Harivamsha or the family of Hari (Srikrishna) is properly speaking a sequel of the great Epic Mahabharata. The work opens with a request made by Sounaka to Souti for an account of the two great clans namely, Vrishnis and Andhakas. He says:—"O son of Lomaharshana, while describing the birth and history of the Kurus you forgot to narrate the history of Vrishnis and Andhakas. It becomes you to relate their history." Chapter I, Sloka 9. The work in which an account of the Kurus is given is undoubtedly the Mahabharata though we meet with a little confusion in the text, when it is mentioned as a Purana. This passage clearly shows that the object of the author is evidently to give a detailed account of the family of Krishna which is not to be found in Mahabharata.
It is very difficult to ascertain the true nature of this work—whether it is to be called a Purana or an epic poem. It is not mentioned in the list of Puranas orUpapuranas, though in style, form and character it resembles the Puranas. As in the Puranas and more particularly in Vishnu Purana so in Harivamsha we find an account of creation, the dimension of the earth, the division of the time and the history of the patriarchal and regal dynasties. They so much resemble each other that sometimes it appears, that one is the paraphrase of the other. The account of Krishna's early life and some of his miracles are merely the counterparts of the same in Vishnupuran. Thus it is evident that though this work is not included in the list of Puranas it is in reality one of them written with the same object and in the same style. It is called a sequel of the Mahabharata only because it gives a profuse account of what has been left off in that work. The greatest interest however lies in the fact that it gives an elaborate account of the life of Srikrishna and as such it is always regarded as an authority.
It is almost impossible to ascertain the date of the composition of this work as it is of other ancient Sanskrit works. We have no regular history of our literatures and there are so many contradictory statements in various works that we cannot safely rely on internal evidence for the solution of the question of date. The popular belief is that Mahabharata Ramayna and Puranas were written long after the Vedas. But we have references to these works even in the Vedic literature.
In the Atharva Veda we have the names of Itihasa, Purana and Gatha. We meet with another passage in Satpata Brāhmana wherein Itihasas and Puranashave been mentioned.
