Western scholars who began their study of the Indian history in the 18th and 19th centuries, found dates of events given therein very confusing. The ancient Indian history is recorded in the epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata and the Puranas and it extends to thousands of years in the past. The Asiatic Society established in 1784 AD in Bengal by Sir William Jones, a Judge in the British East India Company, aimed at a proper study of the history, the arts, sciences and literature of Asia. Jones learnt from his Sanskrit teacher Radhakant that Bhagavata Purana states a high antiquity for the Creation, the last of the seven Manus (out of a total of fourteen), the Vaivaswata Manu has started tens of thousands of years ago and the Mahabharata War, an important event In Indian history, took place some 3000 years before Christ. The Bhagavata Purana also gives the accounts of various kings, their dynasties and kingdoms which flourished during the Kaliyuga. This information enabled Jones to publish in 1768 AD, a continuous lineage of the Magadha kings for 25 centuries from the Bharata War i.e., from 3101 BC to 452 BC That was the beginning of the study of ancient Indian chronology by Western scholars.

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