesis and unity in the thought of all peoples; the Rgved belongs
to all humanity, irrespective of class, colour or creed. It also
renders an idea of the required magnitude of research, sincere and
apolitical, imperative to evaluate the older version of Indian
history and rewrite it, recognizing the latest developments in
archaeological and literary findings.
Summary
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The word "arya" was used for people who cultivated the mind and
character. The "aryans" were the inhabitants of India for at least
a few thousand years in the past, who spoke Sanskrit and practised
the Vedic culture along the banks of the rivers Saraswati and
Sindhu. There was no invasion of the aryan-race in India, causing
the destruction of property and massacre of the aboriginals and of
the so-called Dravidian people. Hindus have maintained the oldest
and most authentic records of the ancient world, in the Vedas and
Puraan, and accordingly, the Dravidians were the early offshoots of
the Vedic people through Sage Agastya. After separating from their
original homeland in the arctic regions, and later, from the
regions of Caspian Sea, the Vedics appear to have migrated across
the globe. This explains the commonality and affinity of the most
ancient languages with Sanskrit. The customs, expressions and
traditions of the Greek, Iranians, Egyptians with that of the
Vedics is also apparent from the evidence presented in the
preceding article.
The annals of astronomical configurations in the Rgved and Samhitas
indicate a date of 23000 B.C. when the early stages of the these
texts were composed. The literary works on ancient India provide
long lists of kings, their genealogies and ancestries. From these
and other records, the date when Swayambhuva Manu, the first king
of this Kalpa, flourished is calculated to be roughly 29000 B.C. It
was in 5500 B.C roughly that the great Ramayanic civilization
appears to have flourished and the great Mahabharat War was fought,
as calculated from literary, archaeological and astronomical
examinations, in 3138 B.C. The Sage Buddha attained Nirvana in 1807
B.C., after living a saintly life of 80 years propagating the Vedic
tenets.
Chandragupta Maurya, the grandfather of Maurya Ashoka, with the
assistance of Arya Chanakya captured power and was coronated as the
emperor of India in 1534 B.C. The foremost of all philosophers and
the greatest proponents of the Advaita school of thought, Aadi
Shankaracharya, was born in 509 B.C. The end of the Andhra dynasty,
and the rise of the Gupta dynasty began in 328 B.C. It was an era
when Gupta Chandragupta, Sandrocottus of the Greeks, ruled India.
The rule of the Guptas is recorded as the "Golden Age" in the
history of India, when all the facets of civilization, art and
architecture, polity and politics, wealth and wisdom flourished
side by side.
Thus, even before the advent of Christ, the civilization and
thought in India, the Vedic culture had reached a state of supreme
high idealism which the arya people wanted to propagate and share
with rest of the world. It may be matter of a few decades until
fresh literary, archaeological and experimental evidence is brought
out that may provide further insight into the culture of the
ancients, seeking answers to the common history of humanity. It is
hoped that this article will benefit the readership in providing a
better understanding of the history of ancient nations and
cultures.
Bibliography
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Aurobindo, The Secret of the Veda, Pondicherry, India, Ed.7, 5.
1993.
Dayanand Saraswati, Satyartha Prakash
Elst, K., Indigenous Indians (Agastya to Ambedkar), New Delhi,
1993.
Frawley David, Gods, Sages and Kings, Utah, USA, 1991.
Hodivala S.K., Zarathustra and His Contemporaries in the Rgved,
1913.
Kak, S., "On the decipherment if the Indus Script - A preliminary
Study of its Connection with Brahmi," Indian J. of History and
Science, V.22.1, p.51-62, 1987.
Kulkarni, S.D., Ed., Beginnings of Life History and Culture, The
Study of Indian History and Culture, Thane, India, 1993.
Kulkarni, S.D., Ed., Glorious Epoch, The Study of Indian History
and Culture, Thane, India, 1993.
Kulkarni, S.D., Aadi Shankara, Bombay, India, 1987.
Maxmuller F., History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature, 1968.
Narayana Shastri T.S., Age of Shankara, Madras, 1916.
Oak P.N., World Vedic Heritage, New Delhi, 1984.
Patnaik K.N.S, "The Mahabharat Chronology", Annual Research J. of
the Institute of Rewriting Indian History, Pune, India, 1990.
Pococke E., India in Greece
Rajagopalachari C., Indian Philosophy
Ramachandran, V.G., A Peep into the Past History, Madras, 1982.
Rao, S.R., Lothal and the Indus Valley Civilization, Bombay, India,
1973.
Sathe S., Dates of the Buddha, Hyderabad, India, 1987.
Sathe Sriram, Search for the Bharata War, 1983.
Sethna, K.D., The Problem of Aryan Origins, New Delhi, 1992.
Spencer H.S., Are the Gathas pre-Vedic?, 1965.
Talgeri, S., The Aryan Invasion and Indian Nationalism, New Delhi,
1993.
Tilak B.G., The Arctic Home in the Vedas, Pune, India, 1987.
Tilak B.G., The Orion or Researches into the antiquity of the
Vedas, Pune, 1994.
Vallency C., Collectania De Rebus Hibernicus, Dublin, 1804.
Vartak P.V., Swayambhu, Pune, Bharat, 1988.
Vartak P.V., Vastav Ramayan (in Marathi), Pune, Bharat, 1993.
Venkatachalam, K., The Age of Buddha, Milinda and Amtiyoka and Yuga
Purana, Vijaywada, India, 1956.
Wheeler, M., Civilization of the Indus Valley and Beyond
Yukteshwar, Sri, The Holy Science, Los Angeles, 1984.
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