Stated durations
Gold segments carry a duration reported by the selected text or Wilson’s source notes. “Text-stated” describes the evidence, not an independently verified absolute date.
HISTORICAL CHRONOLOGY / INTERACTIVE ANALYSIS
Dating the
Mahābhārata War
A dynastic reconstruction using the proposed date of the Battle of Ten Kings, the accession of Bimbisara, and reign lengths preserved in Sanskrit and Buddhist sources.
Open chronology model ↓कालनिरूपणGENEALOGICAL AND REGNAL ANALYSIS
01 / CHRONOLOGY MODEL
Chronological estimates
PROPOSED MAHABHARATA WAR DATE
c.1240BCE
FORWARD FROM SUDAS
BACKWARD FROM BIMBISARA
⟷
MODEL INTERPRETATION
Dynastic timeline
Dates run from older to younger. Select a reign to view its duration and source.
Text-stated yearsAveraged reignGeneration / event offset
← Scroll horizontally to follow the full succession →
KURU SUCCESSIONKuru chronology comparison+
The epic supplies an approximately 36-year postwar interval and a stated 60-year reign for Parikshit. Keep those years within the Kuru line; they run concurrently with Magadha.7–11
A selectable accession date within the Buddha-era synchronism; 500 BCE is a scenario, not a securely dated accession.12
The age-based alternative subtracts 36 from 60. It resolves one narrative tension; it is not an explicitly stated reign.10
02 / RESEARCH METHOD
Methodology
Two anchors frame the argument. The first is the proposed 1450–1300 BCE middle-Rigvedic window for Sudās; the second is Bimbisara’s stipulated accession in 543 BCE.1,2,12 Between them, the applet counts years through explicitly selected dynastic traditions.
On the Panchala side, four generational links connect Sudas to Drupada. Generation length and the kings’ relative ages at their battles determine the elapsed time.3,4 On the Magadha side, the selected list contains 21 Barhadrathas, five Pradyotas, and four rulers before Bimbisara.5,6 A shared reign average is applied only to the segments marked as averaged.
The headline reports the selected Magadha estimate, rounded to a decade. The applet independently calculates the Panchala estimate and displays both their central difference and the intersection of their sensitivity intervals. An empty intersection is reported as no overlap; neither route is moved to manufacture agreement.
Reconstructed durations
The default hybrid retains nine later reigns and averages the 21 Barhadrathas. Their transmitted durations remain available in the literal modes. The default 20 years is a working scenario, not the pooled empirical mean.
Parallel successions
Kuru years are never added to Magadha years. The Udayana cross-check is shown separately, including when it produces a different date.
Source choices that change the result +
The order of dynasties
The app follows the Vishnu Purana order for the Magadha calculation. Buddhist chronicles place Shishunaga after Bimbisara’s successors, and Pradyota is associated with Avanti in Buddha-era accounts. Retaining the Purāṇic sequence is an explicit structural assumption.6,12,14
The long Barhadratha reigns
Wilson reports Vayu reigns including 58, 67 and 100 years; Matsya readings differ. Hybrid mode replaces that block with a common average. Literal modes preserve its supplied durations rather than forcing a thirteenth-century result.5
The war boundary
Somapi’s accession is placed at the war boundary as a reconstruction convention. Likewise, Drupada’s generation is related to the war using the event-age control. Neither boundary is an independently dated inscription.
Parikshit’s reign and age
The Sauptika Parva gives 60 years of rule; Ganguli’s Adi Parva also describes death at age 60. These produce different elapsed-year models when accession follows the war by approximately 36 years. Both readings are exposed in the Kuru cross-check.9,10
03 / COMPARATIVE DATA
Reign-length calibration
The pooled average equals total regnal years divided by the number of rulers. This ancient-Indian comparison combines named chronicle traditions and a reconstructed Gupta interval. The records differ in their chronological reliability.
| Dynasty / period | Years | Rulers | Mean | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pooled sample | 1119 | 87 | 12.86 |
04 / REGNAL RECORDS
Reign data
| Ruler | House | Used | Evidence in model | Vayu | Matsya | Source |
|---|
05 / BIBLIOGRAPHY
References and textual readings
Numbered citations refer to the sources below. Primary texts supply transmitted relationships and durations; scholarly works provide historical context and chronological comparisons.