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The Indian Analyst
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North Indian Inscriptions |
POLITICAL HISTORY occur on the obverse, they must be taken to be joint rulers and further that, as the Lichchhavis are mentioned on the reverse, it was their territory that both ruled over, to begin with. It is true that when we, for the first time, hear of the Lichchhavis, that is, in the time of the Buddha from the scriptures of both Northern and Southern Buddhists, they were a tribal oligarchy, with their capital at Vaiśālī (=Basāṛh).1 But instances are not unknown of tribes changing their forms of constitution, oligarchic becoming monarchical and monarchical oligarchic.2 And that, as a matter of fact the Lichchhavis, who were originally an oligarchy in the time of the Buddha, became later a monarchical tribe, is evident to any scholar who studies the Nēpāl inscriptions published by Bhagwanlal Indraji.3 When the Lichchhavi father-in-law of Chandragupta lived, the Lichchhavis must have ceased to be oligarchic and assumed a monarchical constitution. And as Kumāradēvī apparently was his only child, she naturally succeeded him to his kingdom and administered it along with her husband. But where could the capital of this Lichchhavi kingdom have been ? The Allahabad inscription speaks of Samudragupta as amusing himself at a place called Pushpa, that is, Pushpapura, which can be no other than Pāṭaliputra. And the presumption is that the capital of his father Chandragupta, and, previous to him, of his Lichchhavi father-in-law also must have been Pushpapura. And it may reason ably be asked whether there is any evidence in support of it. As was first pointed out by Bühler, “Dr. Bhagwanlal’s Nepal inscription No. XV4 informs us that the Lichchhavis ruled before the conquest of Nepal, and possibly also after that event, at Pushpapura or Pāṭaliputra, the ancient capital of India north of the Ganges.”5 No reasonable doubt can thus be entertained as to Chandragupta having formed a marriage alliance of extreme political importance which enabled him to push his fortune and attain to the proud and coveted position of a Mahārājādhirāja. Evidently his son and successors had good reasons to remember it.
It must not, however, be supposed that the rule of Chandragupta did not extend beyond Bihar or that the struck only one type of coins, namely, that commemorating his union with the Lichchhavis. The Lichchhavi territory was no doubt his matrimonial acquisition. But it seems exceedingly improbable that his sway was confined only to that small region. This is unmistakably controverted by the title of Mahārājādhirāja which is coupled with his name and which indicates his imperial rank. Surely with the help and prowess of the Lichchhavis he must have extended the bounds of the Lichchhavi territory which he had acquired through marriage. In this connection may be quoted the well-known Puranic verse defining the Gupta dominions which Allan6 has rightly taken as referring to his reign : ..........anu Gaṅgāṁ Prayāgaṁ cha Sākētaṁ Magadhāṁs=tathā / It must be confessed that these lines have been badly composed, because Prayāga and
Sākēta are towns and not countries (janapadāḥ) as no doubt follows from the wording ētāñ=janapadān sarvān. Besides, Sākēta is not situated on the Ganges. The meaning of the verse,
however, is clear enough. It means that kings of the Gupta family will enjoy all territories 1 D. R. Bhandarkar, Car. Lec., 1918, pp. 149-51 and 154-56; B. G. Law, Some Kshatriya Tribes of Ancient India, pp. 90, 100.
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