The Indian Analyst
 

North Indian Inscriptions

 

 

Contents

Introduction

Contents

Preface

List of Plates

Abbreviations

Additions and Corrections

Images

Introduction

Political History

Administration

Social History

Religious History

Literary History

Gupta Era

Krita Era

Texts and Translations

The Gupta Inscriptions

Index

Other South-Indian Inscriptions 

Volume 1

Volume 2

Volume 3

Vol. 4 - 8

Volume 9

Volume 10

Volume 11

Volume 12

Volume 13

Volume 14

Volume 15

Volume 16

Volume 17

Volume 18

Volume 19

Volume 20

Volume 22
Part 1

Volume 22
Part 2

Volume 23

Volume 24

Volume 26

Volume 27

Tiruvarur

Darasuram

Konerirajapuram

Tanjavur

Annual Reports 1935-1944

Annual Reports 1945- 1947

Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum Volume 2, Part 2

Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum Volume 7, Part 3

Kalachuri-Chedi Era Part 1

Kalachuri-Chedi Era Part 2

Epigraphica Indica

Epigraphia Indica Volume 3

Epigraphia
Indica Volume 4

Epigraphia Indica Volume 6

Epigraphia Indica Volume 7

Epigraphia Indica Volume 8

Epigraphia Indica Volume 27

Epigraphia Indica Volume 29

Epigraphia Indica Volume 30

Epigraphia Indica Volume 31

Epigraphia Indica Volume 32

Paramaras Volume 7, Part 2

Śilāhāras Volume 6, Part 2

Vākāṭakas Volume 5

Early Gupta Inscriptions

Archaeological Links

Archaeological-Survey of India

Pudukkottai

THE GUPTA ERA

the Gupta sovereignty lasted till Gupta year 224. It is, therefore, no wonder if the Maitrakas dated their inscriptions according to the Gupta era and continued it till 447, the last date so far known of that dynasty. The first date where Valabhī-Saṁvat is mentioned is furnished by the Ūnā plate of the time of the Imperial Pratihāra Mahēndrāyudha.1 It records a grant of his feudatory Balavarman of the Chālukya lineage and is dated Śrī-Valabhī-saṁvat 574.It is worthy of note that though the era is here called Valabhī-saṁvat, it was not forgotten in Kāṭhiāwāḍ that it was Gupta era also. Just eleven years thereafter was issued the Mōrbī plate of Jāiṅka, specifying 585 as the Gaupta year, that is, the year of the Gupta era.2 The Valabhī era continued to be used, as we have seen above, till Valabhī-saṁvat 945=1264 A.D., more than two centuries after Al Bērūni lived and wrote. And the last Gupta year, as we have just seen, is 585=904-05 A.D., nearly a century before the Arab historian came to India. It is, therefore, no wonder if the Balaba (Valabhī) era was remembered as identical with the Guptakala, up till his time.

>

        Wherever we possess means of controlling Al Bērūni’s statement about the epoch of the era, it proves to be correct. Let us now turn to the astronomical calculations, and put the Gupta dates to the test, where they admit of such a verification. Let us, in the first place, take up the Ēraṇ inscription (No. 39 below) of Budhagupta which, in lines 2-3, gives the following date: Śatē pañcha-shashty-adhikē varshāṇāṁ bhūpatau cha Budhaguptē Āshāḍha-māsa-ṡukla-dvādaṡyāṁ Suragurōr=divasē, “when a century of years, increased by sixty-five (had elapsed) and while Budhagupta (is) the lord of the earth; on the twelfth lunar day of the bright fortnight of the month of Āshāḍha; on the day of Suraguru; . . .” Here, Fleet wrongly translates the initial part of it by “in a century of years, increased by sixty-five.” I say ‘wrongly’, because that means “in the hundred and sixty-fifth year”; but the actual word used is śata and not śata-tama. It is Oldenberg who has first rightly calculated the date to be Thursday, June 21, 484 A.D. R. G. Bhandarkar and Fleet have arrived at the same result by independent calculation. We thus see that to Gupta 165 of the Ēraṇ inscription, we have to add 241 as was the practice up till Al Bērūni’s time and we get 406 Śaka, to which, if we further add 78, we obtain 484 A.D. This proves the correctness of his statement. Let us now consider the dates contained in the grants of Hastin and Saṁkshōbha who belonged to the Nṛipati-Parivrājaka family. The first of these is: Shaṭpañchās-ō(ṡad-u) ttarē=bda-ṡatē Gupta-nṛipa-rājya-bhuktau Mahā-Vaiṡākha-saṁvatsarē Kārttika-māsa-ṡukla-paksha-tṛitīyāyāṁ,3 “when a century of years increased by fifty-six (had elapsed), the enjoyment of sovereignty by the Gupta kings continuing, in the Mahā-Vaiṡākha saṁvatsara; on the third lunar day of the bright fortnight of the month of Kārttika.” Now, if we add to the year 156, 241+78 (=319), we obtain 475 A.D. as its English equivalent. In fact, the date has been calculated by P. C. Sengupta who makes the following remarks: “Jupiter was heliacally visible about October 20, 475 A.D.” The actual date of the inscription was October 18, 475 A.D.

       Here on the day of the heliacal visibility, the sun was in the nakshatra Viṡākhā but Jupiter was 3°40' behind the first point of the nakshatra-division, the vernal equinox of the year being taken as the first point of the Hindu sphere. According to the rule of naming Jupiter’s years as given in the modern Sūrya-siddhānta, xiv, 16-17, it was sun’s nakshatra, on new-moon prior to October 18, 475 A.D., the date of the inscription, which took place on October 15-16 of the year, that gave the name of the year. The sun was in the nakshatra viṡākhā and the year begun was consequently the Mahāvaiṡākha year of Jupiter.”4 The third date we have now to consider is:
_________________________________________________________________

1 D. R. Bhandarkar, A List of the Inscriptions of Northern India, No. 1379.
2 Ibid., No. 1378.
3 CII., Vol. III, 1888, No. 21.
4 JRASB. (Letters), Vol. VIII, p. 49.

>
>