ՖԵ" Legends by the Hindus. All that we know on the subject points exactly the other way. That the Krishna-Legends date back to a high antiquity is established by the fact that they are all to be found in the 10th Chapter of the Blhagavat Purana-a book which according to all our astronomical, historieal traditional dates (Vide : l’ot irri lyalya-bhavana, V.trahasa Inhita and Rujutara nyini) is one of the most ancient as indeed the name But as Prof Wobur with his utter and,lot it be perinitted to also implies) that we possess, add, reaefionary scepticism ahout everything that savours of the Hindu Chronology (not that we are not at the same time time sensible of tho rare services which this scepticisin has done for our Literature and for which the worthy Profess or would always find us deeply grateful) is not likely to give even a penny for chronological dates from the Hindus, we should refer him to the works of an eminent French Orientalist whom he highly estimates, we mean of course in the present case, to the lutroduction of his princely edition of whiclı Eugenc #3urnouf ha8 given to poste the Bhagavaipurama rity. And it is Tournouf who says the following about the antiquity of the l’urauas iu general — (!) “ Sayani minister et directeur spirituel de Viraloukka, Acharya qui etail vers 133 roi de Vijayanagara cite dans ses prolegomenes sur le Rigveda un texte ancien (le Rigveda) ou les Puranas sont nominativement indiques. (2) On parle de Puranas dans le Chhandogya Upanishad. Le ('lihandogya mest vraisemblement pas le plus ancien des Upanishads ; cependant il peut passer quant au style et quant aux idées pour une des compositions de ce genre qui se rapproachent le plus de l’age Vedique. C'est le menne chose dans le Vrihadaranyaka le plus considerable des Upanishads du Yoyurveda. (3) “ Manusamhita" I. III. Sl. 232. (4) “ Ramayana” T. I. P. 351 texte et t. I. P. 200 trad Lat; ed. Schlegel. (oztafe) · (5) “ Le compilateur du Mahabharata: ce vaste et pre i ux recuiel des traditions epiquos de }' inde ancienue, cite a chaque instant le rom de Purana, surtout au commencement du prentier livre (পৌরাণিক) তত্ত্ববোধিনী পত্রিক। | emanating ?• कब्र • उॉक (6) Yajnavalkya, au commencement de son premier livre. On sait que Yajnavalkya, est un ancien sage qui passe pour avoir exerce une grande infiucnce sur la classification et l'enseignement du second des Vedas, le Yajas.” t“ L'Introluotion du Bhaqiyutpura na-”) In the above quotation from Burnouf, we have summarised all that the great Orientalist, says on the subject to suit strictly our purpose. The details are however very interesting as weli as suggestive. Maurice, an ortho, iox Christian who took great pains to give an explauation to the striking similiarities that he found between the Krista-Legends of the Bhagavatpuran a aul the Khrista- l.egends of the Gospels ob ՏC:1V՛{՝Ջ : “'The age in which Balaam flourished was in the year i kol before (shrist which is nearly 300 years before the Trojan War and above 500 years before Holmer flourished (thout othick period the Bhagat rat was connpos. J.” “ Ancieitt lHindus” Vo] JI. 220 Again “ That the net mu of AY1 ishut and the (rent rot! ov/liue of his story trere (onf/ анle rio,' to the (, , , ih and prohully lo lhe tive of Понист, “e know rery of o ti ” Si t i jott · cert tim/y.” He then proceeds to give a probable suininary of both the Legends. For the information of thoso who do not know Sansk, it and who would nevertheless verify the statements we have made, we may declare that there is a nice Hindi, translation of the 10th Chapter of the Bhagavatpurana called Promsagur edited and published by Mr. East wick with a useful vocabulary. But this subject of Krista –or Khrista-Legends to which we have been inadvertently led by a positive assertion of Prof. Weber is of itself far too vast to be treated here in further details. If we find time, we should be glad to recur to this highly interesting subject in a future paper. Let us now see how Mr. Beal whose book “The Legends of Sakya Buddha” indirectly gave rise to the whole of the above discussion treats the question of the correspondence existing between the Buddhist and Christian Legends. We shall quote the vory words he says on the subject for every word of
