j$ The Mahabharata: A Criticism.
we have assigned, viz., somewhere about 1400 B.C.
But this statement in the Vishnu Parana is opposed
to-what has been stated in it a little before. The Vishnu
Purana purports to have been recited when Parikshita
was ruling the earth (see the last sentence of Section
20). At the end of Section 23 it is stated that kings of the
Brihadratha race will rule in Magadha for 1,000 years.1
Then follows the Pradyota dynasty, of which it is
predicted, " these five kings of the Pradyota race
shall govern the earth for 138 years" (Section 24).
Then follow kings of the Shishunaga race "who will
lord over the earth for 362 years." Hereafter comes
the Shudra kir^g, Mahapadmananda, with his 8 sons,
who will rule the earth for 100 years. Now adding up
the periods of kings before Nanda we find—
Brihadratha dynasty ............1,000 years.
Pradyota dynasty...... *........138 ,,
Shishunag-a dynasty...... ......362 ,,
1,500 years.
The Brihadratha dynasty is counted from Sahadeva,
son of Jarasandha, killed by Bhima? and contemporary
of the Mahabharata war. How can the statement
of 1,065 years, then, be reconciled with this? Then
again we have the following statement immediately
after the former :—" At the birth of the king Parikshita
they (the Saptarishis) were in Magha and then the Kali-
age began which consists of 1,200 divine years." It is
thus admitted by the Vishnu Purana also that the
A round figure like this is generally suspicious.