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INTRODUCTION.
141
remembered-to fix the second century B.C. as a terminus ad quem for the date of the Sanatsugåtiya.
This is all the external evidence available for a discussion of thc question, when the Sanatsugátiya was composed. We now turn to the internal evidence. Standing by itself, internal evidence is not, in my opinion, of much cogency in any case. Still in ascertaining, as best we can, the history of our ancient literature, even this species of evidence is not to be despised; it must only be used and received with caution. Under this head, then, we may note first the persons who are supposed to take part in the dialogue. Sanatsugata-or Sanatkumara—as already pointed out, is a namc already familiar to the readers of one of our older Upanishads the Khåndogya. Dbritarashtra is not known in the Upanishads, but he is an important personage in the cpic literature. And it is to be remarked, that his character as disclosed in the Sanatsygåtiya is not at all similar to that which has attached itself to his name, alike in the later literature of our country, and in that popular opinion which was probably formed by this later literature. In the dialogue before us, hc figures as an camest inquirer after truth; he is described as the 'talented king Dhritarashtra ;' and is addressed by Sanatsugata as, 'O acute sir' 'O learned person!' Truc it is, that Nilakantha in one place, as we have noticed in our note there, endeavours to bring out the later view of Dhritarashtra's character; but it seems to me that that endeavour, based as it is on a forced and farfetched interpretation of a single word in our pocm, is an unsuccessful one. None of the questions, which Dhritarashtra puts to Sanatsugata in the course of their dialogue, indicates the avaricious old man who wished to deprive his innocent nephews of their just rights in the interests of his own wicked and misguided sons. They rather indicate the bona fide student of spiritual lore, and thus point to what is, perhaps, an earlier view of Dhritarashtra's character.
--- - - - - See Hall's Sankhyundin, prelace, pp. 14. 15.
P. 131, note 3. N akanth himself, however, treats Doritarishtra's question later on u showtog that be bad attained indifference to worldly cooccms That question does not occar la Sankan's text, Lat is given at p. 188 infn.
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