21. Mommsen (History of Rome, book iv., ch. viii.), writing of
Mithridates Eupator, who died within a few years of the date ascribed
to Vikramâditja's birth, says, "Although our accounts regarding him
are, in substance, traceable to written records of contemporaries,
yet the legendary tradition, which is generated with lightning
expedition in the East, early adorned the mighty king with many
superhuman traits. These traits, however, belong to his character
just as the crown of clouds belongs to the character of the highest
mountain peaks; the outline of the figure appears in both cases, only
more coloured and fantastic, not disturbed or essentially altered."
22. The legend from which the following is gathered has been given
by Wilford, in a paper entitled "Vikramâditja and Salivâhâna, their
respective eras."