Mahabharata date. Was: Iron Age in India

[Anand M. Sharan]

On Mon, 18 Sep 2000 09:31:59 -0500, Hans Henrich Hock
<hhhock at UX1.CSO.UIUC.EDU> wrote:

>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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Mughal's work is one of the many .  There are many others . Some are

I had mentioned in Part I ( 59 ) , and II ( 42 ) of Sept 2000, the possible
reason for  1700 BCE . Those having more interest in the drying up of the
Saraswati river can look into the work at other web sites . Those are not
my research . One has to start some where .

It is a fact  and well established that Indus Civilization had well
developed metallurgy and the transition from Bronze to Iron Age in a
country like India which had the necessary raw materials, and technology,
is not at all surprising if it happened that early .

It is difficult indeed to accept such a thing for those who have believed
that long that India was not advanced , as far as metallurgy is concerned .
But, the facts , and a reasonabilty points towards, some thing else.

Thanks.

Anand M. Sharan