ed to suit the necessities of sectarian controversy.
The causes that have produced this result will be fully ascertained on
examining the assumptions on which these speculations are based. The
writings of many of these Orientalists are often characterized by an
imperfect knowledge of Indian literature, philosophy and religion, and
of Hindu traditions, and a contemptuous disregard for the opinions of
Hindu writers and pundits. Very often, facts and dates are taken by
these writers from the writings of their predecessors or contemporaries
on the assumption that they are correct without any further
investigation by themselves. Even when a writer gives a date with an
expression of doubt as to its accuracy, his follower frequently quotes
the same date as if it were absolutely correct. One wrong date is made
to depend upon another wrong date, and one bad inference is often
deduced from another inference equally unwarranted and illogical. And
consequently, if the correctness of any particular date given by these
writers is to be ascertained, the whole structure of Indian Chronology
constructed by them will have to be carefully examined. It will be
convenient to enumerate some of the assumptions above referred to before
proceeding to examine their opinions concerning the date of
Sankaracharya.

I. Many of these writers are not altogether free from the prejudices
engendered by the pernicious doctrine, deduced from the Bible, whether
rightly or wrongly, that this world is only six thousand years old. We
do not mean to say that any one of these writers would now seriously
think of defending the said doctrine. Nevertheless, it had exercised a
considerable influence on the minds of Christian writers when they began
to investigate the claims of Asiatic Chronology. If an antiquity of
five or six thousand years is assigned to any particular event connected
with the ancient history of Egypt, India or China, it is certain to be
rejected at once by these writers without any inquiry whatever regarding
the truth of the statement.

II. They are extremely unwilling to admit that any portion of the Veda
can be traced to a period anterior to the date of the Pentateuch, even
when the arguments brought forward to establish the priority of the
Vedas are such as would be convincing to the mind of an impartial
investigator untainted by Christian prejudices. The maximum limit of
Indian antiquity is, therefore, fixed for them by the Old Tes