THE HARMONY OF VIRTUE

IV. 3. The Problem of the Mahabharata199the Greeks? Now here the first consideration is: why did theycall the Greeks Ionians and not Hellenes or Macedonians? Thatthe Persians should know the Greeks by that name is naturalenough, for it was with the Ionians that they first came into contact;but it was not Ionians who invaded India under Alexander, itwas not an Ionian prince who gave his daughter to Chandragupta,it was not an Ionian conqueror who crossed the Indus and besieged....1 Did the Macedonians on their victorious march givethemselves out as Ionians? I for my part do not believe it. It iscertain therefore that if the Hindus took the word Yavana fromIaon, it must have been through the Persians and not direct fromthe Greek language. But the connection of the Persians with Indiawas as old as Darius Hystaspes who had certainly reason toknow the Greeks. It is therefore impossible to say that the Indianshad not heard about the Greeks as long ago as 500 B.C.Even if they had not, the mention of Yavanas and Yavana kingsdoes not carry us very far; for it is evident that in the earlierparts of the Mahabharata they are known only as a strong barbarianpower of the North West, there is no sign of their culturebeing known to the Hindus. It is therefore quite possible thatthe word Yavana now grown familiar may have been substitutedby the later reciters for an older name no longer familiar. It isnow known beyond reasonable doubt that the Mahabharata warwas fought out in or about 1190 B.C.; 2 Dhritarashtra, son ofVichitravirya, Krishna, son of Devaki and Janamejaya are mentionedin Vedic works of a very early date. There is thereforeno reason to doubt that an actual historical event is recordedwith whatever admixture of fiction in the Mahabharata. It is alsoevident that the Mahabharata, not any “Bharata” or “Bharati Katha”but the Mahabharata existed before the age of Panini, and thoughthe radical school bring down Panini the next few centuries...(Incomplete)1Word missing.2This date was accepted by Sri Aurobindo at the time of writing. On p. 66 of hisGitar Bhumika (in Bengali — written in 1909) he says: “It should be remembered that thewar of Kurukshetra took place 5000 years ago.” It may be that later he accepted still anotherdate.