Mahabharata date. Was: Iron Age in India

[Hans Henrich Hock]

This dating of the Mahabharata is predicated on the assumption that
the Sarasvati dried out in 1700 B.C. The assumption, however, is
questionable as shown by Rafique Mughal's early and pioneering work
on the dense archaeological sites along the old Sarasvati
river--Mughal concludes that the final drying up took place late in
the 2nd millennium BC or even early 1st millennium.  See also
Possehl's more recent summary in "Indus Age: The beginnings".   Here
as elsewhere it would be desirable to use sounder -- and more
critical -- philological methodology before accepting ideologically
inspired interpretations of the South Asian past, no matter what the
ideology.

Off the soapbox and back to work!  (That's an instruction to myself.)

Hans Henrich Hock





>If you go by the dates when they were written , which you correctly assign
>a range between 400 BCE and some others ( Radhakrishnan -AROUND 200 bce )
>when Brahmi script came into use , nothing can be established for any of
>the epics . If this is so, how can one assign any date for the Vedas  such
>as mention of iron ( ayas etc ) in them ?
>
>I had stated in  two parts, how the Mahabharat could be thought to have
>taken place on or before 1700 BCE because the Saraswati river dried out at
>that time. Mahabharat mentions about Balram 's pilgrimage along the
>Saraswati river .  Fitzgerald mentions about the process used in making
>steel, a high quality steel in the descriptions of Mahabharat .
>Fitzgerald's finding appears very reasonable to me .
>
>Pl note that , to this date, no script has been found  where the events in
>India could have been written even around 800 BCE . Does it mean nothing
>very eventful happened in India before say, 1000 BCE ?
>
>Regards,
>
>Anand M. Sharan
>
>So, how can one verify the authenticity of the dates ?

--

Hans Henrich Hock, Director
Program in South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
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