"Considering, therefore, that the Brahmana period must comprehend the first establishment of the threefold ceremonial, the composition of separate Brahmanas, the formation of Brahmana-charanas, and the schism between old and new Charanas, and their various collections, it would seem impossible to bring the whole within a shorter space than 200 years. Of course this is merely conjectural; but it would require a greater stretch of imagination to account for the production in a smaller number of years of that mass of Brahmanic literature which still exists, or is known to have existed. Were we to follow the traditions of the Brahmanas themselves, we should have . much less difficulty in accounting for the great variety of authors quoted, and of opinions stated in the Brahmanas. They contain lists of teachers through whom the Brahmanas were handed down, which would extend the limits of this age to a very considerable..."